One Busy Weekend

Hey all!

This past weekend was jam-packed with exciting events. On Saturday we woke early to travel via tro tro to Aburi, a village about three hours away. In Aburi we visited the Botanical Gardens, which contains an amazing tree that is actually composed completely of fungus. The gardens also have weeds that shrink when you touch them, and an actual helicopter that crash landed in the garden but was never removed. After roaming the gardens we rented mountain bikes and off-roaded it to a waterfall in the woods. The waterfall is a hidden gem, and many of us enjoyed a dip in the cold water. After the ride back we were served freshly cut pineapple. Our bike tour guide was very welcoming, and even escorted us to his uncle's house, who is the Togbe (chief) of the area. We got to met the Togbe and take photos with him while he sat on his throne.

We then traveled to the nearby street filled with carvers. Carving shops line the streets, and there are more carvings than you could possibly look at in one day. Our tour guide even had his own shop. We shopped and bought souvenirs, and then climbed back in the tro tro for the ride back home. When we returned our friend Charles, who is from Saviefe Deme, spent the night at our house with his wife Ernestine and daughter Enyonam. Charles goes to the teacher college in Ho, and often joins us on weekend nights.

On Sunday Erika and I went to church with my teacher, Sam. He is a member of a very small church, and when we first arrived Sam, his wife Vivian and his deacon were the only people in the church. The church was a small, one room, cement building with pews and a carved wooden alter. Sam, Vivian, and the deacon all started prayer immediately, and their prayer time included playing tamborines and other instruments. As mass went on more villagers joined us, until eventually about fifteen people were gathered in the church praying and singing together. After an hour Sam preached about a passage in the bible. Sam graduated from bible school before becoming a teacher so his sermons are very moving and well-versed. After church, which lasted 2.5 hours, I joined Sam for lunch at his apartment. Sam lives in a room in the office building of his college. His room consists of his bed, many chairs, and a small TV. His wife does not live with him, she lives at the hostel for her college. Sam's wife cooked us rice with chicken and red stew. She even walked down the street and bought us Alvaros, which are fruity sodas that taste amazing. We ate as much as we could, and then watched a Nigerian film together.

In the late afternoon I returned home, and Charles, his wife, and his daughter, spent another night with us. That night we played Mafia, a game we have come to love that involves solving imaginary murders, with our neighbors Sam and Priscella. After many games of mafia we all called it a night, and the next morning Sam drove me all the way to get Kosi (a fried bean-curd sandwich) and I taxied the rest of the way to school to start another eventful week.

Until next time!

Molly