Playing Dress Up

Because they’re so great, I decided to dedicate an entire post, complete with photos, to Ed’s new clothes he got in Ghana.  I want to call them outfits but since he’s a man I’m not allowed to do that.  On the way to my village when we were riding with PP, we ran into my nearest neighbor Alex’s counterpart (and the assistant headmaster at his school) Dan.  Way back in September I ran into him in the market and he told me all about Alex’s parents coming to visit.  I also told him about Ed coming in December and he said he wanted to meet him.  I hadn’t seen him since until we randomly ran into him in Sandema and he saw Ed, insisting he wanted us to come to his house during his visit.  He even stopped by my house a few days later so we could figure out how to make that happen.  Since we didn’t want to make a special trip, we collectively decided it’d be best for us to visit when we were leaving.  But to do so we had to leave the village very early but luckily that meant he sent the drive with the Fumbisi SHS Mahindra truck to come pick us up which was great.  But this meant our visit occurred early in the morning so it was a rather quiet one since we were all still waking up.  Normally I would’ve made more of an effort to make conversation (especially since I hate awkward silence) but my stomache was bothering me a little so I didn’t feel up to it.  During the visit Dan presented Ed with a traditional Northern (specifically Builsa smock) which was a very nice and generous presented.   I ate TZ and okra leaf soup and was told ‘Awenle, don’t worry you will get a smock at your goodbye party.’  Whew thank goodness- I was worried!  Now Ed and I can find a way to wear our awesome African wear back home, even if just as costumes.

The second new piece of clothing Ed received was my fault.  I thought it’d be fun (and funny) for us to have matching batik.  It’s a common thing here for couples of family members to wear matching clothe.  I even had matching clothes with my brother during homestay and many married or dating PCVs wear matching clothes.  So before leaving for Mole, Ed picked out some green, blue, and slightly pink batik from my favorite store in Tamale, COLWOD.  Then we went to the tailor and had our measurements taken for his shirt and my dress.  Unfortunately for me but luckily for Ed, the clothes weren’t ready until his last day in country so we only matched once.  We wore them for dinner at the hotel the night before he left and of course had someone take a photo for us.   Ed thought he was spared sharing these photos with everyone because he didn’t take them home with them but here it is for your viewing enjoyment.