And there are small shops that sell everything but each one has their specialty whether it is books or household cleaning supplies or batik and cloth...
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Spots
A place where you drink beer is called a Spot...
And there are small shops that sell everything but each one has their specialty whether it is books or household cleaning supplies or batik and cloth...
And there are small shops that sell everything but each one has their specialty whether it is books or household cleaning supplies or batik and cloth...
Business
The guy who fixes brakes and clutches is here...
These guys didn't make it to the shop so the vehicle is getting fixed on the spot...
These guys didn't make it to the shop so the vehicle is getting fixed on the spot...
Last days at VEG
Today walking in to the Office, i was thinking how at home i feel when 3 short weeks ago it all seems so overwhelming.
i was thinking about yesterday when i worked with Eddie, the carpenter and Phillip, the welder and realize how differently i looked at everything now.
All the little shops and ateliers have become place with people i am on smiling terms with whereas before all i saw were run-down shacks... All along the road are tiny enterprises..
Linda, the seamstress and her two assistants are busy already at 8 in the morning. I have popped in there to get a dress made ... i bought some batik yesterday for 8 ghana cedis which is about 6 dollars...the dress will cost about the same to be made... I was all measured up and told to come back tomorrow after 2 pm...
i was thinking about yesterday when i worked with Eddie, the carpenter and Phillip, the welder and realize how differently i looked at everything now.
All the little shops and ateliers have become place with people i am on smiling terms with whereas before all i saw were run-down shacks... All along the road are tiny enterprises..
Linda, the seamstress and her two assistants are busy already at 8 in the morning. I have popped in there to get a dress made ... i bought some batik yesterday for 8 ghana cedis which is about 6 dollars...the dress will cost about the same to be made... I was all measured up and told to come back tomorrow after 2 pm...
Preview of a new funkyFrog necklace!
Rita is one of the head beaders. She is the one who goes off to the market to buy the beads. Also she has done some very beautiful necklaces and earring designs for Lady Volta.
She graciously accepted to be photographed wearing the newest funkyFrog necklace while she was working! She said she would do it if she could wear the necklace for the day.. i felt quite touched.
This necklace is made with a mixture of beads i had brought with me and new ones i have bought here.
I am really looking forward to making lots of new necklaces with the new beads when i get home....
I am also going to work on a new section in the website where i will be selling beads separately so people can create their own masterpieces! Having this exciting new project ahead of me eases the sadness of having to leave here in two days...
She graciously accepted to be photographed wearing the newest funkyFrog necklace while she was working! She said she would do it if she could wear the necklace for the day.. i felt quite touched.
This necklace is made with a mixture of beads i had brought with me and new ones i have bought here.
I am really looking forward to making lots of new necklaces with the new beads when i get home....
I am also going to work on a new section in the website where i will be selling beads separately so people can create their own masterpieces! Having this exciting new project ahead of me eases the sadness of having to leave here in two days...
Thinking outside the box
The easel just isn't done justice by the photo ... in real life its rustic, roughness is part of its charm.
And i wanted to show the care of the hinged piece of wood for the mirror.
And lastly the bracelet which is made with string we found in the market which has been dyed blue by the Batikers and then made with macrame knots with beads....
And i wanted to show the care of the hinged piece of wood for the mirror.
And lastly the bracelet which is made with string we found in the market which has been dyed blue by the Batikers and then made with macrame knots with beads....
Ghana vs Zambia
All day long the excitement was palpable... Ghana was playing Zambia at 4pm... We went early to the Whitehouse to see the second half... all along the road people were crowded around the available tvs.. the streets were deserted but the noise level had risen sharply!!
We entered the porch of the Whitehouse, the tension was evident in everyone's body language!! No one even spared us a glance.
As the game went on the audience grew. Looking around me, I was touched by the longing and earnestness on their faces as all they silently urged their team on!
We were all rooting for Ghana... and there were many close calls but Zambia was there blocking them at every moment! The two teams were just so evenly matched.... and then Zambia scored!
