Yevu, Yevu!!!

Yesterday I was given an Ewe name! Well, two actually. Each person in Ghana is given two names: the first being the day that you were born on and the second being a description of your character. My name is Afiyo (meaning "born on a Friday") Nutifafa (meaning "bringing peace, peaceful). Ironic that I am named "peaceful" here because, as many of you unfortunately know, I am excessively restless, chatty and energetic at home. I guess you could say it shows you how I have accustomed to the ways of life here...

Ghanian kids are hillarious, well mannered, cute, and incredibly fun to play with! Imagine a large square plot of land. Then start putting random squares inside the original square but not in any organized manner or grid fashion. The compound is in the middle of this large square and there are random assignments of houses and huts all over the place. The same kids are constantly in and out of the compound waiting to play with you. Wherever you go you always hear the word, "Yevu!" which means "white person." It is not a term of racism or meant to offend, it is simply how the children (and some adults for that matter) distinguish you. Even the girl from Japan is called Yevu so it's not necessarily North American descent either. Anyway, the kids scream YEVU YEVU and more and more come running from their huts to play. One afternoon I brough out a ball that I had bought at Dollaramma for $0.50 and immediately I had about 30 new friends! One by one they all played with the ball, passing it to their friends and siblings. There was no fighting, no tears, no exclusion... just good ol fun in the sand! We played catch for probably two hours in the courtyard (which is really just sand surrounded by palm trees by the ocean) before they left for home. The sun sets at about 6:15pm each night and as if on cue, they will all just pick up and leave at the sign of dusk. I can almost not describe the children's personalities - each is so distinct but together they all possess such compassion and kindness towards one another and to the CCS family.

The other day we hopped on a tro-tro and headed to the next village over to the market. It was quite literally an eye opening experience! If you didn't watch where you were going, you could quite possibly step on a dead fish, a strange fish or a child! We were led along by Ester, the cook from the house, along through the market. There were so many people in the market, but unlike home where you bump into people, here you slide past them thanks to the sheen of sweat that covers your entire body. I have come to accept not only the strange food but also the fact of perpetual sweat. I even sweat in the shower which is an entirely new experience for me! Everything you could imagine is sold in the market (which is where we bought the twine to fix our mosquito nets!) for an incredibly cheap price! I need to go with Ester a few more times before I try with my roomie, as it can be quite intimidating!

This morning I did laundry. Not the kind where you take it to a laundromat and sit and wait, but the kind where you walk to the well beside the bunk, throw the pail down, and bring it up, only to do tht about 10 more times to fill up a metal bucket. Next, you lean over in an oddly sweaty fashion and start scrubbing. I'm sure at this point my parents are laughing hysterically, as they have been known to help me out on occasion with my laundry, but truly, it was quite a humbling experience. For 12 more weeks, I will lean over a metal bucket in plus 30 degree heat to wash my clothes and hang them on a line... but if I am lucky at all, I can convine the Aussie to take over once in a while! ;) She often can be found leaning against a wall, but only for a second as she slips and slides from the sweat until she's pretty much given up and sitting on the ground. As I write this, she and I laugh hysterically at the truth to the sweatyness, as I have not exaggerated that fact thus far!

For those of you who promised to post me while I am gone, I am DEFINITELY looking forward to it! If there is anyone who wishes to send a parcel, the CCS people explained that FedEx is the only way to get here. Use the address that I sent you earlier by email, even though it is not the address to my town (my address does not actually have a post office - I need to tro-tro to the next town for about 15 minutes to find a post office). Pictures, stickers, letters from home, or food will greatly be appreciated! GREATLY! There are some times when the simplest foods would go a thousand miles (for those of you who have been away from home in a place wehre you cannot even recognize the food, you would understand!)

Well this about sums it up thus far! Thanks again to everyone for sending me on my way! It was tough to leave but I can assure you that it may even be tougher to come home, as Ghana has very quickly shown me a slow, people-based way of life that is like no other I have ever seen. Off I go to the 1970s/1980s tro-tro, which, as always, will be packed as full as humanly possible and speeding along the road at ridiculously high speeds (most don't even have spedometeres!) Don't worry, though, I'm okay!

Love you!