I am not a poet, but TZ seems to have moved me to poetry. My poem is called “TZ”.
TZ,
you inspire me to write
for that I thank you
no, please
only small
your scent wafts out of the kitchen
there are no walls to hide you
if not eaten today
you’ll be breakfast tomorrow
your friends are “not fish”, slimy okru, or bitter leafy
"How do you find Ghana?
you can chop TZ? Then
you’ve done well"
I’m not satisfied
I gag
I swallow you and am glad its lights out
no one can see my grimace
you’ve beaten me again
wana- t’dee
you’re invited
no,please
only small
sour fermented millet
you inspire me
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
NORMAL!?
Recently a friend of mine commented to me about how much he enjoyed reading my first few posts – when everything was fresh, new, exciting, and every little thing got my attention and I felt like a kid in a candy shop. When did life in Bolga become so normal?! Lately I’ve found that I take less pictures and exclaim “ohmy!” less often…on one hand this makes me happy because life in Ghana is now normal and less crazy but on the other hand it makes me sad because Planet Ghana has started to feel like Planet Earth. There will never be a first trip to Africa again. It’s only when I talk with friends from home that I realize how different this is from home. I WOULDN’T TRADE THIS FOR ANYTHING.
Occasionally I am still hit with moments of awe regarding how different my life is in Ghana than it is in Canada. Here are some clips!
Recently while sitting at egg bread with Oliver I saw this truck pull into the tro station and gasped “Oh my goodness”, people looked up to see what was making me exclaim. They said, “Oh, if only Mercedes could see this.”
Last Saturday I was sitting at egg bread (okok, I notice the theme too!) and this man walked by WEARING A POINTED BLACK WITCHES HAT and NOBODY BATTED AN EYELASH (except me and the two other volunteers that I was sitting with and we were laughing so much). This struck me as extremely odd since witchcraft is very real to many people here and being called a witch is a terrible insult and there are witch camps for those accused of being witches.
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Trotros (minivans stuffed to the brim with people!) that constantly break down have become normal. My friend Meghan was recently in a tro that broke several times on the trip from Tamale to Bolga, please check out the name of the car. Also, I was on a tro when the engine was malfunctioning so they left the car on, took the cover plate off and started sticking wrenches in. Oh, to be a mechanic in Ghana.
I came out of my room one morning to find my host father plucking the feathers off some guinea fowls he just bought and dyeing them with green dye so that they would know which fowls belong to them.
Taxis here are now normal to me. If there aren’t four people in the back and two in the front passenger seat, I think it’s luxurious. If the door closes and stays closed, I’m impressed by the cars condition. If/when there is a donkey in the trunk, I think "I’m glad I’m not a donkey". Last week while sitting comfortably in the back of a taxi next to an EWB coworker waiting for it to leave, the driver opens the door to put one more person in and my friend says “But, why?”, I laugh and say, “Because we’re in Ghana!”. Being smushed into the taxi totally cracks me up and I enjoy laughing with the Ghanaians who all know how ridiculously smushed we are but somehow we all fit.
There are so many other things but that's just a snap.
Occasionally I am still hit with moments of awe regarding how different my life is in Ghana than it is in Canada. Here are some clips!
Recently while sitting at egg bread with Oliver I saw this truck pull into the tro station and gasped “Oh my goodness”, people looked up to see what was making me exclaim. They said, “Oh, if only Mercedes could see this.”
Last Saturday I was sitting at egg bread (okok, I notice the theme too!) and this man walked by WEARING A POINTED BLACK WITCHES HAT and NOBODY BATTED AN EYELASH (except me and the two other volunteers that I was sitting with and we were laughing so much). This struck me as extremely odd since witchcraft is very real to many people here and being called a witch is a terrible insult and there are witch camps for those accused of being witches.
.jpg)
Trotros (minivans stuffed to the brim with people!) that constantly break down have become normal. My friend Meghan was recently in a tro that broke several times on the trip from Tamale to Bolga, please check out the name of the car. Also, I was on a tro when the engine was malfunctioning so they left the car on, took the cover plate off and started sticking wrenches in. Oh, to be a mechanic in Ghana.
I came out of my room one morning to find my host father plucking the feathers off some guinea fowls he just bought and dyeing them with green dye so that they would know which fowls belong to them.
Taxis here are now normal to me. If there aren’t four people in the back and two in the front passenger seat, I think it’s luxurious. If the door closes and stays closed, I’m impressed by the cars condition. If/when there is a donkey in the trunk, I think "I’m glad I’m not a donkey". Last week while sitting comfortably in the back of a taxi next to an EWB coworker waiting for it to leave, the driver opens the door to put one more person in and my friend says “But, why?”, I laugh and say, “Because we’re in Ghana!”. Being smushed into the taxi totally cracks me up and I enjoy laughing with the Ghanaians who all know how ridiculously smushed we are but somehow we all fit.