Since it was quite late in the game, the disappointment came as a shock as everyone groaned, or gasped or some even stomped out arms flailing!! I felt for them but couldn't help but feel a leap in my heart at the heartfelt joy of the Zambians... one of the players did a full somersault ! (I am sure that is why i don't like watching sports; one person's joy is another's sorrow)
This morning when day had dawned the sun was smothered because the harmattan winds which have brought so much dust it is like a fog... the air is thick and heavy. Your throat always feel parched and your nose stuffy. Etienne told me it was thanks to this wind there are fish in the Atlantic... he went on to explain the dust had iron in it which fed the plankton which in turn fed the fish... during a few months of the year the winds blow it in the opposite direction over West Africa ... and it sure doesn't 'feed' us!! It is quite oppressive acually.
The store is looking quite nice but i was on the lookout for an easel on which to stand the wicker square we had hung the earrings on.
I had spied a carpenter just close by to us, each time i had gone by he was working industriously. Of course, this time he was nowhere to be found... nor the next time...
The little shops and ateliers seem to be set up in a very random way... and their hours are very sporadic..
I had spotted another carpenter who made benches and boxes on the way to the market so i thought i would take a chance with him...
Of course, he was not in and the person there said he would return around 10 am.... hmmm!
Defeated i returned to the Office.. but on the way i saw a little atelier that worked with iron and did soldering... and got the brilliant idea of doing the easel in 'wrought iron'! ...very 'in'! i went up to the man who i found out was called Philip. He was obviously very good at his metier ... he didn't blink an eye at my request when i said i would like him to copy the wooden easel (i had found an old, wrecked easel in the Office which is what gave me the idea in the first place..) I spied a curlicue in steel on the ground and asked if i could have two of them as decoration? He was obliging ... the part he couldn't understand was that i didn't want it painted white or black... i liked the look of the funky, rustic steel ... it was going to look rough so let's emphasize it, is my thinking! He said he would have it ready at 4.... So that was a lesson: strike while the iron is hot!!
Next i tried the carpenter again because i wanted to be able to stand the mirror on the counter so people could try on earrings. It had a wire on it to hang on the wall but that was one thing i couldn't seem to figure out: how to put a nail in the cement wall.
This time he was in... again there was that total willingness to do what you wanted.. i explained i wanted a hinge with a stand on the back ... come back in an hour, he said.
We went for lunch. Today it was okra stew and banku. The okra was cooked in a spicy tomato sauce... all of us (the volunteers) were slight squeamish about the almost slimy quality that the okra gave the stew. Clarisse likened it to raw eggs... It was very tasty but it is interesting the look of a food is an integral part ... i was able to eat it, even enjoy it but i don't think i would like to eat it again simply because of the way it looked and felt!!
Once back at the Office i went off just to check on how the easel was going.. thinking if he had any questions or anything he wouldn't be able to contact me... i arrived to a finished product!! And it was wonderful!! I took his name and number in case the Office ever needed something else done... He was pleased that i was happy...
Then i went and checked the mirror and the Carpenter had done a wonderful job as well... It was wonderful the care and energy that they had put into their work... and how they were totally not phased about doing something they had never done before....
My other small accomplishment of the day is I seem to have gotten my fellow volunteer, Clarisse interested in the macrame bracelets. The Batikers have dyed the cotton string we found at the market ... and it makes quite fun bracelets when coupled with the beads... she made her first today ... I am sure by the time she leaves in four months her arm will be full of the friendship bracelets!!
These small accomplishments left me feeling good... Everything here takes so much effort to do.. the heat makes every movement seem like gravity is stronger here... combined with how everything must be made from scratch with the most basic of tools and raw material... things that we take so for granted, like electric drills, for most people: ovens, fridges, or specialty things like hooks that will go into cement ... just don't exist in the every day world here. But this brings out an ingenuity and creativity that is missing at home. I have always enjoyed 'thinking outside the box' ... so for me today was fulfilling and satisfying...
--- eager faces urging on their team!!--
We entered the porch of the Whitehouse, the tension was evident in everyone's body language!! No one even spared us a glance.
As the game went on the audience grew. Looking around me, I was touched by the longing and earnestness on their faces as all they silently urged their team on!
