Sunday on the beach

Hey,

After a fun and eventful Friday and Saturday, it was time for a restful Sunday. I was able to sleep in for a while, which was really refreshing. A few hours after waking up, I headed to the beach with Lauren, Akrofi, and Erica, a previous intern from the Institute who has continued to live in Kokrobitey. We walked around for a bit, and Lauren and I bought dresses from Beatrice, a friend from the village who makes simple dresses and walks around selling them on the beach.

We sat down to rest, soak up the sun, and relax. We saw two of our friends from Osu and talked to them for a while. They are interesting characters, one of them taught me how to play this little instrument most of the Rastas have, made of two large nuts filled with seeds and tied to one another with string. You play them by moving them through your fingers and creating rhythms. It took a lot of practice but I finally got it, and I bought one to keep. Our other friend taught me to read poetry to the beat of the Rastas' drumming. It is so interesting to pick up these little bits of knowledge and culture from the different people I meet.

While we were laying on the beach a small boy walked over with a puppy on a leash and.... a baby monkey! All three of them were adorable. I didn't catch the boys name, but the puppy was Raphael and the monkey was Rocky. They were very friendly and climbed all over us! The monkey was always glued to the puppy's side, and when they left to continue on, the monkey tried to ride on the puppy's back!

When the heat was becoming oppressive, we went into the ocean for a swim. The water was beautiful, and it was the perfect temperature. We laid on the beach for a while longer, until a wave came up and soaked our things! We decided then that it was time to head back for a shower and some dinner. It was a really fun day.