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I have a small girl. Her name is Kantuace. Her brother worked for me for a month and now he works for Perpetua. Since Madua left she needed help. Samuel said his sister, Kantuace would work for me.

She is 12 years old and is in our equivalent of 5^th grade. Like most children here she looks years younger than her actually age. I would have guessed 9 maybe 10. She is very slim. Her skin is fair. That is to say her skin is not deep black.

I pay her 1 GH Cedi 20 pesewa a week. In fact before last week it was only 1 GH Cedi but she works so hard I gave her a raise. This is some of what she does for that pay. She arrives around 6:00 am. She will sweep outside and then come in and sweep the kitchen and room with the refrigerator. She washes all the bowls from our meals. She fetches water. She will cook sometime. She also goes to Perpetua’s store when we need something. I usually do not have to tell her to do anything. She will clean up after the rain comes in. She washes the floors. I rarely have to ask her to do anything she just does it.

Besides paying her I give her breakfast and her supper. She will go to the school dinning hall to get the lunch due to me as a master. She brings it back here and eats it. Sometimes if she needs some thing for school I will buy it for her.

I have some problems with doing this. The pay is so small and she works so hard. I talked to Kerry Browne about it when we were on vacation. I said I felt like I was taking advantage of a very unfair system. He told me I could help her with money to stay in school and even continue to finance her education if I wanted to. I thought that was a good plan.

My second problem is having her live here. I don’t think children should be away from their parents and other family members no matter the benefits. So she does not live here. She and her brother come in the morning. She here and he to Perpetua’s. Then go to school the return after school. They go home after 7:00 pm. The other reason I don’t have her live here is that I do want some time to myself. I enjoy my quiet evenings.

Although she doesn’t live here she has slowly made a place for herself in the room that has my refrigerator. She has two school uniforms there, as well as an extra change of clothes. Some of her school books and her hoe for school is there. She also takes her baths here so she has her sponge and soap in my bathing room.

Another thing that bothered me is that the girls who serve someone usually are late for school. I saw it with Tenni the small girl here at the assistant head master’s. Her brother Thomas will go to school on time but Tenni usually leaves about 1 hour after school has started. I continued to tell Kantuace that I didn’t want to her be late to school but she kept on being late. We sometimes have a communication problem. Her English is only slightly better than my Builsa. So last week I told her brother, Samuel, to explain to her if she wanted to keep working for me she must go to school on time. I said she could do most of her work after school so she was not to stay here working instead of going to school. He got the message across.

Although she doesn’t live here, I find myself telling her to go get us some bread or saying let’s make abe jenta for our supper. When I am away I find something small to bring home to her. I am so grateful to have someone do the silly dishes. Someone to share the work pounding the palm nuts for the soup. And especially someone who understands why it’s important to sweep the dirt in front of my house and to do it!

-vc

One year ago today I arrived in Philadelphia for Peace Corps staging. I celebrated today by making one of my favorite soups – Abe Jenta ali musaab or palm nut soup and rice balls. my plan was to make it all by myself for the first time. I have made it a few times but always had to ask for help. So to celebrate my integration into life in Ghana I was going to do it myself. Mi li digi abe jenta saluia. I will cook palm nut soup this morning.

My first helper came before I even had the coal pot outside under the summer hut. Kantuace, my small girl, came today even though I told her that she has Sundays off. So I asked her to get the coal pot and set the fire while I finished washing my clothes. Ti li digi abe jenta saluia. We will cook palm nut soup this morning.

Step 1. Wash the palm nuts 5 minutes

Pretty easy. Put them in a bowl and wash them off. Did that all by myself.

Step 2. Boil the palm nuts 40 minutes

Put them in a silver pot. Cover with water. Put the pot on the coal pot and let it boil. Not too difficult either. Did that by myself. Kantuace had to test them to see if they were done. She pulled one out of the pot with her bare hands. Yes Ghanaian hands ARE made of asbestos. Blew on it a couple of times then bit into it.

Step 3. Pound the palm nuts 30 minutes

Put the cooked palm nuts into a wooden mortar and pestle. Sit on a stool and pound. Ghanaian women are strong and they work hard. I lasted about 10 minutes maybe 15 pounding before I asked Kantuace to help. She had been boiling water to put over the pounded palm nuts. The water helps to remove the pulp and oil. We each pounded one more time then they were ready to seive.

