The Gift from Gifty

Today was one of those days when I was reminded why I travel. I woke up feeling lethargic and rather "over" my Ghana experience. I have even been toying with leaving a little bit early so I can make it home for a friend's wedding, but I am not sure if I will be able to finish my research in time or not. The morning had me thinking of making that change and making it FAST.

It turns out the little black things, which had been floating out of the beans I was soaking were definitely alive at some point. And the massive cockroaches camping out in the silverware drawer (or cutlery drawer in Ghanaian terminology) turned into an insurmountable mental roadblock between me and my properly stirred morning coffee.

I grudgingly headed to my interview with a man that clearly appreciated having someone listen, and I failed miserably at feigning interest as he droned on about the US having all the answers to development, and that we just needed to share it with our "poor third world brothers." BARF.

By the time I returned home (a little after noon), I wanted to crawl into bed and shut out my Ghanaian experience, but could not because I had plans to meet Gifty in Nungua (the town where I used to live).

I met Gifty through Sabrina; they taught together at St. Michael's primary school. We didn't have the best of start she and I. The first day we met she asked why I cut my hair so short and when I was unable to give a proper response, she burst out laughing. Needless to say, I was offended (although thinking back it seems that my offended-ness was probably unwarranted).

Today we met so she could take me to her dressmaker where I would finally turn this lovely piece of fabric I have been drooling over into a dress :) We went to the dressmaker and the four woman all laughed at my descriptions of how I wanted my dress "very low" in the front. (side note: modesty in Ghana means "plunging" necklines that hit at my collar bone) I also explained the design for a skirt with some fabric Sabrina had left over. We will see if they come out anywhere near the description. Whether they do or not, I made some new friends, laughed a little and both items together cost a grand total of just 7GHc (about $4.85).

After leaving the dressmaker, Gifty took me to the Nungua market where she does her shopping. She was determined to find me some good quality beans -- free of bugs. We took a back route through a neighborhood crossing over the open streams of sewage where the children play. The kids kept calling me teacher (they thought I was Sabrina, but if you see the two of us, we couldn't look much different). Gifty encouraged me to practice using my Twi to greet her friends as we passed. She and they were patient with me as I butchered it several times over. It didn't take long for me to get caught up in the experience and to forget, if only for just a moment, that I am still just an Obruni who does not belong here at all.

Gifty and I wove in and out of the market hand in hand until we had collected all of the necessary food stuffs to make Okro Stew (and fried plantains - these two don't go together at all, but oh well). I promised Gifty I would practice on my own and then when she was free, she and I could make it together at my house. She agreed.

All in all, I spent a total of two hours with Ms. Gifty, but I am oh so grateful for those few hours. She recharged my nearly depleted battery and reminded me why, in the end, I am here in Ghana and why it is that I love to travel (and learn) so much.

It is simple really -- I love travel because I meet people like Gifty. She took me under her wing, not because she wanted anything in return, but because she is honest, fair and sincere. She told me that she wakes up every morning and lives like she thinks Jesus would have lived, which as she explained to me, meant that the dressmaker only charge me what she charge everyone else, and that you don't try to make an extra profit just because you think I have money. Our totally different backgrounds and lives became irrelevant, because in the end we are both just people trying to be as human as we can be, and she helped me to understand this.

It is the people like Gifty and the few hours in the market together that stay with you long after you leave a place, long after your photographs become faded (it sounds cliche, but it is true). Such experiences restore my faith in people, which has been slowly depleted by the constant hisses, hassling and calls of "white man." I would have never met Gifty nor interacted with her had I not traveled to Ghana, and now I would go as far as to call her my friend.

Today was a much needed respite from the continual daily reminders that I don't belong here and that maybe I shouldn't even be here. Today, I was reminded why I travel and for that I should really thank Gifty.