Countdown

Thank you very much, stupid American election, for being on the exact same day I'm leaving my husband to be behind for the 4th time in 3 years, to go home to Norway again. Thank you for making me remember exactly how many days, hours, minutes, seconds I have left by having countdowns on CNN, Al-Jazeera, online newspapers and what not.

I don't care about your stupid election. You will just fuck up anyway.

Stupid 4th November...

Ghana will always be Ghana

I get so provoked everytime I hear people say that "this is not really Ghana" when they come over something modern, "western", something they can find back home, in the middle of exotic Africa.

If you are in an Irish pub in Osu, in a Chinese restaurant in Kumasi, if you drink a caffe latte or enjoy an air-conditioned tro-tro (donated by stanbic bank), does that mean it's not really Ghana? Should Ghana stay behind, being "african", have bumpy roads, slow internet, only local foods to offer visitors, and do things only the "traditional" way? Will we then be satisfied, we stupid westerners who think of Africa still as that myth of strange people in the jungle dancing rain dances and bang on their drums?

So when you go out in your hometown drinking a cappuchino and eating at the Mongolian restaurant.... is that not really your home either?

Pic is from Frankies Salad Lounge in Osu, Accra, Ghana....the world, the universe etc.

(Too) close encounter

Now, I am not one of those city girls who have never been to the country side and never seen animals before. I spent huge parts of my childhood in my mom's previously mentioned village, and there were cows, horses, sheep and what not, and I always knew where the milk and the eggs came from.
But today, strolling down the road towards community 22 inside, a huge flock of cows and their male counterparts, oxen?.. (I seem to have trouble with the animal kingdom in the English language), just threw themselves into the road in front of me, making my passing seem impossible. Unfortunately for me, on the other side of the road, a young guy was walking briskly through the flock without fear or hesitation, and I couldnt make a fool of myself standing there till the animals where far enough ahead for me to safely continue my journey. So... I waited for a particularly huge ox to pass (or is it bull maybe??) and jumped in between him and his lady and I was free.

Had to turn back though, to check whether any of them were chasing me, raving mad, seeing red.. (though i was wearing black..).

The pic is me finding out where the eggs really really come from, in my village.

Hard to please them all

One day at work, one of my colleagues said to me: Ama! You are toooo happy. So I asked: what is wrong with that? Can one be too happy? Would you rather I'd be angry?

The guy answered: You shouldn't be too angry or too happy.

Enye easy koraa..

good morning..

So how come I'm sitting here at 8 in the morning, and I have already had breakfast, watched Al-Jazeera for a reasonable amount of time, bought vegetables, and started preparing the groundnutsoup I'm making for one lucky man later? I dont have any plans for the day apart from making soup and rice balls (Or maybe neat fufu...?). So if this was Norway, I'd be sleeping for a good amount of hours more.

I hope I can bring this early bird trait with me home, I will get so much done!

Unfortunately its much easier to sleep in in a chilly, dark room with no crickets (is that how its spelled) that sing morning serenades outside my window...

Can a Ghanaian be happy with Obroni?

Just came over this article this evening... Some "truths" about black/white relationship just got thrown in my face, though some has real truth in it. I dont know if Im supposed to feel insulted, sad or enlightened.
Read and share your opinion...

http://www.modernghana.com/news/166921/1/black-and-white-marriages.html

I especially like the advice to the Ghanaian man on what he has to learn if he is gonna be married to an obroni:

"A Ghanaian married to a white must learn to show affection openly. He must be less overbearing and controlling. He must accept to rotate domestic chores and live by strict schedule. He must learn to talk freely about sex, have sex by mutual consent and treat his wife like a queen."

Have sex by mutual consent.. My oh my. What a sacrifice.

Made in Norway

lying on a Made in Ghana, New Page blanket.

My nephew, born 6 days ago.

I'm in love.

Sometimes great things follow you.

Usually, as a white person in Ghana, you are used to being ripped off, paying obroni price and generally being "cheated" in the name of the "you people colonized us, sold us as slaves and still exploit us in trade so you deserve to pay more"-notion. And your guilt makes you accept it.

But sometimes, like yesterday, you are given Ghanaman price for your taxi, discount of 4 cedis in a shop and a free gift from a football shirt seller who hasn't forgotten about you and the customers you directed to HIS shop (and he used to give good discounts on his stuff). It makes you feel good that people see you for who you are, and not your skin colour and your ancestors crimes.

When I was in High School in Kumasi, my fellow students hassled me every day for 10 months:
"give me your food, buy me toffee".. They weren't my friends. Joana Asante was my friend. You know why?

