Junie's Online Thoughts
Friday, April 04, 2003
Goodbyes suck. They just dont get any easier. I've seen more than 7 people off already in my four months here and they actually get worse. I only got to know Erik this last month...before then he was entertaining but usually became beligerant at parties when the alcohol flowed too much. It was only after he quit his job at the embassy that he grew more mellow and nice and fun. Pity he had to leave now.....It isnt slowing down either. ROss leaves for two weeks this weekend, Lars and Dorte leave in two weeks for Denmark, then Jan leaves for Sweden, Sheila takes off for Morocco in two weeks, comes back for a week or two and leaves for good the end of May, Heidi and Pernilla leave in May, Mark leaves for Kumasi in June, Erin leaves in August.....there wont be anyone left when I leave in September.......such a transient crowd we are.
Well, we are leaving for Sekondi/Tacoradi on Sunday. They should have internet cafes there, but my blogs and such will be less frequent for the next week. Have a great weekend, y'all.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Last night, we celebrated Erik's last night in Accra. We first saw Tim off at the airport as he flew to South Africa. Then his girlfriend, Zakpa, and us returned home to the roof, where a small party had started. We chatted and did more riddles, talked about the protest, about the weather, about Erik, then gathered ourselves together to move to Chester's/Savannah, this small dance club where our friend, Africa, played the drums with the band. I've never been, but had heard stories. This is Accra's one official/unofficial gay bar. See, it's strange. Ghanaians, due to religious beliefs mostly I assume, do not agree with homosexuality. Yet on any given day, you will see kids, women, grown men holding each other's hands or having their arms around each other. Here, the gesture is more of friendliness than of any same-sex attraction. It grows harder to reconcile that Ghanaian dislike of homosexuality when you go to the dance clubs and see two Ghanaian men or two women grinding on each other in ways that would seem VERY gay back home, but arent here. Chester, the owner of the club, is gay, and it was very interesting to see the makeup of the crowd....gay men with diva women, a few lebanese guys and our big posse of obrunis. As soon as we walked in the door, some guy hit on Jeremy, we made our way to the bar and had a beer while listening to the band. The first few numbers were nice, but then a regular audience member sang a few diddies and brought the crowd down with lovely renditions of "I Will Always Love You," "The Greatest Love of All" and some other Whitney-esque song. Then the regular band started in again and we danced. An hour or so later, Chester heard wind that it was Erik's going away party and he insisted that Erik dance for the crowd, including some heavy hip thrusting into a stool. "You've gotten my stool pregnant!" he yelled. "The next time you come here, there will be twelve stool babies!" By now it was after 2 am and the crowd started shifting toward California, a spot near Macumba, another dance club known for its heavy populous of prostitutes. We walked with everyone, sat for a few minutes, but got really tired. Zapka and Jeremy and I caught a cab...and walked in the house after 3 am. Yeesh.........thats way late for me. But the night was super fun..and what a great way to remember your last night in Accra.
Slept late...emailing.....going to bank and store and post office....then hooking up with Erik before he flies away to Denmark. All this coming and going.....I dont like losing all these friends Ive made.....
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Hmmm....don't know if I should trust this computer, as this is third one I've had to use since they keep freezing. But I will try anyway. This morning was amazing. Probably one of the single best moments of my time here in Ghana. We'd heard about a potential protest by a professor at the University of Legon weeks ago, but no one could find details until this week. An anti-war rally, held in conjuction with the Muslim Coalition and the Christian Council, was slotted for this morning at 8 am. We were up by 7 and made it to the furniture store by Busy Internet by 8. Already a group had amassed with placards and banners. Some folks asked us where we were from and when we replied, "America," they thanked us for coming to the protest. They seemed genuinely happy and mildly surprised to see us, and we talked politics for a while as more people arrived. They were followed by car loads of police (The organizers had warned the police in advance of the gathering and they were there more to keep the peace than anything else) as well as a few on horseback. There seemed to be a friendly relationship between the protestors and the police....very clearly stating that this demonstration would be a peaceful one.
