So again I’m sitting at my internship with hardly a thing to do. I got to the office this morning and was immediately informed that I was going to an RBA training at the other office. I thought “Okay Great. What am I supposed to do there?” Whatever, I’ve only got like a hundred more hours that I need to do here. Wahoo.
So last Friday, after I updated, I went to the Burkinabe Embassy. I’ve decided that people who work in embassies only serve to make your life difficult and refuse to help at all. Five of us (me, Caroline, Andrea, Amanda, and Katja) went to get our visas, but first everyone but me needed to go to a Forex Bureau because the Burkina Faso Embassy only accepts American Dollars or Euros (Thank you Dad for making me pull out American money before I left. I didn’t get screwed with an exchange rate that way.). So we went to one Forex Bureau, but they didn’t have any American money. We started walking and finally after about fifteen minutes found another one. We then took a taxi back the embassy, but they informed us that we would have to wait for over an hour because they were going to take their lunch in 20 minutes. We filled out the forms and still had five minutes to spare before their break, however, being the accommodating people that embassy workers are, they refused to take them. Three of the group stayed behind to wait and turn in our stuff after the break, while me and Caroline headed back to church because we needed to get ready for our homestay.
The homestay was a very interesting experience. I’m really pleased that I did it because it really opened my eyes to a large aspect of Ghanaian culture, but it made me really, really, REALLY happy that we get to live in dorms rather than doing a homestay the entire time.
On Friday afternoon, I was dropped off at my host mom, Auntie Thelma’s job where I met up with Marta who I was paired with for the weekend. Auntie Thelma is the deputy manager of a bank branch and we ended up waiting there for her to finish up for an about two hours. After she finished, we drove home which took another hour and a half (traffic is worst in Accra on Friday nights). Her house was pretty far away and in an area of town that I had never been to before. It was really interesting to see how relatively wealthy Ghanaians live. Our host family’s house had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. They had three cars and were in the process of purchasing a fourth (while only two of them drive), yet, they didn’t have any sinks with running water (there was a working toilet and shower though, which was weird).
When we got home, her youngest son Lord was there (her two other sons are away at school) and she began to prepare dinner for us. Shortly after, her husband also came home, and he immediately sprawled out on the sofa in front of the television and waited for his wife to bring him dinner. This was the beginning of my annoyance with Ghanaian society. She had basically worked a twelve hour work day and had not had a chance to rest, yet was still expected to have food ready for him – this was definitely something that would not fly in my house. Marta and I kept offering to help her in the kitchen, but she refused on the basis that we were guests. After dinner we went watched some television with Lord and Auntie Thelma and went to bed pretty early.
The next morning we woke up really early because our host family had a rooster that really enjoyed Cock-A-Doodle-Dooing at dawn. We went out into the kitchen and found Auntie Thelma already working at the stove. She had started preparing some soups and stews that the family would eat throughout the week because she doesn’t really have time to cook after work. Again she prepared breakfast for her husband and didn’t receive so much as a “Thank you” in return. Most of the morning, Marta and I hung out in the kitchen learning about what Auntie Thelma was cooking (she was making Groundnut Soup – my favourite!). In the afternoon we went to class with Auntie Thelma (she’s taking classes to get a degree) and then went over to her aunt and cousin’s house. Again it was really cool to see how Ghanaians live. Her family’s house was pretty nice and big as well. While there we had some Groundnut soup and Fufu that her Aunt had prepared for us. After we headed back home and I went to bed really early because I had a killer headache.
It was good that I went to bed so early though because we had to leave for church Sunday morning at 6:30. The family goes to a charismatic church and I have to say it was certainly an experience. The church was HUGE and complete with projectors with power points of the lyrics to all the songs. It was definitely something that could have been found in the United States. I definitely had never seen anything like the service before. It was really intense how into prayer everyone got – everyone there was hollering “AMEN” with their eyes shut and their arms raised toward the sky and praising Jesus. Toward the end of the service Marta and I had to go up in front of the entire congregation because we were new to the church. We were taken to a back room where we were each paired with a congregant who asked for our information so they could stay in touch with us. The guy I was with asked what church I went to in the US and I knew that if I had told him that I was Jewish, I wouldn’t be able to get out of there very easily. (In one of our orientations, we were told that Ghanaians don’t really understand how people don’t worship Jesus) I instead told him that I don’t go to church because I’m away at school…immediately he responded with “THERE’S NO CHURCH THERE?!?” and I said “It’s a private non-religious institution,” but that wasn’t good enough for him so I told him I was always too busy with classes. I have to say I felt quite uncomfortable. The guy that Marta was with told her that he would come pick her up if he had to in order to get her to return to church. Nevertheless, it was a good experience.
We went back home where we made Omo Tuo (rice balls) to go in our Groundnut Soup which we ate for brunch. Again, the dad wanted something different, so Auntie Thelma pounded him an individual serving of fufu (which is a huge undertaking and really really physical). He didn’t say thank you or anything. For me that was the most frustrating part. It’s just such a patriarchal society and it’s way unfair in my opinion. I don’t know how the women are so diligent. I would be out of there so quickly if I was ever treated like that by a man. It’s just the way the society is here though, and thankfully enough, it’s not the way I will have to live.
It’s Monday morning now, and I can’t wait to get through this week. I’ve got Burkina Faso this weekend and as of today it’s only 18 days until Spring Break. I’m soooooo excited for that, but still have so much planning to do.
peace and love
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