My Name is Kwame

I forgot to mention, many people here call me Kwame now, since I was born on a Saturday. You can find your Ghanaian name using the link below:

http://mefirighana.com/ghanaian-names-what-does-yours-mean/


This past Saturday, I went to dinner with Kofi, Maxwell (a lab researcher) and Kofi's girlfriend, Gloria. Guess what.....it was fufu!! Making fufu is a long process, starting with the soup, which is boiled and kept on low heat while the next part of the fufu is made. It's hard to describe, this part is almost like bread. It is made from Kasava, Kokoya, and plantains, which are mashed together using a large stick and a giant crucible, where the three ingredients are mashed into a dough. Although I can't upload video for now, I will when I return to the states so you can see me try my hand at it....

The dinner was delicious, followed by a lengthy political discussion..the Ghana elections are this November, and President Mahama of the NDC party will be running again (much to Gloria's chagrin). Just as she was telling me how incompetent he was, the power went out. In Ghana, an overtaxed electrical grid frequently results in power outages, (called dumsor in Ghana). After more political talk, I headed home. Since KNUST (the university I am staying at) adds checkpoints at night, I, thinking a checkpoint was an exit, got out of the taxi when it became clear I had no idea where I was going.

Lucky for me, Ghanaian goodwill kicked in and the security guard jumped in the taxi to take me to KCCR. If I had walked, I would have had five or six guard dogs to contend with. The security guard at KCCR made sure to tell me to bring a big stick next time I try the foray on my own...

On Sunday, I woke up early to see the Akwasidae festival. It is a festival the Ashantis celebrate every six weeks, and an opportunity to see Asantehene, or the Ashanti king. After a tour of the museum, I entered the courtyard, where chairs were set up to view the area where distinguished persons, local chiefs, and the Asantehene himself would sit. Soon, the music and dancing started. The dancing is unique: each movement is a word, and the dance communicates with the music. To some who understand their language, the dance is a conversation with drums and trumpets, exalting the Asantehene and the Ashanti kingdom.

The chiefs arrived with decorative clothing, massive retinues, and lots and lots of gold (Ghana used to be called the Gold Coast). They also brought presents for the king, traditionally Schnapps or an animal sacrifice (a large white mountain goat was present). Finally, the Asantehene arrived. It was impossible to hear oneself over the climax of a crescendo of voices ad instruments upon his arrival. His majesty was approached by all the chiefs, as well as the former president of Ghana, John Kufuor. It struck me then how easy it was to attend this festival full of VIPs: no security, no tickets, no nothing. Just come in and sit down. I know if I got to see Bill Clinton 10 yards away from me and the British Queen, I would be strip searched for sure. There is a completely different mindset in Ghana, that's for sure.

Yesterday, I went back to KATH. Kofi, Ezekiel (a lab researcher at KCCR) and I were able to enroll several patients into ORDIS, the study examining young sickle cell sufferers over time. After running their samples in the lab, I returned to the consulting rooms, where I was able to help conduct malaria tests on children suspected of having the illness. It's never fun to cause pain (especially when the patient can't speak English) even if it is a pinprick. Despite this, the test is very accurate and can save these children from a ton of headache (pun intended). After, we returned to the lab at KCCR to run more tests on the patient samples, and then called it a day.

Today was very similar to yesterday, except I was able to take vital signs on children that were new to the study in order to complete their enrollment. We enrolled two more patients, and their samples were run by Ezekiel and I at the KCCR lab. I do feel like I'm starting to get used to the culture here, and the behaviors people expect. There is a chance that assumption will be completely destroyed come tomorrow however, when I go see a match between Asante Kotoko (the local football team) and World XI (a collection of old and current Ghanaian internationals) to promote peace during the upcoming elections. There are rumors President Mahama will play for a few minutes, so if I see him I will be sure to let you know. Until next time..