At around 9, hundreds gathered, some rallied the groups with chants, waving their signs. I observed the crowd, took some great photos and chatted with others near where I stood. Finally, the mass started moving. By then we were thousands, completely taking over the streets. We filled the pavement, as police had moved all traffic from the eastbound lanes. Together we marched up Ring Road to Nkrumah Circle. Its crazy if I think about it...Nkrumah is the single busiest intersection in the city....its like having a bunch of protestors completely clog up I-85 as it enters downtown Atlanta or Spaghetti Junction as you exit the perimeter. Just to see so many people protesting the war, screaming for peace, made me so happy. For weeks now I've wanted to do something...something led by Ghanaians and here it was. We were doing it.
Journalists ran along the marchers, and the police followed us in the back. As we neared Circle, a guy had this big PVC pipe and was blowing firecrackers out of it. A disturbance broke out when the cops asked him to hand it over. We kept walking past. We didnt want things to deteriorate into violence or trouble...we just wanted to march together and for people to think about the war. From Circle we continued through Adabraca, waving our banners at all the folks watching us on the sidewalk. The make-up of the group contained about 80% Muslim, about 90% young male and about 99% Ghanaian. (I counted 12 ex-pats among the crowd.)
In the beginning, when we remained an organized and condensed group of thousands of people, the chants made more sense. "No more war!" "We want peace!" "No oil for blood!" "Bush is a criminal, Blair is a hypocrite!" As we spread and grew a little looser, the chants became progressively more aggressive or confusing. "Bush is a vampire!" "Blair is a homosexual!" "Kofi Anna, we must control" (which later mutated to Kofi Anna, remote control), "Bush is a terrorist/cripple/son of a bitch!" "Bush got our petrol, Tony Blair, CNN!" and my personal favorite, "Who let the dogs out? Bush! Bush! Go to the Bush!" (Also culturally interesting that Ghanaians associate the bush with something bad....they had also called Bush a Bush monkey or Bush belongs in the Bush. At this point I couldnt help laughing. It reminded me of this comedian who talked about some rallies he attended after college. At the start, everyone is passionate and eloqent in their chants...DOwn with war....or whatever....but soon it breaks down into nonsensical screams and before you know it, thousands of people are yelling, "Beans! Beans! The Magical Fruit!" It made me smile.) Thankfully the "Saddam is number one" and "Osama" chants died as soon as they started. (Thats another unfortunate effect of the anti-war sentiment. Those lined up against Bush inevitably seem to root for Saddam, someone who doesnt deserve any pity since he's pretty terrible himself. A lot of Muslim seem to aline with him...more for religious reasons, I hope, than political ones.....but its still disturbing to hear it, you know?)
The placards were even better. I took photos of a bunch because they ran from the typical (Fight AIDS not Iraq, STop the war, Democracy is home grown, Bush is a terrorist) to the funny (Bush is moron, Bush is an oil mosquito, STinky rotten rat Bush, Blair is bad, Democracy not Demonacracy) to the truly bizarre (Bush caused the holocaust, Bush should be put on trial, Your father didnt do it who dare you try....eh?)
Then we passed Central Accra, through the Ministries, past the National Theatre. By now, two and a half hours had passed since we arrived at the march and the group started to splinter and grow disorganized. At about 10:40, we were stopped past the National Archives in mass confusion. Some protestors stretched in every direction with the organizers and police calling them over to the direction of the approved path. Most of us stood in a huge bottleneck in the middle of the road, blocking traffic, some folks waving big limbs they had broken off trees, others chanting more angry anti-US sentiments. Rumors started about how the protest was aimed for the US embassy, others had no idea where or when the march would stop. Jeremy and I figured that since we were pointed straight for Osu, and we were hot as hell and worried that the group would soon erupt into true chaos, we would just hand over our signs and head home. I felt good about participating....Im sooo happy that many Ghanaians want peace and were moved to action.....I felt relieved when most protestors talked about true issues and discouraged potentially aggressive behavior.....Im excited to see if the protest shows up in tomorrows paper.....and what a great experience to see a Ghanaian demonstration. Cant wait to develop the film.
