A real deal meal

While in the north, Cheri and I saw some of her neighbors peeling what
appeared to be good large potatoes. Having eaten our share of various
yam varieties over the last year, we were ready to pick up some normal
potatoes and maybe make some french fries for a snack. Cheri's
assemblyman assured us that the legumes were to bitter to eat and he
showed us the traditional way the food is prepared. The food is pealed
and ground very fine before being soaked in water. The water is poured
out and the process is repeated until the bitterness is gone. The
remaining gooey white starch is then fried and eaten with some variety
of oily soup (that can be assumed in Ghana). Feeling adventurous,
Cheri and I bought one of the "potatoes" along with a sweet potato and
were ready to see what we could manage.

After frying and seasoning the tuber, we served it up and were ready
to give it a shot. Before biting down, the oil and seasoning had me
convinced that we had done a good job. I wasn't even able to chew the
failed french fry twice before spitting it out. The Assemblyman was
right, this food was FAR too bitter to eat as it was. Rather than
feeling defeated, I was deeply impressed with the effort and
determination that must be put into food preparation in such an
unforgiving climate.

A few days later, as I sat in Accra on the day before Thanksgiving, I
couldn't help but marvel at the stark difference between North and
South. I had a cheeseburger for lunch and for sheer novelty sake, a
group of us ate cat kebabs for dinner (it's not commonly available but
a restaurant owner offered to make some for us). Within an hour of our
cat kebab feast, two bloodied volunteers came into the Swissrest
(Peace Corps bunk room in Accra) to tell us that they had been walking
down the road and not 50 meters from the entrance to the Swissrest, a
man leaned out of the passenger window of a car and grabbed the bag of
a 60 year old volunteer. The volunteer walking next to the victim
instantly tried to grab the bag back and the two men were drug on the
road alongside the car for 20-30 feet as it sped off with bag in tow.
This happened at 7pm with a number of cars and onlookers around. Never
a dull moment.

With no serious physical damage, the two scraped up volunteers joined
as 36 volunteers joined the embassy workers, Fullbright Scholars and
Marines at the Ambassador's house for Thanksgiving dinner. We arrived
a little after noon and were treated to juice, beer wine and hors d
oeuvres and were given access to the swimming pool. One volunteer
drank too much and another walked around the outdoor dining area with
bare feet while wearing only swim trunks but all around the day was
great. The Ambassador has spent 23 years in the foreign service and
has just begun his first stint as an Ambassador. His friend and former
boss (the Ambassador to South Africa) was also in attendance and
offered interesting insight to the upcoming election and World Cup in
South Africa.

Dinner was server at around 2pm and there was more than enough food
for the sixty guests. We ate Turkey with stuffing and three types of
gravy. We had green beans, mashed potatoes, salad, cornbread and a
corn pudding that was based on the Ambassador's wife's family recipe.
I ate two servings while sitting next to and chatting with the
Ambassador before he got up and urged the cooking staff to provide
dessert. We ate pumpkin pie, pecan pie and a type of chocolate cake
before all was said and done. While chatting with the various guests,
I met my host for the evening and at around 4:30pm, a fellow volunteer
and I left the festivities behind. Our Country Director set up lodging for all volunteers so I shared a home with a fellow volunteer, a USAID worker and the worker's two children. Ms. Friedman, our host, had been working for USAID in Ghana for 4 months and was a very gracious host. In fact, we lucked out to the point that we were guests for a second turkey dinner. Families streamed in throughout the evening and by dinner time, I had shared Peace Corps stories with three RPCVs and chatted with spouses from Sierra Leone, Angola and the UK. We talked about Peace Corps life and we talked about life in the world of development work. Perhaps the most interesting part of the evening was sitting between children and adults at the dinner table (more Turkey, stuffing etc. to the point that I was happily ready to burst) and hearing how the children would complain about the prospect of visiting Kente cloth villages and bead making sites because they'd be away from friends and perhaps out of cell phone coverage. I guess you can take the teen out of America without changing the priorities.

The day after Thanksgiving started with real coffee and a bowl of cereal with cold milk (luxury!!) and was followed by a meeting with another former Peace Corps Volunteer. For a few months, I have traded e-mails with my APCD, fellow volunteers and an RPCV from the late 60's regarding a halfway house in Accra. The RPCV has lived throughout Africa for around thirty years and is now starting a halfway house in Accra and hopes to receive help from current volunteers. Travis and I met this man and discussed the prospect of introducing snail rearing, mushroom cultivation and the growing of Moringa. The goal is to establish a safe place for recovering alcoholics to stay while providing them with income generating activities. The idea seems feasible but between a day at the Ambassador's house and a day with a well established RPCV with expendible income for projects, I started to lose my bearing regarding capacity building and low income projects. I had a great time and did my best to put weight back on (I'm still 18 lbs. lighter than I was when I arrived) but I was very ready to get back to Bormase.

I spent two days in Bormase before returning to Accra for mid-service medical. I've now spent three days providing one urine sample, three stool samples and receiving my first dental cleaning in 16 months. From here, I'm headed to the all volunteer conference near the training site in Kukurantumi where we'll all be consolidated in preparation for any problems related to the December 7th election. I predict a run-off but hope for no serious problems. At this point, all one can do is hope that things run smoothly and that peace is maintained.

That's all for now.
Love to all
Ira