Birthday Shenanigans

What a weekend. My family found out that my birthday was on Saturday, so they had to throw a dance party. And what a party it was! They got a large speaker for music, and the children saved their money to get toffees. Somehow, everyone in town seemed to know that it was my birthday. Wherever I walked that day people came up to say, "Happy Birthday." I think the party that night was "the event" in town. Just about every child showed up to dance! It really was just a sea of Ghanaian children, spotted with the occasional white face. I have just posted some pictures if anyone is interested.

I have to say, I've really made some great friends here. A few of them went into town and somehow managed to kluge together a birthday cake! Oh, what a surprise that was. They also found some "diamond earrings" to match my elephant bling. The others pitched in to find my a wonderful cloth to make a dress with. It is beautiful! My family also presented my with a Kente cloth (the bright yellow wrapped around me in some of the pictures). That is the traditional, hand-woven cloth used for special events. I was so surprised. Of course, they had to wrap it around me and sing the birthday song. I was so flattered, I think I am starting to feel at home here. It was good times.

A few people ended up staying over for a slumber party. I don't think we got any sleep that night. Really, all we did was laugh. And, of course, a few people had to go buy out the spot and bring it to our house, so there really was no sleeping. We woke up at 6 the next morning to get ready for our big trip to the waterfalls! We actually got quite the treat that morning- when Liz left, she gave me her French Press and a pound of ground Starbucks coffee (gosh, I never thought I would be so happy to drink Starbucks). Having that around has been pretty amazing. You can’t exactly run to a coffee shop here. I am usually drinking instant Nescafe in the morning.

One of the PCVRFs was able to get some cars to take us up to Boti Falls, about an hour outside of Koforidua. They were so beautiful. We then decided to hike from Boti Falls down to Akaa Falls. We were told it was about a 40 minute hike, but because of the GMT, it took a little over 2 hours. It was well worth it, though. We actually hiked through the jungle, up, down, and over rock cliffs, through streams and over all sorts of animals. I had my first "I'm in Africa" moment. If there was any question about where I was, I can confirm now that I truly am in Africa. It really was everything that I thought of in my head at home of what Africa would be like. I've also posted some pictures of the trip, although they really don't capture what it's truly like. Maybe some of you will get the chance to come hike it.... There are some great rocky bluffs overlooking the falls at Akaa. I think that next weekend a few of us may go book with a picnic lunch and some books to take in the view. It was just breathtaking.

Now that practicum is over, we are going full swing with language. So, I should probably go study my Twi now. I’ll write more soon. (As most of you can probably assume, I don’t have a shortage of things to say. We really haven’t had much time to catch our breath yet.) Akyire yebehyia!

**On my way to post this today, I had to beg a ride to Koforidua (hitchhiking is sometimes the only way to get around). When I got in the car, the driver was blasting Luther Vandross! It was pretty amusing. A lot of people here seem to really enjoy that early 90s easy listening stuff. One of my neighbors is always blasting Celine Dion from her house. It's a not-so-subtle reminder of home.