Its Really Me This Time

And now that I can actually post something, I don\t know where to start. There is a difference here between small boys, just what it sounds like, and smallboy, one word, which can be a 30-year old guy 6 feet tall. And the emphasis is on the small. They are guys without real jobs, who do chores, chop grass, go to farm, carry water, etc. It can also be a put down. But this morning I was dazzled by two small boys, no more than 5 years if that, who had obtained a big palm frond from some roofing project. Using a machete taller than they are, they cut off all the fronds and the spikes. Then, with two tin cans salvaged from the rubbish pit, they got to work. They pounded the cans open with a rock, using the machete for a little finish work. I can\t explain the engineering, but the cans became wheels at the bigger end of this long stick. This was a two-day project, at least, but today was the finishing touches. So then they each have a long stick with two wheels at one end, and they go racing down the hill making zoom zoom sounds. Then they trudge back up and race down again! Dodging taxis and tros, and having a great time.

Someone asked me about thrift shops, etc., and they do exist in the bigger cities. But almost every small village has a big market place and market days once or twice a week. \on market day you will see a guy with a blanket on the ground covered with heaps of shoes...new and not so new. Next to another vendor with a blanket full of clothing, both new and used, but I don\t know the logistics of how it gets here. Ghanaians are extremely careful in their dress and style, and the local cloth is plentiful and not very expensive, depending on the quality. Hand stamped batik can be quite pricey, but you can get two yards of good fabric, actually called a 2-yard, for about 3 cedis. And dressmakers are cheap. But there is all this other stuff, and the locals call it Dead White Mans clothes. Sure enough, there was a sweet little housecoat with the label from the nursing home still stitched in the back. And one of our PCVs was wearing a pair of trousers that I am sure were Dead White Arizona Golfer clothes, but they fit and they only cost 2 cedis!

When I have a computer I will be able to write and then send, instead of doing it off the cuff like today. But it is great to be at a ICafe that works, and let me post this. I will try to do a weekly update, so stay tuned, but keep those cards and letters coming in. Somebody said they felt bad complaining about life at home, but it keeps me grounded and in touch, and I love hearing about it. I haven\t canceled Facebook yet, but find that it is too much even here. It is simply too big a file, and not possible.\

A bit of local news, however, is that a district assemblyman announced that he was going to maintain contact with his people through his Facebook, and it created quite an uproar. The number of friends you can have is limited, only a tiny fraction of his constituency even has electricty, let alone a computer, and they were quite volubly annoyed at the very idea. See you next week, I hope. Cheers, dw