Relationships

Bad news. My camera is broken. I am not sure why it won't work, but the lens won't extract and it keeps saying "lens error" when I attempt to turn it on. That means that this blog is very unlikely to include anymore cool pictures. Just know that Ghana and I are still well and beautiful, even though you can't see us on this blog anymore. *tear*. I have formed many new friendships/relationships with the local people. I will first start with the two market ladies that I always buy from. Unfortunately, I don't know either of their names (I will correct this soon). The first is a young lady who always lights up when she sees me. She teaches me a few words in Fante while she fills my bags with veggies. She never seems to have the correct change for what I purchased, so I am usually forced to buy more than I planned to reach the full amount. She is a smart market lady. The other market lady is a bit older. After I leave the young woman's stand I go to her stand and practice the Fante I just learned. She is always impressed with my attempt to learn the language. She then proceeds to correct my pronunciation. Each day I only request a few fruits and veggies but she always fills my bag with much more than what I asked for. Of course, I pay her more than her quoted price. She always acts surprised. She is a very smart market lady. I have also started helping braid hair at the local salon. I really like it. The shop owner is a young woman named Adiza. Her clients are always surprised that I know how to do hair. Adiza's English is limited but her clients usually speak English very well. Often, the clients speak English while I am in the shop to include me in the local gossip. I love it. Yesterday, a lady came to the shop having to get her hair done urgently because her "husband would beat her if she did not get home quickly". Another lady said that she always says that and she just wanted to skip the line. Everyone laughed. Then Adiza and I moved from the other client to her...just in case her husband really was going to beat her. I love the small ways that women look out for each other. At the end of the day, we are our real protectors. Then of course, there is Christina and Gabriel. I eat at their house for dinner about 4 or 5 nights out of the week. Christina seriously thinks I am somehow obligated to eat at their house because we are friends. I have been trying to make her understand that I have to go home and eat with my group but she just let's me know she expects me for dinner as she walks away. I shout to her back, "Seriously, Christina I am not coming today!" and she shouts back "Then I guess you are not my friend". Guilt. It is a an overused social weapon in Ghana. Then there is Ricky. The owns the Kakumado Guest house. He spent a few years in Germany and married a German woman. He speaks fluent German and English and considers himself different from the locals since he lived among Europeans for many years. I stop by Ricky's place at least a few times a week. I go to say hello and to use the clean bathroom. Today I met Ricky's girlfriend. She is a lovely woman who lives in Kumasi and comes to see Ricky on the weekends. They plan to marry soon. I had pinned Ricky as a lonely old man until I met his woman this weekend. She makes him happy. I can tell. Ricky also has a "maid" (their words not mine) named Mary. Mary is amazing. When I stop by she and I just talk the way young lady's talk when they haven't seen each other in a few days. Mary is always badgering me about getting married and having children. It's a bit ironic because she has two children and is divorced (very uncommon for a young woman in Ghana) but she can't stop talking about the joys of marriage. Whenever I am leaving Mary she touches my stomach and says some nonsense about blessing me with a billion babies or something. I yell at her and tell her to stop putting her voodoo witchcraft on me. We laugh. The Rasta's are a treat as well. I especially like eating at Kenya's co-op restaurant. He gives everyone a huge plate of delicious food for 1 Cedi. I always like to pay him a bit extra...just because I can. I like eating with the locals. We sit around. A bunch of hungry young people trying to satisfy a basic need and save a buck at the same time. It is nice. The family that we live with are very nice as well. I have gotten to know the children very well. Gabrielle is an especially well-behaved and helpful young man. I taught his class at the school. I always tell him that I will marry him when he grows up. He responds with a defiant "NO!" and then laughs. I ask him why he doesn't want to marry me. He says "NO!" and runs away. I want to do something nice for Gabrielle before I leave. He is a good kid. He deserves it.