It was a strangely quiet walk home from the protest. I had to remind myself of what had just happened just to make sure it was real. Later we hopped a trotro to Keneshie to shop for fabric. One selle wouldnt cut the cloth I wanted (they come in 6 yard pieces and I only wanted 3 yards...some expensive cloth cant be cut). Jeremy spoke to her in Twi and we learned that her husband is studying in Boston on a student visa. She's here working with two kids and wishes to travel to the U.S. as well. "I suffer," she says. When I nod, she adds, "You understand," implying horniness, as some obscene finger gestures accompanied this last comment. We told her we would go and come (mostly as a way to walk away because I didnt want all 6 yards). As we continued through the maze of stalls, her friend caught up with us. "Did you buy anything?" she asked. No, we only wanted three yards. She nodded. "Can I ask you a question?" Yes, I said. Her face grew serious. "This war, do Americans in America agree with it?" Well, I replied, I believe that most Americans dont. We hear of protests back home and we ourselves took part in one today. I think many do not agree and others dont know what to do. Jeremy added, But some do. Some think it is right. We shook our heads gravely. "Do you think there is someone--like the U.N. who can stop him? Stop Bush?" I dont know, I replied. THat is what I worry about. If one person has too much power that they can act without consequences, that is very scary. "If that is true," she said, "that is very bad."
Before we turned to leave, she said, "We pray here for peace." There's a makeshift chapel in the back of the 3rd floor fabric market so the vendors working on Sundays can still attend church. "We pray for 5 or 10 minutes each week for peace." We do the same, we told her. Maybe someday it will work and we will see peace.
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Great group dinner last night. Afterwards we played word games and did more riddles. It was a quiet night...some folks had left for the Gambia with their jobs, others were travelling to the north. All in all it was relaxing and nice.
This morning we talked finances and decided to practice driving in the lot since we fixed the battery. Jeremy sat behind the driver's seat and as I looked over at him, I asked, "Didnt this car used to have a radio?" We had heard about two other cars in the lot that had their radios stolen...never occured to us to actually check ours. (Havent we won the brain-iac award three times over by now????) So another expense....it wouldnt be bad if it was Becky's car, but this one was Ebenezers and a loaner until Becky's car got fixed. Jeremy is emailing or calling him today with the good news (the battery is fixed and the car runs) and the bad news (now youve got no stereo). Such is life.
A/C is still out.....Im melting and must run to the bank and buy groceries. Going to a dinner tonight...........
Monday, March 31, 2003
Whew, hot day today. Lets see.....woke up to go to Anamabo. We'd been to Kokrobite, a beach less than an hour out of Accra, but not Anamabo. There are disadvantages and advantages to each and I couldnt help but compare the two. Kokrobite is closer, and rooms are pretty cheap. The food is beyond awesome and every Saturday they have the best drumming and dancing group Ive ever seen. Their fresh fruit juices are to die for and they have a safe to keep any valuables. You can watch the local fisherman every morning with their nets. You pay your entire bill at the end of your stay so you dont have to worry about carrying money around. The bad things about Kokrobite are that you are continually warned not to bring anything valuable on the beach because people will steal it, it is very touristy and usually full of buses of surfers or travellers, and it doesnt feel that remote. Anamabo is about two and a half hours out of Accra. Its still full of almost all white tourists, but more are with babies and dogs than college-aged partiers. The beach is beatiful white sand, you feel like you are long long away from the city and you can camp right out on the beach by the ocean waves. You dont have to worry about theft, you also pay when you leave and the workers are very nice. The bad thing is that is WAY expensive. Our four person tent....a tent, mind you....cost $27. Yowza.
We spent the day lounging about, swimming in the ocean, having lunch, chatting. After supper, which came in shifts, of course, with the hungriest people waiting the longest, a torrential downpour began. It was fun to watch and definately cooled down the air. Then the power went out, and we played riddle games until near bedtime. I wanted to check out the tent. The one they had given us had flaps that didnt close, so our entire tent was soaking wet. I talked to reception and he scolded me for not zipping up the tent. I brought him to the tent and showed him that we couldnt zip it shut and he agreed that the double mattresses were too wet to sleep on. Unfortunately, they didnt have anymore double mattresses so all they could offer us was two single mattresses. Not fun for Jeremy and I to share, but I was just happy they were accomdating. The fourth person had to sleep on a beach chair mattress, but it was surprisingly comfortable.
