Greetings from Kumasi! I'm enroute to the training site (I'm helping train the newbies that arrived in country in September) and currently it's hot, humid, and raining like a faucet left on high. I know I haven't blogged in a long time, and truth be told, it's because I don't know what to write anymore. It's as if as time passes the disconnect between Ghana and the US become more distinct. Not sure if that makes sense, so I'll give you an example: If you ask me what I did today, I'd tell you that I woke up at 5 am to the sound of screaming children and chickens, went perusing in Techiman market, haggled some people to lower prices, ate some rice balls and groundnut soup for breakfast, hopped on a tro to Kumasi where a guy was loudly preaching to us for 30 minutes (and spitting all over the place), did my laundry when I got to the PC sub-office only to have all my clothes soaking wet out on the line (darn rainstorm), and now I'm trying to blog and take advantage of the internet. Could you picture all that? The sounds, the smell, the sights...And if you told me about your day in America I can't quite fathom cold weather right now, I don't get the latest celebrity gossip, jokes, or slangs, I don't know who's new in the movie or music scene and ashamedly, I don't even know what politics is like right now and we're so close to the election. Another example: The new group of volunteers who are fresh off the plane speak too fast and I have to ask them to slow down. I feel awkward around a big group of Americans and feel self conscience when I'm eating Ghanaian meals with my hands and they're still using utensils...I guess readjusting to life in America will be hard.
But back to updating...I'll try to update as best I can since June...
The rainy season is just wrapping up and we are nearing the end of the harvest (only rice, millet, and beans left to go). I thought I'd enjoy the rainy season in the Upper West, and I did for a short time. Rain is nice for so many obvious reasons, especially when you haven't seen a drop of it since December. The whole village turned green and everything became either a bush path (very tall, thick grass) or farm land. And by that, I mean every piece of land that can be farmed on, was farmed on (including my front yard). The rains brought the mosquitoes, various biting bugs, and frogs...tons of them. Everywhere and in every size. I'd wake up in the morning to find a frog in my bucket, or just the other day I was trying to catch a frog that had somehow entered my room. Rain also brings humidity which I'm not used to anymore, but after traveling down south and upon my return home, I had to readjust to the stifling dry heat. However, if there's any place I'd rather be in Ghana, it's without a doubt, in the Upper West, at home in my village.
Projects are going slowly but surely, so in other words, good. It hit me really hard a couple months back that I am dealing with people's livelihoods here...I have about 17 women's groups in over 9 communities...that's over 450 people! Currently, I'm trying to get the women to organize themselves into co-operatives and we're (my counterpart and I) still teaching them about business. Small, small, as they say here in Ghana. I was able to market shea butter and nuts from 3 of my women's groups and now the exporter is testing their butter for quality. Exciting stuff. A quasi "environment club" sprung out of me rounding up the neighborhood kids and teaching them how to nurse seeds. Taught them about the importance of trees and the benefits of moringa (the "miracle" tree). We started a small tree nursery and now they call themselves, "Te pog pellina" which means, "We are happy" in Dagaare. They even chose leaders. Cute yea? Our current task is to build a fence to keep out the goats which have been recently released to chop whatever is left behind after the harvest. At the JSS level, I was able to organize interested students to start a HIV/AIDS and all over peer support group. The "Young and Wise" club members are motivated kids who want to make a difference, and that's refreshing to see.
Speaking of motivation, I lost it a couple months back. Hit a rough patch where I started questioning everything. Perhaps it was an awakening...If my letters home sounded dire, I apologize. Grassroots, sustainable, development work is hard and it's harder to even explain. A volunteer had a friend come visit from the states and the friend commented on how jaded and bitter we are. The friend's solution to the problem of littering, trash, and how "dirty everything is" was to install trash cans...it's not that easy, and if it was, well I'll be damn, there probably wouldn't be any NGO's around. I think we're just realistic, but I've been known to be wrong before.
I think I'll end my blog here and get off my soap box. Thanks for reading! I hope everyone is staying warm and safe in America. Eat lots of pumpkin pie for me! =)
Missing you guys in Ghana...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
A year in pictures...
It's almost been a whole year since I arrived in country. Damn, time flies. I finally am able to load up pictures. :-) A quick snapshot tour...
Shea butter:
Market women selling shea butter.
Shea butter:
Market women selling shea butter.
Making "cakes":
Market women making "cosi" (spelling error) with shea butter (it is used as a cooking oil in the northern regions of Ghana). Cosi is fried bean flour mixed with onions and eaten with a crushed salt & dried red pepper mix. It's quite delicious (ask Dave).
Meet the Janvwr women's group:
This is my smallest and most well organized women's group from the village of Janvwr.
Headpanning:
A balancing act that's extremely hard...they carry everything on their heads and they must have skulls made out of steel. I tried carrying water once and had a headache for the whole of the next day...and was only able to get my water barrel 1/10 full...It was a great show for the villagers though.
A balancing act that's extremely hard...they carry everything on their heads and they must have skulls made out of steel. I tried carrying water once and had a headache for the whole of the next day...and was only able to get my water barrel 1/10 full...It was a great show for the villagers though.
Meet Kodu:
He enjoys long walks, chomping on bones, chasing goats, sheeps, pigs, chickens, dogs and children. He's a lover, not a fighter so he's constantly being picked on by all the previously mentioned farm animals (poor guy). He's ungraceful (he face plants often as he's walking and then will proceed to get up and look around as if somebody pushed him) and is often confused by the movement of dragonflies. Even with his faults he's the darnest creature in all of Piina. He sits when you tell him to (in Vietnamese), nudge you as you're reading a book by putting his face right in your lap, sleeps in weird positions (and most often on top of your shoes), he sounds like chewbacca when he greets you and he attempts to tackle you by pawing at your feet. I miss the little guy...
After Dave's visit I came back to site to be informed by the chief that Kodu had died...somehow...somewhere...devastation set in and I still don't believe he's really dead.
He enjoys long walks, chomping on bones, chasing goats, sheeps, pigs, chickens, dogs and children. He's a lover, not a fighter so he's constantly being picked on by all the previously mentioned farm animals (poor guy). He's ungraceful (he face plants often as he's walking and then will proceed to get up and look around as if somebody pushed him) and is often confused by the movement of dragonflies. Even with his faults he's the darnest creature in all of Piina. He sits when you tell him to (in Vietnamese), nudge you as you're reading a book by putting his face right in your lap, sleeps in weird positions (and most often on top of your shoes), he sounds like chewbacca when he greets you and he attempts to tackle you by pawing at your feet. I miss the little guy...
After Dave's visit I came back to site to be informed by the chief that Kodu had died...somehow...somewhere...devastation set in and I still don't believe he's really dead.
