Sitting... (9/3)

So before I start, there's a few main cell phone networks in Ghana. They are pay-as-you-go, and you buy credits at recharge stands. (Remember Mr. Bubu and his wife have a recharge stand). The stands sell little scratch cards which have codes on them, you put the code into your phone and it recharges your account. The main cell phone companies (and their area codes, in case you are wondering which your family/friend person in Ghana uses are..)

MTN 024/054
Tigo 027
Vodafone 020
Zain 026
Kasapa 028
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Sitting at the recharge stand with Bubu and his wife. He's looking through my Inc. magazine, probably wondering how I read it for so long without becoming bored. From what I've seen, and heard from other volunteers, in Ghana hardly anyone reads for pleasure.

Most of my days have been spent here, just sitting, learning new words and trying to integrate. The recharge stand is on the west side of the Bolga-Tamale highway, literally 25 ft from the road. South of us is the main town junction, and farther south is Tamale. Directly north of us, literally 10 feet away, is a Mosque which many of the locals go to 5 times a day for their daily prayers. Much farther north is Bolgatanga in the UpperEast Region. Across the street, on the East side of the road is a tall proud tree with many strong branches extending starting 1/2 way up, to it's top. I'm terrible at guess-timating heights, but I'd say its about a 40-50 feet tall. The weaver birds call this place home and their pseudo apartment complex houses, from what I can tell, house hundreds of them. They fly off to the tall grass, cut off a piece with their beaks, fly back to their "house" and weave the new strand in, making their little cave in the trees more secure.

I can't see them during the day but at dusk, just about the time of the evening prayer, the bats come out from this tree as well. As the Imam sings his song calling all the Muslims to the Mosque, the bats wake up and fly out of the massive tree. Almost as if they are on shift work with the weavers who have just clocked out.

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I cant get over how cute the children are here. There's this little kid, Abdul Raheem, he can't be older than 5, who is missing his 2 front teeth, and loves smiling. He's one of those kids who is just always smiling at the world. He finds everything fun and since he's the Imam's son, he's always nearby. With little kids I always do the same thing, I make my eyes really big, and stare at them, sometimes turning my head to the side. I let them decide how to take it. Raheem laughs, some kids cry. I find both equally entertaining. For some children, the ones who are 1-3 yrs old, I'm clearly the first white person they've ever seen. I've had all kinds of reactions, from them running away, to freezing in place and covering their eyes; hoping if they cant see the white monster, he cant see them. Some parents as I walk past tell their kids (I can tell by their gestures and the kid's reactions) "I'll send you away with the white man!" and they usually end up bawling. I usually play along and wave with a big smile on my face, and my standard tilted head and huge staring eyes. It's hilarious.

One time I got what I deserved, I suppose. A mom pulled this routine and tried to literally hand her naked baby boy to me. I opened my eyes really wide and waved both hands smiling. He started shrieking as his mom pushed him closer, crying hysterically and peed all over my pants.

Haha I'm still laughing as I re-type this...totally worth it...