Me-me-wo adjo!

Good evening! I started learning some Fante (the local dialect) today 😊. I've been making all the young kids laugh when I try to pronounce things! Tonight, I had a beginner lesson with two of Manny's nieces who live here. They were so patient with me! They were giggling at my pronunciations, so hopefully I didn't inadvertently say something rude. Speaking of which, I read that the word "silly" is insulting in Ghana, so you shouldn't say it. Well, you know how when someone says not the think of something and all you can do is think of it? That's how it's been with me and the word "silly." I probably uttered that word no less than 1,000 times to Andrew's children. 😖 Ugh.

Today was a church day. I attended church with Manny's sister, Josephine, and her son, Cavin. It was much longer than I am used to. About 3 hours. But it was a good experience and everyone was very welcoming. There was a little girl sitting in front of us. She was about 4 and stared at me the entire time! Lol! I kept waving to her and smiling. At the end of the service, she and her mom came over and her mom told me that the girl's name was Alicia. Alicia's mom also told me that Alica said she loved me and wanted to be my friend 😊. So cute!

Today I also had a foot tour of Sekondi. Manny's nephews, Joe (25) and Calvin (10) walked me around. I got a lot of curious looks and more stares from the little ones. I would wave to them and usually got a wave back. I did frighten one child, though. He was calling out to me, "mama mama!" So went to say hi and he started crying 😖. Oops!

It was an interesting experience being the only white person  around today. I didn't really feel uncomfortable. In fact, I felt strangely at home as we walked around. But, I was very aware of all the eyes on me and was a little self-conscious. A couple of times, people came up to talk to me, so I got to practice a little of my Fante. There also were a few times when friends would come talk to the boys, in Fante, and I knew they were talking about me. Kind of awkward, but that's part of the experience, I guess. My favorite part was when we went to the beach area and Calvin and I waded in the ocean, looking for shells. He calls me "auntie Maria," which is so endearing! Oh, and I learned my "Christian" name is "Ama ," which signifies that I am a female who was born on a Saturday.

Tomorrow I spend the day at the nursery and library. Ms. Boham, the head teacher with whom I've been texting, came to the house this evening with her husband to meet me. It was exciting to finally meet her in person. I can't wait to meet the children tomorrow.

View from the balcony at "home" in Sekondi

Another view of the sea in the distance

Front gate. The buildings on the other side of the street are the Navy barracks.

 

Just a view from a hill along our walk around town.

More views of the sea.

This is an old fort (Fort Orange) at the top of the hill in Sekondi. Somebody lives there now; I think the guy who takes care of the grounds and his family. 

More sights on our walk to the beach.

Lots of fishing boats! Joe told me an interesting story--fishermen don't fish on Tuesdays. It's considered bad luck. So Tuesdays is a no fishing day.

More fishing boats and the docks.

There is a lot of rubble around!

Boats being built--kind of reminded me of Noah's Ark :)

Some random guy walking along the road ahead of us. Probably wondering if the oberoni is following him! haha!

This was a really nice, paved road along the beach. Most of the other roads in Sekondi are in very poor condition. Basically packed dirt or very holey concrete.

Beautiful view of the beach.

My shell hunting buddy, Calvin, and I

Some of our treasures.

Sweet Calvin

This is a train station/tracks that are under construction. Eventually, there will be a train from Sekondi to Takoradi, which is the next town over.

One of the beautiful cathedrals in Sekondi.

Goats!! They are everywhere!

This fish statue is in the middle of a roundabout right down the street from the house where I was staying. 

More goats (and I think some chickens).  You can't really see them well in this picture.  I was just trying to get some shots to show how freely the animals roam around! lol!

I tried to ask him why he was crossing the road, but, alas, he only spoke Fante so the longstanding question remains unanswered. haha!