Other than the depressing news of Kodu, everything is going fairly well. Slowly but surely. It's peak time for the shea season so the women are busy gathering the nuts and making butter (it's also farming season in the north). Currently we are assessing the women's production capacity. The shea fruit tastes really good: it's a small, green fruit with a sweet pulpy flesh that tastes something like a persimmon and a date.
That's all for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. :-)
Monday, April 14, 2008
A long over-due blog
Hello! It's been a long time since I blogged anything and truth be told, I've been to the internet several times before this. I really dont' know what to blog anymore. I'm currently in Accra after a week's worth of what Peace Corps calls, "In Service Training" aka IST. Basically after 3 months of site by yourself, each sector (mine is Small Enterprise Development) gets together to share experiences and ideas and to obtain more in-depth information on various programs (it's like a pow-wow). At the encouragement of one of my fellow PCV's I am going to attempt to blog, in detail, my life & work in Ghana because it really is that interesting (insert smiley AIM face here). In typical scattered-brained Thuy fashion, here goes nothing...
1. My primary assignment (and the reason why PC brought me here) is to work with the shea butter processors in the Upper West Region of Ghana. I am working to organize the women into cooperatives and to build their capacity to do business so they can demand more of what they deserve within the shea value chain. Sounds fancy huh? I think it's as grassroots as you can get. I've seen the whole process that goes into making shea butter and I'm looking forward to seeing (and doing) the harvesting of the nuts. It's really quite interesting, every bit of it, from the fruit on the tree to shea butter in the Body Shop's $20 body butter which I love so much. The incredibly ridiculous amount of work that goes into producing the butter is enough to justify the high price of the lotions we see in the stores, but of course the women on this side of the world don't get to see even one tenth of it...and that's why I'm here...I'll add a sort of appendix on shea for those of you who are interested in knowing more about it at the bottom of this blog.
2. My secondary assignments are any projects that I come up with that tickles my fancy (but within reason). I teach HIV/AIDS education to the local schools. I may begin to teach biology to the secondary school but that's another long story within itself. I want to do a world mapping project with the local boys and girls at our library (it was donated by an expatriate some years ago and is way under utilized) and start a mentoring/reading program as well. I want to start a Junior Achievement program, a village to city mentoring program for the young girls (spin off of "Take Your Daughter to Work Day"), and there are about 8 other different projects and ideas I am working on. Peace Corps does a good job at providing support and ideas for projects so I hopefully within the next two years at least half of my ramblings will be implemented.
3. I more or less burned the bridge between myself and my "sponsoring" NGO. They've lost touch with the people and in essence, with reality. The staff members are very nice but it's a shame that a total d-bag runs the whole operation and since he knows I can't be pushed around by him, he doesn't bother to bother me anymore. I didn't come to Ghana to sit in an office and write grants and proposals. I'm not here as a crutch for a big person to raise their social status. The office is 18 miles away but takes about 3-5 hours by market truck, 30 minutes by private vehicle (which I don't have and a ride is never offered by the NGO) and 1 hour by motorbike (which I'm not allowed to ride on - PC policy). I refuse to pedal my bicycle there to go to "work." I'm not here to push paper around or sit at a desk and push buttons in the dark into a computer that only runs for oh, so many hours before the generator dies. My view of development, NGO's, and even volunteers like myself has changed. Sometimes the whole thing seems like a farce to me but when you make the connection to the people you are trying to help, it's hard to pull away even if you recognize the hypocrisy in your thinking and your actions. On that note...
4. If you come to visit me, please stay for at least 2 weeks. Otherwise, I'd say save your money and go to the beach. I can't sell Ghana (and Africa) short by skirting you around to fancy resorts along the coast or to wild life reserves. Whatever image you have of Africa, it's 99.9% skewed (through no fault of your own). Yes, it's hot. Yes, there are some wild life like you see in the movies. No, Simba and his crew do not reside in Ghana. No, people here do not speak by making clicking sounds. Not to deter anyone who wishes to come visit me, but honestly, you won't ever be able to relate (and maybe even care to relate) to my experience here in Ghana, but I will appreciate the effort you make to understand...I hope you do make the effort!
5. I can't describe a "typical" day in the village so I'll detail things that people everywhere do on a daily basis:
- Bathing: I use a bucket, fill it with water, go into a room and do my thing. When you have to fetch your water, you conserve. I have a "small" girl who fetches water for me once a week and in return I pay her by supporting her education (mentoring her, buying her uniform, paying for school supplies, etc.).
- Bathroom: I have a latrine which is basically a hole in the ground and a structure built on top and over it. I consider myself lucky because my latrine is actually in my compound and not 100 yards away over some hill. Some PCV's have flush toliets but during the dry season, there's not enough water to pump into the tank...You gotta fill it up yourself and you won't believe how much water that wastes! I can take a whole bucket bath and then some with the amount of water needed to flush #2.
- Transportation: Transportation is a problem in my village because there aren't a whole lot of cars that pass through. If I need to get to the capital of my region (Wa) on a non-market day, I will bike 9 miles to the nearest town to catch the first morning's lorry. After that it takes about 2-3 hours if nothing goes wrong. (One time the guy didn't have enough fuel so we sat around while his lorry mate rode a bike to the next village in search of petro). I think I've told you before that I can wait anywhere between 5minutes to 4 hours for a ride...it all depends but you get used to it. I usually travel with a book or paper and pencil.
- Eating: I eat everything so that hasn't changed much for me. The food here isn't bad once you get used to it, but I crave variety and that's something we take for granted back in the states. You want some Thai food? Go to Neisha's (shameless plug for my favorite restaurant). You want a big fat juicy steak? Go to Outback's. You want some Ethiopian food? Go to Adams Morgan. You want some really good Pho? Go to Thuy's mommy.
The one thing I miss about being in the US is having anonymity. When you don't have the same color skin as the locals, you tend to stand out. It sucks to be harassed and called "white lady" as you walk down the streets. It's annoying when people expect you to give them money because there is an automatic assumption that all foreigners have a money tree growing somewhere in their pockets. I could be wrong but the last time I checked, I had to earn my money...so that makes me mad. I've become desensitized to a lot of things here and I'm not quite sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll let you know the next time I blog, until then, I hope everyone takes care and is enjoying spring!
p.s. I had a bad case of "reverse cultural shock" when I came to Accra. I haven't been in the capital since we first flew in back in September. Even back then we didn't get to go around the city much. This time I explored the place and man, when I stepped foot into a 3 story, air-conditioned supermarket, I was blown away by the whole thing. I also found an Asian supermarket and you can imagine my excitement when I splurged and purchased a bottle of fish sauce for $5.40 (almost a whole day's salary). Everything is just so over priced here in Accra and so...western. I was told that when PCV's return to the US they experience something like what I experienced but I never believed it until now. I also miss my site...Man, I'm in trouble huh?
