Just because you can doesn't mean that you should

I've grown so accustomed to trying new things and living in sub-standard conditions that I occasionally find myself coping with situations that should not be acceptable.

Living with a dog in a house in the bush makes housekeeping difficult. I've never been the biggest stickler in regards to the cleanliness of my personal space. In Bormase, when the wind blows, dust flies through my windows and into every corner of every room. Kua is constantly tracking dirt through the house. When I take my bucket bath and walk across the dirt courtyard in my shower shoes, I inevitably track more dirt into my living quarters. The mice in my ceiling and the spiders in the corners work ceaselessly in what seems to be an effort at diversifying my mess. Why should I sweep every day when the same amount of dirt will show up the very next morning?

In order to avoid GI issues and possible other ailments, it is highly advisable that I filter my drinking water. Of course I filter my drinking water. I don't think I'll ever get complacent in regards to stomach issues. My health has been mostly good while in Ghana. Those issues that I have run across have not been due to unclean water. However, since I use my water barrel as a water catchment system and am constantly filtering rain water, my filter gets very dirty in short order. In order to properly clean the filter, I have to remove the ceramic candle filter wands and submerse them in boiling water. I then have to scrub the slime and other filth from both candles before returning them to their home inside the blue plastic filter. As long as I filled the filter before bed and after making breakfast, I would normally have drinking water whenever I needed it.

This past weekend, I traveled north to Tamale in order to celebrate Cheri's birthday. Cheri set up the event in such a way that the group in attendance could hang out at a swimming pool during the day and eat dog meat for dinner. Unfortunately, the swimming pool was closed on the proposed day so we were left with dog as the main event. Five of us went to the "chop bar," or culinary establishment so we could order the food. We were all excited in theory. Many of our friends had eaten dog previously and raved about it. I ate cat in Accra and when it was handed to me in kebab form, I didn't think twice.

While waiting to place our order, we saw several dogs led into the establishment by chain leashes. We didn't see any of the dogs slaughtered or mistreated but the illusion of eating just any old meat was completely gone. If I had to see cows led to the slaughter before eating a steak or burger, the experience would be different from going through the drive-through but this was different. A man passed with a large metal bowl of meat balanced atop his head. In Ghana, this is anything but weird until you see paws and tails hanging over the lip of the bowl. I was beginning to lose my nerve.

The five of us each drank a calabash of pito before traveling to meet our other friends for the feast. I ate one small, unidentified piece and could barely hold it down. Pulling the skin from the meat and crunching bones between my teeth made my come to the brink of retching on my occasions.

Sure, I can live in a dirty house and wait ten hours while my water is filtered. I can eat bush rat, pigeon, cat and dog. I'm living in Africa so I might as well milk the experience for everything it's worth, right? Normally, I think that it's great to get the most out of an experience but once I cleaned my house, got a new filter and ate dog, I realized that balancing comfort and adventure can be very important. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will not eat dog again. It tasted great but made me want to puke. With my new filter, I can drink a full liter of water when thirsty and have more water within minutes. Also, while I won't buy a generator just so I can vacuum my house, I will definitely sweep more often. Sure it will get dirty again but for a short time, it'll be clean and I won't have to wear sandals inside.

That's all for now. Enjoy what you have!

Love to all!
Ira