Too Long

It's been too long since I last wrote, so I don't know that I can go through my usual day by day synopsis. But here's the scoop on what's going on now and some interesting encounters I've had recently.

So, the power hasn't been very consistent lately in Accra. They say it's because most of the power lines are underground, and they are currently doing a lot of road construction right now. Regardless it's annoying since that's a big part of the reason I haven't been able to update my blog. The other big part is that I still don't have a computer. It was going to cost too much to get the motherboard it needed to be fixed and it would take a long time for them to order the part from HP. Anyways, the plan now is to just transfer the memory from my old computer to my external hard drive. I have most of my files and whatnot, but right before it crashed I had just uploaded a bunch of pictures. So, I am trying to retrieve those. I have a friend here who I trust and who is going to get my memory for me. And by some divine miracle I ran into another friend here who has the exact same computer as me. So, we can just pop my memory card into his computer retrieve the data, put it on the external hard drive and TADA!! PRESTO CHANGO!! I'm excited about it, as you can probably tell. I am hoping to get that done this week, but we'll see.

On another note, I am currently about one third of the way finished with a full-length play that I am writing for my playwriting course. The play focuses on the foster care system and some of the problems within. ALSO, I am now really getting into the directing project I was talking about. I am directing a piece entitled "War Brides" from the Ibsen, Chekov era, for anyone who knows theatre history. It's a very powerful piece about what happens to the women left behind during war. I've been pretty excited to direct it, and last Friday I had open auditions, however I was astounded and saddened when NO ONE SHOWED UP. Yup, that's what I said, nobody showed up for my audition. I sat around for 2 hours and finally gave up, but it was quite a depressing day to be sure. The theatre program here just isn't anything like Fairmont State. I think one of the inherent problems is motivation to be honest. There just isn't a lot of promise and future in theatre here so there aren't those big dreamers like you have in the states, shooting for Broadway or Hollywood. And honestly, the caliber of acting and entertainment when it comes to Ghanaian film that I have seen is sub-par. Very one-dimensional. Even Ghanaians say the movies are crappy. No one has a favorite Ghanaian movie. Everyone just knows Hollywood. Some are also familiar with Dollywood in India. But anyhow, it's been interesting. I am currently, setting up a closed- invite-only audition tomorrow, so I am hoping that from that process I can weed out a cast, if not I am not sure what is going to happen. But I'm trying to be hopeful.

Another note, I finally got my roommate. She showed up just two days ago. She's a Ghanaian 400 level Psychology student with a minor in Political Science. The reason she's so late getting here is that she's been in Sao Paulo Brazil for the summer traveling and teaching high school students there how to speak, read, and write English. She is really cool so far, and I am actually glad that she finally showed up. The room was pretty lonely being there all by myself. Also, she has a TV and a fridge, and a microwave, AND a hot water boiler that she offered to let me use if I ever need them. Again, super cool roommate. Her name is Emefa, by the way. She also invited me to go out with her and her friends sometime AND she said that maybe we could visit her family one night in Accra and have dinner there. AND she offered to cook with me, since I told her I learned how to make some Ghanaian meals. Sooo cooool!! I'm still adjusting to the idea of having a roommate though. It's like last night I came back to the room really late cause I was up watching movies. Usually, it's no big deal, but I realized after a moment of noisily messing with the door to unlock it that I have to be a little more considerate now of when I am coming back into the room. But I'll get used to it soon enough. I've shared a room for most of my life, so to me I feel like it's not that big a deal. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Another different note, we are travelling to Kumasi this weekend. So, I'll be going on that trip. I am so excited, cause that is where the wood carvers and leather works are mainly centered. So I am definitely going to be getting some cool things there.

On yet another note, I am working on putting together my senior project proposals for when I got back to Fairmont. I am thinking that I will do a short African story-telling piece. I'm looking for a one act by this amazing Ghanaian female author, Efua Sutherland. Her pieces are very interesting and well crafted, incorporating modern theatre practice with traditional African story telling methods. It's very cool. Also it requires a lot of audience participation, dance, and drumming. So, hopefully, I'll be using a bunch of different talents and skills that I've picked up in my classes in Ghana.

