Look Up!

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, my favorite time of day is twilight. There is a magical feeling in the air, like nature pausing to take a deep breath before continuing its’ daily routine.
Wenchi is a town on a hill. When you are driving from Kumasi to Wenchi, you can see the town from miles away. I live near a ridge that over looks rolling hills, green with maize, plantain, palm and coconut trees. There is a wall around my house where I sit on top and watch the sunset. Watching the sunset is a novel idea to Ghanians. As they see me sitting on the wall, doing nothing, just watching the sunset, they ask me what I am doing. I point to the sky and explain how beautiful it is to watch the sun set. They look at me blankly for a moment, then smile shaking their head, thinking’ “Oh this white man is sure strange.”
While I will never dispute that I am strange, (I can see all of you who know me nodding your head), I don’t think it’s strange to take a moment out of a busy day to stop; reflect on life, creation and the beauty of this earth. Granted this is a busy time of the day for most Ghanians. Sunset (which occurs around 6:00 everyday; don’t forget I am near the equator and the hours of the day do not fluctuate much) is time to make dinner. More specifically fufu.
I think that I have explained fufu before, but let me refresh your memories. Fufu consists of plantain and cassava. Plantain is in the banana family and cassava is a tuber, in the potato family. They peel and boil the cassava and mix it with the plantain. Keep in mind that their kitchens are NOT our kitchens. In fact, most of them don’t have a kitchen. They cook outside, no stove, counters, microwaves, or tables. They build a fire, if they have money they will use charcoal, if not they will use wood. Placing a pot of water on top of the fire supported by some stones, they boil the cassava. From there they will take a large wooden pestle about 24” in diameter and place the cassava and plantain in small amounts into the pestle. One person, who is sitting on a wooden stool gingerly moves the cassava/plantain mixture until it becomes a dough like ball. There is a second person who takes a mortar and beats the snot out of the mixture. It is almost like a dance, while one is pounding, the other is mixing. I have never seen any smashed fingers but maybe that is why they haven’t asked me to help. This mortar is usually four feet high 8-10 inches in diameter made out of wood. This process of combining the plantain and cassava and getting the right texture can take up to 45 minutes. The woman is usually mixing the fufu, while a child; anywhere from 10-20 years old is the one who pounds. This is one reason why the kids here are so freaking ripped! They have muscles in their arms and backs that would make a professional weight lifter envious. That is just the fufu. They add it to a soup; the soup usually takes a lot longer; grinding, cutting boiling, cooking...
But this blog is not about fufu. It’s about sunsets remember? At least now you understand why they shake their heads as I sit upon my wall, listening to the constant rythymn of people pounding fufu in surrounding houses. The color and clouds are amazing. Sometimes it’s the large cotton ball clouds ( yes that is the scientific term), or mare’s tails, sometimes the pattern is like fish scales. As the sun sets, the clouds radiate from the color of golden rods, red as crimson as a rose, pure white and the purple of violets. The sky changes coral blue, royal blue to navy. Slowly the sun pulls the color from the sky, turning the clouds into a beautiful hue of grays and purples, saying good night to all creation; promising that tomorrow will be a new day; filled with new hopes and dreams.
Yeah, so OK, I’m a sap. I get a little teary sometimes; overwhelmed at the beautiful world we live in. But as I look at the brilliant display, it helps me keep my prospective. How small we are. How small our troubles are in the scheme of things, and how thankful I am to have my health, friends, family and a Creator who has made this all possible.
So... Take a moment from fufu pounding and look up. Take time to enjoy the beauty of this world! Go ahead and risk that as you do, there will always be people that will shake their heads at you, thinking you’re a little strange. But no worries, you are in good company!
Cheers