February 22, 2010
For dinner I ate french fries. I walked over to Elvis’s to spend some time with Annika and see if she wanted any. I told Elvis that I cooked them myself and he said “Why?” like why do you cook for yourself when they should be doing it. I said that I want to cook for myself and that I like it. I think it shocked him to see that a volunteer liked to cook most of her meals. So I finished the 2 kilo of potatoes because they were beginning to sprout. I can now see why people say Idaho has the best potatoes. They taste different here. So I can’t wait for good ‘ole Idaho potatoes.
I also taught Bertha some things on the computer. She is interested in learning how to work computers and type better so when I have free time and I am not too busy, I will teach her what I can. I also asked Mrs. Incoom if that would be alright, and she said that that would make her happy. She was teaching her before but then got too busy with Pe-Pe.
I feel asleep and then someone was at the front door trying to get in. I am not sure who it was because I was tired, and I didn’t want to get up and check it out so I just waited for awhile until I felt safe again. I think maybe it was only a neighbor trying to say hello to Pastor or something.
I then woke up a few minutes to my alarm as usual and slept for a little longer and took a shower. I then met Annika and headed up to the House around 6:20. The kids were almost all ready for school so that was super early. So all we really did was wash some clothes and dishes, and I fed Co-joe this morning. They had rice porridge, which is good because it has sugar. They like it too. We then left a little after 8. I got home and had Oats with bread. I put sugar and powdered milk in it. After breakfast I watched a little Discovery Channel. I do not watch TV that often but I decided to watch a little bit of Dirty Jobs.
I took a power nap for ten minutes and then met Annika to go to Cape Coast at 10. There she went to the internet Café, and I went to find a backpack. Berth told me it should be around 5 cedi. So when they told me 20 cedi, I knew that was more than just a rip off, but an Obroni price. So I tried to be nice and joking and be friendly with them, letting them know the bag was for Bertha, a girl in school. But they were unreasonable. So they pointed me another direction. On my way there, I met a church member, Brother Imbrah’s son. I asked him and he said that he would help bargain one for me. The bargain started at around 15 cedi for a small, simple regular backpack that would sell around 10 or 15 dollars in the US. But it was not worth 15 cedi. So he bargained and bargained for me and I again explained it was not for me. So the price got lowered to 7 cedi. I was so grateful to have him do it because I just knew I would never get a fair price because of my skin color. Sad, but true. It is how they make their money so I cannot blame them on trying to make a living.
After that, I bargained for more toffee for the kids and a little for myself too!!! ^_^ I definitely got dad’s sweet tooth!!! I also bought baking powder for pancakes. But they do not have teaspoons for measurements. So if one spoonful is a tablespoon, what would be a good comparison to a teaspoon? I will probably just guess. I also got a bra for 2 cedi because mine are being ruined pretty bad and to ruin a cheap one is better than to ruin ones I like. I then met Annika at one of the tro-tro stations. We got home and I made some spaghetti and oats. I talked to Mrs. Incoom and Pastor about teaching Berha ICT (computer training) and also about the backpack I bought her. They were excited about the idea. I told them about the weekend and they too were a little disappointed about how the kids were treated. I really enjoy the Incooms. They are lifelong friends for me. Long past I leave here, I will stay in contact with them. We talked about the next time I will come back. And I said maybe 5 years. But I want to come sooner than that. Because they said that when I come, they would house me and anyone else, like family or friends. Of course, paying for electricity and food, but they said we were invited. They really want to meet you mom and dad. They say you should just come now!!!! But I also told them that if they ever come to Idaho, that they are welcome in our home as well. I then went to meet Annika to go the House around 1:45, but there I gave Elvis the extra money from the weekend. I accidently put some of Elvis’s money mixed in with mine and I felt so bad but we re-calculated what I needed to give him, and we were okay.
Elvis was able to get some clothes for the kids, book, and toys. With some of the clothes that don’t work for the kids, he gives to the local children who do not have clothes. We then went up to the house and I started to help mash Chili Red Hot peppers or something like that, onions, and tomatoes. But I got some pepper juice just on my knuckles, and they are still burning. It feels like hot oil is on my skin, and it has been about 3 or 4 hours since I mashed them. So the peppers are extremely hot. I am just waiting for the burning to go away and also trying to not touch my face. Because it is hot and I sweat, I have touched my face a lot and the pepper has gotten and burned my face as well. But it won’t wash off so bummer. ☹
I then helped with him and played with the kids. We left around 5:30 and got home. I ate boiled plantain with beans. Mrs. Incoom will teach me fried rice tomorrow or something. We will watch a movie with the kids on Wednesday at Annika’s farewell party. She is going to have fruit salad for the kids then. For the rest of the night, I will send this email and shower, maybe watch a movie or tv and go to bed early hopefully. Because I will go to the clinic tomorrow and also go to lunch with Jessica. Jessica is one of my local friends I met. She is a nurse and will be leaving for Accra soon, and I might not see her again. That will make me sad. She has been an angel to me.
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