Ho ho ho! In actuality, I experienced very little of the holiday spirit this Christmas, but I capitalized on the most important part of the season: food! Oh that's right. On the 24th I left Ken's place so he and Rich could go visit their mothers and I went to spent the holidays 10 minutes down the road at Dr. Nyako's house in a cushy suburb of Accra about a mile from the beach resorts. For those who don't know, Dr. Nyako is a friend of my Uncle Jerry. He is from Ghana originally but has spent his adult life practicing medicine in Tampa. Now, recently retired, he is in the process of repatriating, along with his wife, Fiawosee. A distant cousin from Togo, Cicelia, lives in the "boy's quarters" in the rear of the compound. She cooks amazing food and generally takes care of us from the kitchen. I think I would like to take her home so that she can cook for me in the dorm next year. Dr.Nyako recommended just marrying her, but I dunno how prudent it would be to marry a girl for her banku.
On the 25th, we woke late, lazed around the house, and around 2pm were greeted by a Mercedez at the front gate. An old schoolmate of the doctor, he brought us to his house in the nicest section of Teshie and stuffed us full of fufu, okra soup, fish, goat meat, fried plantains, and some other things I couldn't name, washed down with a hearty helping of white wine. We chit-chatted about the downsides of African business and played with his adorable 3y.o. daughter, Sidase. She grew rather fond of us and almost cried when we left.
Today, Boxing Day, is traditionally the day of revelry in Ghana, and in our own little way I believe this tradition was upheld. While I have not hit the streets to party in Accra (which I plan to do for New Years) we headed to the northern suburb of Legon (where the preeminent Ghanaian university is housed) to the home of one of Fiawosee's old classmates and his wife. After graduating from the U of Ghana Legon Med school he took up practice in Saudi Arabia and, evidently, earned quite a fortune for himself. His lavish home, centered around a interior courtyard and fountain, was host to about 15 guests this evening for a devine spread of Ghanaian delights. I ate 2 types of starch that you don't chew and 4 different animals. It was great. And to top it all off, I danced for the first time in Africa--with a homely 60-something with a large smile and a freshly-delivered grandchild. Jokingly I suggested I take her home with me; her husband appeared adimant that I do so.
Tomorrow, the doctor's daughter, a PeaceCorps volunteer in Mali, is arriving to spend a few days with her parents before Fiawosee ships off for America on New Years Eve.
The past two days have been, to me, the quintisential example of Ghanaian hopsitality. I can't recall the last time I have so consistently been so full and there appears to be no end in sight. It also represents the full-spectrum of Ghanaian life. I have spent time in the slums of Accra, the dilapitated suburbs of Teshie, the beaches adjoining resorts, and now I have seen the life of the social elite--those fortunate few who received a proper education and made their way out of the country to amass a fortune and returned to enjoy and distribute their wealth. After New Years, when I set off to the farms I think I will truly come full-circle as I experience, for the first time in my life, a world without electricity, clean drinking water, automobiles, or any of the other amenities that Americans seem to think are so crucial for daily life. Let's see how it goes. Until then, let's live it up!
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