What I believe

I am a firm believer in the premise that when life hands you lemons you’ve gotta make lemonade. I like to think I express that through my blog. Life in Ghana is different, to say the least. It’s almost always a challenge for someone who has lived the “easy” life of an American. Trust me – we don’t know hardship in New Jersey like we know in Ghana.

But a recent anonymous fan commented that I always seem to find the negative in everything I blog about, and he/she expressed a wish that I write about how wonderful Ghana can be. I have to admit, my first thought was, “does this person know my husband?” Sylvester always says that I only the see the negative.

I look at it like this: How can I not see the negative? The real question is how will that negative affect me? My answer: It’s not going to. I will deal with it, some how or some way – even if it is only by complaining about it; getting it off my chest, so to speak. And I’m from New Jersey; it’s what we do. It’s how we’re raised. We are world class complainers.

If I look at life through rose-tinted glasses – and blog about it in the same way – and a traveler comes to visit here in Ghana expecting a paradise but finding anything but, have I done him a disservice? I believe that I have. I want to be able to say, “Yes! Beneath all of that debris there is beauty. You just have to know its there and keep digging. Have faith!”

Finally, I want to say this. Ghana is my country, now, for all its faults. But, I say the same exact thing when I am in America (though I do seem to say it more if there's a Bush in the White House). There are only two places on earth that I can call home, and this is one of them.

Now, without qualification or disclaimer, here are a few things that I absolutely love about Ghana and its amazing people.

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I love the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Ghanaians; they are truly a people who believe that “where there is a will, there is a way.”

I love the camaraderie of the millions of Ghanaians who, in a single voice, cheer or despair over a football game. You know immediately who is winning or losing, even if you don’t own a television or radio.

I love the school children who start their day with the singing of the Ghana National Anthem; young voices raised in praise of their wonderful homeland never fail to bring a tear to my eye.

I love the lady in the beer store who never fails to have a smile and a kind word (or a free soda) for my children.

I love the Ghanaians who will immediately rally to help someone whose car has broken down, by stopping whatever they’re doing and helping to push the car out of traffic.

I love the craziness of the Makola market; the sights, the smells, the noise and the energy. And there is nothing that can’t be found there.

I love the vendors who roam the neighborhood touting (or shouting) their wares. Need your shoes shined or a hem repaired? Just wait a bit and someone will be along to do it for you, just listen for the rhythmic beating of the shoe shine box or the clinking of the scissors. Need an egg, or toilet paper, crabs or fresh fish. Be patient. The monger is on his or her way.

I love the Fan Ice vendors – especially the one who looks like ex-president Kufuor – who know Alex will have to buy from someone today, so they all ring their bells or honk their horns as they pass by the gate hoping that they will be the chosen one.

I love the weather, whether it’s scorching hot or pouring rain. There is no “bad” weather in Ghana, irrespective of the season. It’s all good.

I love the birds and the lizards. The diversity of the biological life – even in civilized Tema – is amazing. Splash a puddle onto the ground in the middle of a hot day and watch dozens of lizards come out of hiding to lap up the water at the puddle's edge. My own watering hole!

I love the fact that I can buy flip flops for 60 pesawas a pair. And that I can wear them year round.

I love the way Ghanaian women and girls carry babies and children on their back and still manage to do all of the things that they are “supposed” to be doing – shopping, cleaning, cooking, selling, etc.

I love the way the mere presence of a single football (or any sort of round thing that can be substituted for one) can draw men and boys out of thin air and into a pick-up game of football. Anytime, anywhere.

I love the Ghanaian handshake. Even though I stink at it (I never can get that thumb snap thing going) no one ever makes me feel embarrassed.

I love to watch a gaggle of Ghanaian women “teasing” a Ghanaian man for even the tiniest transgression. I may not understand a single word of what it’s all about, but it’s always obviously good natured and never demeaning.

I love the spiciness of Ghanaian food; our tongues have all gotten used to the inclusion of red pepper in nearly everything that anything we eat now needs a little heat, or else it’s too bland.

I love the wax print fabrics; they have the most amazing designs you’ve ever seen. Someone should make a coffee table book out of them.

I love the beauty salon where Alex goes to get her hair corn-rowed for 2 Ghana cedis. They watch this crazy Filipino soap opera on the television there that is weirdly addictive and makes passing the time a cinch.

I love the tiny single serving size of a whole host of goods – juice boxes, coffee sticks, Close Up toothpaste, shito, cookies, crackers, peanuts, powdered milk, Milo, margarine – sure it’s a killer on the ecology, but they sure are cute.

I love the family of monkeys that we see along the road going to Ho, who sit along side trusting that no one will harm them. And no one does.

I love buying 10 fingers of bananas for less than 1 GHC, and finding that the banana lady threw an extra 2 fingers into the bag.

I love having the freedom to express my opinion and perspective, without censorship from anyone or anything, except my own conscience. And my husband, of course.