We were all rooting for Ghana... and there were many close calls but Zambia was there blocking them at every moment! The two teams were just so evenly matched.... and then Zambia scored!
Since it was quite late in the game, the disappointment came as a shock as everyone groaned, or gasped or some even stomped out arms flailing!! I felt for them but couldn't help but feel a leap in my heart at the heartfelt joy of the Zambians... one of the players did a full somersault ! (I am sure that is why i don't like watching sports; one person's joy is another's sorrow)
This morning when day had dawned the sun was smothered because the harmattan winds which have brought so much dust it is like a fog... the air is thick and heavy. Your throat always feel parched and your nose stuffy. Etienne told me it was thanks to this wind there are fish in the Atlantic... he went on to explain the dust had iron in it which fed the plankton which in turn fed the fish... during a few months of the year the winds blow it in the opposite direction over West Africa ... and it sure doesn't 'feed' us!! It is quite oppressive acually.
The store is looking quite nice but i was on the lookout for an easel on which to stand the wicker square we had hung the earrings on.
I had spied a carpenter just close by to us, each time i had gone by he was working industriously. Of course, this time he was nowhere to be found... nor the next time...
The little shops and ateliers seem to be set up in a very random way... and their hours are very sporadic..
I had spotted another carpenter who made benches and boxes on the way to the market so i thought i would take a chance with him...
Of course, he was not in and the person there said he would return around 10 am.... hmmm!
Defeated i returned to the Office.. but on the way i saw a little atelier that worked with iron and did soldering... and got the brilliant idea of doing the easel in 'wrought iron'! ...very 'in'! i went up to the man who i found out was called Philip. He was obviously very good at his metier ... he didn't blink an eye at my request when i said i would like him to copy the wooden easel (i had found an old, wrecked easel in the Office which is what gave me the idea in the first place..) I spied a curlicue in steel on the ground and asked if i could have two of them as decoration? He was obliging ... the part he couldn't understand was that i didn't want it painted white or black... i liked the look of the funky, rustic steel ... it was going to look rough so let's emphasize it, is my thinking! He said he would have it ready at 4.... So that was a lesson: strike while the iron is hot!!
Next i tried the carpenter again because i wanted to be able to stand the mirror on the counter so people could try on earrings. It had a wire on it to hang on the wall but that was one thing i couldn't seem to figure out: how to put a nail in the cement wall.
This time he was in... again there was that total willingness to do what you wanted.. i explained i wanted a hinge with a stand on the back ... come back in an hour, he said.
We went for lunch. Today it was okra stew and banku. The okra was cooked in a spicy tomato sauce... all of us (the volunteers) were slight squeamish about the almost slimy quality that the okra gave the stew. Clarisse likened it to raw eggs... It was very tasty but it is interesting the look of a food is an integral part ... i was able to eat it, even enjoy it but i don't think i would like to eat it again simply because of the way it looked and felt!!
Once back at the Office i went off just to check on how the easel was going.. thinking if he had any questions or anything he wouldn't be able to contact me... i arrived to a finished product!! And it was wonderful!! I took his name and number in case the Office ever needed something else done... He was pleased that i was happy...
Then i went and checked the mirror and the Carpenter had done a wonderful job as well... It was wonderful the care and energy that they had put into their work... and how they were totally not phased about doing something they had never done before....
My other small accomplishment of the day is I seem to have gotten my fellow volunteer, Clarisse interested in the macrame bracelets. The Batikers have dyed the cotton string we found at the market ... and it makes quite fun bracelets when coupled with the beads... she made her first today ... I am sure by the time she leaves in four months her arm will be full of the friendship bracelets!!
These small accomplishments left me feeling good... Everything here takes so much effort to do.. the heat makes every movement seem like gravity is stronger here... combined with how everything must be made from scratch with the most basic of tools and raw material... things that we take so for granted, like electric drills, for most people: ovens, fridges, or specialty things like hooks that will go into cement ... just don't exist in the every day world here. But this brings out an ingenuity and creativity that is missing at home. I have always enjoyed 'thinking outside the box' ... so for me today was fulfilling and satisfying...
--- eager faces urging on their team!!--
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