7. Latest crop of drawings!

January 20, 2007

First I have a couple sketches from the beach!  (Watercolour pencils are great for this sort of thing because I can sketch it on site and then at home go over it with a brush)

This next drawing deals with the book I'm reading on Buddhist meditation called "The Miracle of Mindfullness."  One point in it that I particularly liked was that you should remind yourself that whatever activity you are doing, whether it is washng the dishes or drinking a cup of tea, is the most important thing in your life.  To be present in that moment instead of thinking about the next one.  So here I drew this idea, about living in the current footstep instead of dwelling on my past/ future footsteps.

Here is a drawing I did of the papaya tree in front of my house in Adeiso.  (Yum!)  The drawing has more color in real life than this photo reflects...

This painting is about how nice people in Adeiso are.  How their spirit just radiates from them!  (I've been practicing my Tri with the locals in Adeiso, and they just love it when I actually reply when they say "Eh te sen") In my head I saw the people walking around as these golden stars walking amid the sandy winds of Hamattan...

This next drawing is about the flipside of dealing with people in rural Ghana.  One one hand, yes, they are friendly and generous.  But sometimes I get fed up with all the assumptions and labels that people slap on me whenever they see me.  The women talking about me behind me as I'm walking and giggling to eachother.  The constant "obruni" chants.  People asking for money because everyone assumes I am rich. Women yanking my skirt up in the market if a sliver of my hip is revealed.  Sometimes it's just all too much.  So here I am passively letting the labels get me down, when I'm too tired to let it roll off my back.

8. Latest crop of pictures!

January 20th 2007

Another Saturday...another afternoon at the internet cafe! Let's see...first here are some pics from when Kelvin and I went to the beach last Sunday!

This picture I took on a tro-tro while making my way back to Adeiso for the week. Tro-tros are the mini-bus informal system of public transportation. They break down, they're uncomfortable, and they're confusing but hey, when it costs $.30 to get across town so it's hard to complain!

Here's a picture of Gifty and Patrick Ansah pounding Fufu, a doughy Ghanain staple made from plantains and cassava or yams. Mom, you keep wondering what i'm eating so here you go...Gifty feeds me a LOT, I already have a litte pot belly goin' on! I eat lots of starch, like rice or potatoes or yams or plantains with a "stew". (Which we call sauce) Gifty makes a ground nut stew that I really like, then she'll make tomato based ones with cabbage and veggies. Sometimes I have beans, always lots of eggs. What "land eggs" are I'm not sure, but they're good. ;) And dessert is always oranges, pineapple, or papaya from the tree out front. Breakfast is tea (no coffee to be found) and some bread with perhaps ground nuts on it (peanut butter) or this strange margerine-like substance.

Black outs, or "lights off" as they call them, are a weekly occurance. This week I had a couple days without power (so you go to bed at 9pm), so here is a picture of my lantern-lit dinner one night. In front of the lantern if the silhouette of my spoonfull of food--I think it's a neat photo...

Here is a picture of me working with my primary class in Adeiso! I have been teaching them about colors this week, because they have had no exposure at all. They are thisty to learn, and they help me shoo away the other students outside who always collect at the windows to watch the "obruni" teacher!

9. On heat, hearts, and habits of segregation

January 28, 2007

Sorry for my lack of blog yesterday, but Kelvin left the camera card reader in Dansuman. And the lab here closes soon, so I'll have to post photographs later!! (ARRG!) Okay, so first here is a pen sketch I made sittng at my favorite spot in Accra by the ocean. (Recognize this, Mitsch?) It's quiet and I can sit there with my Coke and simply enjoy the view! (Those stick-people on the left are guys playing soccer on the beach)

My first few weeks here I honestly was avoiding other white people. After all, I came here to meet locals, not other obrunis. But this effort of mine proved problematic for a lone independent white girl to attempt in this culture. So as a result I was left feeling lonely, isolated, sad, and without any friends besides Kelvin. On the verge of desperation, I happened to befriend some South Africans in Accra when I'm here on the weekends. African, yes. Black, no. I then immediately felt guilty for enjoying their company so much, even though they are as African as they come. So it got me thinking...about how it seems like its human nature to segregate ourselves. I don't think we mean to, but we can't help but be drawn towards people with a similar background (which normally also coincides with ethnicity) who we can easily relate to and communicate with. I noticed the same thing with my students in Louisa--how all the black kids stuck together. Anyway, it's an interesting issue. (This painting is a similar style as one I did a few months ago that was a mandala shape, which now lives in Chicago with lovely Lauren!)

This next painting here goes back to my continually revisted heart-theme. People here keep asking why I'm not yet married and such, and I got this image in my head of this big closet. You know how some people buy gifts throughout the year and keep them for future gift giving occastions? When it comes to the romantic side of myself, I feel like I continally put these gifts in my metaphorical gift-closet. With the intention of giving them away. But no, for some reason there are still sitting there. Accumulating. This is a problem.