Finally, my funny experience. I randomly met a group of Chinese exchange students who are here learning English. I gave one of them my phone number and have had some very interesting and hilarious moments since then. First, he speaks very very broken English. Second, he can't understand about 2/3rds of what I am saying to him. And third, he wants me to help him and his friends practice English. So he keeps inviting me to dinner. The other night I went and had an amazing time. The guy who did all the cooking was excellent, even though his English is poorer than probably any of the other students. They fed me well, and laughed as I tried to used chopsticks, only somewhat effectively. It was a really great time. And I am really enjoying that particular friendship.
Also, I have found a very special Ghanaian friend here. He's one of the TAs in two of my classes in the theatre department,and we just get along so well. All in all, it's shaping up to be a great semester in Ghana. I'll try to keep you guys better updated from now on, but who knows what will happen with the power here. All my love!

In the Thick of It

Soooo, Thursday after my last post I actually lost the ring that Ross gave me right before I left for Ghana. So, the past week has been a lot of running around trying to find it and constantly feeling swamped with stuff (oh, and fighting with Daniel).

So, Friday I spent the day with Daniel going to Osu to get my computer looked at. We had to pay for something called a job card just for them to look at it. They told me the next day when I called that the problem was the motherboard but they still haven't given me a price to fix it. I called today and tried to talk to the guy who is looking at it but I couldn't understand him on the phone (btw it's really hard to understand the accent of Ghanaians over the phone) so I am just gonna call again tomorrow.

Saturday I spent with Daniel again. He took me to Madina Market on the official market day which means everything is cheaper and more busy. I wanted to take pictures while we shopped but there just isn't time. Too many people and you have to move it through the crowds to get anywhere (and to ensure you don't get stolen from). I got a ton of groceries though. Including 15 eggs for 3 cedi, about $2 US. I didn't even know I was getting 15, I asked for half a dozen. Apparently, a dozen is 30 here. Or she didn't know what I was talking about. lol. After all that time at the market, I went back to Daniel's house so that he could bathe and change before coming back to the hostel with me, since he had to work when we got back (btw he works in the evening at the internet cafe in our hostel from 7pm to 7am). So we stopped at his house and I saw a regular Ghanaian home or a lower middle class family. It was interesting. The house itself wasn't very big and as far as architecture it was a lot like one of the rooms in the hostel. In the main room there was just a table and chair, a fridge and a freezer, a small desk/table, and a couch. Nothing really matched but it didn't seem to matter. There was nothing on the floor (just plain concrete) and nothing on the walls but a clock. There wasn't counter space or anything like that either. I didn't even see cupboards. It was interesting to say the least.

Sunday, I was very tired and slept in until 10am which started a fight between Daniel and I because he was expecting me to be up much earlier to come and make him an egg sandwich. I was planning no such thing and got mad over the expectation. I know now that if you vaguely say you will do something for someone (like make them an egg sandwich) it is considered a promise and they expect it like immediately, the next time they see you. Definitely not a cultural aspect I had understood before. But anyhow, I got really mad at Daniel and ended up blowing up on him so that he left and went home without food. I felt so bad about it that I made redred that night for him for dinner. We made up after a long talk which clarified some of the cultural assumptions we were both making, and then we promptly got into another fight the other night because I couldn't sleep and he was being childish and wouldn't leave my room when I asked him. Needless to say, our relationship is interesting, informative of the Ghanaian culture and honestly, taxing at times. I want to be friends with him, but every once in a while I feel that there is an ulterior motive. He's a good friend, but I think (at least for now) I need to have some time and space away from him.

This hasn't been difficult to come by since Monday started a whole week of craziness. I found the play I am going to direct, called War Brides, but I have to get it approved on Thursday. It is a drama which looks at the effects of war, especially on the women who are left behind. It addresses the issues of war torn areas, the struggle for peace, and womens' role in society. I am also adapting it so that it can be a little more universal. Right now the vernacular and such is set in Germany or round abouts during wartime. I want to update some of the language and make the names different. I am thinking of setting the piece in Ghana, just to make things simpler. My playwriting class went really well on Monday, since we read what I have of my play. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and my professor was very impressed by my writing capabilities. He also gave me some good suggestions for the piece. I spent Monday and Tuesday cleaning my room in my spare time, and found out Monday evening that the choir that I have been attending the evenings is the wrong choir. I am signed up for choral ensemble, but I have been going to the University Choir rehearsals. I thought they were the same thing. They're not. So I am dropping those rehearsals and started going to choral ensemble this Tuesday. We have 6 hours a week of rehearsal so it's pretty intense overall, but I am glad to be in there. In fact, through choir I met a girl who is also in the film I am doing and she let me know when we were having rehearsals, since I missed the last two. So, last night (Tuesday night) I went to dance class and showed off some skiiiills, then went to film rehearsal where I practiced being a prostitute (p.s. I think I am gonna give my character a smoking habit, so it makes stage business fun, but the Ghanaian girls around me-even though I am faking it- are obviously disapproving lol). Then after rehearsal I went back to the hostel to meet up with two of my international friends who have roped me into performing with them at this talent show. We are going to sing "Lean on Me" in three part harmony, at least we hope. lol. We practiced a bit last night, but we have to practice again tomorrow afternoon. Also I sort of don't want to do it because I want to go to Togo with some friends that I heard are traveling this weekend, but we will see.

