A night in Kpedze

As Jeno and I stood on the side of the road and watched the mini bus drive out of sight, we couldn’t help but wonder what this night in Kpedze would entail. The minister, Maxwell, had graciously invited us to stay at his family home to experience life after dark in the village. By 6:30, the daylight had completely vanished behind the hills that surround the village, Goats and Chickens roamed the main street calling their family members home. We sat at Maxwell’s front porch, at his semi-completed new home, for our first authentic Ghanaian supper. The first entre was Fufu (mashed sticky yam) with a spicy antelope stew. It is customary to eat with your right hand only, it took Jane and I about half of the meal to finally learn the proper technique to pinch the Fufu and slurp it down. The stew that the Fufu came with was a true delight, a blend of spices in a Tomato broth with antelope meat (that the bullet was hiding in) made this dish not only finger-licking good, but also one of my favourite thus far. After we finished cleaning off our greasy hands, Maxwell took us to the night market in the neighbouring town to pick-up salads for the next entre. It took about 10 minutes across rough terrain (AKA the local dirt road) in the dark of night to get to the barely lit main street of the neighbouring town, where the night market is held. Candle light flickers on the smaller stands, while electric lights dimly illuminates the stores to make the street a cavalcade of light. The locals casually hung around their doorsteps and many others drifted up and down the street with chatters and laughter. This scene was perhaps the farthest thing from that of Dundas square or Time Square, yet there is a much more distinct sense of urbanity. We spent a good half hour touring the street and picked up salads, sweet beard, and chilled Stars (my daily bear) along the way before we head back to Maxwell’s place. Over the course of dinner, we got to meet some of his family and spoke to his daughter and brother on the phone. It was a fabulous feeling to be welcomed to his family (and to be mistaken on several occasions as Jackie Chan). It was a night of great intrigue as Jeno, Maxwell, his brother Emanuel, and I exchange tails of our countries. The more I talked with them, the more I was amazed by their views of the world; by that I mean a world built on trust and co-existence. To me, their ability to cope with life and be thankful for what they have actualized my belief about an instinctual connection between people of all kinds. The night in  Kpedze had just become extraordinary.