Ghanaian/American Pizza Night...

Saturday night was the first official Ghanaian/American Pizza Night in Ghana, and it went over very well, at least in my estimation. I love to cook and I love pizza, so I though it only natural to have some of the other Fulbrighters over to have pizza and to talk about our experiences in Ghana. My house here at Accra Girls’ is probably the most centrally located of all the Fulbrighters here in Ghana, so it is slowly becoming a meeting point for anything that we all do together.

Saturday, myself and one of the researchers went out in search of ingredients. Pizza is not common here at all and therefore some of the basic ingredients are a bit hard to find. Nonetheless, we made do with what Ghana has to offer. After two traditional markets and two “Continental” grocery stores, I had flat bread for the crust, tomato paste, tomatoes, a can of stewed tomatoes, onion, garlic, green pepper, and fresh basil (which was incredible), and mozzarella cheese (crazy expensive). I could not find sausage or pepperoni, but it is probably better because two of the other Americans are vegetarians.

People started arriving between 5:30 and 6 and so I started to make pizza. Please, keep in mind that this is Africa and the ideas of an American kitchen cannot really be applied here. There is not running water, but instead I have a trash can that I fill with water every few days and use a small bucket to dip with. Also, it is in the mid eighties and to make pizza I need to light the oven, which makes the kitchen, well, it makes Africa hot even hotter! After some difficulty, I finally got the oven (or “gas cooker” as it is called here) and realized that there are no temperatures settings just a picture of a big flame on one end and a little flame on the other. I made my best guess, and put the pizza in. If I can say so without sounding vain, it turned out pretty well…it was at least edible. We made five pies altogether for six people and had only a few pieces leftover, so I think that everyone enjoyed it, and no one has called me telling me they got sick (on that level alone I consider it a success).

After pizza we all sat and talked about our experiences so far and I had invited the headmistresses’ son over to eat with us, so we were able to ask him different questions about Ghana as well. It was a fun night and it was neat to hear about everyone else’s experiences thus far. The researchers are studying the elections here and it is fascinating. Plus, as a teacher, it is always good to bounce ideas off of another teacher, especially when the culture and educational system is so different.

All in all the first Ghanaian/American Pizza Night (or GAP Night) was a success. I got to cook, eat, and converse with some interesting people.