My time in Ghana : Acho-meh Court!

Acho-meh is the phonetic word for “my name is.” This is how Ernest, one of the Optometrists here, had us introduce ourselves on our first outreach today in Teishie. It was a blast! Long but awesome. We were planning on leaving the Telecentre around 8-8:30 but left closer to 9:30. Time to Ghanians is very relaxed. When they say they will be there at 8 expect them at 8:30 or even later. It’s just how the culture is here. Everyone is pretty patient with each other. The outreach we went on today was the shortest travel time we will have while we are here, a mere 30 minutes from the hotel. I spent most of my time doing visual acuity tests. That was a ton of fun!

There are many languages is Ghana. Each belonging to a different tribe. And there are tons of tribes! Many people speak multiple languages, including English. Today we were in the Ga tribe. I learned some simple words to help with the testing which was great! Now I dont know the correct spelling on all of them but I wrote them down phonetically to help me remember them. I learned how to say how are you, “toyo-teh,” I’m good “yo-mah-do,” sit down “tashi,” stand up “teshi,” thank you “oira-do.” It was really fun to learn other languages, I am excited to learn others!

I brought a frisbee and taught some of the kids how to throw it. They had never seen a frisbee before so it was fun to see them learn. They learnt really fast too! By the end of the afternoon we had a full game of Ultimate going! African children are the cutest things in the world! I missed seeing a lot of black people from when I was on my mission so it has been great to be around so many here.

The food has been pretty good! Ive only had the chance to have Jolloff with chicken and goat since I've been here but I plan on trying many other things too. Jolloff is spicy rice with fried chicken or other meat, coleslaw and extra spicy sauce on the side. I like it! Apparently the pinnacle here is amazingly sweet and delicious! The cores are not hard like in North America but soft and fibrous so much that you can eat the whole pineapple. We are planning on getting some fresh fruit tomorrow morning for breakfast. There are some fruit stands just down the street from where we are staying.

There is a family staying at the hotel from Pennsylvania. The Hill’s (for some reason every Hill family decided to come to Ghana haha). They aren't related to any of the other Hill’s that are here on missions. Darin is a medical student who just applying for residency in Ophthalmology. He came over here with his wife and 3 kids under the age of 4! I give them huge props for making such a journey with a young family. Sister Hill spends all day with senior couples or at the temple etc. while Darin is on outreaches with the clinics. I think her job is harder than his is sometimes.

Here are some other photos that I have been meaning to throw on my blog.