Another week has gone by and I'm starting to realize I've only got three weeks left. I'm trying to be productive and get work done when I can. Because I'm studying storytelling I've just been going around to different departments asking if they have any stories to tell, where the story came from, how the story is used to teach. On the long end of things I'm studying how theatre (another form of storytelling) is used to spread awareness about AIDS, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, etc., and how the University teaches its students here about theatre and development. I was given a list of books they read for the class and they're mostly western authors and the next step is going with the students to see them act in front of children and see what kind of stories they tell. Though I've seen a bit of this kind of performance art in Cape Coast and it was a huge let down.

So that's what I've been up to school wise.

Otherwise I've been good. It's a little hard sometimes when you want to have someone to talk to because you've had a bad day or had to deal with something you didn't want to deal with. And it's not like you can just talk to the people here because they're so culturally different and basically any bad day you have really doesn't stand what they've had to put up with their whole life. Or you'll see a guy wheeling himself on the street because he has polio begging for money. Or a dog stuck in a sewer.

But I'm doing really well. I try really hard to actually be with the people and be within the culture I'm in. There are other students here who stick together and refuse to eat the traditional food and only go out with each other. I'm living with a Ghanaian family. I eat the traditional food no matter what it does to me and yes because the food has such little nutritional value I can feel my body breaking down. I wash my own clothes and I've actually gotten good at it. I'm a little embarrassed because my hands are so soft scrubbing the clothes with them broke the skin.

I also haven't seen what I look like in forever so this weekend I had a vanity weekend where I left my hair down and dressed nice. I don't bother most days because I'm not interested in that right now and I really don't want to be attractive because it only brings more attention to you from the men. Most men here are okay but sometimes I get so infuriated by the way they treat women. We met a Paramount Chief in Klikor and because all us students are girls we took offense when he told us he deals with domestic cases and tries to keep the man from going to jail because there are kids involved. And we just looked at him and were like yeah because if there's kids involved he's probably beating them too. There was this one situation where we were waiting for dinner and the restaurant happened to be on the beach. There was a group of men nearby and they stopped me and I figured why not I can talk to them for a little bit. They treated the waitress with such disrespect and the men were so slimy. I understand I'm in a different culture but that doesn't make it right to treat women the way you do, no matter how educated you are. The worst was when one man tried to put his slimy paw on me and at that point I had enough and told him what I thought of him but of course because I'm American it only made it funny.

We deal with a lot of that from men. I just wonder what the boys are experiencing because it's so different. The boys are treated like gods. When we were in the village I was shocked by the staff because they tried to tell us as girls we should do work for Toby. When we were at the farm they made me carry the basket back on my head because I'm a woman and staged Toby behind me with the machete.

Sometimes it can be funny. I got stopped by a man on the road telling me he liked me too much and wanted to marry me and I just told him hey you keep on walking down that road you're gonna find your wife. Then his brother came and tried to tell me that a poor American man can come here and be rich but I really don't think they understand that there is poverty in America and that the poor man can't afford a trip here. They think America is this huge dreamland and there comes a point where you're tired of people asking you for a Visa or to marry them. They assume you're rich and made of all this money. But I keep telling myself it's the situation and I just smile and walk away.

I watch friends every night with my homestay brother and it keeps me human. I broke down and bought two books, Slaughterhouse 5 and short stories by Virginia Woolf. I realize now where you're homesick it's probably best not to read an anti-war novel but I desperately needed something american to hold on to. I didn't bring anything of comfort like everyone else, no IPOD or teddy bears or pictures. I really miss my music but every night when my homestay puts country on I come out and sing "It's a great day to be alive." It makes me feel better. I brought one thing of comfort but it just makes me sad now so I try not to look at it.

They play country here a lot and I've become this scout every time I hear it I follow the noise and it makes me feel so much better. Or I've taken to singing the songs to my family and dancing which they enjoy because putting yourself through those motions just makes you so much happier.

At the night market I meet up with American students because they eat there every day. Which I'm scornful of because they live on campus and instead of eating the traditional food they're eating tofu sandwiches. We just have different experiences. Me and my friends got caught openly gawking at this one American kid because we hadn't seen a boy in so long. We didn't even see his face we were just staring at the back of him. I don't know why I need those days where I just have to know I'm still attractive and I'm still human but I think it's part of the break up process where I get back into things again and it just feels good to know you look nice. I wore my hair down one day and my homestay brother kept putting his hands through it because they're not used to hair like mine. He told me "it's nice... just like Oprah."

So I'm keeping on. I do what I can to make every day a good day and I make friends and ask everyone how they're doing. I love that when people leave they say me ko ba meaning I go come. Or that you can greet someone a gazillion ways and everyone wants to say hi.

There's this kid in my neighborhood everytime she sees me she runs to me and shouts obibini and gives me a hug. Obibini means black person. It's the opposite of obruni which means western white man. It's endearing. One day we were late for church and she ran up and hugged me and my homestay brother just looked at her and was like "eh! why such foolishness."

I try when I can to play soccer with the kids. Futbol is huge.

Anywho my time is running low so until next time,
Marissa.