Day 14: Relaxation and Schwarmas

I started the day off with some fresh fruit and sunbathing! We really haven't had a lot of time to spend in the sun because it comes up at 6:00 am and goes down at 6:00 pm. Today was African Union day, so schools were not in session, which meant a free day for us! I spent about 45 minutes on the roof of the Baptist Guest House where we are staying. It was quiet and close to the sun. We could see the planes flying low overhead and I just enjoyed some music time. The leaders had to take a bit of time to prepare for our 3 services tomorrow at Anyaa, Medina and the Lutheran Seminary. As a group, we ate Schwarmas at a place in downtown Accra. They were amazing!  I also tried my first falafel! Loved it! I hope to make both of these Lebanese treats back in the states!  Since we didn't eat out for dinner last night, we had the money to go grab some goodies from the grocery store. I haven't been feeling well because of the lack of veggies, so I stopped at a stand and bought carrots and cucumbers there. I also got Digestives (which are like graham crackers), peanut candy and a chocolate ice bar. It tasted awesome in this grossly humid weather!  We spent much of the afternoon practicing skits and songs for tomorrow while Heather went to see how much money and time it would take to get her hair plated. It is $100 cedis for 2 hours of plating. CRAZY. I took a short cat nap before dinner. Adaline is our house cook and she is AMAZING.  I spent some time talking to her today. She enjoys her job and she used to cook 3 meals a day for the house, but that was overwhelming for her, so now she just cooks breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is $10Gh which is the equivalent of $3.34USD per person. Dinner here is $12Gh which equals $4USD. I am continually surprised by how inexpensive everything is here, especially food. They say that you can get a box of beans and rice from a street vendor for $.50Gh which is basically $0.17USD!!  Her favorite dish to make is okra soup and rice. I tried this both at Southern Fried Chicken and yesterday at the Cape Coast restaurant. I can definitely see why she loves it!!  Our day concluded with playing with Tyra, Adaline's daughter. She is 5 and is the size of an 8 year old. She has the cutest laugh and toothless smile! She showed up in a Supergirl outfit and we played and laughed. She tried to walk up Thomas to flip, that didn't end too well for Thomas.... Oops!!  The day was wonderful and exhausting.