Life in this Ghana

I titled this post "Life in this Ghana" because every morning during what my teachers call "Life in this Ghana" we share our trials and tribulations during our time in this beautiful land! The past few days I have really felt settled in this new city, and now in just a few days we will be off to the rural villages. The days go by so quickly here, they are so full that as soon as I get home I am exhausted!  The heat takes so much out of you, and on top of the heat we are walking everywhere and dancing every day... it's a lot, but I love it!  Feeling tired, though challenging, means the day was full of life.
I laugh so much here. It's that big belly laughter that comes from the core, the kind that tickles your insides and forces tears from your eyes.  Every day.  Either from my hilarious teachers, from my friends, from the events that occur during the day.  It helps that we are all a bit dehydrated all of the time and feel a bit drunk, delirious and giggly, particularly after 12 noon.  We laugh at pretty much everything, make fun of ourselves... it's such a hilarious time.  Today a group of about 7 of us got drinks after class at the gas station/restaraunt in my neighborhood, and we laughed and talked for a couple of hours after dancing.  Life is very simple, yet so beautiful here. 
Ghanaians are some of the friendliest people I have ever met.  The other day on my way to see the Priestess again, I was very early and decided to sit on the curb of a gas station as I was waiting for my friends (you don't sit on the curbs close to the street because they smell strongly of urine).  The man pumping gas told me to sit in his seat, and I tried to politely say that it was his seat and that I was content on the curb.  Well, he insisted that I must sit in his seat, so I did and we ended up talking for 30 minutes about all of the regions in Ghana that he has been to (and that I will be going to very soon).  Sitting at a gas station in America, it would be very unlikely that anyone at all would strike up a conversation with a stranger! But people here are beyond friendly, and I love it.  I make new friends every day.  The only time making good friends is not the best situation is when it is a man who you did not realize is interested in you, and will call you at least 10 times each day until Papa Atah pretends to be your father and tells the man in his deep voice that you are his daughter, and that you got married yesterday.  This has already happened multiple times on the trip. It's hilarious, and we all crowd around to listen to the conversation.
I went back to the Priestess on Sunday, and the experience was incredible.  It is difficult to remember everything that happened there, but Nana told me that she had a dream about me the night before I came to see her again.  She told me that the spirits love me.  She lit a piece of paper on fire without a match or flame of any kind in order to summon the spirits... I took a warm herb bath in water that was heated without a fire... just some snip-its of the spiritual energy at work.  Nana kept hugging me, she is really an incredible woman.
I have only really written of the positive experiences here, because life is overwhelmingly beautiful here in Ghana.  But of course every traveling experience has some challenges, and the biggest challenge here has been the food. It is very difficult being a vegetarian, but even if I wasn't following a vegetarian diet, the food has been rough on everyone's stomach.  The food is so spicy, and just so different than American food.  I have really sensitive taste buds, so sometimes my friends will think a dish is not spicy at all and my mouth will be on fire!  Its actually pretty funny. Usually if I try a new food I get sick to my stomach, and because of the heat I am usually a bit nauseous and not very hungry.  The malaria medicine also contributes to nausea.  It has gotten better and I have learned how to speak up and make sure my homestay family makes food that I can eat and digest, but food in a new country is always a challenge.  However, the fresh mango, pineapple, and avocado are daily aspects of my lunch, which is my favorite meal of the day! Once we get into the rural village, we will have someone that SIT employs to help cook for us, and then we will get much more choice in our food.  This is our last homestay (unless we choose a homestay for our last month ISP time), so the choice in what we eat will be much greater in a few days, and offending the homestay family because you cannot tolerate the food will no longer be an issue! 
The heat is also something to get used to, and by now my skin is so dark!  My sandal tan lines are hilarious.  We sweat pretty much every minute of the day and night, but it really has been just a matter of being under the shade of a mango tree in the middle of the day, drinking enough water, and taking care of ourselves.  But we have the support of our group and our teachers, so the food and the heat, although challenges, are really not too intense in the grand scheme of life here.  Sending you all my love!