It’s a Party in the USA…uhhh…I mean...Ghana - Hey!

So…today was Mandy’s friend’s dad’s (sister’s uncle’s cousin’s braddah’s…haha) 60th birthday party…and it was SO MUCH FUN!!!!  But it didn’t start out that way.

So…let me rewind to 7:48 this morning.  I woke up.  Now…this isn’t very early, I know…but since I couldn’t fall asleep until like 2:30 the night before/morning of…I was bummed that I had only slept for like 5 hours.  But it was kinda nice.  I was able to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, have time to let it digest, and set off on a run.  Mandy needed some money from the office at school, so instead of making Paa Kofi (her brother) or Charles walk over and get it…I figured I’d just go for a run and get it while I was out.  I was a little worried, though.  I really wanted to go for a run because I haven’t been for awhile…but there was no electricity, and the house was really warm (it’d been off since the previous afternoon), so I knew it’d be hard to cool down (the water temperature can’t be controlled when the power’s out…but at least we get to have water when the power’s out now! = )  But I still decided to go…and my run was awesome!  I went way longer and farther than I’ve been before (in Ghana, at least) and it was SO hot…but SO nice! = )  I figured it was perfect that I had to pick up money on the way home because I could just cool down under the fan in the office.  Everything went according to plan (I stayed under it until I was a little cold, even, because with the sun beating down as hard as it was…I knew I’d get pretty hot on the short walk home) until I got home, and realized that the money that I had so carefully stapled into a makeshift envelope was not in my pocket!  So I quickly turned right back around and walked all the way back to the school and home again, looking like a crazy person staring at the ground.  But it was nowhere to be found = (  I was so bummed because that meant I had to get the money from my funds, and I’ve been trying to be so careful, but oh wells.  And on top of all that, in my haste walking back to the school and home again, I’d gotten really hot again!  So even though I took as cold of a shower as I could, I got out and was still so hot!  Now, I’ve definitely had the experience many times before of getting out of the shower and sweating right away, but I’ve always had a fan or something to ease the discomfort.  This time I had nothing…and it was so uncomfortable; the house was like a hotbox.  And it wasn’t even the heat so much as trying to get dressed up and look cute while dripping = /  I know I’ve always said I’d rather be hot than cold…but I’ve decided that extreme temperatures are no fun, period…haha.  At one point, as I lay with practically no clothes on on my bed, trying to cool down a little, I didn’t even want to go.  I felt so gross and was actually feeling semi-cool lying there, and thought it’d be preferable to just not move, but then I thought about how much I didn’t wanna ditch out on Mandy and how excited I’d been, and got back to getting ready.

Well…I’m SO glad I did, because like I said earlier…I had a blast! = )  We pulled up to this giNORmous green house (they like their colors here =  ) with all of these tents set up in the front yard.  Maame Ama (the girl whose dad’s party it was) came out to greet us and was so excited to see the girls (Mandy’s other friend, Patricia, picked us up with her boyfriend, and a third friend, Dorreen, was also in our car - these are some of the friends who came over the first Sunday I was here).  She escorted us in, sat us down, got us water and “mineral”, and we just relaxed, listened to the music, ate the appetizers on the table (plaintain chips, spring roll type things, roasted peanuts, savory tart things, and “raisin cake” that wasn’t very sweet at all), and chatted.  Mandy’s friends are so fun…and we got along really well…and then it was time for dinner (I thought the food on the table was the meal, so I was already pretty full at this point…haha).  But yeah…dinner was delish! - jollof rice, fried rice, waakye (rice and beans), white rice, fried chicken, fried fish, salad, soup, banku…kinda the standard fare for parties, I’m learning…with no complaints = )  While we ate, this local celebrity who was on like their version of American Idol or X Factor sang, and he was SO good!  He was kinda going around and singing to the ladies, putting on a show, and then he came to our table and grabbed my hand to pull me up to dance…it was SO embarrassing!  But I just went with it (it was kind of an upbeat song, so it wasn’t a slow dance)…and when I sat back down, Mandy and the girls said they were so impressed with my dancing and rhythm…woo-hoo!  I guess they have really low expectations for a white girl’s dancing skills…haha = )  But yeah…it ended up being such a fun night!  And then to top it off…on the way home Mandy talked to Chuks and found out that the power was still off.  But when we got home…it was back on!  It was off soon after, again, but it was so nice that the house was able to be cooled off for a bit = )

Mandy, Chichi and Dorreen

Patricia and Daniel

The beautiful table settings and yummy appetizers

Some shots of the set-up...

ICE!!!!  The first I've had since I got here - mom, you would love that ; )
And the BEST soft drink EVER!!!!  It's pear, and this company also has passion fruit and pineapple.
I haven't tried the pineapple, but the pear and passion fruit are seriously the best liquids I've ever tasted!

The birthday boy and his cake - first cupcakes I've seen since I've been here, too.
And the cake distribution was the same as at the wedding...cut into bite-sized pieces and passed around for everyone to take a piece.  Man...we'd be a different-sized place if that was our custom, as opposed to everyone getting a gargantuan slice.

What a table looks like after a meal in a place where you can't drink tap water