Same country, different world

A few days ago, I attended a Columbia Admissions info session in Accra. For just over 25 dollars, I was able to transform myself back in the business casual guy I was before Peace Corps. New shoes, trousers, belt, tie and shirt allowed me to ensure that at least one aspect of my presence wouldn't stand out too much.

Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Admissions, Linda Meehan hosted the event, giving a detailed run down of the program and opening the floor to questions. I sat among about fifty other guests, ranging from recent university graduates to World Bank employees to company owning Columbia alums. The session reaffirmed my belief that Columbia is the school for me. Ms. Meehan was funny and very accommodating, giving valuable information to future applicants as well as those of us mid-application process.

I was able to ask a few questions but when the formal aspect of the event ended, I planned to ask a few more questions of Ms. Meehan but was cut off by other attendees and questions about Peace Corps and what brought me to the event.

After two years in the bush, it was eye opening to meet accountants and financial advisers educated in the UK and the US. Though I didn't quite fit the target demographic, I felt that I got a lot out of the event. Seeing the dedication that Columbia has to creating a diverse, balanced class was very important to me. Though the application is out of my hands, it was nice to get a better feel of what the program offers and what it can provide.

On another note, I recently had to bite the bullet and buy myself a new camera. I am now on my third camera of Peace Corps. It took some serious rationalizing on my part for me to allow myself to pay inflated Accra prices. In the end, I decided that the photos I'll take during my last 3 weeks in country and during the first leg of my round the world trip.

I've added more photos. Unrelated to the entry but still nice.






Love to all,
Ira

Guinea Pigs

I thought that it would be nice to COS a few weeks after most of my friends. By allowing them to leave first, I thought I would have a chance to learn from their mistakes and confusion when leaving their respective villages. Instead, I get to watch my friends leave and freak out and figure out the tumult of emotions that await me.

Last week, I went to visit Cheri in Kpendua and Gray in his village in the Upper West. Cheri and I wanted to see the Upper West and were lucky enough to be there on the day of his going away celebration. Gray recently had latrines built at the JHS and Primary Schools in his village and a big celebration was held in his honor. The emotions involved were unbelievable and I had never been to the village before.

When I got back to Bormase, three new classrooms were constructed and had shiny zinc roofs over them. Every bit of construction that was planned had been completed and the excitement was palpable.

Yesterday, the Catholic priest pulled me from my reading time to discuss some important matters. He told me to be careful with my project because contractors, masons and carpenters often pad numbers in order to chop money and materials. He has been in the area for 7 years and knows how things work.

I didn't appreciate this advice at all!! Though this priest has been perfectly friendly and helpful throughout my time here, he hasn't lived and worked among the friends that are now helping with the construction. I know that Ghana is known for corruption and recently had to deal with my drunk chief asking for handouts but why come to me now?

I'm a bit sensitive about this I know but having him drive up on his motorbike (the other priest had the truck) on his way back to his nice house only to tell me about how villagers can be really rubbed me the wrong way.

As far as I can tell, the bead center and school are coming along as planned. No materials have gone missing and we are below budget so far.

My camera spoiled somehow during my last travels so I'll have to figure out a way to get final photos. Below are pictures just for pictures' sake.







-Through the windshield, looking at the wood we just picked up.
-The courtyard in front of my house with my neighbor Patience strolling around (taken through the doggie door)
-Me with Sweetie
-Harvesting Moringa (practicing the timer on my camera)
Love to all

Ira

Timing is everything

A fellow Ghana PCV left about 5 months ago to pursue a graduate school scholarship. About a week ago, he sent an e-mail to a number of us, updating us on what he's been up to. He lamented about the economy, the mundane and the reaction he got from friends. I don't know if it was intentional but he sent this e-mail as many other volunteers are preparing to leave for home.

Two volunteers from my group have officially closed their services (COSed). They had their respective home issues and received permission to go home more than 30 days ahead of our official NOv. 26 COS date. Almost nobody has an idea of what they plan/hope to do when they get home. We have different degrees of COS trip plans. A large group will meet in Barcelona shortly after Thanksgiving and will take a low cost, off season cruise to Galveston, Texas. As of now, I have a one way ticket to Istanbul November 28 and a plan to figure out what comes next. I'll meet my Dad in France mid to late December and will meet Cheri for a flight from London to Delhi mid January. I hope to travel until May. HOPEFULLY I will hear good news about grad school before this time but we shall see.