The next morning, after breakfast (again in shifts...we found out that it came slow or fast depending on whether you were a tent person or a hut person. Huts were vastly more expensive, so they got fed first. Grrrr.....) I forgot my swimsuit so attempted to swim in my tank top and shorts. The ocean felt vicious and tried to strip me numerous times. When I tried to boogie board, when I wasnt losing my shirt, I was choking on mouthfulls of water. (After a couple times of that I quit....I saw all the garbage and shit down the coast and knew that the ocean water probably wasnt all that clean.....blech.) Sat in the sun.....wrote a letter....had a beer and a shower...caught a taxi back to Osu and stopped on the road to buy some pineapples. Ahhh......I felt totally relaxed. My feet were so clean. I didnt get sunburn.....spent too much money, but it was great.
When we got home, I went for a walk with two friends from the complex, then we had dinner.....then we crashed and went to bed.
Today we went to a Liberian restaurant. Most Liberian food is heavy on the greens and meat, so the veggie option was a vegetable stew with rice. We received Chech rice (rice mixed with greens) and carrots and diced green beans in a one-inch pool of palm oil. It was okay..but I dont think we will be going back again. I left the rest of the folks to walk to Cantonments to catch a 37 car, then a Medina car to Shangri-la to make reservations for a friend. Then I walked to Alliance to enquire about the French classes that start in two weeks, walked to 37 and caught a car back to Osu. Im here again at Towers...the air conditioning is out and good lord, its hot as hell in here. Dont know how much longer I can sit here before I melt into a pool by the floor.
Anyway, the coolest part of the weekend is this: I was having a conversation with the ocean before we left Anamabo. I was talking about how frustrated I get when I quit things, or lose inspiration and focus, and how I cant stick to any regular exercise program. I needed help from someone and hoped the ocean could send something my way. It responded with a wave that nearly knocked me off my feet as if to say, "get out of here!" Okay.....okay. When I was walking with Steph and Sheila, Steph told me about the Milo marathon in September. Then she asked if I wanted to run it with her and start training in June. Hell yeah@! So, Im going to run a marathon. In September. In Africa. I figure if I can do that without dying, I can do just about anything. I was going to start running with Heidi when she got back from Tamale next month, but now I have a real excuse to get my butt in gear. Things are coming together....I will be training for this......taking French three times a week....Mark is going to teach me how to play some blue grass songs on the guitar......It makes me happy. Thats all....must get out of here.......if anyone wants to help sponsor me for each mile I run, let me know. Im going to donate the money to the Art club I volunteered for at the JSS school, since Im not going to be teaching for them after this month. Thanks.....more later.
What a great weekend. Dont have a lot of time right now to write, but will do what I can before we head out shortly. On Friday, we'd gotten tickets to the Salif Keita concert. He's a musician from Mali, and is very famous, nominated for numerous Grammys and playing at the National Theatre. I've never been, so I was curious as to who would come and what it would be like. I assumed the audience would mostly be upper class Ghanaians, with a few ex-pats thrown in. I was wrong. I should have known that with a ticket price of about $20 each, the audience would be almost completely foreigners. There were still quite a few AFricans, but I think most came from Mali or other Franco-phone countries, as they had two speakers who introduced the acts in French and most folks in the audience laughed at his jokes, even though I had no idea what he was talking about.
The opening act was a kind of Cuban-ish band. African percussion, a trumpet, saxophone, acoustic guitar and singer with maracas. They were pleasant and good. Two dancers came out at the very end and I LOVE watching dancers.
