T.I.A.

T.I.A. stands for This Is Africa. It comes from the movie Blood Diamond with Leonardo DiCaprio which takes place in Sierra Leone. Leo would say it every time a deal never came through, someone got their arm chopped off, or when he needed to bribe to get his way. T.I.A. has described the entirety of the trip so far and will most likely continue to do so. Now, it's not to the degree that people are dying or being sketchy, but we use the acronym to describe the laid-back yet chaotic lifestyle here. The GRLP team has been living with chief Nana Opuko is his pimp house (relatively speaking) for five days now. We should have been situated with our own families three days ago, but everything just gets delayed. Now we won't be moving into our new homes until Tuesday, because we found out tomorrow is a continental holiday, African Unity Day. Tomorrow is also laundry day! Yay, because I stink!

Basically for three days we have slept in till 9:30 which is pretty late here, had our breakfast served to us, read or journal or talk, have our lunch served to us, read or nap, maybe have something eventful happen in the neighborhood, have our dinner served to us, then stay up all night talking outside and bonding with one another and neighbors that come to visit. All of us are just waiting for things to happen, but everything is put on slow motion here. The suffocating heat, the traffic and bad roads, the lack of education, and bad communication all contribute to this. But we will have plenty of time to work.

I am a little stir crazy not being able to immediately go into action. This waiting is also good for my patience, however. Usually, I'm jumping from meeting to appointment to another activity and I never settle down. This slow-paced life is good for my soul, not to say that I won't be getting into gear soon.

This afternoon just after lunch, a few of us were sick of talking on the patio, so we went out into the town to mingle. Mike showed us a few homes and we sat down and talked with several families. Really, we were just dropping by to say hi, but when you enter a home here it's more formal. The families grab all their stools or chairs and make sure we sit down. Then they offer us something to drink like Coke, not that they have any to spare. We oblige their hospitality, because if you don't its considered insulting. It makes me feel lazy that no one ever lets me help or that others are always trying to make me feel comfortable. The hospitality here, however, is completely pure. All they want is to see us happy, nothing in return. In America, if you do something for another person, such as lend them money or fill their gas tank up, a favor is expected in return, even if never verbalized. That does not exist in Ghana.

Continuing, after talking with some families, the few of us went over to the schoolyard where a lot of children and parents were just hanging out. I set down my bag and started playing with them. I'm not that great at football/soccer so the alternative is dancing. As soon as a child learns to walk, they begin dancing here. The kids and parents started crowding around us, clapping and jumping up and down. When I let go of my inhibitions, it's so fun to move however you feel, because they just think anything I do is hilarious. Their dance moves are rhythmic and exciting, and they're able to keep a beat without music. One move required me being thrown in the air by an old woman! Ha. I wish I had a picture of that.

We left the schoolyard around 7:00 pm, and I pulled out my camera as we were leaving. I try to get discreet pictures while no one is looking, but my bulky camera sticks out pretty bad. When they see my camera, they get all excite and say "Sister Kate, one picture! One picture! Please!" They all rush infront of me crowding the shot, ruining the artisitic composition. But, hey, it's still cute. It's even more funny, when an adult or elder wants a picture. They pose in a powerful stance without smiling, trying to look as prominent as possible. After I snap the picture, they jump on me, grabbing at the camera so they can look at themselves. I can't post any pictures, because it would take hours to load them on these slow computers. Eventually, I might attempt it.

Tomorrow, we're going to Kumasi, the bigger town 30 minutes away. I hope to get some more supplies for my class I'll be teaching Tuesday and I need some more malaria medicine because I don't have enough. Who knows though, we might not all be able to fit in the van to go there or no one will be working because it's holiday. But, hey, This Is Africa.