Lastly, today I had all my classes and sat around planning my trips around Ghana. I think I have just enough time to do a weekend trip almost every weekend and maybe one or two trips out of Ghana. We shall see. But I have a friend who offered to be my traveling buddy, so I am pretty excited about all that. Now I just have to budget it out and make sure I have the money. lol. Also, on a happy note, I FOUND MY RING!!! It took almost a whole week, but a tracked down the girl who picked it up from the bathroom. She had been trying to find the owner with no luck. Then this morning I put up a few signs in the International Programs Offices saying that it was missing and TADA, I came later today and the girl had turned it in to one of the offices. I got her number from your study abroad coordinator so that I could thank her. Needless to say, I will NOT be taking this ring off my finger for anything ever again. lol. Welllll, I need to sign off. I have rehearsal for my film thing tonight and then the dreaded task of doing laundry after that. More updates to follow. Love you all.

Week without a personal computer

So, last update was from Thursday of last week I believe. So starting from there. Friday I went to the Ghana vs. Swaziland football game (or soccer as it's called back home). It was the first big sports event that I have ever been to and it was AMAZING!!! I went with a couple friends from ISH, Sasha and Sarah. We took the trotro over there which was fun since we got stuck in traffic. We ended up talking to come guy on the trotro about the game and he gave us directions and advice on how to get there and whatnot. We walked past the National Theatre which was cool, since we'd only seen it in passing before, and then walked the rest of the way toward the stadium. For the entire trotro trip we kept wondering why we didn't see tons of people heading towards the game. We were the only ones on our trotro going and we had been told that this was a big deal. It was the last qualifying match for Ghana to see if they went to the African football tournament. But there was relatively no reveling as we went to the stadium. Imagine our surprise as we got close to the stadium and were swamped by men in Ghana flags jumping up and down as if they were at a rave. We had to fight in lines to get tickets, and we got cheap ones. Literally people elbow in front of each other to the window. It's less of a line and more of a gaggle. So anyhow, we got our tickets headed into the stadium and ended up with a pretty nice view of the field as well as the TV for close-ups and we were right behind a huge band of Ghana supporters so we were dancing pretty much the whole time. It was a great time for sure.

After the game, we started walking back towards the National Theatre to the bus station to find a trotro or a cab. As we walked back though we decided to stop and the Theatre for a potty break. Lo and behold we ended up walking into a televised music competition sponsored by Coke. We just randomly walked near the theatre and found our there was this big concert going on. So I also experienced my first live concert and we danced a bit with some Ghanaian enthusiasts. We didn't even know the music, but it was a fun time.

Then on Saturday, we went to the Fetu Festical in Cape Coast. It's traditionally a harvest festival of sorts, but over time it has degraded to a parade of dancing and (at least for some) a reason to get wasted and make a fool of yourself in public. It was very interesting though from a performance perspective. I was constantly thinking about the discussion we had in our theatre history course last semester regarding Mardi Gras and Vortices of Behavior. I was also reminded of a discussion in the same class where Dr. O'Connor told us about a Brazillian street performance of guerilla theatre which was brought to the huge festival in Ireland. We discussed the concept of de-contextualization and how it can affect the work itself as well as performers, etc. During the festival we saw many, many street performers, and I couldn't help but wonder how their costumes and performative behavior would be interpreted by early westerners. Can you imagine a Portuguese sailor stumbling upon a village where this festival was taking place, how he would have reacted at the sight of a half naked man black man painted with white stripes all across him, or how he would interpret a dancing colorful ape that was the size of a small child? I also kept thinking that the festival itself has been so far removed from the historical purpose that the people themselves have decontextualized their performances. For instance there was a troupe of officials in the parade who proceeded with the chief, they had some sort of plants entwined in their hair and they were sweeping the ground. In the historical context of this these people were actually meant to be sweeping away evil spirits that might cause famine or creep into the hearts of man to cause war. In the modern setting they were by far the closest to the historical symbolic nature of the parade however next to the street performers who would constantly cross their path and purposefully jump into pictures that people were trying to take in order to force onlookers to put a few pesawas into their collection cans, these sacred gestures were made meaningless by the very people who were supposed to believe in them. One thing was entirely evident, the entire culture of modern day Ghana is a consistent clash of modern vs traditional.