This drawing is about the heat. Because the rumors were true, people...AFRICA IS HOT! When I walk to my secondary class, I feel like I dissolve like a melting ice cube as I wade through the thick afternoon heat.

I had extra paint from the previous painting, so I did this little painting here with my fingertips. No metaphor. Just fun. :)

Here is a pencil sketch I did of Mr. Ansah. I will sit with him outside under the tree in front of the compound after classes. He is always reading, writing, researching...

Currently just finished reading: "The Miracle of Mindfullness: A Manual on Meditation" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I highly recommend it.

10. Between the real and the imagined

February 1, 2007

And now for a few more new drawings! First, here is a sketch I did from my balcony in Osu (Accra) of the childern playing outside. It was hard to capture them, so I'd wait until they'd run by and then quickly try to sketch out one of them as they flew by!

This drawing was about a difficult realization I had on Friday while sitting on a hot bus in traffic. It finally hit me that I'm not going back to my wonderful life in Virginia when I return to the States. I'll instead have to pick up again and start a new life in New York. Wham--there it hit me like a cartoon anvil. Because when I was leaving Virginia in December, I was so busy convincing everyone that my departure from Charlottesville was no big deal that I never let myself realize the full impact of my decision. I started to then think about the life I've left behind me the past few years, and they don't seem like my memories. Like all the moments behind me have fallen away into the dangerous realm of my memory, where it becomes hard to distinguish between the real and imagined moments of my life. Was I really an art teacher? Did I really have a painting business? Did I really have a boyfriend, or a lover, or a cat, or my own apartment, or wonderful friends who I'd meet at our regular haunts? Yeah, it's when I'm strong that I make these lofty decisions. But it's when I feel weak that I have to carry them out...

This panting is about the people of Ghana, especially the kids. Because they're overall surprisingly short-sighted. They're not free thinkers or dreamers because they're raised being told what to think and knowing their limits. But there is so much potential, there is a spot there in the sky just waiting for them to start building their castles. They just need to realize that they do have the power in their own hands to imagine and make things happen.

As I always do, whenever I receive flowers I like to draw them. Some students gave me some floers from the bushes outside, but unfortunately most of them ilted too fast in the heat! So Patrick picked a few fresh hibiscus flowers for me. I like drawing in Mucha-style...

Tomorrow I'm embarking on my own solo adventure around the country before I settle into my next teaching post. It should be interesting to venture up North and see so much more of the country! Keep your fingers crossed for me, because traveling around in Ghana is any thing but smooth or predictable...

PS--I miss home.

11. Postcard from Adeiso

February 1, 2007

I finished my teaching post in Adeiso yesterday, it was a little sad to be leaving now that I became familiar with the little town! I will miss my new friend 9-year-old Patrick, but I gave him a pen and made him up some stationery with his initials and explained to him what pen pals are. :)

Here are some pictures from around Adeiso that I have taken, so I hope it gives you the flavor of the place.

One of the streets of Adeiso...

There's a river that runs next to the town, it's so pretty! Those white dots in the distance are flowers on lilypads...

I love how all the shops and stalls have paintings on the front illustrating their services. And the unintentional peeling makes them all look extra-interesting.

Here are the woodcarvers that work across the field from where I was staying. I always hear them working away, chip-chip-chip...

Part of the market that is in town on Monday and Thursday mornings. It's SO busy, and I caused too much o a stir to take many pictures. Here are the fish sellers who were all staring back at me! (I tried not to look too grossed out when the women proudly were showing me their goods)

People just live outside, doing their cooking and housework out in front of their compound or home. So walking around, you get to see everything going on which in America would be considered too private. From bathing or urinating to laundry or cooking. Here's a typical family hanging out at home.

Patrick would play a little video game after school, so here's a shot of him in the living room...

Here's my secondary class doing some figure drawing and 2-point perspective drawing...

Here's my primary class. This is how they act them I pull out the camera. The picture says it all. ;)

Here's a pictures of me preparing canvas for my secondary class to use...

This is a picturee of me and one of my secondary students, Joyce. We're washing out paint brushes in a bucket. It sure was challenging to teach painting with there's no running water, palettes, paper towels, cups, large desks...

I've complained about uncomfortable bathrooms before, but no longer! Here's the urinal at the school: it's not even a hole in the ground, it's an open room with a pile of rocks in the middle. Beat that!

Everyone loves football. There's always a game going on--here are some kids playing next to the Ansah's house.