1. My primary assignment (and the reason why PC brought me here) is to work with the shea butter processors in the Upper West Region of Ghana. I am working to organize the women into cooperatives and to build their capacity to do business so they can demand more of what they deserve within the shea value chain. Sounds fancy huh? I think it's as grassroots as you can get. I've seen the whole process that goes into making shea butter and I'm looking forward to seeing (and doing) the harvesting of the nuts. It's really quite interesting, every bit of it, from the fruit on the tree to shea butter in the Body Shop's $20 body butter which I love so much. The incredibly ridiculous amount of work that goes into producing the butter is enough to justify the high price of the lotions we see in the stores, but of course the women on this side of the world don't get to see even one tenth of it...and that's why I'm here...I'll add a sort of appendix on shea for those of you who are interested in knowing more about it at the bottom of this blog.
2. My secondary assignments are any projects that I come up with that tickles my fancy (but within reason). I teach HIV/AIDS education to the local schools. I may begin to teach biology to the secondary school but that's another long story within itself. I want to do a world mapping project with the local boys and girls at our library (it was donated by an expatriate some years ago and is way under utilized) and start a mentoring/reading program as well. I want to start a Junior Achievement program, a village to city mentoring program for the young girls (spin off of "Take Your Daughter to Work Day"), and there are about 8 other different projects and ideas I am working on. Peace Corps does a good job at providing support and ideas for projects so I hopefully within the next two years at least half of my ramblings will be implemented.
3. I more or less burned the bridge between myself and my "sponsoring" NGO. They've lost touch with the people and in essence, with reality. The staff members are very nice but it's a shame that a total d-bag runs the whole operation and since he knows I can't be pushed around by him, he doesn't bother to bother me anymore. I didn't come to Ghana to sit in an office and write grants and proposals. I'm not here as a crutch for a big person to raise their social status. The office is 18 miles away but takes about 3-5 hours by market truck, 30 minutes by private vehicle (which I don't have and a ride is never offered by the NGO) and 1 hour by motorbike (which I'm not allowed to ride on - PC policy). I refuse to pedal my bicycle there to go to "work." I'm not here to push paper around or sit at a desk and push buttons in the dark into a computer that only runs for oh, so many hours before the generator dies. My view of development, NGO's, and even volunteers like myself has changed. Sometimes the whole thing seems like a farce to me but when you make the connection to the people you are trying to help, it's hard to pull away even if you recognize the hypocrisy in your thinking and your actions. On that note...
4. If you come to visit me, please stay for at least 2 weeks. Otherwise, I'd say save your money and go to the beach. I can't sell Ghana (and Africa) short by skirting you around to fancy resorts along the coast or to wild life reserves. Whatever image you have of Africa, it's 99.9% skewed (through no fault of your own). Yes, it's hot. Yes, there are some wild life like you see in the movies. No, Simba and his crew do not reside in Ghana. No, people here do not speak by making clicking sounds. Not to deter anyone who wishes to come visit me, but honestly, you won't ever be able to relate (and maybe even care to relate) to my experience here in Ghana, but I will appreciate the effort you make to understand...I hope you do make the effort!
5. I can't describe a "typical" day in the village so I'll detail things that people everywhere do on a daily basis:
- Bathing: I use a bucket, fill it with water, go into a room and do my thing. When you have to fetch your water, you conserve. I have a "small" girl who fetches water for me once a week and in return I pay her by supporting her education (mentoring her, buying her uniform, paying for school supplies, etc.).
- Bathroom: I have a latrine which is basically a hole in the ground and a structure built on top and over it. I consider myself lucky because my latrine is actually in my compound and not 100 yards away over some hill. Some PCV's have flush toliets but during the dry season, there's not enough water to pump into the tank...You gotta fill it up yourself and you won't believe how much water that wastes! I can take a whole bucket bath and then some with the amount of water needed to flush #2.
- Transportation: Transportation is a problem in my village because there aren't a whole lot of cars that pass through. If I need to get to the capital of my region (Wa) on a non-market day, I will bike 9 miles to the nearest town to catch the first morning's lorry. After that it takes about 2-3 hours if nothing goes wrong. (One time the guy didn't have enough fuel so we sat around while his lorry mate rode a bike to the next village in search of petro). I think I've told you before that I can wait anywhere between 5minutes to 4 hours for a ride...it all depends but you get used to it. I usually travel with a book or paper and pencil.
- Eating: I eat everything so that hasn't changed much for me. The food here isn't bad once you get used to it, but I crave variety and that's something we take for granted back in the states. You want some Thai food? Go to Neisha's (shameless plug for my favorite restaurant). You want a big fat juicy steak? Go to Outback's. You want some Ethiopian food? Go to Adams Morgan. You want some really good Pho? Go to Thuy's mommy.
The one thing I miss about being in the US is having anonymity. When you don't have the same color skin as the locals, you tend to stand out. It sucks to be harassed and called "white lady" as you walk down the streets. It's annoying when people expect you to give them money because there is an automatic assumption that all foreigners have a money tree growing somewhere in their pockets. I could be wrong but the last time I checked, I had to earn my money...so that makes me mad. I've become desensitized to a lot of things here and I'm not quite sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'll let you know the next time I blog, until then, I hope everyone takes care and is enjoying spring!
p.s. I had a bad case of "reverse cultural shock" when I came to Accra. I haven't been in the capital since we first flew in back in September. Even back then we didn't get to go around the city much. This time I explored the place and man, when I stepped foot into a 3 story, air-conditioned supermarket, I was blown away by the whole thing. I also found an Asian supermarket and you can imagine my excitement when I splurged and purchased a bottle of fish sauce for $5.40 (almost a whole day's salary). Everything is just so over priced here in Accra and so...western. I was told that when PCV's return to the US they experience something like what I experienced but I never believed it until now. I also miss my site...Man, I'm in trouble huh?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Ghana, Day Seventy-something
Hello all! I hope thanksgiving was full of good food (thank you for the tease Hai-My) and preparation for the upcoming holidays are going well. Where are the lights, and annoying Christmas carols? Where is the cold weather and the snow? Where is the smell of apple cider, hot chocolate, and pine trees? Man, I sure do miss the holidays.
It's HOT and very dry here in Upper West (Upper BEST!) Ghana. My nose seems to produce more snot (and nose bleeds) than a whole kindergarten classroom, but other than that, things are well. Now, on to the exciting news.
I have a puppy! He was a gift from my host mom and after a couple attemps to pawn him off (I only wanted the best for him), I ended up falling in lovvvveeeeeee. It was meant to be! I named him Kodu which means banana in Dagaare and everyone here gets a kick out of that. They can't understand why I don't name him something like Joe, or Bob...Anywho, he's so adorable! He does the darnest things. For example, he rounded up my neighbor's puppies (all 5 of them) and sat on them. LOL. Yea, it was really cute. He also likes to be tucked in before bed (high maintanence!) and he only pees outside. And when he's mad at you (like after a bath) he'll ignore you, but if he knows you're mad at him he'll hang his head a little and look at you then he'll quietly go sit in the corner. He sits when he wants something (and sometimes when you tell him to - I'm working on it) and he likes to play a lot so he chases everything that comes into the yard, except for the donkeys which scare him. I wish I could post pictures! Ok, one last cute thing about the pup, he'll take my shoes to a corner and sleep on it (altogether now, Awwwwwww).
