recent pic - I have freckles now!!!!

Heyy... this a a recent pic of me. Can you see the dang freckles?! I hate them, I never thought I would see the day that I would have them... just like Monica and Sarah. Grrr... Anyways, as you can see.... I'm okay. A bit whiter, a bit smaller, but mostly about the same.

what's new??

Well.... I am about finished with one of my major papers. I have 2 more left. I am a bit bored at times. I go to the school to help out with the kids, but it seems they often have more than enough help. I do my daily chores, and then just hang out around the house with Maa mostly. Annabelle is getting big, and naughty. She is actually a "heathen". She has now figured out how to jump out of the porch, and so she does it whenever she feels like. Today, I met her laying on the railing of the porch. What?! She is a brat. I think I may have to build her pen sooner than I had expected. Her horns are definately coming out, and she seems taller and longer. Still very cute though.

We have another funeral to attend this saturday, in Kumawu again. Apparently this funeral is at the palace because the dead king's brother has died. So... that should be interesting. Last time we attended a funeral in Kumawu we entered the funeral and sat with the current acting king. Very cool.

Otherwise, same ole same ole here. The weather is getting hot, I hate that. I am enjoying my boxes of goodies from home. I have since finished the bag of pretzel rods, and have only 3 containers of pickles left, ohh and a box of nerds is also gone.

The days are winding down, soon I will be back home. I am very excited about that. See you all very soon. xoxo Love, Steph

Down with a cold....waiting for packages

Well, per the usual, I have a cold. It will undoubtedly last about 1 month.... yuck. My mom and Dad have had a cold.... and even the Maa in my house!!! Guess it's my turn.

I am going to the post office today to check if I have any packages in Kumasi to pick up. My mom recently sent 2 boxes of stuff!!! The most important thing in those boxes will be the pickles!! I plan on eating at least one right at the customs office!!! haha. The boxes cost about $50 bucks a piece to ship, and then I end up paying about$5-10 to get them out of the customs office. I have a way better deal than my mom!!!

This week will be pretty low key, mostly because I feel like crap. I think it is a combination sinus infection, which has finally reached my chest and now that is completely congested.... also, my tummy is running again. The malaria test said negative, but they did find 1 parasite on my slide on the microscope?? At this point, taking a malaria treatment med will make me feel 100x's worse than I do now. It is like taking an overdose of a cold medication!!! You feel terrible, very weak, and can't eat. Yuck. I think I will tough it out, and maybe eat more fufuo to make my tummy stop running!!!

I will be in the house all week working on my research papers. At night, I will go to the school and help the kids with their prep work... it is kind of like extra classes at night, where they get tutored and the teacher goes over the lessons in more detail. Otherwise, things are pretty boring in Oyoko. haha. I wish I were home on campus at MSU!!! I definately miss being in class. Never thought I would say that outloud but it's true. It's a routine... that I am used to.

Talk soon.xoxo
Steph

baby chicks!!!

Here is the best pic I could get.... she seemed very nervous everytime I went in the coup. Here only 4 chicks are seen, but she has 6. 3 yellow, and 3 black. hehe. Very cute. They look just like the pics you see at Easter!!!

S.O.S.

Heyyy everyone.... well, I haven't written in awhile.... cause not much is going on. I am just working on my research papers, soon I will start doing the surveys with the students, maybe end of Oct/beg. of Nov. I have been going to the school 3 days a week to help out in the classrooms. I have even started attending the Twi class at the school. It is a bit over my head, but good practice I think.

We have baby chicks!!! I will get a pic and post it soon. She had 6, 2 eggs were bad and never hatched. The black hen now has laid eggs, I think 7?? We will have soo many babies running around. haha. They are still locked up in the coup. We are more scared of someone stealing our chickens, than of predators getting them. The other day we came home to find the coup door open!!! Our chickens were out roaming about, and that night we had to go search for them.

This weekend, will be the usual routine. Saturday.... kumasi market and sunday.... effiduase market. haha. I am going to start buying things one at a time to bring back home. My suitcases will be full of my new clothes I have had made since I have been here.... and of gifts. haha. Anyone want anything special???

I hope everyone is doing well. I definately miss home. I would give anything to be on MSU campus this fall. Fall is my favorite season, and being on campus during that time is sooo nice. The breeze is cool and the leaves so pretty.

In the event that a rumor has already started.... I will clarify that yes.... I AM COMING HOME EARLY. However, I have not told anyone when exactly that will be. Just know it is sometime between dec. 15th and Dec. 23rd. hehe. You can all be surprised when I walk through your door!!! I already have arrangements to be picked from the airport. I wanted it to be a total surprise, but... I couldn't resist teasing my mom with the news.

Love and miss you all too much.xoxo

Shop-Rite

Well, I went to Accra this weekend with Maa to go shopping. I took a pic, but it turns out it was on video... and I cannot upload it to the site.

