Day 22-24.5

When I said my tour was over, I meant my tour was over. Now that I’m back in Accra with nothing to do, I am officially on my own. There was a time when I was here when they would barely let me go to the bathroom by myself. Now I’m finding whole hotels by myself. Lol. Well, it’s not that bad, but they sure have done a disappearing act on me. Reggie, however, manages to stick around and Angie tries to call once to check in. But you know what, none of it matters, cause I’ma goin home. There was no point blogging about every day this week. I really haven’t done much of anything….so I figured I’d just give you a few of the bullet points.

Hmmmmmm, let’s see.

Did some gift shopping. I’m becoming a pro at bargaining here. The trick is to say your price and if they don’t comply then to walk away. Once you walk away they beg you to come back and sell it at the price you want. So I got all the gifts I needed to get for my family and some of the Brooklyn kids that requested gifts and a friend or two. And today, I’ll try to figure out how to pack it.

Oh! Reggie’s car broke down again. Big shocker that was. But he somehow found a few young men to push the car and as they were pushing it, it started again. He was like, “See, that’s all it takes.” Great. Well, again, I’m just thankful it survived the sticks. I mean, if you woulda seen some of the places we’ve been in that car, you will know that it was God that helped us even survive let alone make it back to Accra with no problems.

Let’s see, stopped by the King’s office again and said goodbye to him.

Got a "2 more days" text from Pastor Soaries. Even he's counting down. lol! I thought i'd only get those messages from my family and a few friends, but his are great.

Oh! I finally watched all the DVD's Shaun copied for me to see while I was here.

I switched to yet another place to sleep. This will make 10….10 different beds and places that I’ve slept in since I’ve been here. This place is decent. To be honest I don’t care because it’s close to the airport.

At any rate, I’ve had the opportunity to spend this time to myself…time, to be honest, that I really haven’t gotten since I’ve been here. Time to pray for my loved ones and others. Time to really talk to God about…well just about everything.

Well today, I’m sure the gang will take me somewhere seeing that it’s my last day. It was supposed to be to see Michael Jackson’s movie, but I’m not sure I want to spend that many cede’s on a movie. We shall see. I'm currently packing my suitcase and looking at some of the things that I don't need that can be given to someone who does need them. Many of us have a thing about hand-me-downs, but to some of these kids, it's like striking gold. There are some shirts I have that I just don't want or need for that matter. The shoes I came with...some of the flats I probably won't wear anymore....goes a long way for people who have no shoes at all. I'm going to pack some of that up and give it to Angie or Reggie and ask them to give them to someone who needs them. It's not a lot...but it's something.

I end this blog at 24.5 because after this afternoon I won’t have internet. I only paid for it for 24 hours and chances are I will be out tonight. So when I get home, I will write my final one…but it’ll be extended! Yay!

Sherbet & Ice Cream: Day 21

I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. My body is so tired. My mind is pretty much alert but this has been one full month. I rolled out of bed and got dressed for church. I was supposed to join in the teen chapel today at Calvary. Reggie came to pick me up around 730 (330am your time). We decided to go up the street to grab something to eat first. Well about 5 minutes into the ride his car stopped working. He was so upset. I wasn’t. I was just glad that didn’t happen in the way to or back from Kade or any of those other far off places that we had been traveling. A tow truck just happened by to take his car off the road and bring it to the restaurant parking lot. We got some breakfast and waited to hear from the person that usually fixes his car. Well, turns out that person was in church. So I just suggested that we walk back to the guest house and he can watch tv in the tv room and wait there. So we walked about 15 minutes back to my place and low and behold Ali was on tv. And not just any part….the part when he arrived in Ghana for one of his fights. It was the scene where him and Malcolm X were talking and Maya Angelou was in the background. Legends I tell you. Anyway, I was so tired I took about an hour ½ nap and then the guy came to fox Reggie’s car and we headed to Angie’s house. Church, of course, had been over by then. Angie fixed me a great meal…rice, plantains and one piece of chicken. Usually when she cooks, I’m not a vegetarian.

