2011 is on in Ghana Style

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!  Today I went to Confidence’s house around 6:30 am. It was cold this morning and it was still early enough for the fog to be low to the ground…the village is pretty in the morning fog with the sun coming through and the red dirt paths and mud houses.  People were boiling yams and cassava to make fufu.  People greeted me with “Lale tubu” or something close to that means “Happy New Year.”  And then they taught me the response of, “ Babamba lale tubu.” Or something like that.  By the time I got to Confidence’s I could mumble something close to the right response and it made everyone very happy.  They started pounding the fufu when I got to the house; the whole family was there including brothers, cousins, aunties, etc and the party was in full swing with music blaring and dancing around.  Fufu is boiled yam and/or cassava, some use plantains; take the boiled starch and put it in a huge mortar and then pound the crap out of it with a huge pestle and someone splashes water and folds it as one or two people pound it.  I have pictures I’ll post at some point.  When the pounded dough can be balled, it is done.  So while they were pounding fufu, Confidence and I went to the church to decorate with balloons for the service. We returned to her house and ate the fufu with light soup w/ beef.  Basically it’s broth with the meat oil and pepe and tomatoes…pretty good.  I still like banku better than fufu, but it was nice.  People always make fun of the Yevus because we chew our fufu instead of swallowing it…I tried to practice.  I made muffins yesterday and took some to Confi’s family; they all liked them and said how sweet they were.

 

After this I went home to get ready for church and then attended our 3 hour service. But it was fun, we danced a lot.  After church…around 1:30, I came home and took a nap because I didn’t sleep last night because people were up praying and chanting until 3 am…geeze.  So I woke up and then went down to my supervisor’s house to take them some muffins.  I ended up eating fufu with them too and they sent me 2 cokes and a pot of rice, noodles, stew and goat to take home.  Sitting there with Fo Nicho and Esther, under the tree in the their compound taking fufu from the communal pots made me happy.  It was nice and relaxing and I felt like a part of the family instead of the yevu outsider/spectacle.  On the way down to their house I saw a big group of kids and we blew the bubble balloons together and I took a bunch of pics. They had a good time.

After eating with Fo Nicho we went and greeted Boss and hung out on the roadside for a while.  Then they started playing le bobo (drums) down at the end of the road so we went down there. I danced with Rose, his daughter and a bunch of the town people. They were leading me around in the dance circle under the big tree trying to teach me the dances…I kept getting rocks stuck in my shoes, tripping over the roots and losing my beat.  It was fun. I love dancing here. The drums and the stars made me very happy and it was fun to be a part of the community…yes I was still the white spectacle flopping around in the circle, but it was fun.  Some of the women that I usually greet in village would grab me and booty flop me around…it was really hilarious! 

So 2011, here we come.  A full year in Ghana…no US in 2011 at all..huh…wonder how that will work out.  I wish you all many blessings for the coming year.  Thank you all for your cards, packages, and emails. It’s really great hearing from you guys…it means a lot to me and it’s good to know that my “normal” life hasn’t completely faded away.

Love you and miss you.

J