friends

last week a girl asked me to be her friend. i said sure, i'll be your friend. she told me where she works, a hair salon.

one day, i passed by the salon without realizing it was hers. she wasn't there, but she had told her sister about her new white friend. so her sister called me over.

so this week, i returned to the salon. they were busy braiding each other's hair, but i sat and visited for the afternoon. the other sisters and their father and all their children were there. they watched and alternately came over to stroke my arm or pat my head, to see if i feel the same way they do.

the next day i went back for my turn at hair braiding. they gave me cornrows ending in a bun. it's very nice. i stayed the whole afternoon, and in the process met the entire family.

when she finished, agnes refused to let me pay her for the braiding. she said it was a gift from the heart.

then my original friend, eva, walked with me. they took me to their house, where they showed me how to make tz and jojo. we ate supper together. the children stroked my arm and patted my head and held my hand. the little girl, blessing, barely left my side the entire evening.

then, when we were all finished eating, they gave me a ride home.

now, seriously, that's some real ghanaian hospitality.