We then hopped in a cab and set out to one of her friends’ wedding. It was at a beautiful place….well actually we went to the reception. It was in a big backyard and of course the weather was near perfect. Anything taking place after 4 or 5pm here will have near perfect weather. The sun is going down and the breeze is terrific. It was a standard Western wedding reception. From the dancing to the band to the cutting of the cake to the bouquet toss. The colors were orange and white which typically would seem like sherbert and ice cream but actually it all came out nice. I met a few of Angie’s friends…all guys. They had clearly been drinking up until that point and I will say that they did absolutely nothing to help my perception of Ghanaian men. It’s a good thing there are a few I know that are semi-respectful. They were loud and obnoxious. One guy was cool though…he clearly had an anger against African Americans and their perceptions of Africans which I did try and defend at times even though I did agree with him at times. We talked for a long time about media and stereotypes etc. But I think his problem was also with America in general…actually I saw that as being all of their problems really after talking with them…they disdain being classified as 3^rd world (which I’m wondering is Ghana is…it shouldn’t be….well some parts at least) and disdain America as 1^st. That to me was not a problem I could have a conversation about...i can’t explain it away nor can I control it. Anyway, Angie and her friends dropped me back off at the guest house. Off to bed for me. Only a few days to go. Now that my tour is over, I’m ready to go home. I'm curious, you know? Curious about just how much God has changed me in these twenty-something-odd days.

The Day I Did Nothing: Day 20

Well it’s the 20^th day, otherwise known as “The Day I Did Nothing.” I did nothing blogworthy today. I didn’t even plaster myself out of bed until after 2pm. All of this traveling has really gotten me worn down. Well no let me revise that…I woke up around 1130 to have leftover plantains and rice. I’m still at the guest house so I heated them up in the kitchen and went down to the TV room (where they have satellite tv) to watch a little tv. Oh yes, and it was then that I came back to take a nap so I think it was closer to 3 when I woke up. Anyway, Angie called and said she wanted to take me to eat Chinese food. I said “sure” but the entire time back in my mind I was thinking, “I’m not so sure how this one’s going to turn out.” She picked me up and we headed to this Chinese fast food place/restaurant. The first people we saw at the counter were Chinese. Angie said, “Well that’s a good sign.” Lol. And of course there were some Ghanaians as waitresses. I didn’t see the standard on the menu. Well, the meats were pretty much the same. Shrimp, beef, pork, chicken. But no broccoli, no snow peas, no string beans. (sigh) oh well. I mean, those veggies would have to be imported anyway. Everything was basically meat and rice. So I had, fried rice and a little sweet and sour shrimp on the side. It wasn’t breaded and really they were just small shrimps with sauce over it. But it was good and I ate it all. After we took a walk down…hmmm, I forgot the name of the street…but it’s a busy street in Accra. Kind of like South Street is in Philly. Very busy with people everywhere. At one point when we were walking this kid came up to us begging. And he walked alongside us practically hanging off Angie’s arm…then mine! The parents…some of them…send their kids out in the street to beg because they know it will gain more sympathy. We walked up and down, hung out a while and then headed back to the guesthouse. See, I told you I did nothing today. And you know what? I'm okay with that.

From Koforidua to Kade to Accra: Day 19

Woke up early to have some breakfast and check out of the hotel. Can you believe how many different beds I’ve slept in this week? I keep looking at my poor suitcase. It looks all worn out. Anyway, we made a quick stop at Reggie’s mom’s school to say hello to the kids and meet the teachers. Sometimes when I’m on this trip I question whether or not I’m a minister or a school teacher…I have been to see so many schools!!!! Anyway, after that we took a 3 hour bumpy, bumpy, bumpy, bumpy, bumpy ride to Kade. The potholes we ran over would have been an automatic flat tire in the States. Reggie’s tires actually survived them. There is no speed limit, no road signs and barely any traffic lights here so needless to say I feared for my life. Anytime you can drive 140 miles with no problem, I get a little weary. He slowed down a bit for me though because I was clearly in distress. Well, we finally got to Kade and boy is it hot. They say the more north you go up here the hotter it is. One of the chief’s people met us at the palace. His name was Ben. What a nice man he was too….full of joy and laughter. It was nice to be around after such a frustrating ride. Reggie went to get something to eat and Ben and I walked around the market place. It was right in the center of town and everyone who was anyone was there. They were playing music and shopping, selling food, clothes, appliances…you name it, they sold it. I was meeting some of the area people who all thought I was from Ghana of course until I opened my mouth. They were all very nice. It was so hot, I was sweating bullets, but I didn’t complain because it hasn’t been blazing every day up here as some people would think. The weather has been good. Some days hotter than others, but some really cool and breezy nights that I just love. We went back to get Reggie and headed to the first High School. I met the headmaster and walked around a bit. There weren’t too many kids there because this was the second site of another main campus.

