Margaret, upon my questioning, proudly announced "I run this place." Not that I was questioning her authority. I was simply wondering if I would get to see her again because I was taken aback by her kindness and willingness to make our experiences here more wholesome. Naima, Sophia, and I awoke from our naps and proceeded downstairs to the guest room to chill on the tan colored leather couches in front of the tv, which is currently playing some movie that sports the characters Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz, and the manly man who stars in Iron Man (does anyone know the name of this movie)? A Ghanaian woman laden in a green, white, and black dress arose from the corners of neverland and asked us our names and began to teach us Twi, which is the language in Ghana that Ghanaians hold to their identity and culture, and, in the same way that Yiddish sometimes works for me, there are some Ghanaian words for which there are no adequate English equivalents. Even with English as the primarily spoken language, Twi is still relevant to me because I may encounter rural Ghanaians who only speak Twi. The first word Margaret taught us was "Akwaba," which means "welcome." When one welcomes us, we are supposed to respond with "Iao sohn," which means "thank you," but not the same thank you that we use to express our gratitude for a gift or a favor. When you wish to say that, you say "medasi." Iao sohn is used in response to greetings, such as "good morning."
Akwaba was a familiar term to me because it appeared on many signs at the Accra airport, including one that I encountered just after handing in my I-94 form (which had both English and French instructions! That made me excited), providing my fingerprint, and pulling out a smirk for a Logitech camera so the Ghanaian government could lock me up if I'm up to no good. Read that sign carefully. You might laugh.
There were two customs lines for "Other Nationals" that were reserved for non-Ghanaian travelers. Interestingly, all of the white "other nationals" merged to the leftmost "other nationals" queue, even though the right queue was designated for the same purpose and was much shorter. As a Caucasian, these two months are really the first time I will ever be an ethnic minority. Growing up as a Jew in a white Catholic suburban Levittown should not have been much different, but, without first having a conversation with me or my family, one would not have assumed that I was an ethnic minority. This is different. And it seemed as if the white "other nationals" were gravitating inwards towards each other into their comfort zones. I, for one, prioritize timeliness over assembling with people of my same race. Maybe it's because I'm Jewish. Who knows. I went to the right line. And then by some twist of fate I was the only one in my group to not be stopped when the customs security inspected our bags. My cart of luggage was glanced at and signed off by the person directing the customs security traffic. I was so confused. Two of the Unite For Sight volunteers I was traveling with had to leave their eyeglasses behind at the airport because of customs difficulties. They didn't even care to look inside a single one of my bags. I was at once flattered and confused.
In the United States, I am used to navy blue as the default color for security guards and policemen. At the Accra airport, security guards were dressed in green, and each had a woven rope that extended over the left shoulder and into the front left pocket. No idea what was at the end of each small chain, but I thought the concept was nifty.
There were six Unite For Sight volunteers on my flight, and all of us were greeted by Jerome, an ophthalmic nurse, and John, our driver. John drove us and our luggage from the airport to the Telecentre Bed and Breakfast, which is my primary lodging destination. The van ride here was quite the trip, what with the many unpaved roads and street vendors all over the place and people casually walking between cars in the middle of the traffic in the main roads who were carrying all sorts of things on their heads that they wanted you to buy (like ACTUALLY the stereotypical image of African people carrying huge amounts of stuff on their heads, sans hands... and some women had their babies strapped to their backs all the while. so impressive), the red dust all over the place, and the CHICKENS EVERYWHERE! This is for real. There are stray chickens and roosters literally everywhere. I don't get it.
We checked in at the Telecentre and were given cell phones and our room keys and assignments. The lady who works at the front desk is Daksa, and she has been so kind and welcoming and seems to be genuinely looking out for us. Ghana's country code is 011233, which you dial before you dial the number for my cell phone. My cell phone number here is 0207058112. If you're looking to call me from any other country besides Ghana, you'll have to dial 011233-207058112. I called my mom this afternoon and the reception was fantastic, as if I was having a conversation between two land line phones at home. So, call me if you'd like! Or e-mail me. The Telecentre has free wifi everywhere. It's a little slow but it definitely does the job and I am so grateful for it. I will not be in the Telecentre at all times, however. During the month of June, I will be residing at the Telecentre when I am working in the eye clinics in Accra, and I will be elsewhere when I am doing the outreach camps. I will be working the eye clinics on June 2-4, June 12-18, and June 26-30. I will be doing overnight outreaches on June 5-11 and June 19-25. I will likely not be the most accessible during those times.
The Telecentre Bed and Breakfast is a wholesome setting, but is a tad on the shabby side. A definite upgrade from typical Ghanaian lifestyle from what I have seen and read. Accra on the whole is a bit on the shabby side. It is a very poor city. Powder me up and call me a Westerner, I don't care, I'll say it anyway: I can't say I'd like to live here. I growing to appreciate my lifestyle in the United States in which I vacillate between my home in a highly developed suburban neighborhood in Long Island, NY and my college dormitory in the, although ridden with crime, mostly functional city of New Have'n, CT. As much as I talk it down, I think I actually like to be clean. The shower kind of scares me, as does the toilet that tests my patience because I need to leave several minutes for it to rest to build up adequate water pressure for use. I was a bit turned off by the new patch of ants that appeared on our floor to eat up a crumb of food that had been left behind by the previous inhabitant of my room. The dust all over the place outside kind of makes me feel dirty overall, and I miss being clean. I also have to worry about mosquitoes all over the place, and so my bedspread consists of a sheet that I brought from home for my backside, a pillow case cover atop the provided pillows for my head's backside, and my mosquito net that I failed to properly install that will serve as my blanket. It works.
After obtaining some Ghanaian currency, my Unite For Sight group and I ate at a local place called Fingalix, where I ordered joloff and kelewele, which was described as "savory rice & savory fried plantains." The dish was rieally yummy. Hot and spicy the way I like it. For Jonathan it was apparently hotter than he had expected. But thanks to my lovely neighbor at home Susan who makes spicy rice all of the time, my palate was prepared for anything. And this I would have described as mild. The servers brought out our food as they were cooked, which took quite a bit of time. Jonathan and I were the last served, and we insisted that the others eat because there were flies all over the place. This is the kind of dirty I'm talking about. :(
Anyway, time to close up. It is 10:17 pm here. Apparently I have to be dressed and ready to go for my first day at the Crystal Eye Clinic at 7:30 am in the lobby. I feel really safe here and, although my living conditions are not what I'm used to, I think it will be a smooth adjustment for me and a stellar experience. I really think this will shape who I am in years to come, and I'm so glad I've been given the opportunity to embark on such a journey. I'm excited to start helping people tomorrow!
Oh oh oh! Last thing. Favorite picture taken today definitely goes to this gem. STAR beer is the Ghanaian preference. It is actually an acronym that stands for "Sit Together And Relax," which is a testament to the peaceful, social, and chill Ghanaian way of life. Plus, there's sax. And, I think we all know very well that everything is better when there is sax.
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