ARRIVING IN KUMASI

Upon arriving in Kumasi, I would not allow myself to feel excited yet. It turns out that I had taken a different bus than Pierrette and Mark, so when they actually arrived in the city I still had to wait for them to make their way over to the station that I was at. I could not believe that I was going to meet a friend from Toronto here until I saw it happen.

What I need to add in order to convey how substantial this was to me is a short story about Pierrette going to Kenya. A few months ago (maybe March or so) I was attending Sabath service at Kanisa in Scarborough (it is a Seventh Day Adventist Church that I visit sometimes). Knowing Pierette from York (most notably bonding over a piece of cheesecake for her birthday), we would talk sometimes when we both happened to be at Kanisa. That day, we sat a bit off to the side of the basement where people congregate after church. Sitting at a small table, I could feel something was going on with her. I inquired about it, then began to share that I could feel she needs to get out, ‘that what she was looking for wasn’t here, but that she would see it in somewhere like Kenya’. She looked at me surprised, and asked if she had told me that she was thinking of going to Kenya. Being that we hadn’t spoken in God-knows-how-many weeks or months, the answer was ‘no’. Truth is, I don't think she had really told anyone. It was a powerful moment. She went on to tell me about a placement that she was going to apply to that would bring her to Kenya. I could feel that if she trusted God, He would bring her there.

Months later, I got a group email that Pierrette had sent out. It detailed some of her early impressions and experiences in Kenya. In that email she mentioned that she would be in Ghana. This email had been sent long before I opened it, but I waited until I would have the time to read it before I opened it. When I had finally opened it, I knew that – God willing – I would be in Ghana at the same time. Later on, I emailed her and gave her some contacts that I had, and suggested that we meet up. I didn’t know if it would happen though because:

1) I would have just left the coast for the north, and going back might not be possible.
2) I could not reach her with the number she gave me.
3) Turns out I had given her the wrong number to reach me, so I had not heard from her.

Finally though, we spoke a couple of days before she arrived as I re-sent the right phone number for her to reach me.

Once we spoke, I decided that I would leave on Thursday morning for Kumasi where I would stay a night with Jayme (from JHR). I was going to leave for Cape Coast the next day to meet Pierrette, until she told me that she would be in Kumasi at the same time as she was accompanying Mark who was on his way to a funeral. It worked out very well, as we met in Kumasi and would go to Jayme’s house for the evening.

One of the strongest images I have in my mind was seeing Pierrette approach the bus terminal through the parking lot with her backpack on. It was really real! Not planned long in advance, not intended, but destined. In meeting Mark, I was surprised to find that he worked at St. Lawrence Heights Community Centre (a fellow Parks and Rec staff from TO?!?!). He is now back in Ghana where, we trust God, everything will work out for the best.




















While at the bus station, Mark got a ticket for the bus to bring him to the location of the funeral (not sure where that was) and Pierrette and I sought to get tickets to Cape Coast...which we found out were sold out for a couple of days. However, learning how things work here I dropped a name of a STC Bus manager in Tamale and the Kumasi manager hooked us up. Parting ways with Mark, Pierette and I stepped out into Kumasi!

I have to say, of the major cities in Ghana that I have seen thus far, Kumasi is my favourite. It has the feeling I get in New York, where it feels like everything is happening. One thing I will add is that different cities have various cultural influences. Kumasi is most heavily influenced by the Ashanti nation, Tamale has a strong Dagomba leaning, and Accra is in an area historically peopled by the Ga nation. I have to say that the Ashanti cultural influence is the vibe that I like the most thus far.

Our first steps out of the bus stop must have looked like, “hi, we are tourists, how are you?” with both of us pulling out our cameras to take a picture of the distinct layout of the city. We quickly got into a cab and headed to the Kumasi Cultural Centre. Upon arrival, we headed towards the sound of music and a crowd. We passed through a small market of crafts and food where there was a few tents, a stage, and a dance group performing. The dance had a dramatic storyline to it, which was along the lines of the courting process between young men and young women. It was funny, intriguing and poetic.

Clearly, we had arrived near the end of the day of performances, so we began to tour the small market as we snacked on some fried fish and fried yam. Some of the paintings were striking...there was one which resembled a vision that I had after returning from Goree Island (the point of no return) to the hotel I was staying at in Senegal. After watching a mob tear up a few boxes of alcohol being given out and watching a chief being escorted by an entourage into his Benz, we headed to Luv FM to meet with Jayme.

















Above: A Cheif being escorted with umbrella overhead and drumming entourage into his Benz.















Above: Somebody, namely the man in the spandex suit, let people know that there was free liquor on stage.

The ride was not far, but took long as the traffic in Kumasi can be insane. If we knew where to walk, we would have been better off, but we enjoyed the ride which afforded a glimpse of the downtown.

