Saturday, October 27, 2007

Disconnect

From what I understand, there's a bit of a disconnect between what I've written on my blog and what has been said on the "Peace Corps Family Support Group," site. I'm not sure if that's what the group is called but I've caught wind that there has been mention of issues including intestinal issues, sunburns, bug bites, latrine problems, head shaving, heat rash and more.

For the first month in Ghana, I was able to elude all of the above issues. I shaved my head before arrival and it has proved to be a wise move. Since we've arrived in country, 4 girls and maybe 10 guys have shaved their heads to cope with heat and make bathing easier and more efficient. I've yet to get a single mosquito bite (amazing considering my track record). I'm sure I've gotten some color but no sunburns to speak of. I've had no heat rash issues at all. Cockroaches and flies seem to be having a bit of a turf war in my pit latrine but that can be expected in a deep pit of poo.

Just after the one month mark, while on field trip, a number of my fellow environment volunteers and I ate some bad meat. For the most part, we all had upset stomachs and were always ready to use a nice toilet if available. Unfortunately, nice toilets are almost NEVER available in Ghana so we had to manage with what was available.

As a group, we stayed one night at the Kobs Hotel near Koforidua in the Eastern Region. This place was a shit hole when we got there and far worse when we left. Split amongst five rooms, we all eagerly ran to our respective toilets and got to work. To give an idea of the quality of these rooms, I went to put the key in the lock and the door opened on its own. I pushed the bathroom door open to use the toilet and stepped in a huge puddle between the door and the toilet. Once I had used the toilet, I realized that it would not flush (not pleasant), I looked for a light switch so I could fix the toilet but there was no light. I went to open the curtains to use natural light but there were blood stains all over the curtains. Scary huh? There is no doubt that this was blood and I'm not talking about drops of blood so much as splattered blood. Needless to say, we got a new room. The new room had a pungent mildew smell to it but had running water (shower but no toilet) and a light in the bathroom. With our Ghana Tummy (the nice local term for diarrhea) still going strong in the morning and no flushing toilets, the ten of us actually managed to leave the Kobs Hotel in worse shape than we found it.

Just to let you all know that Peace Corps Ghana hasn't gone without any struggles, I'll continue with another brief Ghana Tummy story. During the 10 hour trip from our final field trip location and our homestays, the bumpy tro ride was less than forgiving on the guts. Only one of my counterparts had to make an emergency stop but the rest of us had to resort to some shady restrooms on the way. I'm going to add some detail for hilarity sake but must apologize as it's not describing my finest moment.

Our first snack stop was at 8am, 3 hours after we left Amedika. My stomach was feeling much better but I thought I'd check out the bathroom to be safe. I had to pay 2000 cedis (equal to 20 cents in America but also 10% of our daily wage during training) to use the toilet and I'll admit that I got my moneys worth. While I can say I've learned a lot while in Ghana, I can't add acquiring perfect aim while squatting above a disgusting toilet and projectile piss pooing. Sorry for the graphic language but it's the best description I can think of and provided a never before seen opportunity for alliteration.

Anyhow, I missed the mark. Had the mark been a bullseye on the front of the water tank above the bowl, I'd be a famed marksman but instead, I was left with a relieved stomach, a destroyed toilet and no toilet paper or water to fix the latter. I used what was left in my bladder to dilute some of the remnants and used my cheap handkerchief as a TP substitute. Luckily, the bathroom attendant wasn't close by when I slyly slinked away.

I'm sorry I didn't mention this story during the baboon entry but I'm a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. Once I decided to share, I figured I might as well go all out. I hope this gets more laughs than retches but either way, you are welcome to share in my first bout with Ghana Tummy.

Until next time.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Soccer later

I'd like to write about the first Ghanaian soccer experience but too much other stuff has happened since my last post. We (the trainees) play against the trainers on Sunday so I'll combine that story with the first experience.

Since I last posted, we visited the Buoyem bat caves and went on a 5 day field trip. I've also twice prepared "pizza" for Ghanaians.

The bat caves were impressive but much more than anybody expected. The 44 of the 45 remaining volunteers (3 have now gone home) hiked a total of 6 hours in order to spend maybe 10 minutes looking at bats. The hike was great and the views beautiful but I'd venture to guess that it was the longest hike to date for many of my co-trainees. One girl has been nursing a pulled quadricep muscle and a few others were battling colds so by the end, we had quite a few invalids. One girl was actually taken to the hospital to be treated for dehydration!! Once I get settled, I'll post some photos so you can see the adventures. Photos don't do them justice but words do even less.

