Christmas time is over. Finally. Christmas markets are rebuilt, presents are given and families are visited. This year I had to work additionally, so everything was even more stressful. I was just hopping from one appointment to the other one, enjoying time was very hard.
One moment of this year´s Christmas I will remember long time I had Monday evening:
I was calling to Ghana once more to wish merry Christmas to Kofi. He was supposed to get a package from me and I wanted to ask him if he got it. He didn´t. Not yet. When I heard, I turned small sad. But he said it was okay and that he will wait some more time for it.
Kofi was in Accra at the Cafacayo orphanage that day to visit Luwis and the kids. When I called he was with them and after a while they talked to me. One child after the other was on the phone wishing a merry Christmas and telling me they miss me. I was surprised and touched by their action. I talked small to everyone of them and wished a merry Christmas, too. In their voices I could hear the happiness and joy coming up talking to me.
I don´t know if they got presents for Christmas. But in this moment they didn´t need. They just needed to hear my voice to become happy. And so did I.
After long reading I finally finished my book I bought in London in the airport while waiting for my flight back to Germany. The title is "The Shadow Of The Sun" and is written by Ryszard Kapuscinski who has been a journalist for Polish media in many African countries for more than 40 years.
Because of this background the stories he is telling are very close to reality (as far as I can judge from my point of view from living in Ghana for one year). He tells about arriving in Ghana being the first time on the African continent and the coming independence. He describes landscapes of the Sahel in Mali, the rainforest in Uganda, raining and dry periods. He lets one know about the encounters with different people he had in Eritrea, Niger or Senegal. He brings reasons and development of some African wars (Hutu against Tutsi in Rwanda, civil wars in Sudan, warlords in Liberia) to the reader.
All in all it is just his experience over the years and he is reporting very objective about the happenings and brings in additional knowledge to make the reader more understanding.
I really enjoyed reading the book and can only recommend it to everyone who is interested in reading about African countries to learn more about them. The "black continent" shouldn´t be a "black hole" in your mind as it is quite the opposite: very colourful.
With the darkness of the winter time comes to coziness. Outside it is dark and cold, inside you heat your room, light some candles, warm up with coffee and tea after a long walk in the snow – if there is some. Highlight of winter is Christmas. Definitely. And Christmas comes with the time of advent, its Christmas markets, warm punch, cookies, meeting friends, having a joyful time together. No stress, no hectic, just relaxing in the long nights and short days.
At least it should be like this. But the highlight of winter is the most stressful time, too! Christmas. People plan, people rush, people exaggerate. Instead of walking slowly over the Christmas market and enjoying the atmosphere they run, hit other people on their way to buy presents for everyone: kids, brother, sister, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Each year the same procedure:
“What do you wish for Christmas? What do you want to have?”
“Hmmm, maybe this, I don´t know. That is also very nice!”
“What about this?”
“Yeah, I always wanted to have some!”
And then it starts. People try to outclass the others. Their gifts have to be more in number and size, better, higher, more expensive, more exclusive than the ones from aunt, uncle, sister, brother or neighbors. Often it feels like a competition. In newspapers you can read headlines like these: German people never spend as much money on Christmas gifts as this year or In average every person is spending XXX € on Christmas gifts.
But is this the meaning of Christmas? Fighting a competition? Consuming as much as possible? No!
“Do they know it´s Christmas?” is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to fight with its benefits hunger and poverty in Ethiopia. The text asks if the people in Africa know that it´s Christmas time.
Do the people in Africa know Christmas? From Ghana I can say, they do! They also celebrate it, but in a different way. Most Christians go for quite a long time to church, Muslims and traditional believers don´t. But in their religion there is no thing like Christmas. They do not give huge presents. They visit each other if possible. Spending time together is as present already enough. In Ghana there is no cold during winter time, actually there is no winter at all. This reasons in no coziness as it is hotter than ever that time. Instead they go to the beach after church and celebrate with family and friends, spending a joyful time together. Or simply do the usual routine: work, as they need the money to survive and can´t risk not to work for one day.
