Update

I am now almost completely well, only a bit of coughing left. My brother and sister have kept me excellent company. My servants, er, uh, I mean parents (just kidding, Mom!) were really nice, too. I especially appreciated the tea and soup.

Before my stay in Texas is over, I'm hoping to visit friends in Arlington, Dallas, Denton, and Duncanville. Arranging rides, however, might be a bit tricky since I don't have a license yet. I'm hoping to figure that part out by this evening.

In the meantime, though, I think I owe you guys a story.

As part of IDDS this year, we went to visit small villages all over Ghana to ask the residents about their lives, what they thought of our projects, if they had any suggestions for us, et cetera. My first visit was to Agyereago (Ah-Jerry-Ago), at the end of my first week in Ghana.

The moment I stepped off the bus in Agyereago, I found myself surrounded by children. They had all run out to meet us. I heard shouts of "Obruni!", which literally means "white person" and refers to anyone who is clearly not African. Ah, kids. There were twenty or thirty children, and they knew what to do. A little girl led me to see the village planning committee, several men and women who were waiting for us outside one of the houses. I was feeling rather shy at the time, and waited for the rest of the group to gather before shaking hands*.

Once we had all made introductions, the meeting and hosting plans began. I had trouble paying attention to the meeting, though, as the girl who led me to the planning committee was sitting next to me. She decided we should hold hands and was quite excited to talk with me. I risked being rude to the adults to whisper with her for a couple minutes, but then I tried to be quiet. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind too much.

After the meeting was over, we all went on a quick tour of the village and were introduced to our hosts. Our host family was very nice. The eldest, and head of the household, was the grandmother. She was 73 and still worked the fields like a pro, so I'm told. Also in the family were her son, his main wife, and their four kids. By the time we arrived at their house, they had already prepared us dinner. The first night was cassava with spinache sauce**.

By the time we finished dinner, however, it had turned dark, and my head was swimming with too many names. I took my anti-malarials and slipped under the mosquito net to sleep.


*Shaking hands is a standard way to greet in Ghana just as it is in the US. However, I had to learn the full hand-shaking etiquette upon arrival. When you meet a new group of people in Ghana, you're supposed to shake hands with each person in the group, starting with the rightmost person.

**I could be mixing this up with another meal, but perhaps it is not so important. Cassava with spinache sauce is a very common dish. It is also quite easy to make! The cassava is cut in semicircle slices about an inch thick, and is served uncooked. The spinache sauce is made from finely chopped boiled spinache, vegetable oil, and sometimes crawdads or fish. The sauce is spiced to taste, and you leave the guest to dip the cassava in it.

Home

I am now safely home! Please forgive my prior lack of posts. You can tell from the IDDS blog that it was possible to upload in Ghana, just very trying. In any case, I now have absolutely no excuse not to post. The challenge is now to please your exquisite literary tastes.

Recent Events
I arrived in Dallas yesterday. My family picked me up at the airport, and...I think we told stories to each other on the way home. Home. I washed the bedbugs off my clothes, and had a long hot shower, and stole, er, appropriated, my brother's bed. Since then I've been to the doctor and pharmacy, acquiring two new courses of antibiotics! Life is exciting. Actually, so was the surprise tiki-themed party my family threw me tonight. It had grilled portabellas. Mmm.

Highlights
So, which of these things do you guys think I ought to tell a story about?

• Sitting next to a chocolateer and a baker on the way to Paris. (How cliche.)
• How big butts are popular in Ghana, and related stories.
• Having a birthday party in Agyareago.
• The Moldovan party bus.
• Two out of work civil engineers, one private beach, and four hours to kill in Dubai.
• Something else?
  

Comments
You guys leave lovely comments and are so nice. But Paula's must be addressed!

Drawing:
I can probably best tell how Nathan draws by showing the pictures of the things I drew in his how-to session. (I wrote Nathan's tips next to each picture.) The pictures start out kind of bad and get better as the lesson goes on. Do I have the courage to take photos of them and display them publicly, in order to elucidate his drawing tips? Maybe. I'm...going to think on that tonight.

Crazy Idea:
As for my idea, I had almost forgotten! Thank you for reminding me. I bounced the idea off of Niall, who does the IDDS blog and promotes Acts of Random Kindness. So I feel ready to write a bit about it now. My idea is to create a web application/forum/thing that helps people meet others by doing nice things for them. I see it as being kind of a community like Couchsurfing or Hospitality Club.

For example, an elderly woman in Boston might join such a group and write, "Hi, I'd like some help with my garden. 1-3 people. In return, I can feed you dinner." Some people would respond, do weeding, and have some awesome chowder at her house. Afterward, the gardeners might post something about her like, "Wow, what an amazing lady. Totally trustworthy and a great chowdah chef."

What do you guys think of this idea? Does it already exist? Does it sound viable?

Thanks, and I hope you enjoyed the post. Please let me know if I should write more about a given topic...<3

The End is Near

My team and I are in the finishing stages of our project, and our final presentation is on Monday. After that, we have a report to write, and then it's off to Maker Faire Africa!

I know I haven't been keeping in touch much, so I owe you guys at least a picture. I hear they're worth a thousand words each, so hopefully you won't be too angry about my lackadaisical posting habits after I've put some up. ;)

This one is of Aaron and me at the Temple of Peace, Love, and Music in St. Petersburg:
This next picture is...oh wait, the internet is having trouble. Bye, guys. Keep your eyes peeled for the next episode of Amber's Travels!