more stories from life in the bush

A young boy nervously enters my courtyard and pulls a rusted pot from a top his head to reveal a warm, jiggling piece of raw sheep meat. It is a gift (a very nice gift) from the chief for the Salah, a Muslim holiday called Eid ul-Adha. Although my diet desperately lacked protein and i often day dream of steaks and roasted chickens dancing by, this wasn't exactly what i had in mind. the piece of meat was about the size of my foot (like i said a very nice gift).... i got to work right away and cooked it. i ate as much as i could and gave the rest to my dog (as there were no children around. i would say a miracle, but i know it's because their parents were keeping them busy delivering meat all over town). sure, now my dog is there! where was she earlier when i was nervously chewing on sheep stomach, intestines, heart, brains, who knows what i was eating... all very nice gifts from neighbors.

later i went into the village to see the dancing. in a conga line circling around a cashew tree, some drummers and some elders, women and children danced and echoed the song of a woman on the edge of the circle with a microphone and speakers run by a car battery. the next thing i know i am pulled into the circle only to realize that i had no idea what i was doing. i tried to mimic the movements of the woman in front of me, but getting my feet to do a separate rhythm and tempo from my feet seemed impossible. so i tried, but kept adding in my own shakes, twists and spins. the crowd around us seemed to double in a matter of seconds. as i would pass by familiar faces they would smile at me (probably b/c i was smiling so wide), women would show their appreciation by letting out a shrill, "hoooooolililili" and hold up a piece sign as i passed, and the children (always your honest answer) were almost doubled over with laughter.


Eradicate GW!
i saw guinea worm! it looks a lot like spaghetti. if you thought the old spaghetti through the nose trick was nasty you should see this. i watched as local volunteers poked and massaged the foot of a girl whimpering in pain as GW, similar to playdough coming out of a fun factory, wriggled its way out of a big nasty blister on the side of her foot. i was pretty cool in the gross way that makes you wrinkle your nose and raise your eyebrows as you watch.

Peppe in your eye?
While sitting under a mango tree with my counterpart and her family, her youngest daughter, Beiza, wiped her eye with her hand with which she had just been eating fufu in spicy soup. i told her sister to go get some water for her and she came back and threw the water on her feet!! "what are you doing?" i asked. my counterpart explained that if you splash water on the person's feet then they will open their eyes to see why their feet are wet and the burning will go away. really i think this is more Ghanaian humor b/c everyone was laughing at the girl's reaction to the water on her feet.
try this at your own risk.

I hope all is well. until next time....
jenell