Last Day in the Village

We woke up expecting to attend the community gathering at 6:30am, summoned by a Gong-Gong man. However, since the chief couldn’t find the Gong-Gong man, the gathering didn’t happen. I assume this is because the chief doesn’t know how to pick up a mallet and hit a gong. After we had showered and had our brown-brown for breakfast, Emil came to inform us of the missing Gong-Gong man, which subsequently meant another attempt would be made the following morning. I was opposed to having to attend a meeting that would be entirely in Ewe at 6:30am, when we needed to be doing last minute packing and saying our goodbyes the next morning. Though I suggested we (Samantha and I) simply not attend the gathering, Emil decided it should be at 5 or 5:30am instead. *sigh* Mama later explained that our presence and our words (even if most people could only understand through the chief’s interpretation of what we said) would have more effect, more merit, than someone from the community saying the same thing. Mama explained that the community would take us more seriously, and therefore the topic to be discussed (volunteers to chaperone evening hours at the library) would have a better chance at success.

I spent the morning packing most of my things. When I’d finished all but what would be packed the following morning after our showers, I laid down for a short nap. I was restless though, and when I opened my eyes, Jessica was staring at me from the doorway again. She was content to spend a few hours coloring by herself, occasionally asking for a biscuit, which is a cracker; she pronounces it as “bis-quit”. I rested, and every now and then she would come into the bedroom and say, “Christine, medekookoo banana” or just “medokookoo,” and tapped her head, which I figured out meant she wanted to play with my hair. “Medekookoo” means “please.” It was a pretty quiet morning, and when Sema brought us French fries, plantain chips, and 2 cokes for lunch (wow!), we shared with Jessica.

Kofi joined us in the afternoon, though Kofi and Jessica started hitting and not sharing the crayons. Some random children came over too, and we started to lose our patience. Jessica felt she needed some attention, good or bad, and therefore decided to eat a crayon. She had little wax particles on her lips and she was spitting bright orange. We kicked them out, and Jessica and one of Emil’s sons about the same age parked themselves outside our bedroom window and began peeling off pieces of the screen and chewing on it. I had wondered what animal always seemed to destroy the screens in the village. I found out. Bright came over to practice typing on my laptop, and Kosi soon appeared as well to return the New Moon book I’d leant him. He said he really enjoyed the books so I told him that later tonight we could watch Twilight on my laptop.

Tonight was to be our last Anyo meeting. We arrived at Richard’s compound and visited for a short while with everyone. Richard read the comments I’d left in the guest book—most of which were instructive but firm… He asked me what else in the village disappointed me. I explained that my entry in the guest book was only firm because I cared so much about the village, and its people. I explained that the members of the community are fully capable of taking responsibility for their own happiness, and initiative for their own ideas, and that good ideas need constant supervision and effort to become successful projects. I also stated that a library that simply exists does no one any good; it must be used by the community if it will make any positive change for anyone. Emil informed me that the following morning at the community gathering would be a good place for me to “teach the community about why the library is good.” I asked him to tell me why he thought the library was good. He and Walter collectively came up with that it would “help the children learn and practice English.” I agreed, and also noted that it would be a good opportunity for parents to learn with their children by reading children’s books together. Later, Samantha and I discussed the situation that after Anyo decided they wanted a library more than nine years ago, and after it has been built and stocked with books, that they would need an explanation as to why a library should be used by the community.

After our brief Anyo meeting, we walked to the chief’s compound, where the chief and Anyo had prepared a “presentation.” We didn’t know what the presentation would be, and when we walked into the chief’s living room, it still wasn’t apparent. The room was painted a royal blue, and the blue hue from the light bulb in the ceiling made it glow like a seedy bar. There was a very powerful fan oscillating in the corner—the chief must have had the best fan because I could feel it very well from across the room. Next to the fan there sat an old television set, tuned to the opening of the France vs. Uruguay game of the World Cup. Samantha, Sema and I sat on one couch, the chief was to our right in an armchair. Hans, Emil and Walter sat on a couch to our left, flanked by Mama and someone representing the elders. He was in his elderly robe. A younger man that I didn’t recognize sat on the other side of the chief. They spoke for a long time in Ewe, it must have been twenty minutes. I started to think the “presentation” was watching the World Cup with the chief. I was rooting for France because in the opening anthems, Uruguay players looked like an army of blue robots, and France’s players had their arms around each other. I had nothing else to base my favoritism off of, so that would have to do. Plus, France has the Louvre. You could say France started to play dirty, but you could also say that Uruguay just fell down a lot and whined about it. After a while, my concentration on the game was interrupted when Emil started talking in English, which meant he was addressing me and Samantha. Mama and Sema took us into another room, where there was a second, smaller television set also programmed to the game. They had two nicely wrapped packages under their arms—presents! They presented us each with a fancy African dress (more like a robe with a fancy neckline), a headdress, and bracelets. They were absolutely beautiful. This inspired a photo frenzy when we returned to the room filled with men, and since we’re girls and we like our cameras, we took pictures with everyone while we were all dressed up.

After the impromptu photo shoot, we returned to our compound for dinner, rice with a piece of chicken. Bright and Kosi showed up, and I started Twilight on my laptop. The volume isn’t the greatest, so it was generally hard to hear, especially after it started pouring down rain on top of the tin roof. But the boys enjoyed it just the same. Half way through, Michael and Akiti came by and settled themselves to watch the movie with us—Michael was on the floor at my feet, and Akiti snuggled on my lap. After a little while they both started to nod off. Akiti’s small hand was gripped around my fingers, and the tiny poof of hair on top of her head was smushed against my chin. Mama came by to clean up dinner and asked if she could speak with me outside.

Samantha and I have told Mama on numerous occasions that we’d like her and the kids to come visit us in the United States. I also think that if she decided to live in the States, of all the people in the village, she and her children would be able to make it, not only because of their English skills but also their personalities. When she pulled me outside, she asked if I’d said anything to Sema about our plans for her to come to the US. I said no, and that I wasn’t planning to, mainly because for now it was just a nice idea. Mama was worried Sema would be envious of our invitation, though of course we would open up our homes to any of them who came to the US for a visit. Mama said she was calling a friend of hers to get information on Ghanaian passport fees for her and the children. I started to get really excited that she might actually come to the US! We exchanged contact information, and Samantha and I offered to do what we could to help with paperwork (as far as getting a tourist visa for the US… I’m not really sure how that works).

It was late by the time the movie ended, and our room was starting to look bare from all the packing we’d done. I started to think about what I’d like to do in the great US of A when we got back. Shower, have vegetables, sushi, tacos, see a movie… and go to the beach. This time tomorrow, we’ll be on a plane headed for Germany.