Onwards to work: It will be hard. I've been reading all the materials I can get on shea and I've met some of the women's group, but things are slow in coming. There is no sense of urgency like I am used to (in terms of gathering information, organizing, etc.) so I have to slow down...Ghana Maybe Time is killing me! For example, our meeting was scheduled at 2pm but people don't show up until 3...3:30...some roll in at 4 when the meeting is ending. Apparently I'll have to somehow implement the Thuy standards of "if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late..." (WINK WINK - I miss all of you!). Half of my supplies is also in another village (delivered wrong)...so turning my house into a home is also slow in coming. I am looking forward to making coffee and noodles!
About shea/shea butter: Where do I begin...there is huge potential for the shea processors but there are also huge obstacles. In the states we see shea butter as high priced beauty products (lotions, soaps, etc.) and here in Ghana, the women make it and use it for cooking, medicinal purposes, and as a lotion. Like I said before, everything in Ghana is a process and making shea butter is no exception. I will describe everything in details later but wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays, oh and Happy New Year!!!! Who knows when I'll get on the internet next...
It's HOT and very dry here in Upper West (Upper BEST!) Ghana. My nose seems to produce more snot (and nose bleeds) than a whole kindergarten classroom, but other than that, things are well. Now, on to the exciting news.
I have a puppy! He was a gift from my host mom and after a couple attemps to pawn him off (I only wanted the best for him), I ended up falling in lovvvveeeeeee. It was meant to be! I named him Kodu which means banana in Dagaare and everyone here gets a kick out of that. They can't understand why I don't name him something like Joe, or Bob...Anywho, he's so adorable! He does the darnest things. For example, he rounded up my neighbor's puppies (all 5 of them) and sat on them. LOL. Yea, it was really cute. He also likes to be tucked in before bed (high maintanence!) and he only pees outside. And when he's mad at you (like after a bath) he'll ignore you, but if he knows you're mad at him he'll hang his head a little and look at you then he'll quietly go sit in the corner. He sits when he wants something (and sometimes when you tell him to - I'm working on it) and he likes to play a lot so he chases everything that comes into the yard, except for the donkeys which scare him. I wish I could post pictures! Ok, one last cute thing about the pup, he'll take my shoes to a corner and sleep on it (altogether now, Awwwwwww).
Onwards to work: It will be hard. I've been reading all the materials I can get on shea and I've met some of the women's group, but things are slow in coming. There is no sense of urgency like I am used to (in terms of gathering information, organizing, etc.) so I have to slow down...Ghana Maybe Time is killing me! For example, our meeting was scheduled at 2pm but people don't show up until 3...3:30...some roll in at 4 when the meeting is ending. Apparently I'll have to somehow implement the Thuy standards of "if you're early you're on time, if you're on time you're late..." (WINK WINK - I miss all of you!). Half of my supplies is also in another village (delivered wrong)...so turning my house into a home is also slow in coming. I am looking forward to making coffee and noodles!
About shea/shea butter: Where do I begin...there is huge potential for the shea processors but there are also huge obstacles. In the states we see shea butter as high priced beauty products (lotions, soaps, etc.) and here in Ghana, the women make it and use it for cooking, medicinal purposes, and as a lotion. Like I said before, everything in Ghana is a process and making shea butter is no exception. I will describe everything in details later but wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holidays, oh and Happy New Year!!!! Who knows when I'll get on the internet next...
Sunday, November 18, 2007
So, now the hard part begins.
It's really hard to believe that training will be over in less than 2 weeks and that I won't be eating a turkey or pumpkin pie (mmm...food...) this year with the family. Let's start with where I left off last...
I went to my site (Piina in the Upper West Region) last week and it was something else...I have no electricity, although the poles are up. They haven't turned on the juice yet but they should soon since elections are coming up (politicians want the vote...I mean, they gave you electricity so why wouldn't you vote for them right?). Anyways, I finally know the concept of, "it's so dark you can't even see your hands." I woke up in the middle of the night not realizing my eyes were open. Yea, it's THAT dark. My housing isn't bad, other than the fact that I'm in a huge empty compound, by myself with a well out in my front yard (The Ring!!!!). My yard is surrounded by large shrubs that act as a fence, and the latrine is close by (unlike some people who have to go half a football field away). The plus side is that I have mango trees in my yard and it will be a free for all when mango season comes (you are all invited!!!). The village itself is nice and quiet...The market comes through every 6 days and unless I plan on riding my bike 9 miles to the nearest bigger town (Nandom), I will have to make do with what is available (which isn't a whole lot). The northern region of Ghana is more dry (think Texas or Arizona) so it takes some getting used to. I miss seeing green! Everything up there is yellow and dry, dry, dry and dusty, especially since the Harmattan is coming. Aesthetics aside, I am really excited to be working with the people. My primary assignment is to work with the local women's group by building their capacity to do business in the Shea nut industry (if you can even call it that). Basically I am trying to link up the women's group to form a cooperative so that they can sell Shea butter for a better price without being cheated by the big men. My secondary assignment, which I am also excited about, will be to work with the schools in the surrounding area.
I touched based last time about my supervisor and my counterpart and while it's too soon to make a complete analysis on them, I have my reservations. The one thing that I learned on my site visit is to make the distinction that I am working with the NGO that sponsored me, and not for them. The initial feeling I got from my interaction with my supervisor was that I am helping out as an extra staff member working for free, and that an American presence will strengthen his organization (by way of funding and reputation). It's complicated and a premature analysis but what the gut feels is what the gut feels.
Explaining Ghanaian culture is too far fetched since I've been here for all of two seconds, but I will put my foot in my mouth nonetheless. Onwards with the randomness!
1. It is a man's world here, more so than in the US. The women do everything from chopping firewood to cooking and cleaning (surprised?) and selling products in the market. You can see them doing all this with a baby on their back and stuff piled high on their heads. They are strong willed and resilient (for lack of a better word). If you can't afford to send all your children to school you will send the boys first. The kids learn how to do it all by the time they are 8, especially the girls. Men can have multiple wives or even a girlfriend all in the same village, but if the women does the same it's highly frowned upon (double standards!). Not all men view women as silent baby makers though and Ghana is slowly moving towards equality, but aren't we all?
2. I absolutely dislike eating food with my hands. Disregarding the fact that I'm a bit germaphobic (sp?), I like to eat soupy things with a spoon. I'm terrible at making a spoon out of my fingers...and the liquid is hot! I wonder how my family will react when I bust out my chopsticks...
