Ghana, Day 21 - It's Too Far to Walk to the Shangri-La

Hi Ruth!

I'm still in Ghana.

Today wasn't very interesting, but I wanted to make sure I wrote a post for you anyway.

This morning I went to yoga class with Miss Anne-Marie, then I went to teach a make-up class for Moral Philosophy. Normally we meet on Wednesday, but this Wednesday was Eid which is a big holiday for Muslims, and so the university was closed.

Muslims fast for a whole month, called Ramadan - they don't eat anything during the day, only at night. Not eating helps them focus on thinking about how to be better people - I know that's probably a bit confusing, but sometimes doing something unusual on purpose can help! Anyway, another neat thing is that Ramadan doesn't come at the same time every year. That's because our calendar (which is called the Gregorian calendar, after Pope Gregory, who wrote it down in the way we have it now). Our calendar, with September, October, etc. is based on where the sun is in the sky. But the Muslim calendar (and the Jewish calendar, too) are both based on the changes in the moon. So they move around relative to each other.

Anyway, we had a nice discussion about what makes things right and wrong. Mr. Kimathi, one of my students in this class, is very talkative - sometimes even I don't get a chance to talk! He is a lawyer. My other student, Father Martin, is much quieter (but they are both very smart). He is a priest.

Then I walked down to Accra Mall. I needed to get something fixed on my computer so I could send emails to you and Mommy from my flat. And, since I've been away for so long, that even though I like the food here a lot (lots of it is nice and spicy!), I sometimes miss the kind of food we have in the US. Last night I really really wanted... rice with ketchup! I don't know why, it's silly. But I bought some ketchup, too. And don't worry - when you're here we can try all sorts of Ghanaian food, but I will make sure we have some pasta and yogurt and peanut butter too.

I was hoping that the walk would be short enough that we could go there without needing to drive when you're here, since it's not too far from the place with the nice kids pool. But I think it's too far.

And then I came back to the flat. And I'm missing you. I'm glad you finally got my card with the dancers! There is more mail coming to you, and I hope it gets there soon.