Keep the Coffee Comimg

It might rain today. I should have expected it as washing the kitchen floor tops my chore list. As for that chore list, my sloth days are over for a bit. I have to clean the house, friends are coming. Those clumps of Henry hair will soon be a memory, at least for a day or two.

When I was a kid, I loved rainy afternoons. I’d get soaked walking home from school. My shoes would bubble at the tops. That always amused me. I’d get home, hang up my wet clothes, put my shoes by the radiator and change into my pajamas. I’d get cozy in bed and read the afternoon away. Sometimes I’d even fall asleep with my open book in hand.

Life is quiet right now. My uke gets me out of the house. Without it, I would be the poster child for slothhood. I like the slower pace, but it did take me a while to get rid of the guilt of choosing to do little.

I met my friends who are coming this week on the first day of what is called staging in Peace Corps lingo, the day you check in to begin your journey. You meet the people with whom you’ll serve and learn more about where you’re going and what the training will be. I remember standing in line for the check in. I chatted with the people around me. That’s when I met Bill and Peg, kindred spirits from New Hampshire. We became accomplices. We did attend sessions, but we also skipped a few. We were in Philadelphia where none of us had ever been so we became tourists. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the art museum with the Rocky steps and the spectacular view from the top of the William Penn building, city hall. Bill and Peg were to be stationed about a 100 miles from me in Tamale then they found out Peg was pregnant. Peace Corps let them stay but moved them to the south a long way from me. We stayed close despite the distance. I saw them during school holidays, and we traveled together. Once back, we lost touch for a long while, but then we found each other again. The years melted away. They are still kindred spirits. We are still the best of friends.

Last night my Hershey bars were a success. Kids showed off the big bars to their waiting parents, and my neighbor told me her daughter told other kids mine was the best house, but I had fewer trick or treaters than usual so I have candy bars still left. I suspect they won’t be left for long.

Today will be warm, 68°. Right now we have sun, but the clouds will be around later. It is quite windy. Everything is blowing. I have a uke concert today. We are playing songs from the 70’s.

Some of my memories drawers are so stuffed I can barely open them. The Ghana drawers are like that. When I was there, I knew I was living a singular experience so I saved the memories. I can still see them all in my mind’s eye, a little bit faded over time but still so vibrant compared to other memories.

In Ghana, my house was on school grounds as were the houses of other tutors as we were called. Mine was a duplex, the last house by the back fence. At night, students would often drop by to visit. Having a white teacher was a curiosity so they’d chat about everything and ask questions about my home and family. On one visit I told them about Halloween. They loved the idea of free candy. On Halloween night, they remembered and showed up at my house and said, “Trick or treat!” Luckily I had peppermint candy, a Ghanaian treat.

My town, the capital of the Upper Region in Ghana, was in the far northeast. It was in the hottest part of the country with a long dry season. Few fruits and vegetables grew there. The local tribe was the FraFras. Many of my students were local but it was a boarding school so they lived in dorms. Everyone in town knew who I was. I think there was only one other white woman. I loved going into town and shopping there on market day, every third day. I wandered all over and bought eggs, beef, garden eggs, tomatoes and onions. The sellers, mostly women, would dash me, give me, a few extra onions or tomatoes. I’d stop at shops and chop bars, sort of restaurants. Everyone greeted me and called me madam. I loved every day. I loved Ghana. I loved my school, my town and my students most of all.