There are so many other things but that's just a snap.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
My Food World
The majority of the food I eat in Ghana comes from about a 20 km radius from my house. My family does compound farming or subsistence farming and really loves their millet based foods (they grow a lot of millet!).
I wanted to show you some of my favourite or most commonly eaten foods here in the Upper East. Please keep in mind these are only SOME of the many, many awesome things to eat in Ghana and this is what comprises the majority of my eating. With that said, welcome to my food world –
BREAKFAST
Bowl Fruit
My neighbor, Sister Clara, makes bowl fruit with my Grandma to generate small income. I love this fried dough and went along one night to help make it.
Gou-kaley
Often, Grandma and Evelyn will eat Gou-kaley (millet flower, ground peppe, shea butter and hot water all mixed up) for break instead of bowl fruit
The Ghanaian Travel Mug
Want your beverage “to go”? This is Nadia drinking tea at the tro station in Tamale. Tea here can mean a variety of beverages so if you want black tea you have to specify “Lipton” because tea can mean Lipton, milo, or Nestcafe. It comes with a lot of Nestle crème/milk, and a healthy dose of sugar (ie: dentists beware!) It took some getting used to, but now I’m hooked!
Eggbread
The best way to describe it is an omlette Panini, only better. It’s extra delicious when they use guinea fowl eggs in addition to fowl eggs. The company where I eat my eggbread is also top-notch!
TZ For Breakfast
If (when) there is TZ leftover from dinner, they eat it for breakfast.
LUNCH
My most favourite lunch
This is my favourite lunch. A grilled plantain (30 peswas) and a small package of groundnuts (peanuts) (10 peswas!). It’s best with an Alvaro, a new malt-based drink here that comes in pear or pineapple flavours.
Dege or Yogurt with Couscous (enough for lunch!)
Dege – yogurt from Burkina with couscous in it!
DINNER
TZ
My stable dinner that comes with a variety of soups and stews – all vegetarian
-picture to come!
Yam with Tomato stew
– amazingly delicious!
Rice balls with ground nut soup
-picture to come!
Frafra Potatoes
One day I was presented this as a gift,
Fufu
Fufu is eaten in some places, and is delicious, however I’ve only been lucky enough to try it a few times.
SNACKS
Bumbara Beans
-pic to come
Fresh ground nuts! (also fun to play in!)
Fulani Milk
This is a favourite of mine from the market, Fulani milk and yogurt. Fulani are nomads of Ghana who sell their milk at markets. I buy the milk and make a hot drink, while my family prefers the yogurt with plenty of sugar and millet flour.
Bon Appétit!
I wanted to show you some of my favourite or most commonly eaten foods here in the Upper East. Please keep in mind these are only SOME of the many, many awesome things to eat in Ghana and this is what comprises the majority of my eating. With that said, welcome to my food world –
BREAKFAST
Bowl Fruit
My neighbor, Sister Clara, makes bowl fruit with my Grandma to generate small income. I love this fried dough and went along one night to help make it.
Gou-kaley
Often, Grandma and Evelyn will eat Gou-kaley (millet flower, ground peppe, shea butter and hot water all mixed up) for break instead of bowl fruit
The Ghanaian Travel Mug
Want your beverage “to go”? This is Nadia drinking tea at the tro station in Tamale. Tea here can mean a variety of beverages so if you want black tea you have to specify “Lipton” because tea can mean Lipton, milo, or Nestcafe. It comes with a lot of Nestle crème/milk, and a healthy dose of sugar (ie: dentists beware!) It took some getting used to, but now I’m hooked!
Eggbread
The best way to describe it is an omlette Panini, only better. It’s extra delicious when they use guinea fowl eggs in addition to fowl eggs. The company where I eat my eggbread is also top-notch!
TZ For Breakfast
If (when) there is TZ leftover from dinner, they eat it for breakfast.
LUNCH
My most favourite lunch
This is my favourite lunch. A grilled plantain (30 peswas) and a small package of groundnuts (peanuts) (10 peswas!). It’s best with an Alvaro, a new malt-based drink here that comes in pear or pineapple flavours.
Dege or Yogurt with Couscous (enough for lunch!)
Dege – yogurt from Burkina with couscous in it!
DINNER
TZ
My stable dinner that comes with a variety of soups and stews – all vegetarian
-picture to come!
Yam with Tomato stew
– amazingly delicious!
Rice balls with ground nut soup
-picture to come!
Frafra Potatoes
One day I was presented this as a gift,
Fufu
Fufu is eaten in some places, and is delicious, however I’ve only been lucky enough to try it a few times.
SNACKS
Bumbara Beans
-pic to come
Fresh ground nuts! (also fun to play in!)
Fulani Milk
This is a favourite of mine from the market, Fulani milk and yogurt. Fulani are nomads of Ghana who sell their milk at markets. I buy the milk and make a hot drink, while my family prefers the yogurt with plenty of sugar and millet flour.
Bon Appétit!
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