The Loss of a President

I wasn't going to blog till the weekend. I haven't felt the urge in over a week now.
Till I woke up this morning to Facebook posts, comments, pictures of President John Atta Mills I had been tagged in while I was in dreamland and tweets exchanged between concerned friends about how I would take the news. You see John Evans Atta Mills, Ghana's president, is dead.

He passed away yesterday Tuesday, July 24 2012 after a brief illness. I am sitting here on my bed here in Beijing, trying not to ask all the right questions. There's nobody to ask anyway. So instead of wondering to myself, I turn to the world, to Africa, to Ghana for answers.

Ghana may be praised as an icon of stability and democracy in the West African sub-region but ask any Ghanaian what Ghanaian politics is like and you will most likely receive a bitter response with subtle undertones of sarcasm. Why this unassuming, quiet law professor would venture into such shark infested waters is beyond me. But he did. And with that low-key persona and stubborn determination that so many have come to admire in him, he set himself about his duty, unperturbed by the brouhaha surrounding his public image  and term in office. As a matter of fact, only yesterday I read about how he had decreased the emoluments of the Members of Parliament, which I believe is a step in the right direction. There was an uproar of course by the MPs but like water off a duck's back, this man with excuse me to say 'balls of steel' stuck to his guns because he believed it was the right thing to do. If you are not familiar with Ghanaian politics you may not fully understand the ramifications of this action in an election year, when it is typical of sitting presidents seeking a second-term to put in place more 'favorable' policies.

So this is what I choose to remember him for. His balls of steel. Not for his illness, not for the pile of judgement debts uncovered in his administration, not for the feud between him and his party's founder, not for the rumors surrounding his personal and family life but for his balls of steel. Oh and his famous tongue slips. Who says you can't be a president and be funny? Though I don't think that's what he was driving at when he said 'ecomini' instead of 'economy' but hey this is Ghana, where everything is fair game for jokes.

Thank you kind Sir for your dedication to Ghana. RIP Your Excellency.

Interested in Sino-Africa relations?

I came across this post in a tweet by Ashesi University (which I personally crown Ghana's finest university, if not Africa's) on twitter. It was written by Asst. Professor Lloyd G. Adu Amoah. Here's the link. Feel free to leave any comments or start a discussion on here. Enjoy!

http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/component/content/article/45-features/1489-generation-next-rethinking-africa-a-china.html

Confucius Says...What Ghana can learn from China

This was a tough one. So my good friend Joseph Quaye Amoo asked me what the one unique thing that every Ghanaian must learn from the Chinese is. There are a lot of traits I admire about the Chinese, but none stands out as much as their remarkable resilience.

Since my arrival, I've been amazed over and over again at how incredibly resilient the Chinese are in all aspects of life. It wasn't until I studied a bit of Chinese history that I understood why. Disclaimer : I am no expert on Chinese history!

China is what I like to think of as nouveau riche. The China you hear and know about today wasn't the same 50 or 40 years ago. Make that a century or two if you like. Of course that's true of every country but bear with me as I drive my point home. China was poor. Desperately poor. Unstable. From the overthrow of dynasties to the Cultural Revolution, stability is a recent phenomenon here. Over 50% of China is uninhabitable. Then of course there were natural disasters. But through it all these people have displayed remarkable strength and fortitude.

That's not to say China today doesn't have issues. The issues are there. But what do the Chinese do? Do they sit all day and whine about their problems? No. Sure one can argue that there are very few avenues to voice out government criticism. It is also true while the Chinese are becoming increasingly vocal in the direction they think their country should be heading they spend far more time thinking and acting in ways to improve their own conditions without depending on the government.

People here just don't sit and complain. They complain in their beds, in their homes and get up to act. Because no one will do it for them if they don't do it themselves. And that is why China is doing so well. Because the Chinese are doers.

That is what every Ghanaian can learn from the Chinese. Stop making excuses, stop blaming the government, stop blaming the system. Just up...and DO.

OTHER Beijing shenanigans

So apart from climbing the Great Wall,  I've also been to see the Beijing Olympic Village and the Beijing Art District 789. I can only say that I've been hugely impressed with China and as someone interested in Sino-Africa relations I can honestly say Africa has a lot to learn from China. Heck the whole world has a lot to learn from China. But Ghana also has a lot to learn on her own. More of that coming later.

