23 on 20

It is May 20th and I have turned 23 years old today. Coincidentally, I have also been in Ghana for one entire month today. It seems like a really long time since I was last in Canada, but it also feels like this month has passed by super fast. I think it is strange how time feels to us sometimes. Time is constant in its passing but it often feels too slow or too fast depending on our emotions, which are always changing, fluctuating, and are never consistent or reliable.
Today, Eva and the field school students went on a field trip and I stayed here at BFMS. I watched monkeys for a large part of the day. Mid-day I started getting antsy and fidgety so I went for a longer than usual run. This antsy state often happens when I start thinking too much, or worrying… It’s like I am situating myself too much in my head and in my thoughts or something. I’m not quite sure how to explain it but it’s like an anxious, panicky feeling I get. This is the best part about running; it completely gets rid of this feeling and makes me feel calm and comfortable. Tonight I anticipate that we are going to eat fufu (!!) made by Bea, a lady who cares for the guest house here. Fufu is the traditional Ghanaian food that people here eat with every meal. It is made of yam, mashed up and pounded with water until it turns into a thick dough-like ball. The taste is similar to mashed potatoes. Fufu is eaten with your hands; you dip pieces in groundnut paste and swallow them directly like you would eat an oyster. I love love love fufu, but it certainly is something that Westerners either adore or totally dislike. Each time I have fufu I eat so much (my record is 4.5 balls) I get a “fufu belly”! lol After dinner we are going to Constance’s spot for some giant Ghana beers. Mmmm… Castle Milk Stout …

Next Day: I realized that I have celebrated my birthday here in Ghana for the past 3 years! This birthday was one of my best ever. We did indeed have fufu and groundnut sauce, made by Bea and Alfred last night. Yummmmmy! I only had 2.5 balls this time, although if there had been any left I would have certainly eaten more. You can’t let fufu go to waste! Also, Bea gets sad if we don’t eat ALL of her food. Whenever people eat her cooking, she always comes by right as we are finishing up and says “Finish all!”. Then she gives a typical Bea cute and hearty chuckle, which makes you want to finish all just so you don’t disappoint her. For us researchers working at BFMS, Bea and her husband Alfred are like our parents away from home. During dinner I also received gifts (camping instant Neapolitan ice cream and choc chip cookie mix, as well as chocolate covered digestive cookies) and a funny card from Teresa and Eva. Since one of my staple foods here is canned beans (I eat a can every day for lunch), they joked about how they also wanted to give me a can of beans for my birthday, but it seems I already bought all of them from the obruni store in Nkoranza because they were all sold out. Hehehe
After dinner we went to Constance’s Spot in the nearby village of Fiema for beers and dancing. The scene at Constance’s is always a bit surreal and awkward at first when we, the obrunis go there. We are usually greeted by at least 50 screaming and excited local children who shake our hands and pet our arms as we walk in. When we sit down to order, tons of Ghanaian locals agglomerate around the windows and doors of the bar to peer inside, stare at us, and giggle at our unusual facial features, clothing, hair styles, and chubby bodies. Constance then turns on the music (a remix of traditional Ghanaian, rap and techno melodies) super loud and we all start dancing. As things heat up, a select few local men and women are allowed to enter the bar to dance with us, while the rest of the people watch from outside. This is how it was on my birthday and it was great. I think the field school students had a good time, and I enjoyed it particularly because I love to dance! Last night I won the most “African-Like Dancer” award … apparently. Lol