Home away from home...

Mewo fie. I am home.

Here, home is room 84 in the International Students’ Hostel, or ISH for short. Though I've now become used to the balmy heat and noisy markets here in Accra, I get worn out from so many new sights and sounds that keep me alert at all times. Whenever I need a little respite from the sensory overload, back to ISH I go.

My roommate, Abby, and I share a room that is a straight shot from the stairs going up to the second floor. Here, we talk about what our families have been up to back in the states, drool over all the good food we miss from home, or whine about the dozens of bug bites we've collected on our legs. My room is a space to take a break from the constant excitement that is Accra but not to escape it. It’s full of small souvenirs I've collected during my first month in Ghana. All of these things give me solace whenever I feel tired or lonely, reminding me of all the beautiful things I've seen and touched in Ghana so far, and I like to think that I’m gradually piecing together a home away from home in this room.

This is my side of the room! Above my bed is my lapa that I usually wear around my waist for African dance class at Swarthmore. The dress code for dance class here is different here, so I decided to use my lapa as a little tapestry instead. It makes me miss Baba Kemal, our Umfundalai teacher who just left Swarthmore last semester, but it also reminds me that he was the one to instill a love of African dance in me.

My desk sits right next to the door. On the left side are all my readings and notebooks for classes this semester. I'll (most likely) be taking History of the Black Diaspora, African Indigenous Religions, Studies in African Poetry, Twi language, and of course, drumming and dance. The second stack of books is all from the University's bookstores. I grabbed a few different things, including an anthology of articles on African dance and Mozambican prose fiction. I'm trying to expose myself to as much African literature as possible since I feel like I don't get to read enough of it back home. You can also see my lanyard, complete with my Snoopy keychain that a friend gave to me in elementary school and my little skeleton, both of which are sitting by my cute vintage cell phone. Up in the right corner are things needed for daily life - water bottles (tap water is not safe to drink), bug spray with 40% deet, and TP (the bathrooms in ISH don't have any so you need to have your own.)

These scarves and paintings hang on the wall between my desk and bed. The blue scarf is from the Ntonso village in Kumasi, where they make adinkra print fabrics. I chose the cloth and symbols, each of which have its own meaning and significance. The other scarf is from the Art Centre in Accra, the same place I bought the two small paintings. Art here is so heavily geared towards tourist consumption, so it’s hard to tell where or how most of the crafts are produced at the Art Centre. Vendors will often hike up the prices like crazy because they know foreigners have a lot of money to spend, so I try to bargain for a lower price as much as possible. I talked down the yellow painting of a mother from 50cedis to 20, and the blue one of Africa from 75cedis to 25cedis. Being stubborn about a price will usually do the trick since vendors would rather sell you the item rather than have you walk away. I've just recently tried to talk to vendors in Twi while bargaining, and they’re always pleasantly surprised to see some rando Asian girl try to speak their language. I’m not sure if it’s helped me to get lower prices, but I still enjoy their amused laughter and their willingness to teach me new words and phrases.

My bed!!! If you know me at all, you know that I can sleep for a million hours at a time. My bed is my first love, and so I had to name my blanket ‘bae.’ I bought this awesome blanket from a seamstress that comes to ISH regularly. You can choose any print fabric, and she can make shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, whatever you want, tailored to your own measurements. She had this quilt-like blanket made from a bunch of different prints.

 This guy watches over me when I sleep J

Handy dandy coffee table with some important things – malaria meds, herbal pills from my mom, a mug for my daily cup of coffee, some of my staple jewelry, a slip with username and password for WiFi, and a gourd with the adinkra symbol for forgiveness that I got at the Manhyia palace in Kumasi.

My side of the dresser with mostly cooking stuff. Usually I eat from the night market by ISH or other spots on campus like Coffee Cue or the bush canteen, but sometimes I need a break from all the jolof rice, plantains, and beans. I spend a lot more time cooking here than I would at home. It’s super therapeutic, even if the faulty kitchens like to test my patience.

On top of my dresser is Gilly Jr., who keeps me company while my other elephant figurine (also named Gilly) is hibernating in the basement of Wharton at Swarthmore. Next to Gilly Jr. is a miniature carving of a stool, which is symbolic of royal power in Asante tradition. I got these in Kumasi from the Ahwiaa village.

Details on my closet door- a mix of my old and new homes – On the red string is a necklace with a fossil stone from Jerry, who gifted this to me when I left Swat at the end of June. The other stone necklace was made for me by my friend Taylor, who is in the same study abroad program with me.

 Aaaand that's the end of the tour!