After that busy weekend, I took it slow on Sunday, lazing around most of the day and then going to a performance of "A Raisin in the Sun." Again, the performance itself was decent, better than the other show that I saw, however I learned more about the audience and the expectations here rather than being engaged in a touching performance. I will say that the director had an interesting, if somewhat non-text based, interpretation of the show. A few of the actors were very good. The mother in particular had some truly touching moments and she was by far the most convincing character. She seemed to understand the setting and time period much better, and she even endeavored to have an African-American accent rather than a Ghanaian one, which I was highly impressed with. However, all of the actors seemed lost at moments in the piece, meaning was lost and moments were destroyed. From my point of view though it was more a director problem than an actor one though. The actors were good and endeavored to make meaning throughout the piece, but I think that because the director had given them an interpretation that was not based in the text the actors were not able to make sense in each line because in the greater picture that moment no longer worked at the playwright wrote it due to this new interpretation. The show also gave me to ideas for my directing experience here, and I am learning even more about acting styles, director styles, and technical limitations that I will be dealing with. It is a bit daunting knowing that the expectations and conventions are so different from what I am used to. But I feel like Jeffery's directing class last semester has at least equipped me to be able to identify those issues and have tools for working them out, even if I am not successful in that, I think it will be an incredible learning experience.

Monday, I had playwriting, which was once again wonderful. I had been assigned last week to start writing a play on the topic I came up with in class. However, after trying to sit down and write, I couldn't find any words for the characters in the story I had cooked up in class. So, after a nice lap and some thinking, I began another piece. The style is highly influenced by a play I saw at KCACTF, but the story deals with the lives of foster children. I wrote the first few scenes and was actually disappointed that we didn't get to read it in class, but that's for next week. After class I met one of the other students, Linda, who is very sweet. As I was talking to her I complimented her on the bracelet she was wearing and she immediately offered to get me one and asked what color I wanted. I was so astounded by her generosity that I almost refused, but as she insisted I decided to accept her offer. Her sister apparently makes the bracelets, and she was very happy to have one made for me. Yet again, I am astounded and the kindness of the Ghanaian people, especially the women. In the evening Monday, I learned how to made redred, which is beans and fried plantains, but sadly I had to rush off to choir rehearsal before I could eat so Daniel had to save me some. It was delicious needless to say, and Daniel apparently shared with several Ghanaians who said the beans were amazing. So now he's decided to teach me how to cook all things Ghanaian because he thinks I am a born chef. lol.

Tuesday's directing class gave some more formal guidelines as far as my play goes. I'll be directing a one-act, maximum 30 mins, and they are allowing me about a months time and some limited resources from the theatre department which is actually pretty generous considering their main contribution is to pay for the script copies I need which would be the bulk of my costs anyways. I also went and checked out the theatre space to get an idea about my staging limitations and whatnot, but their space is so versatile as an outdoor theatre that I can really do any type that I want, though if it was an evening performance it would have to be on the proscenium stage. They have like 8-10 lights total and they are all par-cans. They have limited gels and specials are pretty much none. They didn't even seem to have shutters or barn-doors to limit the field of the light. Matthew Snyder would be appalled. hahaha! But that's what I have to work with, so I'll deal. At the moment, I am thinking it would be really cool to direct something in a real thrust stage or in alley-way. However, at this point it really just depends on what script I can find. That's the other thing. Because books are so scarce here, you literally CANNOT just go to a bookstore and buy a compilation of one act plays to look through. I thought it was hard to find a selection of play to get my 10 minutes scene for directing last semester, but this is nightmarish at times. The library had tons scripts but none are organized and most, if not all, are from past productions so there is just a jumble of scripts with many multiples all stacked on the shelf together. They have a few anthologies, but they are almost all full-length plays. I cannot however dog the library here too much because they have an amazing selection of theatre history books. They have Artaud and Grotowski's works as well as a book Stanislavsky wrote I believe. So, when it comes down to it, I may be spending some time sitting in the library reading "Theatre of Cruelty" and the rest. : D

