I am about to celebrate my first Christmas away from my family.
Since I was born, Christmas has always been spent with at least one blood relation ... be it the winter skiing trips with Dad, the annual midnight mass services with Mom, the 17 course British Xmas meals (with 4 types of potatoes and 8 vegetable dishes) at my Auntie Mary and Cousin Phillipa's or the soothing, Wine Gum, KitKat and Smartie filled Xmas visits to England with my Bompa and Yvonne.
For me, family has always been a staple, perhaps even a necessity, at Christmas time.
This year, I find myself in a place surrounded by people, traditions and situations completely unfamiliar to me. With no snow and soaring temperatures the Xmas tunes I hear blaring in Koala supermarket and Sharpnet Internet cafe seem so totally out of place. The tacky sparkling streams of red and green tinsel, artificial Xmas trees and strings of coloured lights sold on dusty street corners are plain odd. And, those few cards I just picked up at Makola Market yesterday took all my energy just to find, let alone write, stamp and send.
The only reason I am truly willing to accept that it's Christmas, is because of the recent phone conversation I had with my mom as I listened to all her plans over the next week. Nostalgia has officially set in as I imagine her home decorated - the tiny tree in the bay window and Christmas cards from friends and family hung along the wall; the feeling of cold air filling my nostrils and snow crunching beneath my feet; the light in their eyes as my nephew, Jonathan, niece, Emily, and little sister, Molly, rip open their presents on Christmas Day at my older sister' s home in Dundas, Ontario; and the taste of sweet stuffing, juicy turkey and a good glass of red wine, instead of the cheap two dollar stuff I buy now at the Goil gas station.
Ahhh ... where's Christmas I beg you?
I am looking for it as I make plans to head up to the north with my Ghanaian friend, Roxy, who has offered to show my JHR pals and I what life is like on the other side of the country. Hoping to let go of this nostalgia, I plan to experience a Christmas celebration completely different from any I am used to. Why look for the familiar when you can embrace the strange?
So, perhaps I'll devour bitter Banku, Fufu or Kenke instead of that juicy turkey and sweet stuffing.
Maybe I'll sip upon tangy Palm wine instead of that bold, red Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon.
And, likely I'll skip along hot sand or drip sweat strolling down a dirt road rather than trek through the snow and tip toe to avoid slipping on the ice.
Afenhyia-pa (Merry Christmas) all!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Learning to flow
Water flows right?
You turn on your tap each morning and it’s magically there ... so you brush your teeth.
Next the shower; you hop in, dodging the sprays of steaming hot water, turning the cold tap up, the hot tap down, marked red and blue accordingly, until the shower head shoots out a consistently streaming, soothing temperature.
And, those dishes left on the counter from the night before; just a flip of the tap fills that sink. Better yet, load them in the dishwasher and with a press of a button they’re clean within half an hour.
Don’t forget that load of laundry; pour in the soap, throw in the soiled clothes and turn a knob, just before you rush out the door to work.
Water even flows out of sight, doesn’t it?
Yes, I remember those days well ... perhaps miss them ... and then again, not, as I realize how much I took the turn of a tap for granted.
I have been living in my comfortable abode in Labadi, Accra, without flowing water for almost five weeks now.
So has the hospital down the street. On and off for six months, relying upon the fire service to fill its tanks for an additional cost of about $50/day, when water is usually provided for free by Ghana Water Service Company Inc. (GWSC, Inc.) Surgeries are postponed, nurses lug buckets up the stairs, as there is no elevator, and patients are forced to pay to use toilets without even the means to wash their hands.
Along the dirt roads that surround my home, young girls, their mothers, even children barely out of their days as diapered toddlers, balance gallon yellow plastic water jugs filled to the brim on their heads, trekking God knows how far so dinner can be cooked, babies bathed and laundry done. Others carry ten empty jugs at a time across their backs, some even riding bicycles to destinations where taps aren’t running dry.
When I reflect upon this, the bucket baths, pouring water over my head from one small container to the next and letting the yellow mellow, only flushing the brown stuff, seem a delight. While, the search for those gallon water jugs - borrowed from Ghanaian friends – and the trek around the city to find a flowing pipe are a breeze. My roommates and I may have the means to pay up to $10 to fill our three big garbage bins with more water every few days but the manicurist, Angela, across the dirt road from us certainly does not.
So, the lights are on, but the pipes are dry. Accra has left a power crisis and entered a water shortage.
I know, I know ... it’s Africa, right? And, I, after all, expected it to be this way, didn’t I?
The confusing side of it all is that just 20 metres from my home, the ditches are full, which means water flows out of the taps down there. Our ditches, which are interconnected, remain dry, with nothing but scattered litter and moist sewage, which gets shovelled up and dumped along the side of the road every few days when it's dry. I still have yet to understand the piping system in this city.
So, why the water shortage you ask?
Well according to GWSC Inc., the Weija and Kpong Head Works, the city’s two main water suppliers, are running over capacity with the Greater Accra area demanding 50 million gallons of water each day. A $30-million project, funded by the government and private sector, will expand the capacity to 150 million gallons of water daily. Catch is ... it won’t be completed for a year and a half (Lets hope they’re not running on Ghanaian time). Until then, communities will continue to experience the on and off water supply, especially since Ghana has just entered the dry season. This should prove interesting when thousands of visitors enter Accra for CAN2008 in January.
So, as I type this latest entry sitting upon a dirty sheet crumpled up on my bed, wearing a sweaty tank top and stained pants (I have yet to another round of laundry since I don’t want to waste our water supply), I think about the day living out of a bucket of water will become normal to me.