On Saturday, we were split into groups for a 5 day field trip. Water/Sanitation was broken into North/South, Environment into North/South and SED (Small Enterprise Development) stayed as one group. As a member of the Environment South group, I enjoyed many days of cramped travel through the country. Our first stop on the way toward the eastern region was in Kumasi. We spent a night at the Kumasi Institute of Tropical agriculture. We learned about mushroom farming, rabbit rearing, fish hatcheries, snail farming and a variety of permaculture and agro-forestry practices. We were all exhausted by the end of the day but enjoyed a treat from the students. Drummers and dancers greeted us from our last lecture and we were shown various cultural dances from each of the 10 regions in Ghana. The funniest part was that for whatever reason, a number of the men were dressed as women and danced around in high heels and skirts. Language/cultural divide prevented any explanation but it was funny regardless. Toward the end of the performance, the Ghanaians asked for a volunteer to show them how we dance in America. Though I'm not much of a dancer, I volunteered to get a lesson from the Ghanaians as we Americans can't hold a candle to their moves. It was embarrassing but was nice to step out of my shell a bit.

The next day was dedicated mostly to travel. Day three was spent with a current volunteer in Odomasi. We spent the day sitting with the chief and talking about Moringa (the "miracle" tree) and it's many uses. We were filmed by Ghana TV and were likely shown on the evening news. It's strange to get press since we knew nothing on the subject and simply sat under some trees while the chief spoke about Moringa.

Day 4 was brought our ten tired, smelly selves to Amedika. None of us felt especially motivated to do much but after a long day of travel, we were drug out to Shai Hills. None of us knew anything about Shai Hills but we went along. It was great!! We got there and realized that it's a nature preserve. Within 15 minutes, we were face to face with 5 baboons!! I'm talking no more than 5-10 feet away. It was truly amazing. We fed these wild baboons bananas. We'd throw small bits of bananas into the tree and the alpha male would snatch them out of the air with great ease.

After a while, I felt a bit more bold and stood with my arm outstretched and a bit of banana in my fingertips. The alpha male slowly moved toward the end of the branch, leaned over and snatched it from my hand. I wonder if his heart was beating as hard as mine was. What a rush!!

From there, we climbed into Shai hills (The Shai tribe lived there between 1778-1886) and used bat caves as a sanctuary while at war with the Ashanti). This bat cave was far more intense than those in Buoyem and only required a 10 minute hike. Very cool indeed. After Shai Hills, we went to see a "sacred forest." It is believed that a God lives in this forest and if one is caught cutting down a tree, the punishment is decapitation!! This visit was cut short by a SERIOUS thunder storm so we retired to the site of another current volunteer.

Today, we spent 9 hours in the van on our way back to Techiman. When I got back to my homestay, I was informed that while fumigating my room, my key was lost and my lock replaced. I waited around in the sun for a good thirty minutes before my homestay father decided to take a hammer to the massive padlock on my porch gate (I think I've explained this dungeoness porch). Quite amusing but not a good time considering my energy level.

That's it for now. I feel as though I rambled a bit so sorry for any disconnect. I'm out!! Love to all!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

A typical day

Oddly enough, I'm already in a bit of a routine here. I'll do my best to summarize a typical day.

5:15am- Wake up to the sounds of Ghanaian radio, chickens, dogs, goats, sheep (they sound like screaming children), and many full volume conversations.

5:15-5:45- Lay beneath my mosquito net until I can motivate to get up.

6:00-6:45am- Will (my closest neighbor) and I go for a run while greeting EVERY Ghanaian we pass in Twi. It's a bit annoying to have to greet everyone when I'm not quite awake but I could have bigger problems than excessive friendliness.

6:45-7:15am- Breakfast (usually oats, an orange and a hunk of bread)

7:15-7:20am- Bucket bath. It REALLY wakes me up the day after a good rain, a good cup of cold water to the face really does the trick. A few days ago, my Ghanaian father explained to me how I've been bathing wrong. I MUST completely dry off before I leave the shower.

7:20-8:00am- Commute to either language or sector training. Language requires 45 minutes of taxi rides while sector is a 20 minute walk.

8am-12pm- Environment lessons (language and sector alternate morning and afternoon so I'm sure you can follow). We've learned about staple crops, water conservation methods, soil types, motivational techniques and much more. It's nice having little experience, it makes for very engaging class. We also do a number of hands on projects which makes the time fly by.