Tuesday evening after choir practice I had an excellent conversation with some other choir members and I finally feel as if I have many some good Ghanaian friends. They promised to help me learn Twi as well as some of the other Ghanaian languages, like Ga and Fante. They also promised to practice the African dances with me, which is really awesome cause I love that class but feel like I don't get enough individual time with the Ghanaians or the TAs to solidify the dances in my body. Overall, I feel like I am actually getting used to living here, and I have some very exciting future prospects as far as learning the language, cooking, bead making, traveling, and really delving into the culture like I had hoped I would be able to.

On another note, I found out that I was cast in that film I auditioned for. I am a prostitute, and the only white person in the cast or crew. There are over 100 people involved currently, but as I got the chance to read the script, I found out that it is simply a Ghanaian retelling of Bertolt Brecht's "The Good Woman of Setzuan." I find it ironic that after missing my chance to be a part of that show at Fairmont (and all the guilt and anger and sadness I felt when I had to leave the cast) now I am in the same show in Ghana and I am playing a character which is the equivalent of the one I would have played at home. Ah, the irony! I have two lines, which are pretty much just crowd lines, and I think I will only have to be on set for the shooting of the production like 2-3 times. But it will be my first real film credit. hahaha!

Wednesday, classes were fun. History and Development of Theatre in Ghana is turning out to be interesting but also annoying, mostly because it's a big class, and I find myself constantly losing focus. I finally feel like I am retaining some things in drumming and traditional songs which is good. I need to practice more, but that sort of goes without saying. Wednesday evening was our first actual rehearsal for the film I am in, where we read the script, I found that the rehearsal process here is much more low-key and informal than I am used to. As I have contemplated it I honestly don't think I can direct like that, and I don't think I should change my directing style to accommodate the expectations of the Ghanaian actors I will be working with. Instead, I think it will be more profitable to structure things as I would if I were directing at home. Perhaps it will help the actors, I'm not sure. But I just know that I cannot work as a director without more structure than what I have witnessed and experienced from the directors here. It may turn into more of a battle than I would like, but I am willing struggle; it'll make it a more interesting and profitable learning experience in the end.

Today is Thursday so it's been pretty low key since I don't have many classes. But I am figuring out what I will direct while I am here. Trying to find something I can get online and preferably royalty free, but we'll see if I can really find the diamond in the ruff. I was going to go to the market today, but Daniel offered to take me on Saturday instead which is market day, so Madina is bustling. I think that will be a lot of fun, and I will be able to get all the food stuff I need as well as maybe finding a seamstress to make my dresses and taking some cool pictures to post later of Madina Market. As far as the computer issues go I found out that the memory, RAM, and battery are all fine. The computer itself is pretty intact, but the guy who looked at it said it was probably a problem with the motherboard or the processor. I was right about it coming from the overheating though. He said that when he researched the computer I have about 85% of the people who had the same computer had the same issue come up from overheating. Daniel said it might be worth is to just take the memory off my computer and then sell it and buy a new one, but I don't really want to do that cause I think it would be a hassle to sell and the cheapest computer here is about 400 cedi. Instead we are going to a professional IT center where someone will look at it and then tell me how much it will cost to fix. Daniel is going to bring me there tomorrow, and he said that the most expensive it should be would be like 100 cedi, but he doesn't think it will be even that much. Hopefully I will be able to negotiate a good price and have my computer back before the end of the last at the latest. So, here's to hoping.

Boti Falls Weekend and the HP disaster

 Soooooo, I haven't posted in a while, which is not entirely my fault, as I will explain, but regardless, I'll take it from the top.

So, Friday was pretty boring on account of the fact that I had no class and nothing really to do. So I sat around pretty much all day. But then in the evening I heard about music department event where a bunch of pop bands were playing, including a group of international students who had formed a band. It was actually a lot of fun, and the bands weren't too bad. I video-taped a traditional African band that was playing and some guys who were dancing, so you can get a sampling of African dance forms. But it's pretty interesting. (Video to come later)