She bought toffee for ME!

And that meant EVERYTHING.

Poverty: a view out of Ghana

In these financial crisis times, the rich are worrying about their savings, their loans, their 3 cars, their houses, their stocks falling...


...while a woman in Ghana wonders if she will have to give birth on a rough dirty hospital mattress if she cant get the money to buy the required bed sheets the hospital demands she brings on the day of her delivery.

My man

I came home from work first. I was hot and tired but not more than usual. I decided to get annoyed with my boyfriend cos I thought (from the sound of it when we spoke) that he would be late. So I didnt start any dinner right away, which I could have and then it would be finished by the time he got home. I sat in front of the computer, checked my mail and blogs and chatted with a friend. I finally got up to attempt something like dinner. As soon as I entered the kitchen, he came home with a smile and a kiss. Even though I had been grumpy on the phone when we spoke earlier. I really didnt feel like cooking though I knew we had to eat something and fast. He noticed that I had bought a frozen pizza on my way home (cos now I live in a house with an oven for the first time so I just had to try!). And he said: what would you honestly like to eat? So I decided to go with the truth and say: ....the pizza.... And that was it. We put it in the oven, I sat down in the doorway cos the kitchen is toooo hot, and talked his head off while HE was washing the dishes. I told him to leave it, I'll do it later but he didnt mind me. The pizza was finished and I started eating it (he didnt want it, thats why I'm the only one eating..). And out of curiosity I left my half eaten pizza to check the computer, and he just entered the room with the plate with my pizza and left... I dont deserve this. Do I?

Ama goes Ashanti

The last 4 days was spent in the Garden City, with my second family from the year I was a high school exchange student. Its been 7 years, and the day I left the first time, I never knew that I would come back to my home away from home in Kumasi so many times. This family really grabbed me and as far as possible made me a part of them, and they have always been a part of me. The way my life was living there made me come back to African Studies in university and my choices back then has affected everything that has happened to me since, they are really the reason why I am sitting in community 22 in Tema the 13th of October 2008. Though it wasnt easy to become fully accepted as Sister Ama in the Boamah family, the result of my hard work to adapt is this:

Anyway, that was just the intro. So I went to Kumasi to visit them, and also to attend our friend's wedding. The days before the wedding I spent quality time with my two youngest siblings who are now 7 years older than the small cuties I came to meet in 2001. I only have one older REAL sister and its weird to see how someone so close to you goes from being small children and going into young adults, while I felt I have been the same age all the time (from 18 to 25). Now they are able... to do everything themselves, go everywhere alone and they are going to High School and University. What happened?

Mabena and me studied correct banku making, and we ended up making a very soft banku our mother insulted, but since I had decided to prove that NOW I am fulfilled Ghanaian daughter who can make smashing groundnut soup and announced that Friday I would prepare supper, not maa as usual, it had to happen.

Then Saturday came and we went to the wedding which was supposed to start at 10am and we thought we had been invited to watch the whole shebang(?), that is, engagement ceremony and all that, but we sat in a garden for 3 hours until the wedding people came out and they started the party. And after getting our food we left cos Black Stars was playing against Lesotho and the boys had to watch it (my bf Kofi, and my little brother Kofi). All in all it was a good weekend and always good to have it confirmed that I still have a place in the family.

The happy couple with happy guest.

Little brother bored at wedding, cannot believe why Sister Ama and her boyfriend always have to bring him to boring stuff... (its not the first time).

Sister Ama is just about to find out that her nephew is born!! :-)

But that is another story....

books books books

I want to read more books. Like Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, kindly lent to me by Kajsa. I enjoyed it so much, very interesting, superbly written and I learnt a lot I didnt know before.
I've always wanted to read more books by contemporary African authors but haven't had much luck in finding them in Norway. Maybe I just dont know where to look, or who to look for. So... please, suggestions and recommendations greatly appreciated.

Something wonderful is about to happen

Sharia law in Community 2?

Barika da Salah

Welcome holiday. But what do they really do? I just see this day as a day when all the Muslims become much more visible. Drove through Accra yesterday and the town was quite calm, apart from people in their nicest clothes on their way to celebrate Eid-Ul-Fitr and eat eat eat. Usually you don’t see SO many Muslims, they don’t stand out so much in the crowd really. But today Accra was their town, and seeing them all young and old, children and adults dressed up and on their way to some celebration made me think of how Norway looks on the National Day, people in their nicest outfits, all united, all going to the same place, and so many actually WALKING on the streets. (If the weather is nice….)