Let's talk about feelings...

Currently I am in Tamale (in the PC suboffice), in transit on my site visit. Yay for free internet! So...as I was saying, you get over things quickly here in Ghana. Correction, I get over things quickly here. It's so hard to describe or to write about my everyday life or what I am currently doing or what I experience because it just feels natural now (and explaining everyday details is so boring!). The abnormal has become the norm and the new has quickly become the usual. That's not to say that things are mundane or anything of that nature; quite the opposite. So much has happened in a relatively short time, so I shall blog with my usual randomness.

Let's talk about Thuy's feelings for once.

1. Pet peeves: Sometimes I am surprise by how patient I can be (HA!). I should re-phrase that and say, I am surprise by how tolerant I can be. However, there is one pressing matter that I simply cannot ignore: Volunteers trying to speak "Ghanaian." It is the most annoying thing ever because 99.9% of the time they make an ass out of themselves. It's one thing to slow down your speech and to enunciate, but it's another thing to try to acquire an accent...in less than 2 months. You do NOT have to speak broken English for people to understand you. You do NOT have to try to use an accent which makes you sound like you're trying to be British. People who learn English as a second language will have an accent when they speak English...I don't understand why it's such a hard concept to grasp. I'm ok with using vernacular/common speech (like saying, "Please wait for me small" or "I go and come") but the other stuff I find to be disrespectful because its presumptuous to doubt someone's intelligence.

2. I have a fear of not being at home if something bad happens. Not that I am super woman and can do something, but not being able to just be there really sucks...and it really does suck.

3. Being busy and constantly surrounded by people 24/7 hasn't allowed me to actually sit and reflect on the fact that I'm in Ghana. Yea...it still hasn't hit me yet. Crazy, I know. I'm also doing things that I normally wouldn't do at home...for example, eat bananas...and peanut butter constantly...and seriously considering getting a puppy. Details to come.

4. I was nervous for the first time on Wednesday when I met my counterpart and supervisor. I found out more details about my site and my work and how excited everyone is to have me there so there is lots of pressure for me to perform well. I will give more details on this but right now I am tired...been traveling and in a conference all day. I know, I suck. I promise to provide more details later! Since I will not have electricity at my site, I will try to write down everything so that when I do hop on the internet, I can just re-type my thoughts. Until then, take care everyone! Miss you and love you lots. :)