Getting into Luv FM was much more of a task than it is at Justice. We had to meet security at the front gate, then again at the front desk. Jayme came out to scoop us from a brief interrogation of who we were and why we were there. She brought us into the newsroom, which was full of staff, high-energy and pretty hilarious.

Jayme’s work situation is much more established, fast-pace, and professional than mine. Justice is like a community radio station in Toronto, Luv is more like a Toronto commercial station. Jayme’s joking with her co-workers, her practicing local greetings, and her stories had me grinning. You would really have to see this strong blond Winnipeg (but could make it in New York) journalist handling her own in this third floor Kumasi news room. One story she shared was not funny at all, but was quite remarkable.

Apparently, there has been a young woman calling into a talk show on the station claiming that she has been raped and kept as a sexual prisoner by her own father who is an influential figure in the city. She said she is locked in a room, often overseen by guards, has had numerous abortions and is currently pregnant. A couple members of the station staff acted on the information and looked into it. Finding that the claims seemed valid they coordinated with a gender rights organization, and they planned and executed a rescue attempt. The plan was successful and they broke her out of the place and she is now hiding in protection. At that point, Jayme was not quite sure of what was going to happen from there.

After meeting the folks in the newsroom, we headed back to Jayme’s house. Where she is staying in the residence of some French diplomat that was friends with the last JHR placee in Kumasi. The place was quite nice: the art, the furniture, DVD and CD stereo were some nice comforts; as well, the rooms that we were each shown to were quite comfortable. After talking for a little while, we sat out on the patio and enjoyed a dinner of chicken, pasta and salad with a Star Beer and some wine (I only had one, don’t worry). I have to add that I also had mint tea for the first time since arriving here and was soooo pleased about that! They just don't drink it here...they do in Senegal though!

Jayme was an amazing hostess and made us to feel so welcome. I felt grateful and blessed to visit with her. Even though she had to leave early in the morning for work, she let us know we could stay as long as we needed to.

That night, however, I was struggling. My stomach was a mess. It ached, and I was back and forth from the washroom quite a lot. To add to it, I had no mosquito net and kept being woken up by the buzzing of one mosquito that kept finding my ear. Eventually, I clued in and turned on the fan allowing me to get a couple of hours of sleep. (Note: the fan just overpowered the sound of the buzzing...I actually woke up with about 5 bites on my forehead). After hearing of Pierrette’s symptoms from Malaria and gastoronomous something or other, I felt like I might need to go to the hospital, because I was feeling the same conditions. The pain I had the night before had continued on the bus, and was getting worse. I was hoping that I could hold out until Sunday, as I was going to accompany Pierrette to Cape Coast, regardless. I did not let her know how I was feeling, but thank God I woke up feeling recovered! (though I had barely slept for two nights in a row).

When I woke up, I heard gospel music bumping over the stereo and could smell plantain frying on the stove...breakfast consisted of friend plantain, toast, mint tea, pineapple, oranges, an omelet and the Rhema Praise and Worship album! Beautiful. After going into the word a bit and praying about a few things, we headed out of the house late to see Kumasi in three hours...


















From meeting with a man who works in the house we were staying in (who was quite bitter...he was mad because we said, ‘pardon me’...his response was, "You Don't Understand What I Am Saying!') we got into a tro-tro and headed to what we thought, and our bitter 'friend' told us, was the area to find the museum. No one that we spoke to knew where it was in that area, so we found a cab driver that said he could bring us there...however, he brought us to the military museum...which was not what we were looking for.

After a bit of confusion, we headed to a hospital where there was a building that keeps a famous Ashanti sword that was planted in the ground by a mystic. Muhamad Ali actually tried to pull it out of the ground, but he could not. The myth is that the sword can not be pulled out, and if it is, the Ashanti nation will become divided.















Above: The famous Ashanti sword made of brass.

From there we rushed over to the palace of former Ashanti King Prompeh II. The palace was built by the British after they had burned the original one to the ground in their quest to get the gold royal stool. The Ashanti King Prompeh I wouldn't give it up, so they burnt down hte palce and sent him into exile for almost 30 years. He came back to the palace the Brits built where he lived for five years before passing. We saw the ground floor of the palace (which seemed more like a nice home) and then headed to the market on foot.
















Above: The Ashanti Palace built for exiled King Prompeh I and also dwelt in by King Prompeh II.

The Kumasi market is an amazing sea of people and goods that seems to stay in constant movement. It is surrounded by hills full of buildings, and sits in the bottom of a rounded valley. It is in the midst of old Kumasi which is where the original heart of the city was - the rest of Kumasi was built around this core. We did not stay there long, but found our way to the STC bus stop, which was made possible by Pierrette’s journey to the same station the day before; otherwise, we would have been wondering around (turns out there are two STC stops).


















Above: This is a structure from Old Kumasi which overlooks the market.

















Above: This is the view into the market (just a slice of it).
















Above: Inside the stream of human traffic.

It was a relief to get there, as we had put a lot into only about three hours.