My Saturday with Two Teen Girls

Jessica on left, Meri in Blue Dress (school uniform) went on a bike ride with me to the Vea Dam. 

 

This is “lake” formed by the dam.  The boy have driven their donkey and cart into the water to fill

up their water barrels for I guess the day.  This is what you need to do if you do not have a bore hole.  We have been warned not to swim

or get into the water because of a worm that likes to get in your skin.  Wonderful!!!

 

Like most little girls “take my picture is a standard” and yes she has on my glasses need it for the pose.

 

Meri invited us back to her dorm room for lunch.  The beds all have nets, and the girls have suitcases

and chests to keep all their things in.  The bucket is for clean dishes and the yellow containers are full of water.  It was very neat for a surprise

visit.

We sat on the edge of Meri’s  bed and they ate beans and rice called wachi out of bowls they took to the

kitchen to be filled.   They are served at school but they do not eat at tables or with each other except like this on the edge of bed. 

Sweet Sister’s – Meri is at boarding school about an hour away from the village, and Jessica lives in Bolga at the

family room in a compound because she attends school there.  She stays with her brother and sister who also go to school in Bolga.

  She can come home like she did this weekend about 1 1/2 hr bike ride for her.

 

Time to hit the road-go around the dam then follow the drainage ditch and get to junction. Sounds easy however,

with me nothing is.  We were going beside the drainage ditch but ran into water to deep to cross could not remember doing this on the way.  Then we

heard hollering – in Fra Fra he told Jessica we were going wrong way.  Come back.  So we started back he started towards us.  Then he hollered for us

to go up the side of the drainage ditch.  We got there he carried our bikes across then we gingerly crossed and got to other side.  He then showed us how

to get back to town.  Never fails someone is will to help and do not even need to ask.  He knew we were wrong so he straighten us out.  Ghana!!!

 

You might ask about my dress.  Well all is okay when they know you are exercising because ALL AMERICANS have to exercise. Ha!!!

The children…

I went to Zorko to visit a friend and we played with babies.  Here are some of the pics.

 

Here is a sweet (I assume) little girl with her fur on.  Notice the fur around the neck and arms.  She was scared of me so I had to stand a little ways away.  Jodi this could have been your coat that went around to so many in USA and ended up in Africa Ha!!!

 

Here is Dawn with her friend, she is a twin and they are so pretty and sweet and they are crazy about Zorko Ma otherwise know as Dawn) holding a tiny 14 day old baby boy.  He was so out of it we unwrapped him (he was sweating so) and looked him over and he slept through the whole thing.

This is Musa little sister.  She was gathering things to make mud pies, color things from the die left over from the baskets, and making toys.

 

Notice the dye on her hands and feet.  She got into the purple dye.

 

This is Meri my supervisor’s daughter.  She is wanting to learn how to use the computer – my 2nd student. 

 

Clothes, hair, makeup shoes, nothing makes any difference it is all unisex.  The first time I saw a man with wide legged capris ons, and using a purse to get my change I had to look twice but it is something they do not seem to care about here in the Upper East. 

And on…..

Here is a compound that has “melted” away from the rains.  I am thinking someone boosted the roof so the animals could get shade during the day. You can see the door to the room so at one time there was 4 sides and entrance.

You can see where the mud bricks have ‘MELTED’ as the summer rains came sometime back. 

 

Picture looks right out of the 1800’s in the USA. The plow was held by the back man trying to stay in a straight line, while the man in front keeps the cows going the right way. 

 

Notice the tree branch he has in his hand to use as a whip to make he cows keep going.

 

This is an older lady with a pick sort of thing in her hand, poking a hole, putting in seeds with other hand, then covering the hole.  The whole family was out working the field.

 

The brown bowl is like a gourd and they use it for everything.  This am I ran into some ladies taking a break from work drinking Pieto *like home made beer”from the bowl.  That is the instrument she uses to dig, plant etc.

Here is a picture of the family plot most are 1 to 2 acres with the whole family out.  There was a small boy to the right but he ran.

 

Things are getting green with the rains we have been having.  Some are starting to plant others want to wait but there is lots of activity from the time the sun comes up about 5 until about 11 am when it gets so hot.  Some will work around 4 until dark about 7 pm.  To show how out of it I am I had a visitor waiting outside for me at 6:50 am.  My landlady woke me to tell me, but I elected not to see him until later.  I think it was a teacher that is also a farmer that wants me to get his soil tested.  We will see if he shows up tomorrow.