Friday was Culture Day in Marfokrom, a day where once every two years all of the schoolchildren from the nearby villages travel to 'Marfo' to share dances, songs, and poems from their respective local villages.
I was able to attend the festivities after teaching a 1st grade class a lesson in the primary school. We worked on language together. With the small amount of twi - the local language - that I know, I helped them translate a few basic phrases from twi to English. Along the way, they taught me more twi. I've found that - in addition to smiles and laughter - a few words transcend the language barrier quite easily: water, football, and 'bye bye.'
Culture Day consisted of a number of phenomenal acts. Girls and boys from the high school dressed in their local formal attire sang tribal songs and danced around the circle formed by over 1,000 students. Most of the village came alive to watch the show, too.
The kids love us - the "obrunis" (white people). Walking down the road we hear the calls: "ey - obruni!" (hello white man!), to which we respond with a smile "obibini!" (black man!). Far from offensive, these observatory remarks are typical on a daily basis here. Referring to someone as fat, skinny, tall, or short are used practically, in order to win attention.
While the singing and dancing were great to watch, what I'll remember most about this day is the plate of "wayche" that I shared with the school's headmaster as we set up for the event. We ate the dish of noodles, beans, rice, and spices as we sat holding our satchels of pure water and talked football, life, and school. The meal, bread, and water came to a whopping 1 Ghana Cedi - 70 American cents. The conversation and cultural exchange, of course, were priceless.
Time to head back to the village now. This weekend we're killing/eating a goat (to celebrate my 21st birthday), climbing a mountain that overlooks the village, and hopefully playing a few more pick up football games after we fix the goalposts from last night's storm. Enjoy the pictures!
