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.