The place was pretty interesting. It was actually called Shop-Rite. They had 22 checkout lanes!!! A bakery, deli, and meat counter. They had aisles upon aisles of stuff. It reminded me of a mini-meijers!!! It was pretty cool. I got some soup mixes, lotion, some cream cheese and pickles.

But... the pickles ended up being a big disappointment. The first jar were not even crunchy, they were soft and tasted like they had been on the shelf for 10 years. The second jar was a different brand, and though crunchy... didn't taste very nice. I am totally bummed. My one and only reason for going to Acc was for the pickles. Now... I have to wait until my mom sends me more. haha. Ohhh how I MISS PICKLES!!!

The journey to Acc was pretty nice. We rode in the VIP buses. Nice seats, flat screen tv, air conditioned. Only 15.00 cedis for a 1-way ticket. That is about $10.40 in USD. Not too bad since the trip is about 4-5 hours long. The traffic is horrible, and the roads not too good either.

We stayed at Mr. Albert and Madam Ester's place. The same house I stayed at when I first arrived in GH when my baggage didn't show up. It was okay. It is always nice coming back "home" though. Even though Oyoko isn't my home home.... it is the only home I can go to here. So.... I was glad to come back.

The market area where shop-rite is housed, literally looks like a section of the lansing/meridian mall. It was soo surreal. Nice shops, fancy clothes displayed in the windows, just like at home. I told Maa that once I get home.... it will be a serious reverse culture shock. I nearly died when I stepped inside shop-rite. And then into the mall area. Haaa... and the food court!! Geez. Very refreshing, but overwhelming too.

Reply to comments on hair, hen, cows, and chief guy

Okay.... I have written down the ?'s asked in the comments section... hope I answer all of them for you.

My hair....
I definately liked my hair curly, too bad the weather won't allow it to stay longer than a day!!! I am scared to get a perm cause my hair is too short and very fine. So... it might just be a mess. I guess I look younger, maybe because I have lost my tan?? Have you seen all the freckles?? Haaa. I am totally ticked about it. haha.

Girls here definately wear weaves. They wear weaves, wigs, braids, and any other thing they do back home. Maa can do the say curls in her hair and it stays all week!!!

Regarding a ghana diet. I don't reccommend it to anyone. It isn't nice. I don't really enjoy eating anymore, probably because there is nothing I really like to eat here. Also... there is not a lot of snacking. No chips, candy, etc. My indulgence is bottled coke. Which, I do nearly everyday. When I go out... maybe 4?? haha. But... there is no stopping at taco bell, or eating a candybar. No... so I guess cut out snacking, walk alot, sweat a lot and don't really enjoy your food and you will lose weight?? Not too fun. Ohhh, and don't forget runny tummy. That can be a contributing factor too. Goes in, and comes out, just like that.

The hen...
Well, still no babies yet. We have 8 eggs I think. The other hen has started laying now too. She only has 2 eggs so far. We have locked the hens and the one rooster in the chicken coup because we lost the rooster for a few days. He had gone all the way to the next village!! We found him and someone had cut one of his toenails and tied a string on his leg. An indication that someone had already claimed it as theirs. So... we keep them locked up now. The momma hen stays laying onh the nest most of the time these days. She sqwaks at your when she is off the nest and you go near it. I don't know what predators would eat the eggs. There are no dogs around here. I don't think goats eat eggs??? We will keep her locked up for awhile with the babies. I guess if they went into the bush, maybe something could get them in there?? But, you see momma hens with a line of babies all the time.

The cows...
Yea, it is not really common to see kids barefoot. Most usually have shoes. But, there are some which don't. The cattle travel in herds, with a herdsman who watches them. THey are not dehorned. I have never seen the cows being agressive, but the goats and sheep are. THey fight, and it ends, and they are fine again. Animals are slaughtered at a meat house every morning. It is down the road from my house. The place is very black. I wonder if they burn the ground after they do it? They have a butcher block in the market in effiduase. I will try and take a pic. They cut the meat fresh for you. Flies and all. Really unsanitary I think... but that is how it is.

The sign was in English because it is a school. Most schools say that they primarily use English... but, from my experience this is not true. They speak just as much Twi in school as they do at home. However, it isn't suppose to be that way. But... when the teachers don't speak English, how do you expect the students to??? The sign is Westphalian's sign. That is the school behind my house. It is like a high school.

Chief guy...
The cheif definately did not have a welcoming face. People definately wear traditional cloth to more than just funerals. Some people wear it everyday, some just to special occasions like birthing ceremonies, weddings, church, etc.

The white outfit has so many meanings from what I have been able to gather. People mostly wear white/black on sundays' to church. Then, women who have just given birth tend to wear white. Also, at some funerals, depending on the relationship one has to the deceased - you may wear white. But, to wear a white outfit just because, I don't think you would see that.

Mountains... I don't ever see people hiking. But, many people ride bikes. Not really for exercise probably but just as a means of getting around. Especially if the distances are far. In the early morning you can see people jogging and walking for exercise. This is more in the town though, not so much in the village. The people in the village usually do so much farm and house work, exercise is intertwined in their daily activities.