3. Ghanaians for the most part are very patient. The Peace Corps staff here are amazing people who are so graceful when dealing with Americans and their ways. There are some days I can't tolerate my colleagues and it hits me how un-American I can be. There are other days where I sit in training and think to myself, "Man, I am so American." Lately it's been more of the former, but maybe after 2 years I will learn to be more patient.
I haven't been able to read a whole lot, but I did finish two small books, one of which I realized I already read (curse my bad memory!). Of Mice and Men and A Clockwork Orange. Both excellent novels! If you have good books to suggest, please send them over (physically send the book and your suggestions LOL). We have random books in the sub-offices left by previous volunteers and I have a library in my village (haven't seen it yet), so I'm hoping to get some good reading in.
Oh yea! I have a cell phone! When we got here I was surprised to find out that cell service is available in most parts of the country, although sporadic. The service is pay as you go and the phone is very basic. Every PCV has one and it's a great way to keep in touch, especially with the Peace Corps staff if there's an emergency. Too bad in my village we get service in one location...on the main road on the outskirts of town. All incoming calls and messages are free and it's nice to be able to hear from my family in the states (even if they sometimes sound like a robot). Expect random text messages from me in the near future, 'til then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
I went to my site (Piina in the Upper West Region) last week and it was something else...I have no electricity, although the poles are up. They haven't turned on the juice yet but they should soon since elections are coming up (politicians want the vote...I mean, they gave you electricity so why wouldn't you vote for them right?). Anyways, I finally know the concept of, "it's so dark you can't even see your hands." I woke up in the middle of the night not realizing my eyes were open. Yea, it's THAT dark. My housing isn't bad, other than the fact that I'm in a huge empty compound, by myself with a well out in my front yard (The Ring!!!!). My yard is surrounded by large shrubs that act as a fence, and the latrine is close by (unlike some people who have to go half a football field away). The plus side is that I have mango trees in my yard and it will be a free for all when mango season comes (you are all invited!!!). The village itself is nice and quiet...The market comes through every 6 days and unless I plan on riding my bike 9 miles to the nearest bigger town (Nandom), I will have to make do with what is available (which isn't a whole lot). The northern region of Ghana is more dry (think Texas or Arizona) so it takes some getting used to. I miss seeing green! Everything up there is yellow and dry, dry, dry and dusty, especially since the Harmattan is coming. Aesthetics aside, I am really excited to be working with the people. My primary assignment is to work with the local women's group by building their capacity to do business in the Shea nut industry (if you can even call it that). Basically I am trying to link up the women's group to form a cooperative so that they can sell Shea butter for a better price without being cheated by the big men. My secondary assignment, which I am also excited about, will be to work with the schools in the surrounding area.
I touched based last time about my supervisor and my counterpart and while it's too soon to make a complete analysis on them, I have my reservations. The one thing that I learned on my site visit is to make the distinction that I am working with the NGO that sponsored me, and not for them. The initial feeling I got from my interaction with my supervisor was that I am helping out as an extra staff member working for free, and that an American presence will strengthen his organization (by way of funding and reputation). It's complicated and a premature analysis but what the gut feels is what the gut feels.
Explaining Ghanaian culture is too far fetched since I've been here for all of two seconds, but I will put my foot in my mouth nonetheless. Onwards with the randomness!
1. It is a man's world here, more so than in the US. The women do everything from chopping firewood to cooking and cleaning (surprised?) and selling products in the market. You can see them doing all this with a baby on their back and stuff piled high on their heads. They are strong willed and resilient (for lack of a better word). If you can't afford to send all your children to school you will send the boys first. The kids learn how to do it all by the time they are 8, especially the girls. Men can have multiple wives or even a girlfriend all in the same village, but if the women does the same it's highly frowned upon (double standards!). Not all men view women as silent baby makers though and Ghana is slowly moving towards equality, but aren't we all?
2. I absolutely dislike eating food with my hands. Disregarding the fact that I'm a bit germaphobic (sp?), I like to eat soupy things with a spoon. I'm terrible at making a spoon out of my fingers...and the liquid is hot! I wonder how my family will react when I bust out my chopsticks...
3. Ghanaians for the most part are very patient. The Peace Corps staff here are amazing people who are so graceful when dealing with Americans and their ways. There are some days I can't tolerate my colleagues and it hits me how un-American I can be. There are other days where I sit in training and think to myself, "Man, I am so American." Lately it's been more of the former, but maybe after 2 years I will learn to be more patient.
I haven't been able to read a whole lot, but I did finish two small books, one of which I realized I already read (curse my bad memory!). Of Mice and Men and A Clockwork Orange. Both excellent novels! If you have good books to suggest, please send them over (physically send the book and your suggestions LOL). We have random books in the sub-offices left by previous volunteers and I have a library in my village (haven't seen it yet), so I'm hoping to get some good reading in.
Oh yea! I have a cell phone! When we got here I was surprised to find out that cell service is available in most parts of the country, although sporadic. The service is pay as you go and the phone is very basic. Every PCV has one and it's a great way to keep in touch, especially with the Peace Corps staff if there's an emergency. Too bad in my village we get service in one location...on the main road on the outskirts of town. All incoming calls and messages are free and it's nice to be able to hear from my family in the states (even if they sometimes sound like a robot). Expect random text messages from me in the near future, 'til then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
Friday, November 9, 2007
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. :)
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. :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Greetings from Ghana! I would like to apologize to all those that I have not written. Snail mail in Ghana is expensive to send and will take between 3-4 weeks to arrive! Internet is also slow and unreliable and I get paid 2 dollars a day...for all you math nerds, that's 14 dollars a week. Mailing one letter costs me about a dollar and an hour of internet costs more than a dollar. Currently, the USA dollar is still behind the Ghanaian cedi...It doesn't matter because I did not bring extra money with me (not that we really need it). We are fed at homestay and the money we receive from PC goes to things like toliet paper, fabric, street food, envelopes, transportation etc. so it's not so bad at all.
Homestay is going well. My host family is pretty awesome. There are about 6 kids I play with and one fat baby I poke. I have taken it upon myself to teach them the multiplication table so every night we play flash card games and such. My Ghanaian name is Akua Rose...my host mom gave me that name within 5 minutes of meeting me. Ironically it's also her name...LOL. Akua means Wednesday born (which I just found out today I am actually born on!). Ghanaians like to call you by the day you are born but they don't hold birthdates in high regards. So around the village I am known as Sister Akua or Sister Rose.