Saturday I left Accra with some friends to go to Boti Falls, which is a natural waterfall about an hour and a half drive from here. Sooo, at about 10:30ish we left the University and walked to catch some trotros to Madina, where we would get another trotro to take us to Koforidua, which is the closest town to Boti Falls. We ended up having to split into pairs to get on the trotros, cause Saturdays are Market days at Madina so the trotros were always mostly full when they got to us. I paired off with a Canadian girl I just met named Lianne. So, first off, Lianne and I get in the trotro to Madina, and we are riding along for a while when I start thinking "you know, I am not sure where we need to get off and I don't recognize this area." So I ask Lianne if she's ever been to Madina before, and she says no, so pretty much I was supposed to be our guide and I think I've f'ed it up. So, we end up just riding until the end of the line, and then calling Matt, who was also on the trip with us. Turns out we ended up exactly in the right place, dropped off right near the station we had to be at. We met up with Matt and his partner in travel, Marianne, another Canadian I met. So the four of us met up and go in search of a trotro to Koforidua and in transit we have to leap across a trench (which Lianne has nicknamed an obruni trap simply because there are holes and gutters everywhere, and the locals are always avoiding them is ease, but white people are always getting hurt.) On a side note, Lianne ended up with stitches in her leg after falling into one of these obruni traps on campus while she was running. So, you can see the dangers.

After we crossed the trench, we had to ask several people where the trotro station was, and we ended up with a random guy leading us there and then expecting payment, which we had be warned and told not to give by our guides before. After we got in the trotro and got on the road the trip itself was pretty pleasant. We talked the whole way there, and I really got to know my two new Canadian friends. After the long ride to Koforidua we called the other group of travelers to see where they were and found out they had arrived much earlier and gotten a taxi to the bead market, only to find that its only open on Thursdays. So, while they were on their way back we wandered around the city center for a while and then picked up a trotro to Boti Falls.

I wasn't sure how spectacular the falls were actually going to be, and the park itself where the falls were was relatively undeveloped, with few stands to buy snacks and a few benches to sit in the general park area. As we journeyed down the steps to the falls and got our first glimpses, it was well worth the trip. The area was gorgeous and you couldn't take a bad picture. We ended up climbing a bit away from the crowd to get pictures of the falls and then getting ambushed by Ghanaians who wanted to take pictures with us. After having my picture taken with about 10 different Ghanaians that I had never met before, I saw a few of the people from our group venturing out on the rocks and such behind the waterfalls. Taking a bold step myself (as I was wearing only flip-flops), I decided to follow them. It ended up being a truly amazing adventure crawling around on the rocks behind the water falls, disappearing into the roar and the mist of the water. There were rainbows created by the falls as well. After all my adventuring, and admittedly hanging back to take pictures, I was soaked but sated. I had been craving a chance to get back out into nature and just have a bit of connection with the earth again, and Boti Falls definitely delivered. I was even able to take a moment all by myself to meditate and just listen to the falls, taking in the beauty and thanking my Creator for all of the blessings I had been given.

After our little falls adventure, we went in search of food, which ended up taking us back to town and Koforidua. Again, we ended up splitting up as some people were more interested in returning home to Accra before dark and some of us were into more adventures. So, it ended up being Matt, Marianne, Lianne, Emily, and I wandering around Koforidua, replacing Lianne's bandage for her stitches a bit shadily at a pharmacy on the street. Then we followed the guidebook and went to a place called Chris Cafe for food. It was pretty delicious and they had bathroom to change out of our damp clothes which was nice. After eating a delicious meal of vegetable fried rice and spring rolls, we paid our bill and I ended up being dragged into yet another awkward cultural blunder. One of the guys working at Chris Cafe asked Matt (when he was paying the bill) to have me come up to the counter. When Matt told me this, I was confused and thought I had messed something up with the bill. Only I came to find that he just wanted my number. When I told him I didn't give out my number, he proceeded to hand me a piece of paper which he had previously written ALL of his contact information (including his number, email, and facebook ID). I was a bit shocked and somewhat flattered as something like this had never happened to me (and honestly, I didn't think that sort of thing happened in real life). I told him I was engaged and wasn't interested, to which he replied that he only wanted to be my friend (doubtful). Don't worry this isn't the end of his involvement in the story.

