This summer is just flying by. I looked at the date today and couldn't believe it. Its already been two weeks!
This morning at work we sprayed more weed killer everywhere. They bought us rubber boots and as I was stomping around in my boots feeling like a 5 year old, I stepped on a pricker and it went through my boot and stabbed my foot, so now there is a splinter in my foot that I can’t get out. after a few hours of spraying, we stopped working and Aya brought me to a parent/teacher meeting at her children’s school. She put her baby(Monica) on my back and I carried her the whole way there. Its really cool to feel like I’m starting to belong in a weird way. I don’t really, but they allow me to participate and that is cool. I feel like I am part of the family, the older daughter who is helping her mom and dad out on the farm and with the cooking and the children. Oh wait, first, the weed repellent started leaking all down my back (the sprayers are like a backpack full of liquid with a pump) which is potentially harmful if it gets absorbed by the skin, so they made me come into their hut/house and tried to make me take a bath. I decided not to, but Aya made me take my clothes off and put some of her fabric around me. Then she washed my clothes, and gave me a pair of her clothes to wear. So there I am walking through the village, wearing her clothes, carrying her baby on my back, going to a parent/teacher meeting. So we get there and there are all these parents, mostly moms, and they’re all yelling and talking and debating about something. And I can’t understand them but I was watching closely because it was getting really intense. Aya was super pissed, just yelling and pointing her finger in the air, while nursing Monica. And then her daughter Jessica who goes to school there and is four years old, came in and looked really sad. I realized she had a fever because she was so hot on her forehead and especially under her armpits. Jessica came and laid in my lap for a long time and I just held her and rubbed her back as Aya was standing up shouting about stuff. Then finally we left and Aya carried Jessica on her back while I carried Monica on mine. It’s funny that they carry kids on their backs. If my child was sick and couldn’t walk home I’d carry her in my arms in the front, not the back. But to them its just the way things are. It’s so interesting to me.
Did I mention that Monica peed on me while we were walking to the school? Babies and kids pee everywhere. They don’t wear diapers so if the baby has to pee she’ll just pee while sitting on your lap, or on your back or standing on the ground. See, I told you I was getting the full cultural experience: Wearing her clothes, baby on my back, pee on my back like any normal Ghanaian mother. On the walk back, Monica fell asleep on my back which was really cute and made me happy.
Then back at work, the man who is the overseer of agriculture for the government of Ghana was there. He asked me questions about my life and the work we do there. Reverend Sam filmed it as if it were a promotional video for the project and said he is going to put it on the website because I made it sound so good.
When I got back home, I showered thoroughly for the first time in a while and went to the ProWorld house to be interviewed by the staff there about how my project was going so far. They just want to make sure the participants are happy. I also got a sheet of paper to fill out for what to put my project money toward. A small part of the money we pay to ProWorld gets given back to us to donate to the project that we are working for. We have to fill out a sheet in conjunction with the project director in order to designate the money to a particular area. There are so many things that need to be done on the farm and so many awesome ideas that Rev. Sam has come up with for improvement.
I found something awesome today. Its cookies that are basically chocolate graham crackers with chocolate cream inside. I ate two packages of them immediately. They are so good and pretty cheap. It was very satisfying. I also got to talk to Jake, email everyone and upload photos so it’s been a pretty good day on every level (other than the splinter in my foot).
I am reading a book called “The Power of Now” which is a spiritual guide to enlightenment, one of my Zen Yoga type of books. It’s really eye opening which brings me to my point which is that I am doing a lot of wonderful things here. I am having many many experiences while still having downtime to just enjoy life, be happy, contact the people that I love, and eat delicious cookies. Life is amazing everyone!
There is a lot of random stuff going on this weekend that I will of course journal about.
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