Our group has split up by sector. I am in SED (small enterprise development) and we are currently stayin in Nsuta, a village 19km outside of Techiman. Once a week we all gather in Techiman for more group training and medical updates (and shots). In our village we do sector specific training and language. I am learning Dagaare now since I will be placed in the Upper West for the next two years after training. Oh yea! I found out my site placement (drum roll)...I am going to Piina in the Upper West aka never never land. LOL. They like to call it the "Upper Best" but we'll see how true that is. I've never been to the northern regions of Ghana, but if you Google Piina, you'll find that I am very, very close to the border of Burkina Faso. I also will not have electricity or running water...those of you who are considering visiting me, please stay for more than 1 week and pack light. I will be working with the shea nut industry up there so I am pretty excited. One of our biggest challenges here is to convey the fact that we are NOT here to build something or to give money, but rather we are here to teach. Sustainability is a word that they hone into us and building the capacity of people is our main goal. The training PC provides is really intense and very good. A lot of NGO's come and go and volunteers stay for a couple weeks or months at best so most Ghanaian communities who ask for help ask for a PCV. Anyways, I shall blog more, but everytime I sit down to blog my mind comes to a total blank. So much to convey so little time and I don't know where to start! I will leave you with some randomness:
1. My belly...is huge. The carb enriched diet is getting to me. I go to the bathroom every morning now and that is a rare thing! The food here is not my cup of tea but it's not terrible either. I don't like fried food but I don't have a choice since oil is used a lot and frying seems to be the #1 method of cooking a lot of things. I hear food in the upper west is lighter on the oil. My host mom doesn't use palm oil because she knows I don't like it so that's a good thing. I've finally been able to convey the fact that I only drink coffee for breakfast and I only eat small amounts. Fufu, Banku, Kenke are all good but only in small amounts...my favorite dish which I don't know how to spell is called Wachi and is only served for breakfast...it's rice and beans with some sort of spicy sauce.
2. Bucket baths. Just like it sounds. I'm down to half a bucket a day now...LOL. Trust me, when you have to fetch your own water, you will want to conserve. My process is this, one scoop for getting wet, lather, and rinse. DONE! It's actually pretty clean. The only problem I have is that the same room you bathe in, is also used as a urinal...that is, if you don't want to urinate anywhere else. Only Americans seem to use the latrine for peeing. Speaking of latrines, you get over that quickly here.
Take care! Miss you guys...
Homestay is going well. My host family is pretty awesome. There are about 6 kids I play with and one fat baby I poke. I have taken it upon myself to teach them the multiplication table so every night we play flash card games and such. My Ghanaian name is Akua Rose...my host mom gave me that name within 5 minutes of meeting me. Ironically it's also her name...LOL. Akua means Wednesday born (which I just found out today I am actually born on!). Ghanaians like to call you by the day you are born but they don't hold birthdates in high regards. So around the village I am known as Sister Akua or Sister Rose.
Our group has split up by sector. I am in SED (small enterprise development) and we are currently stayin in Nsuta, a village 19km outside of Techiman. Once a week we all gather in Techiman for more group training and medical updates (and shots). In our village we do sector specific training and language. I am learning Dagaare now since I will be placed in the Upper West for the next two years after training. Oh yea! I found out my site placement (drum roll)...I am going to Piina in the Upper West aka never never land. LOL. They like to call it the "Upper Best" but we'll see how true that is. I've never been to the northern regions of Ghana, but if you Google Piina, you'll find that I am very, very close to the border of Burkina Faso. I also will not have electricity or running water...those of you who are considering visiting me, please stay for more than 1 week and pack light. I will be working with the shea nut industry up there so I am pretty excited. One of our biggest challenges here is to convey the fact that we are NOT here to build something or to give money, but rather we are here to teach. Sustainability is a word that they hone into us and building the capacity of people is our main goal. The training PC provides is really intense and very good. A lot of NGO's come and go and volunteers stay for a couple weeks or months at best so most Ghanaian communities who ask for help ask for a PCV. Anyways, I shall blog more, but everytime I sit down to blog my mind comes to a total blank. So much to convey so little time and I don't know where to start! I will leave you with some randomness:
1. My belly...is huge. The carb enriched diet is getting to me. I go to the bathroom every morning now and that is a rare thing! The food here is not my cup of tea but it's not terrible either. I don't like fried food but I don't have a choice since oil is used a lot and frying seems to be the #1 method of cooking a lot of things. I hear food in the upper west is lighter on the oil. My host mom doesn't use palm oil because she knows I don't like it so that's a good thing. I've finally been able to convey the fact that I only drink coffee for breakfast and I only eat small amounts. Fufu, Banku, Kenke are all good but only in small amounts...my favorite dish which I don't know how to spell is called Wachi and is only served for breakfast...it's rice and beans with some sort of spicy sauce.
2. Bucket baths. Just like it sounds. I'm down to half a bucket a day now...LOL. Trust me, when you have to fetch your own water, you will want to conserve. My process is this, one scoop for getting wet, lather, and rinse. DONE! It's actually pretty clean. The only problem I have is that the same room you bathe in, is also used as a urinal...that is, if you don't want to urinate anywhere else. Only Americans seem to use the latrine for peeing. Speaking of latrines, you get over that quickly here.
Take care! Miss you guys...
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ghana Day 7
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been here for only a week. It feels a lot longer. We’ve been constantly on the go since arrival in Accra (pronounced a-craw). It is hot, hot, hot. Oh, and humid. We are towards the end of the rainy season so when the rain showers come, the air feels a whole lot nicer, but the streets are awful (you then get mud, mud, mud!). Attempting to describe everything won’t do Ghana or my experience justice, but I will try. At the moment I am in a city called Ho (insert immature laugh). I paid 6,000 cedis (about 60 cents) an hour to use the internet here. Very quickly, some things that come to mind…
1.I will not be shaving my head, as I had wanted to originally. Apparently only school girls do that as part of their uniforms. It will be hard for people to take me seriously to begin with. A shaved head coupled with the fact that I look like I am 16, won’t be good.
2.Coffee…major disappointment for Thuy. I have seen coffee trees, but Ghanaians do not drink it like I do. The only kind you can find (when you can find it) is the instant 3-in-1 Nescafe coffee, which isn’t bad. So glad I brought my own Vietnamese coffee.
3.Internet…sucks. It’s slower than the goats roaming the streets. The keyboards are awful as well because the keys are not where they labels say they are.
4.Ghanaians are awesome. Their smiles are unbeatable. They are more than friendly and the kids are absolutely adorable. For a lot of them I am the first Asian person they’ve seen so they like to stare, but it’s not malicious. Curiosity is the best ice breaker. I just wave, smile, and say hello either in English or Twi or Away (totally didn’t spell that correctly). I’ve learned 2 languages thus far, and when I say learn, I mean I know how to say basic stuff. American English…yes, I just said American English…is hard for Ghanaians to understand. We don’t annunciate our syllables and our words, rather, we tend to speak fast and slur everything together. When I speak with Ghanaians I have to remember to slow down, and I don’t mean I have to stretch out my words, but to speak slowly and more deliberately.
