July 18, 2012- Day 13

Yesterday was a quick day at work.  Drew and I continued to weed the field.

Aya is the woman who owns the farm, along with her husband Kofi.  Yesterday she asked me to take her home with me.  She wants to learn English.  She said her hands are tired from working her whole life.  She said she would clean my house every day if I brought her home.  She can’t speak English, just some words, but there is a woman who works with us and translates for her.  The idea of bringing her home is so right in my mind.  Maybe someday when I have money and a home, I could help her and get her a new life, a life that she wants.  Everyone here wants to go to America.  It’s the dreamland to them (streets paved in gold, all that).  It was really moving to hear her say her hands were tired.  I want to help her.  It’s so hard being here for that reason.  I want to help everyone.  She’s the most wonderful person.  She is always laughing very loudly, smiling and helping us with everything.  I love being around her and being at the farm.  The people are so bubbly and wonderful.  I feel like I am becoming a part of their family.  Today she taught me how to put a baby on your back the way they do, tying the baby with a piece of cloth. It’s a really smart way to carry babies.  I wouldn’t mind doing that when I have kids, keeping it close to you tied to your chest or back.  She is also trying to teach me how to balance things on my head.  It is not easy.  The point is that on the farm I really feel like I’m getting an Ghanaian cultural immersion experience.  I’m working with Ghanaians, eating with them, socializing with them, holding their babies, laughing with them, and most importantly being taught by them.  It’s so incredible.

Last night, ProWorld went out for pizza and ice cream.  It was a nice relief from the food here.  I ate so much pizza because it was so good.  And the ice cream that I got was cookie ice cream- chocolate chip cookie pieces inside ice cream is genius.  I got to socialize a bit and just enjoy myself.  This kind of stuff is making the days go by really fast.  But when I got home I started feeling really homesick and frustrated by being here.  It’s hard to not have constant access to back home.  I’m not in control of my bank account, my relationships, my life, everything is put on hold and there’s nothing I can do about.  It can be upsetting at times, but not too often because I am staying busy.  

Today at work we weeded more and sprayed some areas with weed killer.  Then we were given a really cool opportunity.  On Wednesdays, Pastor Sam talks on a radio show for 1 hour, doing marital counseling.  This week he took us with him. We sat in the studio and watched them discuss marriage, speaking in Fante.  It was really cool to try to read their expressions and intense hand gestures, despite the absence of a visual audience.  The topic of the day was spiritual marriage.  People in Ghana are very superstitious and  believe in spirits and things of that nature.  Reverend Sam told us that often when a marriage is going poorly, people blame it on spirits that have come in and taken hold of the marriage or the person.  He said that instead of taking responsibility for their problems, trying to improve the situation, etc, they just blame it on a bad spirit and act like they can do nothing to help it.  So he tries to explain that this is neglectful and give advice about God and staying knowledgeable on biblical principles.  They took a moment to talk to us and ask us questions. They asked us about spiritual marriage but we just told them it doesn’t really have a place in our culture. We got to be on a Ghanaian radio show! After that, Pastor Sam took us out to eat at a restaurant and where we ate fufu, again.  Lately I haven’t been feeling well.  My stomach has been on edge and I have been having bathroom issues.  I am a bit paranoid so every ailment I feel, I begin to add up the symptoms and wonder if I am getting malaria or something else. For now, I am just waiting it out.  Suffice to say, fufu is the worst thing to eat on a bad stomach.  You eat it with your hands and the soup is very strong and spicy. It is a lot to eat and each piece of the dough that you swallow without chewing plops into your stomach like...well, like a ball of dough. All of those are bad things if you’re trying to settle your stomach.  To help heal sooner, I have been eating a lot of bananas which are easy to digest.

One day at a time, everyone.  That’s my new life motto.  There’s no purpose in really worrying about things that aren’t occurring at this precise time.  It is okay to plan ahead, but not to stress ahead. Stressing ahead is like playing make-believe.  You are pretending that something is happening when it isn’t actually happening yet.  So in order to stay calm, happy, and enjoy my time here and also when I get back home, I will be living my life slowly and calmly.  Lately I have been thinking about how much I have grown as a person over the past few years.  I really have broadened my view on life, experience, and enjoyment.  I have dealt with a lot of anxiety in these past few years and am getting a lot closer with myself, getting to know myself and understand myself much better.  I feel like I am climbing to the top of being able to really enjoy life in even very adverse situations.  I really can see the progress and feel the progress in my own mind, being there for myself and talking myself through things. This experience has really given me a sense of self confidence.