Lastly, here are pictures of Patrick and I having a bubble blowing competition. It's hard to say who won, because we both did so poorly!! He blew so hard that he spit all his gum out. So I have hime half of mine, leaving us both with insufficient gum to actually blow anything. But here we are trying anyway! Oh, the concentration!

Currently reading: Changes by Ghanaian author Ama Ata Aidoo. Currently listening to on my ipod: Ryan Adams and Moneypenny.

12. My trip within a trip: Kumasi

February 8, 2007

Oh, Ghana. You make everything so difficult. This is my fourth time in a computer lab in the past 24 hours trying to post a blog. But alas, it takes 15 minutes to load a single picture. And I can only post horizonal pictures, since there is NO WAY to rotate them on this bizarre computer. And I can only log onto myspace in Italian. (Ciaoooo...) If I try to complain about anything like this here, people just shrug their sholders and smile, "Well, that's Ghana!" Just as my friend Juliet would say, "Whatcha gonna do?" :)

So I'm in the middle of my trip-within-my-trip, travelling solo for 10 days around the Central and Northern regions of Ghana. You have to really want to travel somewhere over here, because it is very difficult to get around on public transportation! It takes forever and a day, it's very uncomfortable (my tailbone has finally recovered from a tro-tro ride a couple days ago), the roads are horrible, and you get just coated in dirt on the journey. But I'm determined to see more of this country, dammit!! First I went to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region. It's known for its traffic jams, non-stop funerals (they're big celebrations), and for being the home of the proud Ashanti people. Luckily I met up with Kelvin's brother Eric who lives here, so he helped show me around!

Here's a basic street shot here. I find Kumasi a lot prettier than Accra...

I visited the Kejatia market, which is the biggest open air market in all West Africa. It's quite interesting yet overwhelming, with something like 10,000 traders in this labyrinth of stalls selling everything from locally-made sandals to cow heads. I attracted way too much attention there just walking around, and the people freaked out if I even took out my camera. This picture here pretty much sums up the experience!

Here's an overview of just PART of the market to give you an idea of the size...

OMG I love the FABRICS!

I've loved learning about the local culture and traditions, because they are so different than anything I've learned about before. For example, in 1900 when the British had control of Ghana they demanded the Ashanti king to hang over the Golden Stool. Which is still seen as the source of his power and really the spirit of the Ashanti people. So insulted, they made a copy of it and handed it over to the British, who didn't realize until later that it was a fake. Here's a quick photo I snapped of the decoy stool at the museum. (The real one is hidden away at the palace)

I also visited the small town of Bonwire outside of Kumasi, where Kente cloth originated. I took a weaving class in college, so I really respected how intricate and complicated the whole process was. Unfortunately my budget for this little trip is so tight, I couldn't really buy anything! Here's Mr. Duck checking out on of the looms...

Currently Reading: "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami. Considering my last blog was about the real versus imaginary, this book couldn't be any more on target...

13. Second Stop: Techiman

February 8, 2007

My second stop was a smaller town called Techiman a few hours North of Kumasi. There I spent a couple nights staying at a Dutch-run community project called Operation Hand-In-Hand. They house perhaps 50 local kids with disabilities and special needs, and they have the cutest little Smurf-like guesthouses for a mere $5 a night. It was such a great group of kids and volunteers that I wished I could have stayed longer! But I did get to be there for a big birthday party, dance with the kids to live musicians and everything. And I bought some beads made by the kids at their workshop--if you ever come to Ghana you must come check out this place!!!

From here I made a visit to the Baobeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, which made me happy because I love monkeys! I mostly saw mona monkeys, because the colobus monkeys were so shy they stayed hidden on the really high branches. I was surprised how few tourists I've come across on this trip of mine—for example, I saw in the guestbook here that they only get a couple visitors each day. So you get a guide all to yourself walking around in the foreset, which is pretty cool. :)

While in Techiman I also got to explore the Bouyem Caves, which are these sandstone caves where the Bono people hid after they were defeated by the Ashanti. And they are now home to a huge number of Rosetta fruit bats, which sound like rushing water when they're flying around. It looked like the set from some fantasy film, it was beautiful...

Here's a picture I took at the "station" (two benches under a tree) waiting for a car to go by (which took 2 hours) so we could get a ride back into town from the caves. It was a long negotioation to get these women to agree to a photo, because the people here all seem to think that we take the photos home in order to make fun of them!

Oh, and just for fun here's a picture of me and my guide on a motorbike. Riding down a dirt road on a motorbike in the middle of nowhere in Africa? Pretty damn cool. Well, until it got a flat tire and we had to walk the last couple miles on foot...

I have no drawings here as you can see, because it's just too hard to actually create art when I'm on the go so much! Sorry about that, but I've been jotting down my ideas so hopefully when I get back to Accra I can finally spit them all out. I'm too busy soaking up everything at the moment I guess. Later!