So after eating we grab a cab to a cheap hotel in Koforidua where Matt and Marianne got us a room, while Emily, Lianne, and I hid (since there is a law here that you can only have two people in a room, but we didn't want to pay any more). Then as we settled into our little hotel, which randomly had a picture of an Asian baby on the wall, Matt finds out that he has lost his cell phone. There are two places it could be Chris Cafe or the taxi. Soooo, whilst the rest of us as laughing at him and talking, Matt calls his own cell phone to see if he can locate it. Someone picks up (as if it were their own phone) and Matt awkwardly tries to explain that he is the owner of the cell phone that this guy is talking on. At this point we are all laughing at Matt, and simultaneously trying not to be too load so he can hear what the guy is saying. Whoever it is, tells him that he will call Matt back because he's at work. This leads Matt to believe that he left it at Chris Cafe. So, minutes pass, Matt goes out to the main lobby to find out if we can get snacks from anywhere nearby (and btw he is gone for like 2 hrs talking to the guys in the lobby where he tells them that Marianne- who he got the room with- is not his wife, which causes much scandal). Then over the course of the evening we scoot the two double beds together and play cards while Matt is intermittently freaking out about whether to call this guys back or not, since he hasn't called him. After a while they go to the circuitous route and call the guy from Chris Cafe who gave me his number (his name was Samuel btw) and try to find out if a phone was left there. To make things interesting, they use Marianne's phone to call, which makes him think that she is me, and Marianne freaks out after she realizes this so she tries not to sound like herself and ends up randomly talking like a Valley Girl on the phone. After that hilarity, Matt is again going back and forth between calling or not calling, ends up picking up Marianne's phone when Samuel calls, confusing him with the driver who called earlier and has his phone. (btw, Matt called his phone from Marianne's phone earlier when he called the driver) So everyone is confused, Matt is thinking that his phone is lost forever, especially when he tries to call it again and its turned off. As we all finally go to bed, Matt randomly wakes up at 3am and calls his phone, speaking with the driver, finding out that he left his phone in the cab and not at Chris Cafe, and trying to arrange for the guy to bring it back to him. Throughout the nite Matt is then coming in and out revealing that the guy is gonna bring his phone and whatnot. At some ungodly hour of the morning Matt goes out to wait for the cabby, runs back in a few hours later to ask for money, and runs back out to pay the cab driver for bringing him his phone, then comes back in with a hilarious happy dance or retrieving his phone, which ends in him collapsing onto the bed, which btw is not very comfy and holds 4 other people. Needless to say it was a cramped night, but quite hilarious. To top it all off, when we woke up in the morning, Marianne gets a call on her cell phone from none other than Samuel, our favorite worker at Chris Cafe, who is off work and wants to hang out with me (even though he's talking to her). She tells him we are leaving Koforidua, and after an awkward moment when he is trying to find out where we are to say goodbye, she hangs up. Boy oh boy was it an interesting weekend.

So, we travel back into town, realizing in the taxi that we left the two beds pushed together and Matt told the attendants that Marianne and him weren't married so not only did that commit a cultural crime by sleeping in the same room, but know they will probably assume that they got wild together in the hotel. HAHAHAHA!! So, we went to breakfast back at Chris Cafe then wandered in circles for forever trying to find the infamous trotro station to Accra. When we finally found it, through a back alley, we got on the trotro and headed home, quickly falling asleep. As we neared Accra, traffic got heavier and we entered a section of highway that was under construction so no one could sleep. To make things even more interesting, our trotro hit another trotro that was trying to cut us off, and every Ghanaian in both trotros including the driver started raising and shaking their fists at those in the other trotro. HAHA!

We returned home safe and sound though by Sunday afternoon, and I lounged the rest of the day, annoyed with the internet connection, which wasn't working. I stayed up late Sunday watching movies with Daniel in the internet cafe, and was awoken at 7am by the playwriting professor who I didn't recognize over the phone. I started freaking out thinking he was calling me to see if I was coming to class (since we had discussed moving the class from 1:30pm to the early morning slot, which in my stupor I forgot doesn't even start til 7:30am anyways, but regardless). I was freaking out looking for clothes when I lost my connection, hanging up on my professor and causing even more of a freak out. Luckily when he called back he told me that the class was being moved back to its original time due to some scheduling conflicts he had. After that frantic episode, I was glad to go back to bed and sleep in for a bit. I went to Playwriting class and had an interesting time discussing some hot topic issues in Ghanaian culture that people were interested in writing about. I missed the memo though because all of the playwriting ideas I had were definitely not socially driven like the others we discussed. After class, I walked with the TA from that class a bit and found out about a film audition, which he talked me into doing right then. I had no idea what I was walking into as an audition, but was told by my friend, Chief, that it was just cold readings from the script. When I got into the room though, I was asked to improvise. As the film centers around a very seedy part of town, and the only female roles are for prostitutes, guess what I ended up having to improvise. BINGO! I was acting like a prostitute propositioning a male for money in return for favors. BAHAHAHA! Needless to say it was bar-none the most interesting audition I have ever had. In fact, I am pretty sure that I made the only female in the room very uncomfortable, since she was the one who said "That's good. We've seen what we need, thanks!" LMAO. I might have played it a little too forward for Ghanaian culture, but what the heck. After our auditions, Chief and I went to the Bush Canteen so I could get a pot and then he walked me back to ISH1 where I live, and I found out he lives just across from me in ISH2. 

