Holiday Time

July 1^st is a holiday here in Ghana; it is Republic Day. While no one has been able to explain the significance of Republic Day, what it means practically is that most people did not work today. Sam and I also decided to take a holiday, telling ourselves: “When in Rome… “ I could not be more pleased by the results of my holiday had I planned them in advance!

Late Tuesday night a caravan arrived in our compound from the North of Ghana carrying with it a Scottish pharmacist and founder of Let Us Shine School for Girls (Fiona), a doctor (Mary), a teacher (Nell), and a journalist (Hannah) all of whom volunteered at Let Us Shine this past month. Two students from the school, Mercia and Naomi, ages 15 and 14 respectively, travelled to Accra with the volunteers in order to visit an eye clinic in the city. Mercia needs glasses and Naomi was beaten as a child and, as a result, is blind in one eye (truthfully, she was caned so badly the eye popped out and was put back in place by a witch doctor…); Fiona is hoping there may be something that can be done to restore the girl’s sight.

We were expecting the return of this group, some of whom left for the school just shortly after Sam and I arrived in Ghana. Fiona is how we came to find the house in which we live – she is married to a Ghanaian, Mawena, who has twin brothers (James and John) who run a volunteer company and have spare rooms to let in their house. We found out about the rooms because Fiona is from the same small town in Scotland that our Bulgarian supervisor’s Scottish boyfriend is from… it’s a small world! To the point, Fiona and Mawena have been in Ghana for 2 weeks and are heading back to Scotland with the volunteers tonight.

I started my holiday off by preparing breakfast for all the newcomers (and the regulars to the house—there is always someone dropping by to say hello or to sleep on the couch for a night). Fiona, Mary, Nell, Hannah and the girls were famished because the journey from the north took much longer than had been anticipated, and no one had eaten the night before. We had a feast of wheat toast, hard-boiled eggs, watermelon, jam and groundnut paste (peanut butter). It was delightful, deeply appreciated, and enjoyed by all. I guess I do have some good old Midwestern blood in me if I can’t stand the thought of more than 4 people in a room without there being food!

The two girls, Mercia and Naomi have never left their village before this trip. Before coming to Accra they had never seen water coming from a pipe, a flush toilet, a ceiling fan, or slept in a house with electricity. They are quite shy, and I can only imagine they are quite overwhelmed by all of the new people and by all of the new things they are surrounded by. Coming to Accra was a shock for me; I can’t imagine what kind of a shock it is for them. But they have beautiful smiles and incredibly sweet dispositions.

The girls were awake before even I was and the first question they asked was where the brooms were to sweep the compound. They insisted on sweeping and after breakfast insisted on cleaning dishes. They put me to shame, that is for sure! After cleaning, we finally were able to pry them away to take them into town to go to a craft market for the volunteers to do some last minute bartering and shopping before heading home in the evening. They got a proper taste of Accra traffic on the way to the market. Because of the holiday and because of the sunny weather, it seemed as if all of Accra flocked to the ocean, and unfortunately, the road between Teshie and downtown Accra runs right beside the ocean… It took quite a while to make it down the road. Our taxi driver was a lunatic as well. After he backed his cab into another cab and lost his bumper in the process we tossed him a couple of cedis, got out, and walked along the road until the traffic got better and we could pick up a less ridiculous driver.

The craft market was fun, though it is still taking me some time to adjust to the system of bartering here. It’s half a game between you and the shop keeper to see how close to your ideal price you can get, and I’m convinced the other half of the game, when your white, is played by the shop keeper with himself or his friends to see how ridiculous of a price he can get away with asking for his item. It’s a draining process to shop when this is the case, and it’s easy to quickly lose patience and tolerance. Ghanaians, however, even the really pushy ones trying to force a sale on you, are some of the nicest people I have ever known, and though the bartering process is uncomfortable, it is not entirely unpleasant.

The real excitement of the day, however, came when, on the way back from the craft market, we stopped at the La Palm Beach Resort and paid 10 cedis a person in order for the girls to go swimming. They absolutely loved it. The Resort is a five star resort in Accra and is beyond amazing. I was gawking at how nice everything was; I’m ‘sure the girls think we are princesses living in the ultimate luxury here! At the La Palm I got to show the girls the ocean for the very first time in their lives. Mercia spent many minutes just glued to the fence between the hotel and the beach watching the horizon. They also tried their first ice cream (not big fans of chocolate!), chips (the British kind), and chicken sandwiches, all of which they enjoyed.

The biggest, and the best first impression smile I got out of the girls was back at the house after swimming when they saw a train for the first time. Behind our house there is a raised train track (20 feet or so above the house on an earthen mound like a levee), and every day around 6:30 am and 6:30 pm a train runs on the track. From our kitchen window you can watch the train go by. Upon hearing the train we had both girls come to the window and watch. Even after the distinctive train whistle began blowing they had no idea what was about to come. When the train finally did come to pass at dusk Naomi’s jaw just dropped nearly to her chest and her big, bright eyes watched the train’s every move. Once the train had passed (Naomi’s jaw still at her chest), the girls still did not know what it was. Their first guess was that it was an airplane. When we told them about the train they were just so keenly interested. They are superb listeners.

Spending my holiday watching a series of first impressions being made on young girls was far and away the best way imaginable to spend one’s first holiday in Ghana.