Dreamland

I’m in heaven! Since moving to my new place on Saturday, I’ve had a spring in my step. This is a Ghana I could live in long-term, with a flushing toilet indoors and a shower even! And within walking distance of internet cafes, my office, a supermarket, etc.

Saturday night I ate Indian food! There were only other foreigners in the restaurant, with Ghanaians serving. I couldn’t help but think about the racial dimension of it all, though my Haitian-American housemate and her sister were with me. My meal ended up costing $6.50 US! I was shocked that it was that expensive. My chicken pita and rice at Nando’s last night cost nearly $5. But I got rice and a hunk of meat at a food stall for lunch for $0.50, so I know that it’s possible to eat cheap. I’ve just got to wander around a bit and find those places. They’ll be less restaurant-y and more food stall-y, but that’s fine by me.

I woke up this morning from a dream and realized everyone in it was black (I can’t recall details enough to know if they were African or African-American). I’m pretty sure that’s the first time ever. I suppose it’s a precursor to those dreams in other languages that people in foreign countries have. But I haven’t picked up enough language for that to happen yet. And I doubt I ever will. I have noted a new sound in my vocabulary that is on its way to being a Ghanaian sound, which I haven’t figured out how to record so you can get a sense for the sound…

Learning another language is only as easy as the people who teach you make it. When I ask how to say something here, so far I’ve been getting whole phrases and I don’t know what each singular part means. I think I’d prefer phonics. That way, I can build my own sentences as I learn more vocabulary.

If I’m with more than one person, they ALL say the words/words at once, so I can’t follow it. A chorus effect is not conducive to being able to hear proper pronunciation.

Often, after I learn one expression in a language, someone tells alternative ways to say the same thing. WOAH, doggie! I only need one way right now. That’s enough to handle. Why fill my brain with synonyms when I could be adding vocab?! Add to that that some people try to teach me the same thing in another tribal language before I’ve even fully internalized it in the first.

Progress is slow.