When we got to the main campus there were teens though everywhere and I had a chance to go into each class and say hello. They were learning some really hard topics from what I perceived. The school is a day school, but the kids live in dorms on campus, which is kind of weird because if it’s a day campus that means they don’t provide food. If they don’t provide food and the kids live there, how do they eat? They basically provide their own food which I assume can be quite difficult. Those were some of the questions I asked. On to the last school. A Private School for primary kids. This school is not government funded and they basically run off of the students fee’s. At this point in my trip all the schools and all the kids are all starting to look alike. But, I enjoyed meeting them as well. This school I believe Rev. Soaries visited on his trip to Kade a year ago. They said they’d like to expand and get more computers and books etc. I felt a little bad because I’ve visited so many schools and churches and colleges here that all need computers and books and money. You want to help them all, but I’m not sure our church can do that. Those chairs alone for that one costs thousands and thousands of dollars. Anyway, I will bring all this back to Rev. Soaries when I get back. For now I will collect everyone’s info and see what we can and can’t do to help. There are some practical things the kids can do when I bring them up here next year.

Well, when we dropped Ben off he presented me with a scarf on behalf of the Chief of Kade and we set out for our 2 hour ride back to Accra. I can’t tell you how happy I am that all of this traveling and touring is over. I have some visits to make at another church and I believe maybe one more school before I go, but it’s all within range of Accra. We made it back to the wonderful guest house I was staying in, in Accra. Angie came by and we talked for a few hours. I was so happy to see her. She's so cool. Well tomorrow I will sleep and do nothing all day.

A Change of Plans: Day 18

Woke up early and did some devotional reading and journaling and then met Reggie at 9am so we could check out of the guest house and head to Koforidua. We stopped first at the hotel to check in and then went to the “New Creation Baptist Church.” The Pastor said he wanted me there at 11am till 2, then again at 6pm. Turns out though that they just had a bible study at both those times. I wasn’t sure what to do to be honest. I think he wanted me to talk more and participate more but I had no idea really. The first session was on Discipleship. Actually for 1pm on a Thursday there were like 20 young adults there which was pretty surprising. But again, this is that young church that we had gone to when FBC was here. They all participated asking questions and making comments. There were even more young men than there were women. Anyway, afterwards the Pastor asked me to give a few words and I just encouraged them about being the future of the church the world’s next leaders blah blah blah. Lol. Anyway, then I went back to the hotel to get on the internet FINALLY and take a nap. This was the hotel we stayed at when I got sick so I really didn’t get a chance to enjoy it much. It’s actually pretty nice, with the exception that the beds are like sleeping on table tops, but hey, what can ya do? Reggie came to get me around 5 and we went to his Aunts to have a meal. She wasn’t there but she made kontomarie (I think that’s how you spell it) and green plaintains. I had a little, but I wasn’t that hungry. I think he thought I didn’t like it or something, because he told Angie that I didn’t eat much, but to be honest, there wasn’t a huge spread on the table…just plaintains and sauce. It’s hard because when Reggie’s around he’s so self-conscious all the time about everything and I can’t actually get comfortable without him thinking that I don’t like something or that I’m too hot or too cold so on and so forth. At his Aunt’s we spoke to the Chief of Kade about me re-arranging my trip. While I was in Koforidua, we thought it’d be easier to just head to Kade the next day and then back to Accra for my final stop instead of waiting around all weekend and then going to Kade Sunday night. After a little convincing, the chief said that it’d be okay. He’s actually out of town and merely wanted to be there when I came to visit but if I came early he wouldn’t be able to. But, it didn’t matter my mind was made up. We left and headed back to the church for the last session where they talked about the fear of God. These discussions had really been good and I’d love to see our youth and young adults just as engaged. I actually appreciated the format a bit. I met with the Pastor briefly about the church’s needs and what the kids could do if I bring them back next year at the church. He also handed me a packet that he did for me and a memo for Rev. Soaries about the church’s building project and their need for chairs. Back to the hotel after that. A long day awaits us tomorrow.

