Ghana but Not Forgotten

The saga in Africa continues for Mary, Susan's cousin who's in Ghana to teach English to middle-school-aged children:

"We went to a neighboring village to celebrate a one-year anniversary of someone's death. Nick and I were honored guests even though we didn't even know the family. There was even more traditional music and drumming and tons of dancing. Also lots of food and alcohol! It was a good time. One woman at the party was pretty drunk, and she didn't like me for some reason. She kept going up to Nick and saying, "Is that your sister or your wife?" And he would say, "That is my sister." She would start yelling, "Why did you marry that woman? She is mean!" I don't know what I did to make her mad, but it was pretty funny."

"On Saturday Nick and I were invited to go eat a rare dish made with 'grass cutter.' I have no idea what grass cutter is, and whenever I ask someone, they just say, 'It is a rodent that is bigger than a rat.' The rats here are huge--I know from experience--so I can't imagine how big this thing is. The people in the villages hunt them, but they are very hard to catch. They make it into a stew and use the animal's feces for flavoring! Yuck. I refused to go, but Nick went and ate it. He said I missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I told him every day here is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I don't need to eat rat stew."

"Well, the population of white people in our town will take a major hit on Saturday when Nick goes back to Canada! It will be sad when he goes, and I will miss him."

"On the way we passed a man holding a gigantic dead lizard by the side of the road. I had seen men holding dead rats the same way, so I asked Mavis what they were doing. Her response was, 'It's like, if you are driving past and in need of it, you can stop and buy it.' I don't know who would be 'in need of' a dead rat. Mavis' explanations for things usually leave me more confused than I was to start with. She really wants to buy me a baby goat, and I have a feeling one will show up at my house soon."

"I went to visit Jon in Abor. Jon was born and raised in London and joined the Peace Corps after finishing school. The school he works at is called Saint Theresa's Vocational School for the Handicapped. It is located two miles from the town and is pretty remote. It is funded by an order of priests in Italy, and the school has a lot of money. It was very, very nice. All my sympathy for Jon left me when I saw his apartment with a toilet, shower, and sink. That is the second toilet I have seen in Ghana; I am not kidding. They even had a computer lab with air-conditioning! . . . He is homesick and doesn't like being so remote, but he has a shower, so I'm sure he'll be fine."

"When we went back to town, someone came over and asked him if I was his sister or his wife (which happened constantly to Nick and me). I told the person I was his American sister. Then he went up to Jon and offered to give him his bicycle if Jon would let him marry me. Jon was tempted, I think. He asked me if I always cause such a scene when I walk down the road. I told him I don't in America, but I do for some reason in Ghana."

"Afterwards he and I went to a bar, and as we were sitting there, a chicken wandered over to our table and dropped dead. A girl came over and picked it up, and Jon started lecturing her about the bird flu. Apparently there have been cases north of here. It is scary because chickens roam absolutely everywhere. I think I will miss all the wandering farm animals when I get home."