In the villages people pour out of crooked wood and sometimes metal shacks and grab at us and even if I ripped all my clothes into tiny pieces there would not be enough to go around.
The men are pushy and insist on getting something. They sell necklaces, bracelets, woodcarvings, and paintings. Arts and […]
Continue reading "Little Girl For Sale"
It is very obvious. My skin is light. “White man! Hey White man!” They shout excitedly in the streets, displaying the lasting effects. It’s the blind side of the corner. The dark part of town. It’s a drunk magician – fooling no one. The inside of illusion is DARK. The Ghanaians try their best but […]
Continue reading "Initial Contact"
I missed my flight in LA and got to ghana 2 days late. i’m sick. My day and a half here has been spent driving in a ridiculous mercedes van from perfectly manicured colonial site to another.
The van is a moving zoo maker. Everything we drive by becomes encaged as it stares into our perfectly climate controlled world. Most of the locals understand how it is supposed to go - we look in from the van at the Ghanaian oddity, and ghana performs for its visitors. Kids wave and dance and pose for photos. No one else seems to realize the madness. So far, our the trip’s vision of ghana has been completely one dimensional. Driving through Accra (the capital city in which our 5-star hotel is located) a girl in the back of the bus remarked - “OOOOHHHH! Look They’re holding hands!! Love in Africa!” - How utterly unexpected, the animals know how to love.
The hardest part is that the schedule has been so tightly set that we are not allowed to stop and try to connect for even a moment. Today we were walking through the botanical gardens (built on a breezy hill-top in the early 1900’s for the exclusive enjoyment of British officers stuck with the unhappy weather of ghana) when some school children approached us. The group was of course delighted because the kids would do anything to be graced by our camera lenses. Just a reminder: this is a roots program, 12 of the 15 students on the trip are here to get in touch with their African halfs. Apparently the best way to do this is to treat them as in-humanly as possible. Before i could say more than a few words, our guide screamed at them that we were very busy and they had better leave. They ran off, and we retreated to the safety of the van.
I guess graduating made me old; most of the kids have gone to the bars every night so far - while i can hardly stay out of my bed come 9pm. The weather is thick, hot and muggy, and the van’s air conditioner stings my throat. By the time i’m ready to go to sleep (9pm), it’s pretty nice outside.
On the bright side i am in Africa and I certainly deserve this guilt. Today we met a traditional natural medicine man who explained the art of placing a hex on someone - Dan asked him to teach us, but the man said we weren’t ready for that kind of responsibility. I must agree.
Love to everyone,
Yaw (my ghanaian day name, means achievement) Dustin
Continue reading "i feel like shit"