Projects are going well. I'm still trying to balance work and planning my re-adjustment yet again.

Love to all!!

Ira

Submitted

Two days ago, I submitted my early decision application for Fall 2010 at Columbia Business School. It's been quite a process and it feels SO good to have it sumbitted. I got some editing done when not running the VAC meeting in Accra. The meeting went well but I wasn't as close to finished as I hoped I would be.

I went to Kumasi to get more internet/electricity time but the power was out for the bulk of the time I was there. I was able to edit in spurts only to wait as many as 10 hours for the power to come back. The day before the application was due, I uploaded my final essays (thanks to Rob, Justin, Gray, Will, Nick, Tycho, Cheri and Martha for their help) but couldn't upload my transcript. Though my transcript is far from the highlight of my application, it's still required. I sent a tech support request and got a reply saying that it would be processed within 4 business hours. To kill those 4 hours, I jumped on a tro to Koforidua, arrived 4 hours later and arrived at almost the exact same time as the tech support reply.

I got my application submitted a day before the deadline and recently got an update telling me that my application has been printed and is being prepared for review.

The next step will be to attend an information session in Accra on October 28. Accra is one of only 3 African cities to host a Columbia info session so I feel very lucky in that regard. The director of admissions will be in attendance so I can help her put a face to my name.

As far as PC projects, they are also going very well. When I left for my meeting, Patrick had a schedule of steps to take towards completing the school project. When I got back yesterday with 30 more bags of cement, I was happy to see that everything planned had been completed beautifully. Three carpenters were hard at work. The foundation and frame were completed and the carpenters and masons plan to work every day until the work is done. Though a construction project can't really be considered sustainable development, it's nice to know that the community worked so well together in my absence.

The bead center has taken a back seat but only needs a bit more work for completion. My Moringa farm is flourishing and I will honestly miss my trees. I've been harvesting and drying leaves but haven't found a proper market outside Bormase.

And my toe is healing quickly!!
Feeling great!!

Love to all
Ira

Hands off development

With my national VAC meeting this week and plenty of essay work to do, I've left the school and bead projects behind me. After consecutive days starting with 6am meetings and extensive organization, I've left 90 2x6 boards, 80 2x4 boards and money for ten bags of cement in Bormase.

When I return next Monday, the bulk of the frame should be completed. I sure hope it really does get complete while I'm away.

In the meantime, I'll be re-working my essays and discussing the state of Peace Corps Ghana.

I guess the whole goal of Peace Corps is to complete sustainable projects so this will be a good test.

A nice anecdote from my busy few days at site: During our second trip for wood, the driver, Patrick, a few laborors and I took a detour to visit a local waterfall. I absolutely loved the detour and the fact that none of the Ghanaians with which I went had ever seen the falls. Just before leaving, I was ushered over to a small area behind the waterfall and told that it was the meeting place of dwarves. I have heard stories from other volunteers about the invisible dwarves but I had never had the joy of hearing a first hand account.

Too much essay writing has sapped my blog writing reserves.

Love to all,

VBP and 2 years in

Two years ago today, I got off the plane with 47 other Peace Corps trainees. There are now 30 other Peace Corps Volunteers in my group and I understand why Peace Corps service is two years long.

One week ago, George and Moro from Village Bicycle Project arrived in Bormase. Despite some minor mishaps, the week has been the best of my service hands down. Last Friday morning, roughly 55 of the 101 registered bicycle recipients showed up for a 7am meeting. Each one drew a number to determine which of the five, day-long sessions they would attend. The remaining 46 participants picked their respective numbers when they had a chance and we were set for the day.

From this meeting, I joined a yelling match at the school construction site. One community did their portion of community labor and were yelling about the distribution of work. I followed what I could of the Krobo chatter until I had to go wait for the truckload of bicycles to arrive. I spent a few minutes playing with my 4 month old neighbor Sweetie (her name is Esther but everyone calls her Swee-tee). When I heard a deep grumble down the road, I took the few steps that were needed for me to see down the road. As the truck approached, people spilled out of the bush cover and cheered to no end. By the time the truck stopped beside the church (the location of the sessions) there were at least forty people, bike recipients and otherwise, waiting and helping pull bikes off.

