Many Encounters

May 18, 2008


It is day six of my stay in Ghana and my feet smell quite badly. I wear socks pretty much everyday- (this is only because many of the places we go do not have fully paved sidewalks and roads and I do not want dusty feet) -and I sweat, so the end result is not very good. When I get to the States, I want to go to a podiatrist or something and just get really checked out in general. I feel like my body is rebelling against me.

On another note, the visit to the AME church was really nice. I do not go to an AME and the service was in the native language, so I did not follow very well. They were really nice to us. They have several collections and one of them the people dance around. The best part was the Sunday schools. It was great because there was one for the litttle children, then there was one for the teenagers. In the older stdents class they learn how to put God's word into practice, (preaching, teaching, etc.). After kids graduate from the Sunday schools they then go to the big church and serve on committees and worship. I think that is a wonderful idea and a really great way to help young people, like myself, really grow and develop a relationship with God for themselves.

After church I felt better, but I did not like the fiasco at lunch. There was a small bit of metal in my food and a couple other girls never got their food, but the waitresses and such wanted us to still pay for it all.

Before lunch we got to shake hands with some chiefs and the Queen Mother at a festival in Kumasi. It's funny though because the Queen Mother was the least ornate out of all of them to me. One of the chiefs told me I could stay with him where he was instead of going on down the row and leaving. I smiled because I got a compliment from a chief. (It may have been more of an indecent proposal but you know, when in Rome!) We also saw the Ashanti king and the king and queen of Uganda. The festival was really cool to me because I had seen the ceremony for the Ashanti king on TV, so I recognized the umbrellas and the gold worn by the Ashantis.

The sun at the festival was intense. There were a lot of people there. It looked like half of Kumasi even though I know that's not true. The police in Ghana are for the whole country. I'm mentioning them because there were a lot of them there, at the festival. Also the police wear different style uniforms. I just noticed it.

After lunch the day was pretty much gone. I just read and sat with a classmate and Dr. Lowe. He said that we would be going to a calling place soon. I already mailed my postcards this morning. On of them said "This Be Ghana" on the front. I just thought the phrase and the picture of the tro tros (large vans that run like taxis) that went with it said it all. If I could call home though it would make me feel better.

At dinner I disclosed that this trip was my first flight, first out of country, etc. I also talked to Iasac who was one of the lay member's son at the AME I went to this morning. He was in education and 29. He looked 23 or 25 though. The whole age thing with people looking younger than they are is a noticeable pattern in Ghana. I hope I have some of those genes.

Fast Foward

It turned out that I actually had a slightly harder time getting my body to adjust back in the United States. I believe it is because in Ghana the food was very fresh. The time difference also was more of a challenge coming back. Ghana is four hours ahead, so I would want to go to sleep at 9 pm in the U.S. I did return healthy though and all in one piece.