its a good thing

One of my favorite thing about Ghanaian culture is relationships.

You know how in America, you can buy groceries, go to the bank, go shopping at the mall, get some coffee...all without TRULY interacting with people? It really doesn't work like that here.

Here, the ladies at the grocery store know me. The butcher knows me. The lady at the bank knows me. The man that I buy cell phone credit from knows me. (Now, when he sees me pulling up, he walks out to the car with credit for me to buy!) And its not because I'm somebody special...thats just how it works. You make friends with vendors, and you stay loyal to them.

I have a fun friend named Amanda that is a seamstress/jewelry maker/shop owner. I went by her shop today to get a few things. I wanted her to sew a new bag for me, and I needed some tablecloths and napkins for my Momma. For the bag, I just took her one of my favorite bags from home (old navy actually) and she's going to copy it. How cool is that? So I can get it in any fabric I want...I chose to get a patchwork of Ghanaian fabrics. And here is the awesome part: Amanda and I are friends. We know each other. She knows what colors and styles I like. She always laughs at me because I gravitate towards the same kind of fabrics...all of which have blue, teal, green, or brown in them. And she knows that's what I like! So I totally trust her to pick out fun fabrics for my purse. And, she really helped me with the fabrics for my Mom's tablecloths. We had to visit 2 of her vendor friends, but we got it all taken care of. I think I spent about 1 hour with Amanda today. Just talking, looking at fabrics, looking at the creative dresses and skirts that she has made. It was so fun! I walked away thinking "that was so much better than going to Target!" And, in a couple weeks, I'll have a great new bag--a perfect replica of my favorite bag in Ghanaian fabrics that I'll love from a friend that I enjoy. I love the way that works.

Here are Amanda and I today in front of her shop. (Ghanaians don't often smile in pictures.)