It seems every egg in Tema has hatched in the past week. We have our own ten little chicks running around the back and pecking behind their mother. Walking down the street you have to dodge them - there are chicks everywhere. Our rooster may or may not belong to the neighbor, no one is really sure. He is over here about half the time and I can’t get a straight story on where he belongs. We’ve decided today to take a trip to Mole National Park in the northern region of Ghana. By the time I post this, we will probably be back and I’ll hopefully have some stories to tell that involve more interesting animals than chickens.
In Ghana it is very important to know what day of the week you were born. They may not know what year or month they were born, but they all know the day of the week. There is a masculine and feminine name for each day of the week and many people go by this name. John and I are Kwame and Akosia – Saturday and Sunday born.
The movies are full of scandal with occasional scripture quotations and conversion experiences. Most of the films they watch are from Nigeria and have the same 5 actors in them. The plots usually involve someone cheating on someone or backstabbing their best friend and end abruptly with a confession, forgiveness or a sudden death. I suppose the mix of friction and faith is somewhat congruent with a lot of Old Testament stories, so it’s not too inaccurate. It is still very confusing to watch the ease with which they accept the clash of piety and corruption. The other day I saw the African remake of “A Walk to Remember”. It was the exact same story line only with worse acting (I didn’t think that was possible either, but I assure you, it is.) Strangely, some of the most annoying cultural things are also very endearing.
These are just a few of the curiosities of Ghana we have found especially interesting. My list of store names is growing, so here’s an update: “Come to Me Cold Store”, “Clap for Jesus” kiosk, “Blood and Fire Fashions”, “Thy Will Chemicals”, “Divine Providence Cosmetics”, “Jesus is my Manager - Collections” “Jesus Say Yes”, “Phobia Enterprise”, “Redemption Barbering”, “Goodness and Mercy Chop Bar”, and my new contender for best yet, a fast food stand called “I Shall Not Want – Jollop Rice”.
I wrote this before our weekend trip, but am posting it now. Today was a good day of emails, being gone for a few days it’s nice to come home to some encouraging words from family and friends. I’m going to go home and take care of John, but I’ll try to write back in the next few days. Sending love you all.