The rest of my weekend....

I didn't want to ruin the completeness of my post I wrote (but was unable to publish) on Saturday. So here's another one for you talking about the rest of my weekend.

First of all, Elana - our trusty program coordinator - took our photos when she left in August and put a selection on Facebook. A lot of them are the same as the ones on Flickr but there are a few different ones (And some taken by Denise!) So if you'd like to check them out, you should be able to see them here:

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/#/album.php?aid=2097736&id=1704918
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/#/album.php?aid=2097738&id=1704918
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2097739&id=1704918

You may or may not be able to view them if you do not have facebook or are not friends with Elana. Try it and see.

So yesterday we went to an "Outdooring" (ie. Baby Naming Ceremony) of our friend's baby. They call it this because traditionally, it's the first time the kid gets to come outside since it's born. It usually takes place 8 days after he or she is born but this baby was 2 1/2 weeks old because they had to get all of the family together (and his mom was in the hospital for longer than expected).

Anyways, so this family is Dagomba (read: from the north) so they were giving their son a Dagbani name. AND THEY PICKED MINE! So me and my little namesake, Whoompini (I know, Elana, I'm butchering the spelling...) got to hang out yesterday. And he is just the cutest little thing ever. And we all got to hold him, which was great and unexpected.

However, because there were several mix ups about what the actual time was for the ceremony, we were there for 4 hours and did not get to see the actual ceremony take place. Nor did we get to dance... (Although this is probably for the best.)

A few of us went to Madina market afterwards and it was eerily abandoned. More than 3/4 of it was empty, with one whole isle gated and locked. I've never, ever seen it empty like that! Even on a Sunday! I'm not sure what was up, but it was strange. I ended up getting a couple of headbands for my braided hair (to protect it from the inevitable sunburned scalp) and some fabric.

SPEAKING OF - If you are expecting gifts from me at all - for your birthday or Christmas or you think that I like you that much... I would really, really appreciate if you could tell me what you would like. Jewlery? Carved statues? Carved boxes? A chief's stool? A drum? Another kind of musical instrument? A bag? PJ pants? A dress? Just plain cloth? A basket?

Seriously, I do really need to know. Because otherwise you are just getting what I give you and you may miss out on that thing you really wanted to get. And if you want clothing I need your measurements pronto.

Anyway, yesterday was slightly strange because I keep having this eerie "I'm in Ghana" feeling. I was grocery shopping at like 9 AM and I keep feeling like... This isn't weird anymore! I'm in Ghana and I'm just buying food. And it's not weird. I'm taking a tro-tro by myself and I know where I'm going and this is normal. It was strange in all it's normalcy. I think I'm beginning to get used to things here. And maybe starting to like them. (gasp!)

Okay, so I actually have a modicum of real work to do for my classes (two group projects - one of which we have no idea what the project/presentation entails and it's due next Thursday. Ohhhh Ghana.) so I should probably do that instead of talking your ear off instead.