Sweaty and Happy...also called Swappy

Wow, I feel like my head is going to explode
Ok.
so.
Kumasi.
the central market.
my white skin.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I have been spending every second of my free time fabric shopping because I was so pleased with my $2 patterned pencil skirt made by the dressmaker, I decided I want at least 5 more. I also want two vest and some pillowcases and well, you get the picture... So today I was looking for something specific so I decided to venture into Ketejia in the central market. The central market is the second biggest market in West Africa, but I would pay to see one that is bigger. Seriously, this place is like a country! I confidently dove in and after looking for about an hour, finally found the fabric section. Then I looked in what must have been a million places for a print I had seen, only to be left empty-handed. I decided to buy instead 3 yards of a kente style fabric just so the trip would not be a total waste. If this was a shopping mall, well, this would be perfectly normal for me. I often browse for an entire day and never make a purchase. Central Market is different though, the difference is what I like to call: the hassle factor. Every single person in every single store insists on calling me: "Obruni!" "Hey Come here" "blah blah" "white lady!." They all want to help me. Be my friend. Or as is best put, take my money. Well, at first in was funny, and I would smile and be cute and say no, but three hours of it in a hot crowded market is not exactly the easiest environment in which to be amiable. So anyone going to Ghana...avoid the market unless you absolutely have to go, there are like a billion fabric stores where you can browse to your hearts content. Lesson learned.

In other news, things are lovely in my new host family. I love having an 18, 20, and 21 year old to listen to music and swap pictures with. I now have the best of hip-life on my phone and practically have the words to African Girlz and Give Me Blow memorized. I have also gotten pretty awesome at handwashing clothes, and did it for 2 hours today, while also removing any skin left on my hands. I am starting to realize how little time I have left here, and am concentrating on experiencing as much as I can. I want to learn Twe, see all of the sights around Kumasi, learn to cook Ghanian food, and generally, as I said in my first entry, forget goals and enjoy the scenery.

On that note, I leave for a four day trip with Meredith, Tracey, Leslie, and Erika to Cape Coast. I am so excited to walk in the rainforest canopy and see Nzulezo, the stilt village. Before that,I fully intend on taking an ice cold shower and settling in on my mosquito-net free bed.