Patrick translated for each of the five sessions as bike recipients learned basic bike maintenance. They learned how to use spanners without damaging the bicycle. They learned to change a tire and how to patch a tube. They learned to check loose bearings and how to clean and oil a chain. At the end of each day, 20 new bike owners were released to the one Bormase road. With each day, the view from my front yard/dirt was more exciting.

One Tuesday, the headmaster from the primary school stopped by and asked for a meeting. Patrick and I went from the bike session to the school to see children teaching each other to ride their new bikes. When the headmaster left for summer break, funds weren't yet approved for the school improvement project. When he came back for the first day of the new term, over 100 cement blocks were sitting in front of the school. We discussed the plans for construction and the excitement that he and his staff shared was worth the work hands down.

As Patrick and I left, we saw children teaching their friends to ride a bike. Kids that couldn't ride a bike the day prior and had something so nice to call their own were eager to share it with friends. This was also well worth the work.

On Thursday, after our second to last session, Stephen had to patch a puncture before riding the 2 hours back to Asesewa. On the way, I rode my bike while he ran along, pushing his own from behind. I thought I'd help out by holding his handlebars while riding along. This seemed like a good idea until his bike started to veer away from me and I had to drop it. --Careful if squeamish-- When I dropped Stephen's bike, I had to put my sandal-clad foot down to catch my balance. In the tenth of a second that my foot was down, the handlebar of Stephen's bike landed on my big toe. It hurt but I biked on with clenched teeth. When I passed a cyclist going the opposite direction, I noticed that he was staring at my foot. I looked down and was sure that my band-aid was about to fall off. But I didn't have a band-aid on my toe. My big toenail had been ripped off and was flapping by a small bit of skin.

I'm OK now but was in a bit of shock for a moment. A little chunk of nail bed came away with the nail and I was bleeding quite a bit. My shower/dishes bucket became my foot soaking bucket. Stephen helped cut the nail away and we both tried to scrub away the clotted blood before realizing that the color difference was due to the depth of the cut. OUCH!!! I almost puked/passed out at that point.


Yesterday, we finished the bike project. Short of a few serious sneezing fits I've had in the past, I've never had so many people bless me in such a short period of time. I have never felt so good in Bormase. George and Moro left with a trunkful of plantains and yams.


I'm in Accra now, my toe feels good (looks awful) and I just had a great chat with a business school contact. Definitely straddling two worlds at the moment but absolutely loving it.

I will keep you all updated as things progress.

Love to all!!
Ira

All at once

When I was getting advice about readjusting to American culture, I didn't think that I'd be doing so much of it while still in Ghana.

Last Friday, I met with chiefs and elders to discuss the proper approach for the school project. I realize that while I kept the prospective project secret from the village (in case it didn't come through in time) I may have also kept it out of my blog entries.

The 52 year old Bormase Roman Catholic Primary School still consists of it's original cement block building. The building is partitioned into two classrooms for Kindergarten through P6. Over 100 students learn either in this building or under trees or makeshift thatch structures. This recent proposal covers the cost of the construction of three additional classrooms. On Monday, Patrick and I came to Koforidua to purchase 30 bags of cement and 15 nineteen foot iron rods. I shelled out almost 1,000 cedis in one day and felt odd fitting the Obruni stereotype of having money and throwing it around building schools.

While Patrick and I were in Koforidua, 40 community members convened and worked throughout the day collecting sand to be used on cement block construction. Tuesday and Wednesday were for bock construction. Tomorrow, I'll shift gears and greet the Village Bicycle Project and the 101 bicycles that have been paid for by Bormase community members.

Most of next week will be spent in classes of 20, teaching basic maintenance to every new bike owner. The bead structure is still under construction and my first business school application is due in less than one month.

I ordered a transcript and had an official score reported to Columbia today. Talk about having a foot in two different worlds. I've been working on essays when not running around the village on errands.

I'm sending all remaining energy towards the implosion of the Rockies and the appearance of a Giants offense.
It's hectic now but SO worth it.

Will keep you all updated on the progress.

Love to all,
Ira