Meet 'N' Greet Local Ghanians

Today I got to meet some people that just came to California from Ghana. Margo (my step-mom) works with this girl, Sia, who is from Ghana so I arranged to get coffee with her and her mom, Francisca. It was so cool to hear from them what it would be like. Top five pieces of info they gave me:

1. Ghanians are hospitable - Francisca told me that the number one thing that most people are surprised by when they go to Ghana is how friendly everyone is. She said that they call each other "sister", "brother", "aunt", and "uncle" even if they aren't related. I asked if I should give some kind of thank you to people after I interview them for my research and she looked confused when she asked, "Why would you? They will want to thank you for listening." Hmm, didn't expect that one. Although irrelevant, this picture is awesome: 

 

2. Wear whatever you want. - I've been worried because Elizabeth (the leader of the fellows) told us that we needed knee-length clothes with wide straps and no backs or middrift showing. Well that eliminates about 3/4 of my wardrobe (is that sad?), so I was tripping out about what to wear. But Francisca says that people wear the same thing there that they do here, like short shorts and mini-skirts. She said it would be fine to wear everyday clothes when I'm not working. Here's an example of traditional Ghana outfits (according to the web):

3. The food is bomb. - Both Francisca and Sia raved about the food. One dish they described (Fu Fu) involves mashed plantains and yams fried into a dough ball dipped in soup. Hmm. They said plantains are huge there  -- fried, boiled, roasted, sugared, and more. Also kabobs of meat, like chicken, is big, which sounds good. They said that there are women selling street snacks like prettily carved oranges and fresh fruit, and that it is safe to eat. Okay, I can dig that. Here is an example of Fu Fu:

4. There are not many (or any) ATMs - Apparently, Ghana is a bit behind on their technology. Could have guessed that. Hopefully I'll have internet, and if I'm really lucky, running water. 

5. Contacts of people to meet - They gave me the name, address, and phone number of like eight cousins of theirs that I should contact haha. They set me up with a relative in every city in Ghana, so that's cool. It would be fun to actually know someone and maybe meet up. I don't have a picture of their family (that would be weird), but here's a picture of another Ghanaian family:

It was really interesting to hear their stories too. I wish I had brought my flip camera to record our conversation. Francisca told me how she made it through high school (rare for women), and got into a foreign exchange program so she could come to America. From there, she worked hard to get into San Jose State to study nursing and then went on to become a nurse assistant. She later took her 10 year old daughter, Sia, to Ghana for six years, where Sia studied in a private high school. Then Sia came back to California and is now a senior at Prospect High School. What a cool mother-daughter pair huh?