12pm-2pm- Commute/Lunch time. If there's time, I'll take another bucket bath. Walking any distance at noon will soak through a shirt in no time.

2pm-5pm- Language- I'm learning Dangme with two other volunteers. It's great to learn a new language but speaking Twi to and from class and learning Dangme during class gets a big confusing. 3 hours of language is overwhelming no matter what but I've enjoyed it.

5pm-6pm- Commute/sit- I'm usually pretty spent by this time so I'll read or sit around and chat with my homestay family.

6pm-7pm- Dinner- My meals are still somewhat American style but I'm getting better at eating sticky balls of mush and soup with my hands.

7pm-sleep- I'll usually read but this span of time is seldom more than an hour or so.


This schedule is pretty standard from Monday through Wednesday. Thursday and Friday afternoons are at the Dery Hotel. All of the trainees meet up for more cultural and general training.

Saturdays include a four hour language session and is usually followed by an inpromptu soccer practice (trainees vs. trainers in 5 weeks)

Sundays are free.

Next entry will include my first soccer game in Ghana. It was great but deserves a post of it's own.

Love to all

Friday, October 5, 2007

It's been a while

It seems that a lot has happened since my last post but now that it's time to write, I'm not sure where to start.

From vision quest, I took a 4 hour tro ride north to the Kumasi sub-office (there is an Accra Peace Corps office and there are also Kumasi and Tamale sub-officers for those who are too far from the coast). This ride was miserable!! I was in the back right seat so I was above the wheelwell. My knees jabbed into the seat in front of me and my right leg was either completely straight (the guy a row in front of me kept stepping on my foot) or bent behind me to the point where the top of my foot was pressed flat on the bus floor. Kumasi was really chill. I was one of a dozen or so trainees who split travel into two days so we all chartered a tro to Techiman the following morning. As I got ready to bitch and moan about the terrible travel situation, I started to hear truly traumatic stories. Some of my counterparts spent as long as 13 hours on tros and experienced flat tires, broken axles and a variety of other issues. Not too bad for me I guess.

Our training group (down from 48 to 47 by this point) spent 4 days and 3 nights in Techiman. The days were full and included anything from getting acquanted in the city to VERY detailed lectures on the MANY ways we can get sick. As long as I don't touch standing water, I should be good. Our "gender roles," class explained how if an American man kisses a Ghanaian woman, it's implied that the two will sleep together that night. If the two do end up having sex, the woman is to lay there and any movement will suggest that she's a prostitute. Also, if a man touches a Ghanaian woman's breasts, it's not unlikely that the woman will laugh in response since breasts are purely functional in Ghana. On top of all of this, it's expected that once you've slept with a Ghanaian, you will marry her and take her to America. Long story short: I won't kiss any Ghanaian women!! I'll admit that after seeing a few pairs of 80 year old breasts flopping around town, the purely functional aspect makes more sense.

On our 4th day in Techiman, all 47 trainees sat in a group while at least 80 Ghanaians sate across from us. One by one, our names were called and we ran up to meet our new host family. It felt like an odd sort of draft but was definitely exciting. My Ghanaian "mother," speaks almost no english and her daughter? (I'm still not sure how they're really connected) did nothing but sit and stare.

I've been living with this host family for about a week now. I live in a "compound," which means that there are about 15 people living in a 5 room area. Picture a square in which three sides are made up of rooms, one is made up of a fence and the center is all open space. I wake up at about 5:15 each morning. It took 3 days to figure out the time. I have no watch and didn't put a battery in my alarm clock until I got to the homestay. I had no clock to reference so I only knew that I would normally wake up at around 14:15. I have my own bedroom and a small porch of my own. The porch feels a bit like a prison cell; there is a solid metal gate that closes around me and a cement floor. I eat by myself and for a few days would sit and eat while everybody stared from their respective location in the compound. Kinda odd.

Each day, I get more comfortable and I'm able to communicate more. I've gotta run soon but want to share an experience from last night. After a full day of training in Techiman (a 15 minute cab ride from my town : Aworowa), several of us went out on the town for dinner. After dinner, my friend Will and I went back to our village and realized that we hadn't brought our flashlights. It had just rained and the two of us walked the 1/4 mile through town in pitch darkness on wet clay ground. We managed to get to Will's place fine but from his house to mine has a number of dips (pee drains) in the ground and I walked like a blind man while Ghanaians ran past my as though it daylight out.

More to come. I know where I'm going to live for the next 2 years but that deserves an entry of it's own.

Love to all!!