reflection #2: homestay family

When I found out that I would be living with a homestay family as a part of my internship, I couldn’t have been happier. Throughout the years I’ve only heard good things about homestay experiences and I knew that it would enhance my trip with true Ghanaian culture. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t easy…. Adjusting to 1-12 hour power outages each evening and shower-less nights due to water shortages took some time; but in the end it all added to the adventure.

I’ll start off by introducing you to each family member from oldest to youngest. First off we have “Grandma” who speaks absolutely no English and tries to have full Fante conversations with us every time we walk by. She’s 80 years old but still runs the store outside of our house and prepares the bread pans for Auntie Maggie two to three times a week. I like to think she would be really sweet if we knew what she was saying but Skyler swears she was placing curses on us since she would whisper to herself and stare our way.

Next up is Auntie Maggie, she was our “house mother” but didn’t do much hands-on taking care of us. Auntie Maggie was more of my shoulder to lean on/personal therapist throughout the two months and is the most inspirational person I know. She works at the hospital in the HIV/AIDS clinic and acts as a counselor and prescribing nurse for over 800 patients. She’s also an incredible bread-baker and made 50-80 loaves two to three times a week since it’s in such high demand. As if that’s not enough, she’s also heavily involved in her church community and leads morning devotion at the hospital. Her daughters idolize her and often talk about how hard their beautiful mother works.

We’ll skip Sister Bebe for now and head to Maria. Maria is 24 and moved back into our house in July after getting in a car accident and losing her pinky. When she first arrived we didn’t see much of her because she was sleeping and recovering but towards the end she became a really fun sister to hang out with. Even though she’s older and doesn’t necessarily have to help around the house she always did it without being asked and loved being around everyone.

Shalda is our 21-year-old sister and her and I definitely had the most sisterly relationship out of anyone. She’s super sarcastic and funny so most of our time was spent making rude comments to each other that we didn’t actually mean. She would purposely slam my door to wake me up in the morning or call me a child when I wouldn’t eat all my food but I loved every second of spending time with her. She told us all about her life at school and how she would love to work in the business field one day. Due to Ghanaian culture and being the second youngest she was dubbed our cook for the two months we were there. In other words, she got to deal with our picky appetites and all the meals we wouldn’t eat. Lucky for us, she was a Ghanaian Rachel Ray and once we found food we liked, dinner was always amazing.

Gloria is our 18-year-old sister and the poor girl did EVERYTHING around the house. It’s in the culture for the youngest child to do all the house chores so she was up every morning at 5 am sweeping and stayed up late to finish all the dishes for her family. During the day she sat at the family store in the middle of town since she’s in between her high school and college schooling and always told us she was bored. Gloria is definitely the quietest sister and Shalda often told us she was “weird” but she has dreams of being a doctor so instead of going out with friends she likes to stay in and study. (she doesn't like pictures so i don't have one of her)

Now time for the little rascal, Petra. Petra is our brother’s (who I’ve only met twice) little girl who is raised by my family because he has a far away job and his wife is in the army. Our family isn’t too good as discipline so she isn’t well behaved and yells right back at anyone that tells her to stop what she’s doing. She loved to follow Skyler and I around and would copy any facial expression we made. Petra is probably the sassiest two year old I know but she’s so adorable it makes it okay.

(we came home to find Petra in one of Sister Bebe's wigs)

Last but definitely not least is the infamous Sister Bebe. She was our caretaker, tour guide, mom, and best friend. I ‘ve never met someone so happy and well liked by her ENTIRE community. She’s the big shot accountant at the hospital and treats absolutely everyone like they’re best person she’s ever met. I learned so much from her throughout these two months and she has no idea. Her positive outlook on life is inspiring and I’m going to miss her every single day. However, she has promised to let us know when she gets engaged so I can plan on coming back for the big day.

There are no words to describe the difference this family has made in my life. They showed me that things I once considered necessary really aren’t necessary at all and “big problems” are usually quite small.  They’re at a cultural disadvantage being a household full of women in a male dominated society but the respect the community gives them says a lot about the type of people they are. Every single one of them has a strong personality and enough determination to last them a lifetime. The house was always in a constant state of laughter and it made the entire experience that much more enjoyable.

Here’s a passage from my personal journal that I wrote last weekend and perfectly describes my homestay experience:

“Today I feel absolutely at home in Ghana and it’s the best feeling in the world. This morning when I got up and went into the kitchen to get coffee I felt like I was in my home and not even a little bit like I was a guest. I honestly look at this family as my own and I’m so thankful for them taking me in and treating me like a real daughter. The thought of leaving makes me sick to my stomach, which was the exact feeling I had before leaving the US to come here. That just shows me that I really have come to love it here and am truly happy. Today was a wonderful feeling of contentment and I couldn’t wipe the stupid smile off my face for a single second because I was just so happy. Ghana is a perfect place and this trip/homestay are the best thing that could ever have happened to me at this time.”

Today (Sunday) is the day we head to Accra where our family will meet Skyler and I. We’re going to hangout with them and sleep over Sister Bebe’s boyfriend’s house before saying goodbye at the airport on Monday evening. I’ll no longer have internet in Ghana so the next time you hear from me I’ll be on American soil and will probably have some interesting culture-shock stories. Thanks for reading!