About Elisabeth Marie Rainer

I'm writing more frequently. It's a little after 2 am and in three hours, I have to wake up and hop on the bus with the group to Kumasi. It's a four hour ride which means a decent nap. I'm pretty excited, and I can only hope that this excursion will be as amazing as the last one to Cape Coast and Elmina.

I'm going to write briefly about Elisabeth because 1) I told her I would, and 2) I am very grateful to have her as my roommate for a number of reasons. Elisabeth is small in size, possibly weighing under 100 lbs. She makes me feel tall because she is only 4'9 and a half, but don't let her size fool you. She is one mean bitch. She will not hesitate to call you out or kick your ass, and I find that admirable (unless she does that to me). Lizzy is very talented. Never having taken African Dance before, she was chosen to perform with Kojo's dance troupe, and we were all blown away. Not only was she fantastic, she had malaria at the time! Do you know what malaria does to you? Me neither, I didn't paid much attention in Boylan's Microbio lecture. Anyways... it's been a blessing having to share a room with an angry lesbian. For Valentine's Day, she gave me a jar of peanuts and said, "These are the only nuts you need in your life!" which is a total lie but she meant well haha. All I have to say is NYU in Ghana did something right when they assigned Lizzy as my roommate.

Everything here is wonderful. The people, places, food, classes, weather, etc etc. One must wonder why anyone would need to be in a relationship when he or she has jollof and FanYogo. Somedays are really good, and of course there are the days where I just don't have the patience that is much needed. At times, I hate going to Osu because merchants will see my pale skin (which is tanning nicely) and assume that I have money and want to buy all their goods. I like people, but sometimes I just want to be left alone. Luckily, I've learned all the Twi that I will ever need to learn ("I'm Ghanaian," "Stop! I don't like what you are doing!" and "I'll kill you").

Pale skin is a hot commodity here. A lot of times, kids will come up to me and touch me to see if I'm real. When they see that I am indeed human, they'll giggle and run away.

I'm kinda hopping all over the place here. On Thursday, I finally began my volunteer work at the Osu Children's Home (an orphanage). When I saw how simple the application process was, I was furious at NYU for not setting the appointment earlier and at myself for not asking them to. Anyways, it was an interesting experience-- one that left me more heartbroken than hopeful. The orphanage lacks staff, facilities, and supplies. Even more disconcerting was the lack of love and compassion from the staff members. This one little girl had the saddest look on her face, and she was kind of just left alone. It makes me so sad to think that many of these kids will not get the affection they need, probably because of the health risk it might pose. The artists of Accra just collaborated in this exhibit that tackles the issue of stigmatization of people living with AIDS, but I'm just not sure in certain situations (such as at the orphanage) if being cautious can be mistaken for stigmatizing.

I've been thinking a lot about the person I am and the person I want to be. I haven't made any definite conclusions yet, but in terms of what I want to do here in Ghana as well as wherever I go I have decided to follow this piece of advice from Principle Shapiro ("Our Children Are Dying"): Give until you are tired. Give until you can't give anymore.

Henry had told me a while ago that Accra was a very sketchy city. I now wholeheartedly agree with him. Everything here in Accra is slightly askew. If the cops find pot in your car, chances are you can get away with it by paying him 20,000 cedis (that's approximately $2, and you get to keep the weed). At the post office, you need to pay a fee for Customs to check your packages, but that fee fluctuates depending on how the employee is feeling that day. You're lucky if you hop on a tro-tro (the more cost efficient means of transportation) with door that properly closes. Trash is usually burning on the streets, and the only places where people do not pee are those that bear the warning sign: DO NOT URINATE HERE, FOOL!

Am I crazy to say that these are also some of the very things that make Accra so charming to me?

I love Accra (I say Accra instead of Ghana because I haven't really seen much of it yet). I love it because the people here are so friendly. Everyday is just filled with smiles, hellos, and goodbyes. Living in New York City my entire life (yes, all 20 years of it ha), I'm just not used to this kind of affection from strangers. I think about how I am going to expect people to smile at me on the streets of Manhattan and ask me how my day is going, and how disappointed I will be when no one actually does. I don't necessarily think it's a New Yorker thing either (you know, that "New Yorkers are mean" bullshit). I think people are just self-centered. Everything has to be about them, and if it's not then it is not important. Sometimes (and more often than not), it is not about you. The world does not stop when you do.

I think about how my Northface backpack costs enough to possibly put two children into high school, if not more. I think about how us NYU kids complain when there is no power or internet access, while the majority of this city doesn't either. I think about how high the illiteracy among children here is, and the unemployment even higher. I think about how those kids at Cape Coast wanted my beat-up Timbs so badly that they started untying my shoelaces.