The song would better ask the people in Europe and America if they knew it was Christmas time. What is the sense of many expensive presents on one single day in a year? You buy presents because you have to buy them, not because you like to give them with your heart. You give wrong presents people do not like because in the last moment you just buy anything and do not think about whether the person likes it or not. You just need a present.
Save this money for the right moment for someone who would be really happy about something small, something he or she really needs. Give it when someone needs it, not when you feel you have to.
That is what Christmas is about: Loving each other and being there for each other, spending time together.
One thing I learned and adapted in Ghana was facing time in a different way.
Me, as I grew up in Germany was taught to be in time when I had an appointment. Mostly I was, even several minutes before I showed up. In Ghana the understanding of time is different. You have an appointment but show up when you have got time. This can be even two hours later than set up. You don´t rush, everybody knows: You come, when you come; whenever it will be.
Sometimes it was very hard and I was always afraid of creating an intercultural difficulty, when I show up late but the other one expects me to be in time. So I was often waiting long time.
But the main thing I learned and implemented was not to make many plans. Before I made plans for everything, calculated my day, set dates long time in advance, even months before. This I started to stop. Of course I still do plans for important and regular events but this small planning I quit. Many times I made plans and had to change everything because of spontaneous changes, weather conditions, traffic and similar stuff. So I just stopped planning and did things from one moment to the other. After a while I really got used to and noticed: I have less stress, no pressure I create on my own. And the most important: spontaneous events are the most fun ones! Sitting together and then start a cooking session, go to a bar, dance on the street. Plan some vacation for a set time but no concrete one. Just head off to some place, look for a place to stay as long as you need to. Different conditions make you plan everything over and over again. This you can avoid.
Life happens while you are busy making other plans. Don´t miss a great event because you planned to stay at home and watch a movie. Don´t miss a sudden street carnival because you planned to visit a museum at the other side of town for that afternoon. Don´t miss going to the beach with your friends because it is your laundry day.
Some things in life will be there for long time, others can wait for a while. But it is the small, spontaneous, unexpected things in life which make the difference. Don´t let them go, catch them for your memories!
Don´t make plans for everything otherwise life is passing by.
Time is running. Three months have passed by since I came back from Ghana. I evaluated the voluntary service during a seminar in Berlin, I wrote reports, I collected my pictures, I finished up everything from that time. I thought. Time and life say that the time in Ghana is over, but my heart and my mind don´t accept it.
Here, back in Germany, I started to work, I moved into my own apartment. I got a new start, once more. And I really like it in Hamburg.
But Hamburg is even more temptation than only work and apartment: Many Ghanaian people live in here, there is a bunch of Afro Shops in town and this reasons in a lot of Ghanaian food to buy. Two days ago I have been to the Museum of ethnology sciences and visited an exhibition about African people in Hamburg. Many things there reminded me of the good time I had in Cape Coast. Additionally I call to Ghana like every week and I am always happy when I talk to my brothers. In these moments my heart is aching, longing for the ocean, the smells on the market, honking cars, chilling with my brothers at the shop, dancing to hiplife music, “Oburoni” shouting kids.
My life here in Hamburg is quite the opposite but nevertheless I enjoy. Life continues in an unknown way but you know the past. It made me the person I am now and I don´t regret anything. Rather I appreciate everything I did in my life and won´t forget these days. Life always brings you new challenges you have to face but every now and then you will be remembered of the past.
Talking about the past is where Luwis comes in. I met him the last days and talked with him about Ghana, his orphanage in Accra and life in general. It is a great feeling sharing experiences again and creating new plans – combining past and future.He will go to Ghana on Monday. I really envy him! But my time will come, too. And then I will see the ocean, enjoy the smells, be annoyed by the honking cars, sit with my brothers at the shop, shake to hiplife music and shout back to the kids.