5.As far as street food goes, Asia has that on locked. Street food here is a bit disappointing for me. Not a whole lot of variety and they like to use a lot of palm oil. I hate palm oil. LOL. I’ve never liked it in Vietnamese food (the rare times we actually use it) but here, man, it’s in almost everything, especially if it’s fried. Plantains, cassava, yams, rice, fish – there’s plenty of that here. I’ve actually had cassava before…I just didn’t realize it was called that! They have this thing called ground nut which is basically peanuts pounded until it’s….peanut butter. That is also easy to find here, but I don’t like it when it’s used in cooking. They tend to overload it and then it’s like I am eating Thai food, but not. Which is a total tease.
6.Peace Corps. There are 48 of us total here in Ghana. There are people fresh out of college and there are retirees, so it’s a nice mix. So far, no one has gone home or joined the club (”I shit my pants in Ghana” club). We have been together 24/7 up until last Saturday when we all split up on our own to travel the country by ourselves for 5 days. It’s called a “Vision Quest” where everyone is assigned to a current Volunteer’s site. We visit our volunteer and get a feel of what it’s like to travel, live, and work in Ghana. After this trip we gather at Techiman where we will stay with a homestay family for about 10 weeks. During this time we will be doing a more comprehensive training on the languages (yes, more than one!), culture, and our area of work. Everyone will live with a host family but we will come together for classes. Currently I am in the Volta region of the country. It is the mountainous region to the east near Togo. The Volta region reminds me of Dalat, Vietnam and home, so I think I would like it very much to work in this area of the country. I absolutely hate Accra, which is no surprise since I don’t like living in the city much.
7.Pet goat. If I land in a village I will buy a pet goat. They are easy to raise since they don’t do anything but eat your left overs and roam the village at free will. Chickens have more personality but they are also a pain in the ass…the rooster won’t shut up and he keeps chasing the hen around.
8.Bathing and bathroom…If it’s yellow, just be mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down…that is, if you have a flush latrine. You also don’t flush toilet paper or anything down the toilet either. Plumbing is next to nonexistent. A pit latrine is best…but sometimes they build this thing on top of it, like a toilet seat, and then it’s weird because I am not sure if I’m suppose to squat or sit. I squat because my ass is too small and I have a fear of falling into a pit of god knows what.
9.Throwing caution into the wind. Dave and I have a nice quote we go by when vacationing…when in Rome, go big or go home. I’ve applied that to Ghana against all Peace Corps staff’s suggestion. Don’t eat street food. Check. Don’t swim in the water. Check. Don’t drink the local water. Check. I’m still alive so I guess that’s ok? I figured if they are going to pump me with that much drugs (6 shots so far, with more scheduled) then I should be covered. My volunteer’s name is Jim and he is AWESOME. He lives in a village on the foothills of the mountains where there are some pretty cool waterfalls. Previously he was a tour guide so you can imagine the excursion and out doorsyness of my stay. We took a hike up the mountain to see the waterfall there and went swimming. It was amazing. We also went to a monkey sanctuary so I will post pictures when I can!
10.American influence. They love Celine Dion. All the big name top 40 music we hear in the states (Rihanna, Akon, 50 Cent), I’ve heard them all here too. It was really weird to walk through the village and hear someone blasting “In Da Club” by 50. LOL. It was hilarious actually.
11.Palm wine is delicious. It’s not high in alcoholic content and is quite refreshing. I made a rule to not drink when I am in Ghana (except for ceremonial purposes with everyone and if its palm wine to taste). Too much complications that could come from drinking, to include jeopardizing my reputation. Who will listen to the 16 year-old, Asian, white woman then? Every foreigner is considered white.
12.My work in Ghana will be difficult. The one thing they pound into our heads is to lower our expectations. Small, small, as they would say in Ghana. It would be hard to believe that we thought we could really go here and make a huge impact. I think we all knew that to begin with, but the enormity of what lies ahead has yet to sink in. I think some of us will have a rude awakening…the newness will wear off and tourist goggles will come off and then, vacation is over. The enormity of what lies ahead is something that hasn’t hit me yet. I haven’t had time to be by myself to think and reflect, but I know this much, my 2 years will be filled with a lot of ups and downs but overall I will get a lot more out of all this than any Ghanaian will get from me coming here. You don’t just go into a country and try to re-work a process that has already been ingrained for years even though a lot of change is needed. There is always work to be done, but my biggest fear is being ineffective. Small, realistic goals are always best. If I can get more kids to attend school and get one person to improve on his/her business process or a village to increase their income from tourism, then I think I will be satisfied at the end of the day.
13.Government can be corrupt no matter where you go. Random check points along the road where money will exchange hands is not unheard of. Economic conditions in Ghana are not terrible and not great either. The recently redenominated of their Cedi (money) will have Ghana playing in the global market. Right now I believe 1 Ghanaian Cedi is on par with 1 US dollar. The biggest thing that gets me is this. Ghana is a big supplier of cocoa, which is used to make chocolate, amongst other things. They grow it and sell the raw products (cocoa beans) but they don’t have the means to produce chocolate so they end up buying chocolate from the people they sold their cocoa beans to! How aggravating is that?
1.I will not be shaving my head, as I had wanted to originally. Apparently only school girls do that as part of their uniforms. It will be hard for people to take me seriously to begin with. A shaved head coupled with the fact that I look like I am 16, won’t be good.
2.Coffee…major disappointment for Thuy. I have seen coffee trees, but Ghanaians do not drink it like I do. The only kind you can find (when you can find it) is the instant 3-in-1 Nescafe coffee, which isn’t bad. So glad I brought my own Vietnamese coffee.
3.Internet…sucks. It’s slower than the goats roaming the streets. The keyboards are awful as well because the keys are not where they labels say they are.
4.Ghanaians are awesome. Their smiles are unbeatable. They are more than friendly and the kids are absolutely adorable. For a lot of them I am the first Asian person they’ve seen so they like to stare, but it’s not malicious. Curiosity is the best ice breaker. I just wave, smile, and say hello either in English or Twi or Away (totally didn’t spell that correctly). I’ve learned 2 languages thus far, and when I say learn, I mean I know how to say basic stuff. American English…yes, I just said American English…is hard for Ghanaians to understand. We don’t annunciate our syllables and our words, rather, we tend to speak fast and slur everything together. When I speak with Ghanaians I have to remember to slow down, and I don’t mean I have to stretch out my words, but to speak slowly and more deliberately.
5.As far as street food goes, Asia has that on locked. Street food here is a bit disappointing for me. Not a whole lot of variety and they like to use a lot of palm oil. I hate palm oil. LOL. I’ve never liked it in Vietnamese food (the rare times we actually use it) but here, man, it’s in almost everything, especially if it’s fried. Plantains, cassava, yams, rice, fish – there’s plenty of that here. I’ve actually had cassava before…I just didn’t realize it was called that! They have this thing called ground nut which is basically peanuts pounded until it’s….peanut butter. That is also easy to find here, but I don’t like it when it’s used in cooking. They tend to overload it and then it’s like I am eating Thai food, but not. Which is a total tease.