I'm throwing in a few pictures of the cultural class I take. Enjoy!

My personal Chinese seal with my Chinese name engraved in Ancient Chinese script. Cool or what?!

The process of making a Beijing opera mask

The Water Cube - where the swimming events were held.

The Broadcasting tower.

The Beijing Olympic Stadium 'The Bird's Nest'

My third year classmates!

The mascots

One of the entrances

The Beijing Olympic Torch

The 'Eggs' in the 'Bird's Nest'. Love the concept.

I was particularly interested in 'The Transformers' at 789; Beijing's Art District

Azonto Fiesta!

Who is having a ball in Beijing and getting her ass kicked in Chinese class?!
Me.
But I'm not complaining, in fact, I am doing the azonto often and with zest or as Ghanaians like to say with more vim! If you are human, breathe oxygen and can currently be located on Planet Earth and don't yet know what azonto is, I have 3 words for you. No 4. Get With the Program.
Here let me help a litte bit before I hand over the reigns to google. Azonto is an energetic dance that originated from Ghana (What what?!!) a few years ago. It is a combination of hand signals and leg movements that often have meanings. It has enjoyed a lot of global attention recently, here's a brief BBC exposé :  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18495493.

So in staying true to my roots, my motto for my stay in Beijing has been this :

With the help of Djayjuls (@Djayjuls on twitter) I have had a swell time this weekend with his Afro Beats Summer time Mix. You can find it here : http://www.mediafire.com/?higghfpnplcukhc

And now here is what I did at the Great Wall : Azonto!! 

'' Hama bo temi, Kw3le mamo bo temi...Check my swagger mama kw3le mamo bo temi'' Check my Swagger -EL

Here are a few other shots of the Great Wall and some souvenirs I got.

Chairman Mao (Mao Zedong - Founder of The People's Republic of China) has his name up on the hillside.

I got these provocative His and Hers Obama shirts for my dad and I. Twinsies anyone?! ^_^

A collection of Mao Zedongs's sayings. Chairman Mao is to China what Kwame Nkrumah is to Ghana.

For my mother :)

Whatchya say?!

Hello!!

So I have a few weeks more to leave China (5 to be precise) and at this point I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been with me throughout this journey via my blog. It is a comforting feeling to know you're not alone.

Do you have any questions or suggestions? Is there a particular topic you'd like me to talk about?! You can leave your comments underneath this post and I will do my best to answer them every weekend leading up to my departure. If you suggest a topic, I will try to write on it too :)

Here's to looking forward to hearing from you!

On stranger tides

I've been feeling really strange lately. Call it a combination of homesickness and probably being the oldest person in my summer program. But whatever it is, it is driving me nuts with thoughts of tattoos, piercings, leather jackets, three-wheeled badass bikes and dyed hair.
So this is what mid-life crisis looks like. Well hello you!
Fortunately, I've always been a bit more conservative when it comes to rebellious streaks. Maybe because I'm just too lazy, too sensitive to pain and too cautious with money to make any of the above a reality. Or so I thought. Till I woke up this morning feeling the world would crash down if I absolutely did not dye my hair. And so I did.
In China. I let a Chinese person dye my African permed hair. I died a little inside every ten seconds or so but the thrill was probably equal to a bungee jump. Let me explain it within a broader context. 
After moving to the US two years ago for college, I have never let anyone touch my hair except on my two trips back home (GHANA anyone?!) I take care of my hair myself, which includes relaxing, washing, blowdrying, straightening or curling depending on my mood/occasion and yes even braiding!!
The only thing I cannot YET do by myself is to give myself a haircut. Wah. And I so do love to have my hair trimmed and to have the ends looking straight. I blame it all on that big whop (yes that's what I call it), when I hacked off half my hair in July last year.
So after six months of no trims, I was beginning to get desperate, even dreaming of having my hair trimmed and sipping wine (don't ask me why). The end result, killed two birds with one stone by having it trimmed and dyed a nice shade of reddish brown today. Here are the before and after pictures! Did I pull it off? Yes? No?
        


                                                                     BEFORE

                                                                          AFTER