send off party

"good morning. you are looking beautiful."

Ma gave me her smile that meant the day was going to be smooth. she was in a good mood, feeling peaceful and well rested.

"thank you." i said, i curtsied then i went to sit down. i was wearing a new dress made by a seamstress in town.

"it suits you" Ma said "who made it?"

"some woman down the road."

she nodded. "you're late."

"yes. i got caught up."

"doing what?"

"Ma... i'm trying to organize a party. a huge party, because sofie and i are leaving soon."

"when will you go?"

"friday is our last day in boamadumase."

"eh! kaisssssssyyyyyyyy. hmk hmk hmk. 6 months, the time has gone. oh kaiissy, i will miss you oh."

"Ma! i will miss you too." a moments pause, then "how do you say that in twi??"

"ahhh ha. you want to be a ghanaian, don't you see?"

"but i need you to tell me a few things" i said. "i want to announce on the loudspeaker that sofie and i will be throwing a party, here, at the clinic, on friday night. but first i wanted to ask. would that be alright?"

"you can do it." she said.

earlier that morning, while i was throwing my trash into the bushes outside our gate, my slingshot-making one armed buddy rode by on a bicycle. he had great dexterity. he skidded to a quick stop and said he had knocked on my door early in the morning and no one answered.

"we were probably sleeping." i said.

he continued to tell me he looked for me at the clinic, and since i wasn't around he was riding back to his town. i asked him why he was looking for me and he said someone told him i wanted to know about renting some loudspeakers, he was the guy to talk to. i had no idea what he was talking about, but it sounded like fun. "yes, i wanted to speak to you about that." i said. i expanded a 10 second conversation sofie and i had had into a plan. "i'd like to have a party, how much and how long can we have them for."

"200,000 (20 dollars) cedis will be sufficient." he said. "from early in the morning to late at night."

i liked watching him speak, he smiled while he talked.

"okay" i said "can you come around 5, at night, and play all night?"

"yes, i can do that."

"are they the funeral speakers, the really loud ones?"

"yes."

"good." i said.

"and what about drinks?" he said.

i had to think about that one. drinks for an entire village? i didn't have the money.

"okay, bring 8 crates, half minerals and half beer. does that work?"

"yes."

we talked a little longer, enough to make me late for work, enough to ensure there would be some loud ghanaian music on friday night tearing apart the village ear drum. when i told Ma about what had been organized for the send off she had one concern.

"but you didn't get food?!"

"i can't feed the entire village."

"you must have food. prepare something nice."

"if we have food, i won't announce our party on the loudspeaker."

the loudspeaker is the modern version of beating a drum to inform the villagers of important information. every night a man stands in the middle of the dark road, between the stands of women selling egg sandwiches and oahze, and presses a button on his handheld machine. the button sounds like a bad rendition of an ambulance, the sound ripples through boamadumase. it is loud and draws everyone's attention. after it quiets, the man screams out that tuesday is clean up day and all villagers must meet to pick up the street, or he might say the Chief needs people to help him with something at the farm, or anything else that has been appointed for him to say.

i wanted to let everyone know about the party. Ma laughed. "what will you say? you will have to speak it in twi."

"certainly!" i stood up, pretended i was the announcer pressing the button. "beweobeweobeweo! agoo! agoo!"

Ma pushed her hands on the sides of her chair and stretched back. i continued in simple twi.

"agoo! people of boamadumase- listen." i looked around and spread my hands around in front of me, just like the man does it. "it is akua kessywa. i am here to tell you friday-" i stalled, whispered,"how do you say party in twi?" Ma told me. "i am here to tell you friday i will have a party. please come. there will drinks and dancing, there will be no food. bring me a gift."

with these few lines, i had successfully gotten Ma to the point of deep choking laughter, her dress buttons practically ready to pop off. i'm sure it was a combination of my precise white girl twi mixed with my acting. i had her just where i liked her, needing to take deep breaths to recouperate.

"what do you think?" i asked.

she heaved and bent her head down, closing her eyes. then she looked up. "EFREEYEH!!!"

the name echoed through the clinic grounds, and within a minute, in her forest green uniform, efreeyeh appeared. "Ma." she said, standing like a cadet.

"kaisy, do it."

i repeated my act as efreeyeh covered her face and squinted her eyes. under Ma's thumb i know efreeyeh feels as if she is not allowed to laugh at work, but this time she was set up.

"thursday night, in the center of town, i'm doing it." i said.

"akua, they will laugh at you."

Ma chimed in, able to speak now and imparting wisdom "if you tell them there are free drinks, they will come running. you see how we are, if something is free, the entire village will come."

"okay, i'll leave that out. i'll say there will be no food, no drinks, only dancing, and please bring Yaa Sofia and me a gift."

sofie and i had both grown tired of being asked for things. it hadn't really let up since christmas, and i hadn't become immune to it. although, my close friends had refrained, and i loved them even more for that but sometimes it got so bad, people asked me for my clothes while i was wearing them, and these were people i knew had wardrobes of their own. it really challenged me with jesus' words about giving a man your cloak when he asks for your shirt. i decided that if i remained friendly while i refused, that was good enough.

"i was late today, because i met my friend on the road and i had to hire some music. he's coming at 5, here. Ma- will you dance?"

"i will."

"efreeyeh?"

"ahh huhhh..."

"then i will tell everybody, we can celebrate, and we'll get food just for staff and my friends at the house."

"who?" ma asked. "for sakola?"

"yes. and some others."

she liked sakola even though she didn't know him, she only knew we ate dinner together each night, and in Ma's world that meant he was taking care of me. she had asked why i didn't just marry him. i told her, sharing a bowl of fufuo and sharing a life were very different things. "but if he suits you, it can work." i said it probably wouldn't work. then she tried setting me up with ed because we both are white. "he has a girlfriend." but the answer bothered her, she tried every way around it.

"oh kaisy, we will miss you. you are jovial."

"and you Ma, i'll never have another teacher quite like you." "...and my time is running up, i need to make good use of it."

"by all means, a woman will come to deliver. you will see. there will be 3 or 4, you can deliver them."

"okay. can i do some learning right now? can you teach me some things?"

she didn't even need a second to think. she responded "ask efreeyeh."

i smiled, i was going to miss her too.