In Ghana, Christmas is not such a big deal–but Easter, now that’s a real holiday. It’s big enough that I’m constantly hearing about some crazy, Bacardi sponsored Easter party in Accra, my ears deafened by the constant advertisements on the radio. Apparently all the hottest ladies and DJs will be there, just so you know.
Here in Anloga, far from the happening scene of Accra, it’s still mostly a church holiday, but Ghanaian church is just much more of a party than church in the US. The tomfoolery begins on Friday, lasts through the weekend, and finished on Monday, which is when all the picnics happen. I don’t know where the tradition came from, and who cares!?! Picnic Monday is going to be the bomb. We’re going to head out the beach at a nearby lighthouse and picnic until we can picnic no more. We’ll hold out for good weather… Crazy clouds have been a constant but not too many downpours and the temperature has been really pleasant.
We went to church today which lasted forever. Easter mass–go figure. I did get to force Jake and Sam to do the Akpedza though. At some point in the afternoon Jacob’s competitive urges started to kick in and eventually a game of Settlers of Catan was in full swing. First, Jake and I squared off in a game of chess, my strategic skills thoroughly demoralizing him. To be fair, I got some tricks from a book so it wasn’t really a fair match.
The game: Catan. The stakes: your life.
Our game of Catan was a lot of fun, although I was trounced. Jake was ahead for a long time and then, with a surprise comeback, Sam swooped in for the win. We’re having another game later tonight. Jake was talking about a best of three that would last two games, him winning them both. After Sam’s redemption though I don’t foresee anything more than a rematch. I’m not an ambitious settler but the great thing about Catan is that it gives plenty of opportunities to BS–and if a Skeers can do anything well, it’s BS. Here is a dramatization of Sam making some smug plays, to the dismay of Jacob.
It’s Sam’s last night in Anloga, and he’s treating us with his classic marinara sauce. His sauce-making skills are commendable and were developed entirely here in Ghana. Attempt #1 looked more like stir-fried tomatoes, but now he’s making some legit stuff. We needed some produce so we took a trip into the market. One hundred small interactions later, Jake was itching for a little phrasebook so he isn’t so lost. He should catch up pretty quickly on the basics. There are about ten Ewe interactions that happen over and over throughout the day, so I wrote those up for him. In general he turned out to be a keen negotiator. He doesn’t have an ear for Ghanaian English yet, so when people quote him a price he asks it back as a question. At least one person thought he was playing hardball on the prices–”Two cedis for these green peppers?!?!?!”
He wasn’t playing hardball though… he paid the two cedis.
More to come.
I’m sure Jacob was negotiating on those green peppers – it’s in his blood! How fun to see pictures of him at all of our old Anloga “haunts.” He looks better rested than we did after a week. Of course if you say the temperature is “pleasant” it probably means the humidity is 85 instead of 90%. Chad you can’t be trusted when you talk about the weather. Did Bridgette like her gifts? Happy Easter boys of mine!