Luxuries

Everyone has been asking for pictures. I'm trying, I really am . . . but it may be a while yet before I have any way to post them. Most of the internet cafes don't let you upload external material from flash drives, CDs, etc. and my own computer is currently a useless pile of electronic junk. So be patient . . . a lot of that has to happen here in Ghana, so you can be involved in that part of the experience with me :)

I still can't get over how inexpensive everything is here. The other day somebody in my program commented about how the international community is always appalled to learn that much of the world lives on less than $1 a day, but that being here has made them realize it's possible. I couldn't believe she said that, because it's really not true. Maybe one can eat for less than a dollar a day, but that doesn't take into consideration ANYTHING else: shelter, water, clothing, basic amenities, health care, transportation.

It's funny . . . the other day I wrote that race really isn't an issue in Ghana. I'd still say it's not, yet every day I am a thousand times more aware of my whiteness than I ever am in the U.S. On Sunday night, CIEE (my program) had an Akwaaba ("Welcome") Dinner for everybody in the two CIEE programs here. We had a huge catered meal, and we ate outside an office building but were inside a closed white fence. A local drumming and dance group performed during and after the meal. As they performed, tons of kids from the neighborhood gathered around and were peeking over the fence to watch. Even though my program directors and assistants, who are Ghanaian, were there, an overwhelming majority of the people in my program are white Americans. I couldn't stop thinking about how we must have looked to the neighborhood: this group of obroni eating a huge meal and enjoying entertainment. I was really glad that the children were allowed to stay and watch, and that all of the leftovers were given away, but I still felt very awkward about the whole experience. I've been mulling this over for several days now and I'm still not sure I can fully articulate my thoughts, so forgive my rambling.

I have been here two weeks now, but I'm already realizing all of the things I take for granted. While I can eat for a dollar a day, things like toilet paper and mouthwash are ridiculously expensive. I never think twice about picking up items like that at the store in the states, but it's almost painful here when I buy a pack of toilet paper that costs more than what I'd spend on food in a week. It certainly puts everything into perspective.

Last night I watched John Q with some friends. That's the one where Denzel Washington takes the emergency room hostage because his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant. It's one of my favorite movies, and though I've seen it probably 20 times, it's always difficult for me to watch. But I think it was even harder to watch last night than ever before. It's infuriating to me how our country has the ability to do so much, but we don't because we don't make things a priority or we don't think people deserve it. I'm feeling simultaneously grateful for the fact that I am an American and have so much available to me, and resentful of that same fact. I know I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am and where I come from, but I just haven't figured out how to reconcile it all in my mind yet. I also know I'm extremely liberal, and I know lots of people will disagree with me . . . but I feel like there are some things that are basic human rights that every human deserves access to simply for being a human. I have been uncomfortable and unsure many times since I've been here: confused by local languages, confused about how to get around, confused about how to find something I need. But if there's anything I have become more sure of since my arrival, it is that we have things going really great in the U.S., and we need to start figuring out how to share that.