Je voudrais de jus d'orange

I never expected Ghana to be the place of language overload. Yet,  I have heard more languages spoken in the town of Kasoa than I did in the international city of London.  My kids' families speak Twi. Many of the candidates speak Fante, which is closely related to Twi.  My students are learning French, and occasionally there are songs in Latin. In Accra our taxi drivers usually speak Ga. Jamie and I regularly converse in Spanish. I've committed to reading Grammar Girl this year simply because my English skills are now such a mixture of languages and accents that it has definitely shaped my mind and writing.

Despite the fact that my polished English skills sometimes escape me, our multi-cultural climate is exciting. One night recently after the candidates arrived from their month-long absence of a retreat and visiting their families, we all sat around eating popcorn and drinking soda (in the dark because of course the power went out).  Because we didn't really have enough lights to play Jenga or Rubikub, we started rapping. That's right, rapping. Sister Mary E. played the spoons to a tune in Portuguese. Sister Lillian gave us a jingle in Swahili, Cynthia chanted in Hausa, while Jamie rapped in Spanish. I threw in some English and away we all went.

I've found several French books in our library which has reignited my desire to actually learn this lanaguage. So I found a blog that is helping me learn basic phrases like "taisez-vous" and "Je voudrais de jus d'orange" I feel like I can add these to my repetoire of phrases I remember from high school French. (okay, so I only remember one phrase from French class and that translates to "do not touch me because you are a little fish." I actually had to use it once, but that is another story for another time)

Anyway, Jamie and I have been working on learning languages among learning how to live in Ghana.  Last night, for instance, I also discovered how to make fresh orange juice.  I was so excited that Monica let me help her in this endeavor.

The kitchen was messy, but the three of us had fun. Our orange juice was yummy, the conversation was excellent, and I added to the experience by learning to say "Je voudrais de jus d'orange" in French.  I consider it all: the multiple languages, the making of orange juice, the interruptions by my favorite Ghanaian six-year-old (who's current favorite activity is to hide places and jump out and scare me) part of the experience.