Procrastination is the Thief of Time

I am a college student, who procrastinates about most things. The above quote in the title of this post was found on the wall of one of the building in the village I stayed in this weekend. This weekend I went to the Volta Region, home to Wli Falls (West Africa’s Tallest Waterfalls). At the base of Wli, there a few places to stay. A friend had suggested we call a man named “ Mighty Wisdom,” who had met them randomly last week when they said they were hiking up to the falls, and he suggested that they follow his lead to experience something “real.” We followed this route on Friday, where we met Mighty and a young man named Innocence, who worked at the place we spent Friday night after we saw the lower falls. The evening was relaxing. Rice and beans, one candle as our source of light, and meaningful conversation definitely put us in a state of peace.

On Saturday, Mighty, my three friends, and I embarked on a seven-hour journey through the mountains to a remote village located in a place dubbed “No Man’s Land,” because of its location between Ghana and Togo. Without having to say it, probably the most I have ever challenged by body and mind to this day. Once in the beautiful village, we cooked contomere (sp.) with rice. After eating heaps upon heaps of rice and beginning to feel the soreness of the physically straining day, I had no trouble falling asleep on the straw mat. It was nice being up in the mountains, especially since it was much cooler than Accra’s roasting sun and humidity. 

The morning consisted of dressing in traditional cloth, having a meeting with the chief of the village, where he and all the elders greeted us. When visitors come to a village, they must greet the chief with a gift, and of course Mighty Wisdom said the best gift is some Gin. We proceeded to take shots early in the morning with the group of elders. After our meeting, we learned how to carry a baby on our backs, how to pound Banku and Fufu, and carry water on our heads. The open arms of this community of farmers and self-sustaining workers made us feel more than welcome. A plate of beans, cassava, palm oil, bananas, and a bowl of palm wine later, we set off on our trek down to the base of the falls.

I already miss the village. Accra does give me a sense of comfort and home, but nothing like the village did. It is surreal being able to understand what living abroad is doing to us when we stop to think about our changing and learning minds. A friend and I were chatting on our journey down the mountain about how we would even attempt to explain the transformation we are going through. It is about stripping down these layers of “ourselves,” but it is not our real selves that we are stripping away. These layers are visages and what we want people to see. Although many are comfortable in saying that they are themselves 100% of the time, I do not believe it. I am actually seeing it in action now, but life is about stripping away these parts of ourselves that lead to your inner core and the consistencies of who one is. Personally, I find myself being true self almost all of the time, but I am realizing there is this wall often times that I do not notice.

This leads me to the point that we need to be more open with other humans. If we have these fears of being judged constantly, we are going to go day by day without something that is essential to life, and that is the concept of meaningful relationships. If we all put away our judgmental mentalities and are more accepting of others, we will receive much more meaning in our lives instantly. So lets stop procrastinating about the unimportant aspects of our lives, and really try to understand why we are here. I believe we are all set out to retrieve our destiny. There is something we have within ourselves that is a passion, a driving factor in our existence, and if we don’t dive into our core and challenge ourselves to find it, we are only wasting what could be meaningful minutes, hours, days, and years in our lives. The exchange between two real people is an indescribable concept, and if we strive for that connection, I believe true happiness will come for those individuals and their lives. 

Time is Ticking

I have been terrible at writing down snippets of life recently. Keeping a journal was beneficial the first few weeks, but slowly life has turned up its speed and it feels as though so much is happening so fast, therefore its been tough keeping up on it. Cannot believe it has already been a month and a half here. Although the days are slow, time is flying.

Probably one of the most eye opening experiences I have had was two Sundays ago. One of my classmates took me to her friend’s family party. I had no idea what I was going to or how formal it was, so I wore a neutral outfit of a white top and brown skirt.  Of course everyone was matching in a uniquely patterned white and black fabric.

 After being introduced to many Ghanaian elders, I took in all the excitement and mayhem around me. Soon to realize, I was at a celebration of death. When someone dies in Ghanaian culture, after their burial, there is a very big party mid-afternoon. There was traditional dancing, drumming, food, and an uplifting sense of community and acceptance. I felt very welcomed to say the least.

View from the top of Elmina Castle in the Central Region

After the celebration, my friend insisted I come with her to a “meeting,” which I soon realized was a religious service of some sort. Now, I did know that Ghana is a very religious society, especially for those who are Christian and Muslim. I ended up at a chapel, immediately going to the front, dancing and singing. I did not know the words to the songs so I smiled, danced, and clapped along to the beat. For the next five hours, I had experienced something I had never come close to in my life. People were preaching in tongue, passing out, screaming, crying, and all the above. I did not really have a sense of what or how to feel during the service, but after I got to thinking. Of course I went through many conversations after about my relationship with Jesus with many of the Ghanaians at the service, but the Pastor in particular threw some discouraging words towards me when he realized what my stance on religion is. In the utmost respectful way possible, I explained to him that I do not have a relationship with God and it is not a part of my life. I respect and am fascinated by religion, but if someone asks me upfront if I believe in something, I will not lie to him or her. He proceeded to explain that he was very disappointed that God has sent someone from the West to Ghana for a reason, and that is to convert and find my relationship with God, and she does not want to accept this blessing.

After talking to my friend and explaining to her all my emotions, she still was very happy that I took part with her and did not leave. I am very grateful that I had this experience because it helped me gain more respect towards the culture, as well as understand why certain aspects of Ghanaian culture are practiced in the way that they are.

Sunset in Akwidaa, Western Region

Last weekend, I went to Cape Coast. I saw Elmina Castle, which was the oldest and largest castle used during the Trans-Atlantic Trade Slave. It was a very confusing experience. It was hard to know how to feel while walking through rooms where thousands of people suffered and many died. Before the castle, I went to the river where the slaves were taken for their last bath. The image of dozens of slaves chained together in the rugged river is still ingrained in my head. Although it is an emotional experience, many Ghanaians explain it as something that happened centuries ago, so investing their time in being sad about it is a waste because what is more important is being able to put food on the table.  

Canopy Walk at Kakum National Park, Central Region

Another day in Cape Coast, a visit to Kakum National Park was taken. A walk across seven stretches of rope, wood, and metal canopies hundreds of feet above the ground in the jungle was not tooooo shabby! This past weekend I went to a small village called Akwidaa located in the Western Region pretty close to the Ivory Coast, where I plopped myself into isolation on a beach in the middle of no where...

I want to write lots, but can’t do everything much justice so I’ll leave it at that-more adventures to come!