MaxMart

Another full day! We woke up this morning and decided to hit the pool with some of the people from the other dorm. We went to this hotel called The Wangara. One of our friends, Gabby, got us a group rate so we only had to pay three Cedi each to use the pool for the entire day. We got there about 12 and stayed til around 2. The pool was pretty funny—only half way full and in the deep end there was a fully submerged shade umbrella turned upside down. The hotel worker that showed us to the pool told one of the guys, “If any of you get in, get that umbrella out for us.” So amusing how all this works here. I didn’t swim but I did lay out, and it was really nice to get some sun and talk with friends. About 13 of us decided we’re going to take a trip to another beach about an hour away next weekend. I already forgot the name of the beach, but tomorrow we’re booking our hotel rooms and figuring out all the travel arrangements. I think to take a bus it’s only 1 Cedi, and the hotel room, split between 2 people, is like 20 Cedi. Not bad for a weekend trip! We’re really excited to finally go off on our own and plan this trip for ourselves.
Me, Gillian and Mallory at the pool

After the pool, Gillian and I decided we needed to go to the grocery store to buy some more things we couldn’t buy at the market. We went to the other major supermarket they have here—MaxMart. We took what’s called a “shared taxi” there, which you pick up at a set location and which takes all of its passengers to a set destination. Luckily, the destination our taxi was going to drops off right outside the grocery store. The taxi only cost 50 pesewas (cents) for each person, so we got a really good deal. MaxMart had everything familiar—Frosted Flakes and Prego Pasta Sauce, and stuff like that, but everything was SO expensive. Like, a box of Frosted Flakes was 15 Cedi (equivalent to 15 dollars). I don’t know who has the money to buy all this stuff! We Obronis can’t even afford that!! I know it’s expensive because it’s imported, but they’d only import it and charge that much if there was a demand for it and people were willing to pay that much! It boggles my mind. So needless to say, we only bought a few select things, including some Stir Fry sauce for our dinner! Right next to MaxMart is a HUGE vegetable stand, so we stopped by there and got a few vegetables for our stir fry. We got 6 onions, 6 carrots, and 3 bell peppers for 5 Cedi. Not bad!!

We had basically the same group from the pool over for dinner, and Gillian, Mallory and I cooked stir fry and chicken and rice. Everything was delicious, and the chicken was awesome. Very easy, and something I think I could easily make at home (mostly thanks to the sauce, but whatever). We had a lovely dinner and made cookies for dessert. The cookies didn’t turn out as planned, but it was instant mix from a box, and the only extra needed ingredients were water and butter, soooo I think they turned out the best they could. Afterward we watched Spanglish and ate more cookies.

Tomorrow, Gillian, Marykate and I are going to church with Naa. We’re very excited, especially because we hear church is so different here! After church we plan on going to the other market, to check it out and hopefully buy some stuff we still need (Tupperware, cereal, fruits, etc.).

Our bikes are doing so well! The Waffle is a trouper and Gillian’s bike is great, too. We’ve already ridden them many places and I really like having them. Riding them brings me back to a very nostalgic place and makes me happy.
our bikes!

I know this weekend has been very busy for many of my family and friends—please keep each other sane and happy and healthy. I miss you all and love you so much!

love love love

elizabeth