While the palm nuts boiled I went to Francesca to borrow her mortar and pestle. I said I was coming begging but she said not to feel that way. That’s how Ghanaians are. If I have something you need you borrow from me and vice versa.

Step 4. Sieve the pulp 20 minutes

My second and third helpers came at this point. Tennie and Matilda. They helped with holding the sieve and pouring the boiling water. So you pour the boiling water on the pulp. Take some of the pulp out of the mortar and put it in a sieve. Press, shake and mash the pulp to get the oil and meat out. Do this with all the pulp then put the pulp back in the mortar and add more boiling water. Repeat but this time squeeze the pulp with you bare hands. If you are a Ghanaian woman this is no big deal remember asbestos hands but for me it was a tad hot!

Step 5. Prepare the ingredients. 15 minutes

Afisa came by and watched me grind, tomatoes, onions, garlic and peppe for the soup. She offered to help and so my fourth helper joined us under the summer hut.

Step 6. Boil the palm oil and pulp. 60 minutes

I made the soup in the morning because I don’t like to cook in the heat. However it had now been almost two hours since I started the soup and I was hot and sweaty. I left the soup boiling with my four helpers then went to take my bath.

Step 7. Add the ground ingredients. 1 minute

Near the end of the 60 minutes boiling we added the ground ingredients, salt, more peppe and some chicken Benny (bullion powder)

I started the soup with a very American attitude “I’m gonna do it myself” and ended it the Ghanaian way “ti ma chaabe” we help each other.

The rice balls will come this evening.

-vc

The rain came last night and the heat has broken.

I have been home since Monday late afternoon and in bed most of the time. I felt a sore throat coming on in Kumasi and it has grown to be a chest cold. Thank goodness when I was in Tamale I picked up Mel’s box. Stewart’s new book, “Songs for the Missing”, was in it. I told myself I was going to read it slowly but once i started i couldn’t put it down. Since i was in bed I read it in less than 24 hours. Oh now how long before the next O’Nan?

The topic for my classes this week is history of the internet. The kids have been waiting all term to talk about the internet and I just don’t have the energy to do more than talk in my lectures. No creative songs or dances. Not much student involvement. I want to teach and go back to bed. Well the group work seemed to go all right. Hopefully next week when we do networking and simulate how the internet sends messages my energy will have returned.

While I was away one of my ‘daughters’, Rofina, had an accident on her moto. She went home for the weekend. She was riding her moto and a child ran out in front of her. She will be at her house recovering for two weeks. Not broken bones but some scrapes and bruises.

-vc

This afternoon I was feeling lonely, oh. It doesn’t happen often in fact I am surprised at how infrequently I get lonely. Maybe because the students are leaving for Easter vacation. Maybe because I have been away from home for almost a year. Or maybe just because it’s a full moon. Whatever the reason I was lonely.

Then about four pm Portia and Rofina came over to make me light soup. As I finished marking 2B2s exams they cooked. “Portia you are a lazy girl!” stated Rofina. “Tenni can go to the store I don’t have to.” countered Portia. “Is this enough peppe.” “Madam doesn’t like too much peppe.” “I am going to Accra to visit my sister.” “I will go to Wa”. “Madam make her stop” As the aroma of the light soup filled the house, the babble of two teenage girls about to go on vacation from school also filled the house.

I finished with the 2B2 exams and walked into the kitchen. The coal pot was in front of the door. Pots were cooking away on both burners of the gas stove. Portia was grinding tomatoes in the grinding bowl. Rofina was clearly in charge, tasting one pot, stirring another. She asked if I had a sieve. When I said no she sent me to the neighbors to get one.

When I returned I quizzed them about how to make the light soup. I should have written it down because now I do not remember all the steps. I am sure there will be a next time. As preparations continued I returned to my hall to start on another group of exams.

Ten minutes later Portia comes into the hall. I am tired of marking papers so we begin to play with the video camera on my computer. Rofina yells “Get in here you lazy girl! The poultry needs to be cut.”

“I’m recording a video” brags Portia.

“Let me see!” exclaims Rofina

Rofina comes into the hall. She begins to sing with Portia who pushes her away.

Thus the light soup was forgotten for 30 minutes while the girls made videos.

My house was filled with music, laughter, food and fun. I was lonely, oh no more.

Pictures of my house