I yearn for the day that rushing out to find gallon jugs and a flowing pipe will no longer feel like an incredible effort but rather a part of day to day life.
And, I wonder why exactly, being as spoiled as I am, I thought before I left for Ghana that these adjustments would come so easily to me?
Like water, I’m learning to flow.
You turn on your tap each morning and it’s magically there ... so you brush your teeth.
Next the shower; you hop in, dodging the sprays of steaming hot water, turning the cold tap up, the hot tap down, marked red and blue accordingly, until the shower head shoots out a consistently streaming, soothing temperature.
And, those dishes left on the counter from the night before; just a flip of the tap fills that sink. Better yet, load them in the dishwasher and with a press of a button they’re clean within half an hour.
Don’t forget that load of laundry; pour in the soap, throw in the soiled clothes and turn a knob, just before you rush out the door to work.
Water even flows out of sight, doesn’t it?
Yes, I remember those days well ... perhaps miss them ... and then again, not, as I realize how much I took the turn of a tap for granted.
I have been living in my comfortable abode in Labadi, Accra, without flowing water for almost five weeks now.
So has the hospital down the street. On and off for six months, relying upon the fire service to fill its tanks for an additional cost of about $50/day, when water is usually provided for free by Ghana Water Service Company Inc. (GWSC, Inc.) Surgeries are postponed, nurses lug buckets up the stairs, as there is no elevator, and patients are forced to pay to use toilets without even the means to wash their hands.
Along the dirt roads that surround my home, young girls, their mothers, even children barely out of their days as diapered toddlers, balance gallon yellow plastic water jugs filled to the brim on their heads, trekking God knows how far so dinner can be cooked, babies bathed and laundry done. Others carry ten empty jugs at a time across their backs, some even riding bicycles to destinations where taps aren’t running dry.
When I reflect upon this, the bucket baths, pouring water over my head from one small container to the next and letting the yellow mellow, only flushing the brown stuff, seem a delight. While, the search for those gallon water jugs - borrowed from Ghanaian friends – and the trek around the city to find a flowing pipe are a breeze. My roommates and I may have the means to pay up to $10 to fill our three big garbage bins with more water every few days but the manicurist, Angela, across the dirt road from us certainly does not.
So, the lights are on, but the pipes are dry. Accra has left a power crisis and entered a water shortage.
I know, I know ... it’s Africa, right? And, I, after all, expected it to be this way, didn’t I?
The confusing side of it all is that just 20 metres from my home, the ditches are full, which means water flows out of the taps down there. Our ditches, which are interconnected, remain dry, with nothing but scattered litter and moist sewage, which gets shovelled up and dumped along the side of the road every few days when it's dry. I still have yet to understand the piping system in this city.
So, why the water shortage you ask?
Well according to GWSC Inc., the Weija and Kpong Head Works, the city’s two main water suppliers, are running over capacity with the Greater Accra area demanding 50 million gallons of water each day. A $30-million project, funded by the government and private sector, will expand the capacity to 150 million gallons of water daily. Catch is ... it won’t be completed for a year and a half (Lets hope they’re not running on Ghanaian time). Until then, communities will continue to experience the on and off water supply, especially since Ghana has just entered the dry season. This should prove interesting when thousands of visitors enter Accra for CAN2008 in January.
So, as I type this latest entry sitting upon a dirty sheet crumpled up on my bed, wearing a sweaty tank top and stained pants (I have yet to another round of laundry since I don’t want to waste our water supply), I think about the day living out of a bucket of water will become normal to me.
I yearn for the day that rushing out to find gallon jugs and a flowing pipe will no longer feel like an incredible effort but rather a part of day to day life.
And, I wonder why exactly, being as spoiled as I am, I thought before I left for Ghana that these adjustments would come so easily to me?
Like water, I’m learning to flow.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Quirky things I've heard in Ghana
- Question from restaurant server
"What is food?"
- Question from Ghanaian friend
"What's diaper?"
- Comment from Ghanaian friend while unloading a bag full of African masks
"I brought you some groceries"
- Common phrase used to say "what" or "pardon"
"You say?"
- Called out to me on the street
"Hey, yellow hair"
- Question asked to a volunteer by a Ghanaian coworker, as he pointed to porn on a computer screen
"Do you do that?"
- Dialogue between volunteer (V) and host family member (HFM)
V - "I lost the key to the house, but I lost my cell phone too."
HFM - "Oh sorry (long pause). That's okay. I ate your sandwich."
V - "Okay, I guess I'll go get some chicken down the street."
HFM - "Oh, is it good?"
V - "Yes, it's good."
HFM - "Can you get me some?"
- Text Message
"R u pissed to meet me, think u r so i have to quiet call u. Bye."
- Comment made to volunteer by a Ghanaian coworker
"Oh, you've gained weight. Sorry."
- Comment made to me by a Ghanaian coworker
"You're body is changing. And, you look really pale. Are you okay?"
- Pick-up line by Ghanaian guy while I was lying on the beach
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
TOP 15 NAMES COME ACROSS IN GHANA
COUNTDOWN BEGINS ... (DRUMROLL)
15) Candi
14) Gold
13) Sparrow
12) Wonder
11) Patience
10) Confidence
9) Achievement
8) Pleasure
7) Marvin Gay
6) Barfo
5) Fortune
4) King
3) Squirrel
2) Tilapia
1) Roxy Robinson
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)