After that I spent another evening fighting with my internet and then trying to just do a system recovery on my computer. So, here's what happened after that. I woke up in the morning on Tuesday and my computer wouldn't come on which was odd and annoying, but I wasn't in the mood to worry about it so I went on with my day. I went to directing class where I found out that my teachers want me to direct something in Ghana this semester FOR SURE. So, I had that rolling around in my brain. Then I went to the ISEP office to sign up for a trip to the Cape Coast festival happening this weekend and check my class schedule with them. It turns out I was signed up for Twi, which I thought I had crossed out because of a schedule conflict. I'm hoping that gets worked out or I've been missing a bunch of class. Also, I realized that I am not 100% positive that I have more choral class on there, which I need to give me the right amount of credits transferring back to FSU. I'll have to figure that all out. After that, I walked back to ISH deep in thought about ideas for plays to direct, really wanting to bounce ideas off of someone in the theatre department at home and ask some questions of a Ghanaian theatre student as well. Lo and behold, as I walked back Chief was out on his friends' balcony and yelled down at me. So, I asked if we could talk about directing and I ended up hanging out with him and his friend Abdul for several hours. It was a fun time for sure, even if I did forget to go to my dance class that evening. I got a better idea of what I was looking for to direct and Chief is getting me some One-Act plays to look at as well.

As I returned to my room I was greeted again with the problem of my computer not working, so I called home to try and talk to my Dad and see if he could help me find out what was wrong with it. To my chagrin, he is in Idaho Falls, so that didn't work out. Instead of being able to figure out what was wrong with my computer, I went to the night market where I was assailed by a random guy I met over a week ago after dance class, who apparently looked for me all night at the dance class. I was reasonably creeped out but tried to be polite until he tried to insist on getting my number and whatnot, after which I told him I was not comfortable with that. He in turn tried to justify himself and our supposedly "established" friendship by telling me that he picked me out of the crowd at dance class a week ago and followed me back to the hostel to talk to me when I was away from my group of friends. He kept saying he really wanted to be friends with me and whatnot, which just made this more creepy than ever. By the time I was leaving, his parting comment was that he would be around, watching me until I was more comfortable to give him my number, needless to say that is NEVER gonna happen. I ended up ranting for a while about it with one of my Ghanaian friends, Fifi, who offered to pose as my boyfriend if I needed him to.

The rest of the night was mainly uneventful, I made some rice and veggies, did entirely too many sudoku puzzles and fell asleep. Wednesday was a school holiday for Ramidan so I didn't have any classes, and I went to a market called Kaneshie with Emily, Matt, and Lianne. We had a good day of shopping. I got some cute sandals, more fabric, and some bracelets, also trying out FanIce which is basically vanilla ice cream in a bag, but it's really good. In the evening, I made some more rice and veggies, and I got to try a Canadian food called Putin, which is fries, gravy, and cheese and is DELICIOUS. Then I went to the internet cafe to try and use Daniel's tools to open up my computer and see if the fans were working, which was my best guess for the problem my computer was having. However, Daniel soon found out that I really didn't know what I was doing, and he called his brother, who fixes computers. He is coming tomorrow, so I am hoping I can find out what is wrong then, and possibly get it fixed for cheap. The rest of the night I spent watching movies with Daniel, and listening to a bunch of people complain because the internet is out at ISH until today or tomorrow. Someone stole the cables that connect our cafe to the overall network in Legon, main campus.

As far as today goes, I woke up incredibly late today, had a groundnut and blackberry currant jam sandwich (the equivalent of PB&J here), and then walked all the way to the International Programs Office where they have a free computer lab for international students. I'm not sure when I'll have a computer again, and I am just hoping against hope that I recover my pictures and whatnot, so we'll see. I'll try and keep you in the loop. Miss you all.