I keep thinking about how happy these children were at Bola Beach playing with only a deflated volleyball. I can't seem to get that image out of my head.

Because you made your bed, now lay in it?

Well, I'm officially 20. I'm not sure what expectations I had in terms of turning 20 in Africa. Since I've been here, I feel like I've been steadily growing older-- a little every single day. This past week I GREW UP A LOT.

Last weekend, a group of us went away to Kokrobite, a beach about two hours away from Labone. We stayed in this really cheap hotel ($7/night), which was a pretty decent place to stay despite how disgusting the bathroom was. We got there pretty late on Saturday, but the rest was just a good drunken high time. It was an apt getaway considering how crummy I had been feeling since that Wednesday.

Carrie Bradshaw was right; a break really is just "a hop, skip, and a week away from a break up." I think I am just trying to reconcile with the fact that I dated a really good high school friend for six months and in a month's time, he had transformed himself into a stranger. My heart wasn't as broken as much as my mind was blown.

Something else happened in a month's time since I've been in Accra. I've realized the following things about myself:
1. I am a phenomenal woman
2. I am stronger than I was a year ago
3. Can't think of a third realization :/

Some would agree with me, others might think I am delusional. I am how I feel: a phenomenal twenty year-old woman, that's me.




Classes are going well. I thoroughly enjoy my Traditional African Dance class; if I am not dripping sweat by the first 15 minutes, then I am not putting enough into the dance. My art classes are fantastic. Today, for my Envisaging Accra class, a few of us went to Larry Otoo's studio and did some sketches. We're going back next week to paint his portrait. Last week, Jesse Ariel Henry and I particpated in the 'Saving Accra's Roots' project. Fourteen trees (which were imported from India way back when) were cut off near Cantonments Roundabout, and we got to paint banners for the tree funeral as a form as protest. They were erected the next day and are still there. It's awesome that we got to take part in it. I've missed Art.

The only class I don't love is my Conflicts in African States class mainly because I can't understand the professor (he pronounces Charles Taylor like Chaztilla...) and the Ashesi boys are ridiculous (except for a few).

Tomorrow, I go back to Nsawam (Eastern region) with Danae to visit Eric and the girls. They're the sweetest girls and very talented dancers. I'm excited. Next weekend, excursion to Kumasi which means another blog and a shitload of pictures. Until then, I hope everyone is happy and healthy back home.

"Love all. Trust a few. Do wrong to none."

A bit of a conversation I had with my Art professor, Uncle Joe, this morning:

Uncle Joe: Hello! How are you?
Me: Not so well...
Uncle Joe: Ay! What's wrong?
Me: I think my relationship with someone just ended
Uncle Joe: Oy! Oh HOORAY!!! How old are you?
Me: 19
Uncle: Ay! HOORAY!!!!

What did he mean by his outburst of joy? Was he happy that I was single and that I'm legal? Sadly, no. Uncle Joe wanted me to see that I am still young and that the world is just starting to open for me. Even though his unexpected reaction made me laugh, I still couldn't contain myself and half the van was wondering why I was in tears. I'm not sure what the point of being in a relationship is if I just keep losing a best friend after another.

Breaks/break-ups always have shitty timing.

If anyone is reading this, I'm sure s/he didn't come to this site to read about boy problems so let's get back to Africa.

Last weekend, we had a first excursion: Cape Coast and Elmina. I don't really have words to describe the Elmina Slave Castle. For the majority of the visit, I was standing on the outside. I took my pictures, explored the slave chambers, but I didn't feel much. Then the tour guide led us to the Point of No Return, which was where a person saw his or her family for the last time before sailing into the ocean and becoming somebody's slave. We then took turns looking out of the little doorway that looks out to the Atlantic Ocean. I really didn't expect to feel so much, but as soon as I was in that doorway, I was just completely overwhelmed. I tried to imagine having to say goodbye to my family and never seeing them again. Just really sad thoughts and the most horrifying one was wondering how something like this could happen. Most of us were in tears by the time we left the Point of No Return. I can try to write how I felt and I can post pictures, but really, you had to be there.

The rest of the trip was pretty "cool runnings" as Professor Perbi might say. We stayed at the Coconut Beach Resort which was absolutely gorgeous. I did everything I wanted to do there; watch the sunset, fall asleep under the stars on the sand, roll around in the water, and I woke up early enough to watch the sunrise.

I don't feel inspired to write at all (even if it's just a silly blog) so I will continue another time.