A Love Affair with Electric- May 21st

Electric...have you thought about how much you use it..mircrowaves, cell phone chargers, ref, stove, tv, hair dryers, curling irons, computer, printers...etc., etc. It is almost crazy when you think about it not being available or consistent day to day or night to night. My electric in Ghana has departed me every night I've been here without even a good bye. One minute we have it and the next we don't. When we don't have electric the lights and shower water are very limited. The moments of frustration are real and privileged ones. People here live and do what they want to do within the limits of their resources and that is humbling to see and experience first hand. Thus far, i have received a Ghanaian name Amaasonta which means the day of the week i was born Saturday and the region I am currently living in Asanti. This is a common name for Ghanaians. Everyone has this type of name and then many go by nicknames. I have learned the basic skill of carrying water on my head and it is more than a challenge. It is a skill and talent my western neck is unable to master at this point. My new friends Albert, Julianna, and Alberta were gracious enough to teach me. Julianna owns a restaurant and club in the center of Aburi and Maren, Cara (another volunteer) hung out with them one day. They taught us local Ghanaian dances and Twi (local Ghanaian language) and we taught them a few signs. It was a good exchange of cultures and laughter, and I desire to find more ways to connect with local people. It has been hard to read people's body language and interactions that come across as natural with other Blacks in the US are misunderstood and ineffective here. The general head nod as a greeting is not reciprocated, but smiles and right hand only hand waves seem to be better (I just accidentally waved with my left walking to the cafe today.. big cultural mistake.. really working hard on that). I'm also having a hard time reading and understanding cultural behaviors between men and women. What is appropriate is unclear. I'm very conscious of both my color and dress. Physically I look like them, but I don't understand the elders or initial greetings. I have been trying to push myself to simply talk to strangers and spend time even if I'm incredibly unsure of how it will turn out. I am asking many questions.. and I'm up to 8 new Twi words and it is only day number 2.