I'm getting fat...

So Ghanaians eat a lot... A LOT. I don't know what people are talking about when they mention starving africans because it's not hear. Well... that's not entirely true. The northern part of the country is pretty destitute and they are often in need of nourishment, but the rest of the country is relatively well fed. Especially the large women. The food is also very heavy and starchy. They eat the casava root more than anything else. It's similar to potatoes. The most "ghanaian" dish would probably be fufu which is casava and plantain mashed together. They get this large wooden morter and massive branch with a flattened end to pound the fufu. Pounder goes in a rhythmic fashion while another person places pieces of casava and plantain below. I can't believe there aren't more broken fingers. I asked my host mother if she had ever gotten her finger smashed and she gave me a look a extreme incredulity. Fortunately ghanaians are very rhythmically gifted people, so the fufu pounder generally has good tempo. My host family gave me a shot at it and I was actually quite good. My rhythm is ok but sometimes I would stop because I was afraid I would hit her fingers. They would then think I was tired and someone else would take over. Ghanaians think white people are pretty soft and weak. In my case, that's not entirely untrue... but I can take care of myself ok. The fufu itself goes through a strange transformation because it's pounded so much it eventually turns into a really goopy playdoh type substance. You then eat it (with fingers of course) and dip it into a soup, usually chicken soup at my house, but an be other types.

Aside from the starchiness and heaviness of the food. It's not bad. Sometimes a little spicey, but nice and flavorful. Although it is getting a little old. It's either a heavy starchy food or rice. On top of that, my host mother feeds me way way way way more than I could ever eat. The first week I would eat myself till I was about to burst and still have hald a plate of food left. She would then insist I keep eating despite how much I implored her. So I would eat more, till the point where I would almost vomit, and there would still be a mound of food left. I'm used to the large portions now and my stomach has stretched to accomodate the large quanitities of food going down, but every meal is still a struggle. Everyone also knows that I'm a pretty slow eater, so meal time for me tends to last quite awhile.

My favorite food would be, of course, street food. There are these barbequed sausages you can get with this powdery pepper mixture on top. Reminds me a little of the skewers I got in china. I've been eating a lot of the sausages lately because I've been traveling. I left Kumasi friday morning for Cape Coast. The main attractions at Cape Coast are the slave castles. The most famous is the portugese castle built in the late fifteenth century and is the largest slave castle in all of africa. Quite a sobering sight. They also had a bit of a museum and a guided tour. A bit of a downer, but well worth the time. We spent a few days there each night going to a bar where they played music so loud a conversation was impossible, but that's the case at any bar in ghana. It's a very loud country, although the ghanaians still manage to communicate with each other while speaking at a normal volume. Must be an acquired skill. We are now at Axim Beach which is just a little bit of a nice beach get away. We'll spend two days here then head off to Green turtle lodge not far away. I'm not too sure what's there, but people say it's paradise. We'll see. I'll try and post again soon. Finding internet is no easy task, and it's usually painfully slow. Take care everyone.