"Everyone in Ghana loves Weezy"

Every once in a while at night we hang out with Belinda and Kwaiku who work for their grandmother on the compound that we are living in. We live in a guest house on the property of a lady we call “Auntie Jo”. Older women are usually referred to as Auntie here. Anyways we play music that we brought for Belinda and Kwaiku and see if they like it or know it. I, of course, being a no-so-secret Lil Wayne fan (guilty pleasure artist) decided it was fitting (Kwaiku loves Jay-Z and other rappers…) so I started up some Lil Wayne (a.k.a. Weezy). Kwaiku immediately recognized it and said “Weezy! Everyone in Ghana loves Weezy!” This was great news for me to hear. P.S. Not really sure if it is Wheezy or Weezy. I don’t think it really matters too much… Just saying.

Other music that I am listening to on a consistent basis here is A Fine Frenzy – One Cell in the Sea. Two of the songs on it I have loved for a while but I only recently started listening to the whole album start to finish. I love it. Ray Lamontagne is a classic, and Mumford & Sons is a mutual love between Heather and I so they get a lot of play time. It makes me sad that I am missing out on three months of discovering new music (one of my favourite pastimes). I will have lots to catch up on when I get home!

We began the literacy classes with the ladies on Tuesday. It really rejuvenated my spirit because it was so interesting to hear all of their stories and why they want to be able to speak/read/write English. Many of their children are in school and come home speaking English but they cannot respond to them so their kids laugh at them. Almost all of them sell things whether in shops, on the road, or in the market, so when people come that only know English and no Twi, they cannot sell their goods or communicate how much things cost. Again, the English speaking people laugh at them. The freedom to travel around anywhere they want to go is also a big motivator for the women. Even in Ghana the official language is English so there are some areas that do not speak Twi. There are many more specific, heartbreaking stories but that is the summary. It was refreshing because they all are good humoured, bright, and eager to learn. I was so encouraged by their passion to learn.

Have I mentioned the generosity here? We have already been given gifts of bananas, pineapples, and papayas. The lady who brought us pineapple got them from Accra, which is a 3 hour tro-tro ride. I have no idea how to express my gratitude to them except to say thank you very much in their language. It does not seem sufficient, but I have nothing else to offer them! Or at least I have not thought of anything yet.

One of my challenges while I am here is to love everyone. It might seem like it would be easier to do when in Africa, however frustrations still come about with people and different cultures. Anyways I love the book of Romans and especially Romans 12. I want to leave you with Romans 12: 9-10.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

There is so much more goodness after that, really I want to write the whole chapter, but attention spans are getting shorter and shorter these days I expect. Yeah, no bullet list today. Maybe I will have some short events to describe after this weekend! Heather and I are heading out of this village into a bit more of civilization and the beach! We are going to Kokrobite. It took me a while to learn how to say it, trust me. Anyways, until next time.

Awesome thing: Clean laundry. No matter where you are. It’s always awesome (but more than ever when you washed each item by hand). Ok maybe not the folding part so much. But you get the idea.

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

(my finished laundry)

Also I wrote this last Tuesday and didn't have internet until now... hence why some of this may seem very out of date. Love!