6:30 am heat wave usually wakes me up, but this morning it was a slap in the face. It took a few groggy flickers of my eye lids to realize that it was because the power was off again. Lord help us. I learned later from Jonah, after my breakfast of porridge from guinea corn and bofruit (I think that is how you spell it- it’s their version of a donut), that the whole Northern Region is on a three day power outage and they are only turning it back on at night. No problem. I deal with 120+ degree like a champ… right? I mentally had to prepare myself to survive today. I forgot to mention yesterday that Sister Comfort gave me the greatest gift I have ever received during our meeting yesterday, a fan. It never leaves me, and I am pretty sure that it is what is keeping me alive.
I really shouldn’t be so dramatic. Sorry, it’s a girl thing and I am at times a victim of my gender. I have adjusted to the heat miraculously, but these temperatures make everything slow and hazy. It’s like watching a movie in slow motion in a sauna or the scene from “Fifel Goes West” when he’s in the desert and sees the mirage. I am pleased to say I am over the miserable stage and have found ways to keep myself somewhat cool or distract myself from how hot I really am. The bionerd in me really would like to be able to analyze the color of my urine because I know for a fact input does not equal output in these kinds of conditions, but with the toilets here... it’s just not an option and I’ll leave it at that.
Jonah and Aggie were at the house this morning for a bit and we had a lovely chat. I got Jonah in big trouble because I made a complete fool out of myself in front Pastor Jidoh at Joe’s house yesterday because I addressed him incorrectly and used a word I thought Johan had taught me.
This brings us to your cultural lesson for the day.
In Likpakpaaln (lik-paa-paln), the language of the Konkombas, the word for friend or friends is not universal. You address friends of the opposite sex with different names than you use for friends of your own gender. For example, as a female, I can only address another woman or a group of woman with the word “nnaakon” which is “my friend” or “nnaakontiib” which is plural. For males, you say “njo” and njotiib for my friend/friends. I had understood Jonah to say that as a woman, I could use both sets of words, address a man as “njo” and a woman as “nnaakon” but a man could only use “njo” to his man friends and use a different word when addressing woman. WRONG. Women cannot say “njo/njotiib” and men cannot say “nnaakon/nnaakontiib.” Yes, this is a lot of jibberish, but I want you to understand that there is a really funky system here!
When I called Pastor Jidoh “njo”, laughter erupted from all the onlookers. I was so embarrassed, but they all good-humored people so it was fine. Now he makes fun of me and calls me “njo,” so I taught him what the word “punk” means.
So if that’s the case, then what do I call my guy friends? I had been addressing them incorrectly since I got here and no one, until yesterday, had bothered to correct me. Jonah and Aggie had to tag team this lesson because I was so backwards and upside down, and it took me quite a while to figure out why.
The Konkombas do not have a word that differentiates between a guy-girl friendship and a guy and girl who are dating, which means to be correct, I essentially have to call a guy friend of mine the same word used for boyfriend in a dating context. I told Jonah I thought this was ridiculous and they need to get a new word so I am not misunderstood or so confused!
As if that wasn’t confusing enough, I also learned that because I am not married, the words I use to address a man or group of men are different than the words I will use when I am married. If I was a Konkomba, when I get married, I will of course address this hunka burnin’ love as “my husband” but I will also call other men that too because it is proper to give them the same respect I give my husband. This works for the same for married men too. So, ladies, imagine your husband running around calling all the women he sees the same pet name he calls you! Also, it is polite to call an old man “my father” or old woman “my mother” because I have to acknowledge out of respect their ability to give birth to children.
My head is still spinning,
Jonah, bless his heart, told me a story to try about when he was first learning to make me feel better, and I was doubled over by the time he was done. Here, for the most part, if you have a voluptuous wife that means as a husband, you are good at providing for your family and that you are MAN. For women, it means you married well and you are in good, baby making health, which are really important things here. Aggie has a tight, strong little body that in my American opinion, is the ideal body type women want, yet Jonah will get comments like “Does she eat? Why isn’t she bigger? Are you not feeding her?” Shocking right? Well… there was an American girl who came here a while ago Jonah befriended and returned a few years later. She had married in the time away from Saboba, which she had informed Jonah of. When he picked her up from the airport, he commented on how much bigger she had gotten, complete with hand gestures as a compliment to her good husband… Can you even imagine?! I was laughing so hard. Needless to say, I felt so much better about my little mishap.
I spent the rest of my morning with Trinity and my fan- duh. Her younger brother John joined us for this algebra lesson today, which made it even more fun. However, I keep finding gaps in her education so we have to go back and address certain things before we can continue. For instance, perimeter and area… she doesn’t know them. John picked it up right away because had learned a little in school, but what little Trinity learned years ago was lost in brain space. We tried pictures, clever examples and it was not clicking. I know what her face looks like when she gets something and I was not seeing it. Then it hit me. I shooed them into my nasty bathroom, the only room in the house with tiled floor. So we sat in my bathroom, counting tiles and walking round them until she was a perimeter/area master! Actually it was when we all looked at each other, sweat dripping from our faces, and decided we needed to get our three bodies out of such a small room!
Great teaching moment.
It was market day today so the town was buzzing. Dr. Jean needed to get out of the house so we went together and milled around for a while. I have yet to bring my camera there because I have this phobia of looking like “THAT” white girl, so I am trying to familiarize them with my presence so I won’t feel so touristy. I really shouldn’t care because it’s a perpetual photo op, and I am dying to capture it.
When we came back, I asked Bob what the temperature was, and he said in all seriousness, “Well, it’s a lot cooler than yesterday. It’s only 115 degrees.” I started laughing so hard, most like from heat delirium, which made both of them laugh. We are have lost our minds!! It’s only 115 degrees!
The Uti River that separates Ghana from Togo curves around Saboba, so there are different crossing points within a reasonable distance. I know from Jonah there is a place on the river different than the one I have been he likes to swim and fish, and I wanted to go see it. Joe kindly took me because it’s through his family’s farming land the trial lies. He is such a good teacher and I learn so much from him. He makes me memorize everything and repeat it back to him. So I learned all different kinds of crops today. Because it was market day today, many people were crossing back to Togo, so there were super cool canoes going back and forth. Joe, who likes escapades as much as I do, jumped in one of the boats and turns to me with the “well, are you coming or not?” look. OK! We went upstream on the Togo side so I could touch it and say I was an illegial immigrant for a just a bit. There were women, shamelessly topless, bathing and washing their clothes. It’s the biggest National Geographic moment I have had since I have been here.
it was such a beautiful trip. It one of my favorite things I have done since I have been here.
I am reading a book written by a woman who basically got the Saboba Medical Center off and running back in the early 1950’s. It is so fascinating to read about a place you are in at that exact moment. She references people I know, places I know, traditions and certain things about the Konkoma culture that I have grown accustomed to. She says phrases in Likpakpaaln and I undersatnd them! She also referenced the horrible heat she was experiencing on March 10, 1951 and I TOTALLY understood! The people who pioneered this place, women especially… I CANNOT even imagine.
I am going to a different church tomorrow in hopes of avoiding another moving solo from Big Mama. Just kidding… kind of. I have been invited to Emery’s church, Joe and Solo’s, and some other friends so I am in the process of following up on invitations. Solo and Joe go to this one, so I’m hoping if nothing else, Benedita will sit in my lap.
I hope you are having a wonderful, relaxing Saturday!
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