out and about

Ah, yes... the weekend!

After staying in Friday night and resting, I was ready for some fun on Saturday. I went to the beach with Lauren, Akrofi, and Larteh, who works in the office with us at the Institute. We had a great time relaxing, and I went swimming for a while and then went for a walk down the beach to dry off. It was exactly what I needed!

Unfortunately at the end of the week we ran out of gas for the stove, and when we replaced it, the gas started leaking. So, I had no stove for the weekend. We ended up doing most of our cooking at Laurens and having dinner/movie nights.

On Saturday after dinner I got ready and we all went out to Reggae Night at Big Milly's.... of course. As usual, we hung out, had some drinks, enjoyed the music, and danced until the night was over.

Sunday morning was perfect for sleeping in. After a breakfast of oats I did some laundry (by hand of course) and put my things out to dry. I then joined Lauren and Maame Esi for a walk into town. Lauren had decided to get extensions put in her hair, and we went on a search for the right color hair. After finding it we went to a small salon for a few hours while she had the extensions put in. They came out great!

Being at the salon convinced me to get my hair braided like the last time I was in Ghana... perhaps this upcoming weekend I will get them done! It does take all day though.... :-/ While Lauren was getting her hair done I got to play with the hairdressers baby boy Chief. He was so adorable!

After dinner and a movie that night it was time for me to pass out and get some rest for Monday- the first day of my second week of work!

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.