The second act was Buk Bak, this HUGE hip life band in Ghana. KNown for really catchy, usually annoying popish songs with choruses that repeat and repeat, they were performing their 1st live show. Surprisingly, they were really really good. They played their four biggest hits, the biggest ones of which were "Keli-Weli" and "Im going to come" (this song that endlessly says, Im going to come, Im going to come, Im going to co-o-ome. They say it about twenty more times, then say the same thing in Twi. In fact this song has been stuck in my head all morning long.) Anyway, they were good.
Third in line was Nat Brew and his big band of musicians. He had just come from AMerica and I think he thought the concert was his. He kept claiming that God personally had a big meeting with him and gave him all of his songs, like he was Moses or something. The saddest part was that his songs were never that good. God as mediocre song-writer? You'd think God would at least write a hit. His band was good, his his voice had a irritating, very nasal whiney quality to it. He seemed like a big diva and wouldnt stop playing. We could see the guys backstage telling him to stop. Finally they closed the curtain on him while they were still singing and they took a full two minutes to stop. STrange.
Finally, Salif took the stage. The announcer added that the ambassador to Mali was in the front row just to see Salif. Salif came out alone with a guitar and played three songs while the audience clapped enthusiastically, in the middle of songs, before they were done, I guess they all just loved to clap. Right when he came out, an argument began behind us. These two white folks came for their seats, but two Ghanaians were sitting in them and refused to move. The white folks were like, "we paid for these seats! Get out god dammit!" and the Ghanaians were like, "get another seat! Be quiet!" and everyone around them was like, "SSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" Finally I think the white folks gave up and left. So strange.
After this acoustic set, Salif moved behind the c urtain, and it raised, revealing his 9 piece band and two backup singers/dancers. It was cool. Lets see....Bass, guitar, big African drum, NIgerian talking drum (a little tiny thing that you tuck under your armpit and hit with a little stick), this crazy thing that we kept calling the Magic Calabash (this sort of huge half gourd with black strips on it. The drummer would pound on it and make big bass THUMP THUMP sounds, then there would also be a lighter clicking sound. We decided later that there must have been electronic pickups taped to the calabash or triggers or something to make the different noises), a keyboard, a kora (this crazy instrument with what looks like an antique silver round thing with holes in it and then a neck with strings that were strung almost like a harps. It makes a twangy unique sound....iM not doing a good job of explaining here), and a smaller stringed instrument that looked like a lute. Salif sang a few more before announcing that he never knew his birthday, but he wanted that night to be his birthday. FOr his gift, we were suppsoed to stand up and dance, rather than staying in our seats. We did for a few songs, then sat down again. In the beginning he seemed really old or tired or something, and barely spoke or moved around. But later, he perked up and started talking a bit, jumping around and being silly with the band. Thats when it got super good. The dancers were amazing, shaking their butts and being all sexy. The entire band seemed like they were having a blast and I think that always translates to the audience and makes the show that much better.
For the last song, Salif asked that we stand and dance again, and then he started pulling people on stage with him. At one point, about thirty audience members were dancing on the stage, trying to shake Salif's hand, throwing money at the band, trying to jam out with the ambassador from Mali, getting in the way of the drummers. For a second I was tempted to run up there, just so I could claim I was on stage with Salif Keita at the National Theatre in Ghana, but then I thought I would make an ass of myself and just danced by my chair. (no regrets...)
All in all, the show lasted from 8 pm to 12:30 pm. When Salif left the stage, the audience started screaming for an encore. (This was when it was apparent that the audience was mostly white...do they even do encores in Africa??? They're such a standard part of concerts in the U.S.) But Salif was playing for the Ghanaian president the next night and was tired. (Folks could buy tickets to that event too, but they were $250 a pop, t hank you very much.) I was soooooo glad we went.
After finagaling a taxi, we made it home in time for the rooftop party. Ross had ordered four kegs again and about a hundred people were there, chilling, drinking beer. I stayed until after 2, and Jeremy stayed until almost 4 am. The next morning we woke up early to catch a trotro to Anamabo, a beach near Cape Coast for Erik's goodbye weekend. (Hes leaving for Denmark on Thrusday)
More on the beach and the rest of the weekend later....must go to the bank.
