In Sunyani, Africa, the sun rises at 6 a.m. and the sun sets at 6 p.m., day in, day out, every day of the year. The cocks start crowing about 5 a.m. and then the drums and chanting begin. Everyone rises early. By the time Elder Thayne and I are out for our morning walk (about 6:15), the women are outside of their huts and shacks, sweeping the areas around them with a makeshift wisk broom. It is made of a bunch of stiff reeds, tied together with a leather thong and they bend over and sweep up everything on the ground from fallen leaves to all of the garbage thrown there from the day before. No one uses garbage cans -- they just throw everything on the ground. Their little homes are made of wooden scraps, mud, or sometimes they will live in the bottom part of unfinished buildings. There are no nice parts of town, or really any nice houses. Our apartment is on the side of the chapel and our nearest neighbor is Aunt Mary, a very sweet older lady who lives in a wooden shed with a cloth for a front door. She has several people from extended family living with her: grandchildren, aunts, and who knows who else. Many of the families in Sunyani have this type of living arrangements.
Most of the people have no electricity and no indoor water. So after they sweep the garbage into a pile, they start it on fire to burn it away. They usually bathe twice daily in a little bucket or pan, filled with water they have hauled from the nearest water source. We've watched them brush their teeth over the bucket and we will often see the mothers bathing their little ones in these buckets first thing in the morning. Again, it's not uncommon to see everyone, male and female going to the bathroom outside, anywhere. The children all go to school in their little uniforms that all match, spotlessly clean, and they leave very early--usually before 7 a.m. Then the women start their dinner by lighting a fire under a pile of rocks, on which they place a large pot filled with water. "Fufu" is the main meal, and it is made of plantain (green banana type stuff), cassava root, or yams which they pound to a pulp with little round mallets in wooden bowls. They pound it until the starch breaks down and forms a gooey, doughy ball. At dinner time, after the pot of water has been cooking all day and they have thrown everything and anything edible into the pot, it makes a stew. The fufu is then placed in the middle of the stew, uncooked, and the family sits around, and using two fingers, they scoop up a blob of the fufu and slop up the stew and eat it without chewing. We have not tried it yet, and I don't know if I will. The thoughts of sharing a stew with everyone's fingers in the same bowl doesn't quite set well, but all of the Elders love the stuff.
Elder Thayne has had to make quite an adjustment as he is left-handed and it is considered very offensive and rude to use your left hand to pass or receive anything or when shaking hands or eating. The left hand is reserved for going to the bathroom. Sometimes if you can find a public bathroom, few and far between, there is a little basket at the side of the toilet, and everyone throws their used toilet paper in the basket instead of flushing it.
Ghana is a very friendly place and it is considered rude not to address and say "Hello, how are you?" to everyone you encounter. Even in the market, one must greet the shopkeeper before asking any thing about an item or product. Many of the children have never seen a white person and just stare or are afraid. Now we know how handicapped people feel in the states -- the older people hurriedly look away, young people tend to ignore you, and the little children stare and giggle and laugh. We smile and talk to them all. Since we are about the only "obrunis" (white people) in town, everyone knows us and they all seem to know what we are doing and where we are going at any given time.
We are having a little trouble with the language. We thought it was English speaking but most Ghananian people in this part of the country speak Twi (pronounced Chwee). Their English is really broken and most of the time we get a combination of the two, with an English word thrown in every now and then. So far, we just have them slow down and repeat over and over again or use sign language until we understand.
The entire city is like one big swap meet, with little shops lining all the streets, selling whatever they can get their hands on for the day. Many times, they live in these little shacks. It's like a mini Dickens all over the city but their booths aren't quite as nice. Wednesdays are Market Day and it is an absolute zoo if you go anywhere near the market. There seem to be two main occupations: mini-shopkeeper and taxi driver. There are hundreds of taxis, everywhere, going every direction and honking incessantly. They break down often and then they just leave them in the middle of the road, or wherever, and other cars have to go around. The driving is CRAZY and Elder Thayne has done a remarkable job of figuring it out. We have only had one crash when he backed into a gate and smashed the rear tail-light.
Wash day is something to behold. They all wash in the little buckets and then hang the clothes on lines or wherever. It is amazing how clean and spotless they all look coming out of the little houses. Their clothing and appearance is very important and they all wear lovely gowns, some traditional African and some modern. Homes are not important, but the people are always spiffy and clean and well-groomed in the appearances.
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