6.Peace Corps. There are 48 of us total here in Ghana. There are people fresh out of college and there are retirees, so it’s a nice mix. So far, no one has gone home or joined the club (”I shit my pants in Ghana” club). We have been together 24/7 up until last Saturday when we all split up on our own to travel the country by ourselves for 5 days. It’s called a “Vision Quest” where everyone is assigned to a current Volunteer’s site. We visit our volunteer and get a feel of what it’s like to travel, live, and work in Ghana. After this trip we gather at Techiman where we will stay with a homestay family for about 10 weeks. During this time we will be doing a more comprehensive training on the languages (yes, more than one!), culture, and our area of work. Everyone will live with a host family but we will come together for classes. Currently I am in the Volta region of the country. It is the mountainous region to the east near Togo. The Volta region reminds me of Dalat, Vietnam and home, so I think I would like it very much to work in this area of the country. I absolutely hate Accra, which is no surprise since I don’t like living in the city much.
7.Pet goat. If I land in a village I will buy a pet goat. They are easy to raise since they don’t do anything but eat your left overs and roam the village at free will. Chickens have more personality but they are also a pain in the ass…the rooster won’t shut up and he keeps chasing the hen around.
8.Bathing and bathroom…If it’s yellow, just be mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down…that is, if you have a flush latrine. You also don’t flush toilet paper or anything down the toilet either. Plumbing is next to nonexistent. A pit latrine is best…but sometimes they build this thing on top of it, like a toilet seat, and then it’s weird because I am not sure if I’m suppose to squat or sit. I squat because my ass is too small and I have a fear of falling into a pit of god knows what.
9.Throwing caution into the wind. Dave and I have a nice quote we go by when vacationing…when in Rome, go big or go home. I’ve applied that to Ghana against all Peace Corps staff’s suggestion. Don’t eat street food. Check. Don’t swim in the water. Check. Don’t drink the local water. Check. I’m still alive so I guess that’s ok? I figured if they are going to pump me with that much drugs (6 shots so far, with more scheduled) then I should be covered. My volunteer’s name is Jim and he is AWESOME. He lives in a village on the foothills of the mountains where there are some pretty cool waterfalls. Previously he was a tour guide so you can imagine the excursion and out doorsyness of my stay. We took a hike up the mountain to see the waterfall there and went swimming. It was amazing. We also went to a monkey sanctuary so I will post pictures when I can!
10.American influence. They love Celine Dion. All the big name top 40 music we hear in the states (Rihanna, Akon, 50 Cent), I’ve heard them all here too. It was really weird to walk through the village and hear someone blasting “In Da Club” by 50. LOL. It was hilarious actually.
11.Palm wine is delicious. It’s not high in alcoholic content and is quite refreshing. I made a rule to not drink when I am in Ghana (except for ceremonial purposes with everyone and if its palm wine to taste). Too much complications that could come from drinking, to include jeopardizing my reputation. Who will listen to the 16 year-old, Asian, white woman then? Every foreigner is considered white.
12.My work in Ghana will be difficult. The one thing they pound into our heads is to lower our expectations. Small, small, as they would say in Ghana. It would be hard to believe that we thought we could really go here and make a huge impact. I think we all knew that to begin with, but the enormity of what lies ahead has yet to sink in. I think some of us will have a rude awakening…the newness will wear off and tourist goggles will come off and then, vacation is over. The enormity of what lies ahead is something that hasn’t hit me yet. I haven’t had time to be by myself to think and reflect, but I know this much, my 2 years will be filled with a lot of ups and downs but overall I will get a lot more out of all this than any Ghanaian will get from me coming here. You don’t just go into a country and try to re-work a process that has already been ingrained for years even though a lot of change is needed. There is always work to be done, but my biggest fear is being ineffective. Small, realistic goals are always best. If I can get more kids to attend school and get one person to improve on his/her business process or a village to increase their income from tourism, then I think I will be satisfied at the end of the day.
13.Government can be corrupt no matter where you go. Random check points along the road where money will exchange hands is not unheard of. Economic conditions in Ghana are not terrible and not great either. The recently redenominated of their Cedi (money) will have Ghana playing in the global market. Right now I believe 1 Ghanaian Cedi is on par with 1 US dollar. The biggest thing that gets me is this. Ghana is a big supplier of cocoa, which is used to make chocolate, amongst other things. They grow it and sell the raw products (cocoa beans) but they don’t have the means to produce chocolate so they end up buying chocolate from the people they sold their cocoa beans to! How aggravating is that?
Thursday, September 6, 2007
My parents disowned me when I told them I was joining the Peace Corps. I remember the day clearly. It was a bright, breezy May morning as I thumbed through the Classifieds in the Washington Post. Moving back home from college took a lot of adjusting, and it had only been a week. I felt sophisticated, as if four years of college warranted me at the same table as my father as we sipped our coffee and read the morning paper (is there such a thing as an afternoon paper?). I mean, wasn't this the moment I always dreamed of as a young girl? Instead of feigning interest, this time around I was actually interested in reading the paper. Granted, I was looking for a job and very much involved might I add. So much involved that I did not see my father staring at me from behind the World News."Aren't you going to apply to graduate school?"There it was. A perfect morning shattered by expectations."Hmmm...no, I don't think I will."A ruffling of paper and I look up to see my father folding his paper in half, then in quarters. Peering from his reading glasses he stared at me from across the mahogany breakfast table. The fake mahogany breakfast table that I had bought from a friend for $20 now stood as a conspicuous artifact, a testament that I had once lived in an apartment by myself and had survived."I thought we had an agreement?"Ahhh, the agreement. To agree would mean that both sides had to agree on the said subject matter, but when dealing with parents it is always a unilateral contract, usually never in writing so that if proof is needed, a simple, "because I said so" ends all protests. What it must feel like to always have the upper hand! "Hmmm...I don't remember any agreement...but if you are referring to my PhD, I thought about it, and...I didn't think much of it."
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So I suppose I should start this journey by explaining my reasons for joining the Peace Corps. I believe my excuse, when asked why, has been, "It's something I've always wanted to do." Usually the inquiries stop there, and I am quite relief that I have to explain no more. But, my friends, there is so much more!
The only problem is...How do you describe a feeling?
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So I suppose I should start this journey by explaining my reasons for joining the Peace Corps. I believe my excuse, when asked why, has been, "It's something I've always wanted to do." Usually the inquiries stop there, and I am quite relief that I have to explain no more. But, my friends, there is so much more!
The only problem is...How do you describe a feeling?
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