Bus Ride to the Sticks: Day 17

It’s official. I am in the sticks. In the woods. With all the bugs and animals to dwell with me in my living space. And then when I heard that we are an hour away from my worksite for the next 4 days, I almost lost it. Well, I haven’t had a temper tantrum in quite some time so I suppose today was the day to have it. I woke up this morning in that great, big, home I’ve been staying in and had a great breakfast with Angie. We went to the school to say our goodbye’s to Mr. Yamoah and he then sent his driver to pick us up to take us to the bus station…or bus stop. Well, the bus station here is a little unconventional. A bunch of people everywhere trying to get you to ride their bus and carry your bags. It can be overwhelming. Angie and I waited for the bus that she was used to riding called, “VIP.” We got on that bus and set off to Bunso. The ride took about 3 hours. I slept a good part of it. There was a preacher on the bus preaching to everyone the entire time, but it was in a language I couldn’t understand so I just put my headphones on and slept. At one point the craziest thing happened. I was praying and in my prayer I asked God to allow me to see myself the way He sees me even if only for a moment. I’m not sure what made me pray that but within minutes, out pops the biggest most beautiful rainbow I have ever seen. Angie and I just sat in awe. She even agreed that she’d never seen anything like it. It was so big and every single color was so vibrant. I thought to myself, “wow. Was that the answer to my prayer?” I tried to take a picture of it, but I just kept staring at it. You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you…it was huge and big and bright. Anyway, I love how God just manifests things in the most unsuspecting of ways.

Well we arrived in Bunso and Reggie was there to pick me up. Angie would stay on the bus and head to Accra. )-: We got so close. I was sad to see her go. I got in the car with Reggie and headed to the guest house. It was right in the middle of the woods. lol. It seemed so far from civilization. When we got in to see the rooms, it was very different than where I was used to staying. Very quiet. Very woodsy. (is that a word) The accommodations were decent and the bathrooms…well, I wasn’t really feeling the,m too much. I was tired but didn’t mind heading to a night service the church was having where I would be for the next day. But Reggie said it was about an hour away. I couldn’t understand why I was an hour away from my worksite. Here comes temper tantrum number 1 for the week. After going back and forth for a little while, we decided to stay there for the night and then head to Koforidua in the morning and stay there. I had a little rice, spent some time journaling and reading and watched a movie on my laptop before I decided to turn in for the night. Still no internet.

A Dream Come True: Day 16

Woke up this morning to a nice breeze and decided to go for a run. (My workouts here have been little to nothing and I figure, if I don’t start working out a little now, I’m in for a very unpleasant surprise when I get to my Boot Camp class when I get back.) I did about 10 laps around the soccer/football field behind the student center and watched some of the kids play soccer while I ran. When I got back, I took a shower and breakfast was waiting for us when we got downstairs. Porridge & fried egg. Mmmmm. More fiber and protein for my wailing stomach. But it was good. Had some hot green ginger mint tea (from my bottled water of course) to wash it down. Then I spent some time upstairs watching a little t.v. and getting ready for my talk later. Angie came up to join me and we caught the very beginning of a movie called, “Rebound” with Don Cheadle about Earl “The Goat”- the old Harlem, Rucker Park basketball start who never made it to the pros due to drugs. Good movie. Right when it was over, a man came by the house to tell us that the session that I was to speak at was about to begin. We asked him what time and he said “3pm.” Angie said, “But it’s 3pm right now.” So we rushed to get dressed to head out and low and behold no one was there. We should have known. Even I by now know about Ghanaians and their time. So we waited there for about an hour until it actually began. All the high school kids came in. They were blasting their music and in their cliques and laughing and joking. It was no different than that very same sight at Franklin or New Brunswick. Crazy how similar kids are.

Finally about 250 of them were all in one room and I was introduced and I went up to speak. I talked to them about having to define yourself, for yourself, by yourself. I kinda made that up when I got up there though lol. But I just spoke with them about how everything around us for all of our lives is set out to shape us into definitions and images that are contrary to what God called us to be. So that was it I a nutshell. Told them a little bit about myself and my story and talked about letting go of the past in order to see clearly for your future, so on and so forth. At the end, I asked if anyone had any questions about anything. They all just stared at me with these blank faces. In my mind I was like “Well okay. Guess I didn’t really get through.” Lol. Anyway, I just thanked them and said a prayer for them all and then went to the corner where Angie was to get my things. Well when they dismissed one girl came up to me at the end and said she had a question.

Then like 30 more rushed over. It was so overwhelming. They asked all sorts of questions about life, career, relationships, beauty and self-esteem. It was really great. A real dream come true because I love speaking to teenage girls and it was always a dream of mine to speak to some internationally…especially in Africa! We talked about everything and then we all exchanged emails and facebooks and after I prayed with a few of them. Later on Angie and I watched a movie and then headed to bed. What a fulfilling day it was.