The Rains Down in Africa

Ghana is hot.

Knowing this, maybe I should have brought more simple cotton clothes. I have worn the same 3 skirts every day so far. I throw my one dress on whenever I get home and I know we are not going to leave the house again. Essentially, I brought too many clothes, thinking that I might, on the off chance, actually want to look stylish. False. I have a small amount of hope that I will get used to the heat and maybe then I will want to wear my cool new cotton pants I got super cheap at French Connection. Mostly I know that the first time I will wear them will be on the plane ride home. I have accepted my fate.

More on the weather. It is actually beautiful in the mornings before 9 am. Breezy and not too hot. However, between the hours of 9 and 3 the sun breaks through the clouds and makes me sweat right through my clothes. Gross, I know, too much information, perhaps, but c’est la vie. After 3 it starts to cool down again, to about 25 degrees. The humidity lingers though. The sun sets at about 6. Which makes for a long night but everyone goes to bed at 9 ish and gets up around 5. Such a different life, I have not quite adjusted. We usually go to bed around 10 and get up at 7. 9 hours of sleep… hmm... maybe sleeping too much?

Ok so the whole point of me explaining the weather to you was to tell you a story. The clouds come and go at a rapid pace here, it continuously looks like it is going to rain and then fails to. One blessed day however, the heavens released their splendor and we got a thunderstorm. Oh glorious pouring rain. Naturally, we stood outside in the courtyard and got soaked to the skin. It felt so good you don’t even know. It felt like God was literally washing away our frustrations and anxieties away with every drop. Beauty.

Heather and I have been to the market three times this week. Each time is a unique experience. Mondays and Thursdays are market days. This is code for insanely busy and loud. Initially I thought this meant that the market was only open Mondays and Thursdays. Not true, it’s open every other day as well. So you can get everything you need any day. I guess there are a greater variety of vendors on market days.  So part of my job while I am here is to interview the ladies selling goods at the market. For some reason, I naively thought that this would be a simple task. I sort of pictured a farmer’s market in Canada, but a bit more hectic. Again, I was very mistaken. Everything is so loud and crazy the first time I went I was so overwhelmed because I could see no method to the madness, any organization, or way to navigate. Inside I was panicking, how was I to find these women, let alone take fifteen minutes of their time to do my silly questionnaire that they probably will not appreciate? After going a couple of more times, my thoughts have settled. I have time here to learn where everything is in the market and to meet the ladies. I just won’t be asking them any probing questions my first few weeks here.

Oops, so much for bullet points. Here are a few simple things:

-          Men walk around with machetes all the time and it is completely fine so just stay cool and stop staring…

-          I suck at pounding Fufu. It’s tiring!

-          I am also the worst at mashing tomatoes with a mortar and pestle. Everyone straight up laughed at me. Nbd.

-          It is helpful to have a boyfriend back home and proof of it because everyone asks you and if you say no they inevitably think its ok to suggest that you marry someone from their country.

-          Women here love gold earrings that have words on them such as “Nike” or “Hot Girl”

-          Handkerchiefs are legit to wipe sweat off your face. That’s how everyone does it. (This is in contrast to handkerchiefs being used in place of tissues for blowing your nose. Not legit.)

-          Listening to Lauryn Hill seems so much more fitting when you are in Africa

Alright that’s all for now. Much love!

Awesome thing: blasting The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (or some other classic late 90’s album) and still knowing all of the words.