Things are going much better since my so sad posting about my holidays. I made it back to site and got back to work. Being back to a normal schedule has really helped my attitude. Shortly after I returned was when I got all my ant, bed bug, and mosquito bites. I had a small ant bite on my big toe that I didn't even realized I had scratched. Well the scratch turned into a small scab. Small scab turned into a toe infection that caused my whole foot to swell up so big I couldn't bent my toe at all, or hardly walk for that matter. Along with the foot swelling came a fever of 102 degrees. The toe went from having a small scab to swollen and fever in a matter of 4 or 5 hours. At this point, in the middle of the night, I pulled out my flash light (because the electricity was off) to take a look at this toe of mine. My whole toe was read and all around the scab was gray. It was really cute! So I popped it (I'm sure all of you really want to read the next few details!) and puss and blood came gushing out. I cleaned it up as best I could and put a bandaid on it. By morning the fever broke and since then the swelling has slowly gone down. So what was my first near death experience in Ghana has become a serious lesson learned: don't let cuts "breath" in Ghana! Otherwise... you could end up losing a limb... or at least a toe!
Well, I'm going to get back to work now! I have to figure out a way of teaching a community that lives on stilts (Nzulezo) to dispose of trash in a way other than throwing it in the water. If they continue what they are doing much longer they won't be living in water anymore... only trash!
I miss you all!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Hand in Hand! (A lesson on culture)
God's in Ghana!... he's everywhere here! He is plastered on every taxi and tro tro (van taxi). He is in every house on cheap plastic toys. He is in the title of every salon, small shop, chop bar (restaurant), spot (bar), or seamstress. These are in fact the only 5 things you will find in Ghana because the word "entrepreneur" does not exist. If it hasn't been done 1,000 times, successfully nonetheless, then no Ghanaina will attempt it. I suppose that makes sense because Ghanainans never try new things. Anyways, Religion is very important in Ghana! So I've started going to church now, as you can read about in my last blog!
For those of you reading, if you are planning to visit, or someday find yourself in Ghana their are a few things you should be prepared for. As most of you know, you eat with your hands....well hand. You never use your left hand, it is used for one thing and one thing only, wiping! Use your right hand to wave, shake hands, exchange money or goods. If you ever have to use your left you should say, "Pardon the left!" Another interesting cultural difference, Ghanaians have spots (or bars) and chop bars (or restaurants) , normally they don't eat and drink together though. Also, they drink in the morning more often here than in the states. It is not uncommon to see men holding hands here, or women holding hands, but rarely will you see a man and woman holding hands. Public display of affection is very taboo in Ghana. Also, being gay or lesbian is against the law, so same sex hand holding is a symbol of friendship. It's really taken some getting used to!
When you arrive in Ghana say hello to everyone. Greeting is a sign of respect here, and not greeting someone is considered extremely rude. Typically when you greet them you will shake their hand, and when Ghanaians shake hands they can tend to shake for an uncomfortably long time. Be warned, if you begin walking while in the middle of the Ghanaian extended hand shake it will often turn into holding hands. Another important fact about the Ghanaian hand shake is the snap. As your hands begin to separate at the end of the shake, your middle finger and thumb will snap off of theirs. This is typically done between close friends, so don't take offense if you don't get a snap. Ghanaians are also very close talkers and a good way to add distance in a conversation is to embrace the long shake and use it to push back. Be careful though, they can trick you and use it to pull in! Women, beware! If you are shaking a man's hand and he scratches your palm with his finger while shaking your hand, pull it away and smack him. That is his disgusting way of saying he want to do much more to you than shake your hand. Ladies, also be prepared to be proposed to....ALOT! But mainly, be prepared to meet some of the nicest, most caring, and genuine people you will ever meet. I'll just leave that at that! If you are going to have more than a greeting on the street, say a sit down conversation, their is a customary introduction you must know. You will enter the room and shake everyone's hand from the right to the left as you greet them. Next you will sit down and greet the group as a whole, introduce yourself, then state your mission, or why you've come. They will welcome you and then they will stand and shake everyone's hand. You are then free to have your conversation, which will usually take place over some sort of alcoholic beverage, apateshie, palm wine, or gin. You must thank them and say good bye before shaking hands your final time. Good byes can often be 2, 3, or even 4 hand shacks long. Well on that note, I will say my good bye... so until my next blog! Stay safe, happy, and healthy!
For those of you reading, if you are planning to visit, or someday find yourself in Ghana their are a few things you should be prepared for. As most of you know, you eat with your hands....well hand. You never use your left hand, it is used for one thing and one thing only, wiping! Use your right hand to wave, shake hands, exchange money or goods. If you ever have to use your left you should say, "Pardon the left!" Another interesting cultural difference, Ghanaians have spots (or bars) and chop bars (or restaurants) , normally they don't eat and drink together though. Also, they drink in the morning more often here than in the states. It is not uncommon to see men holding hands here, or women holding hands, but rarely will you see a man and woman holding hands. Public display of affection is very taboo in Ghana. Also, being gay or lesbian is against the law, so same sex hand holding is a symbol of friendship. It's really taken some getting used to!
When you arrive in Ghana say hello to everyone. Greeting is a sign of respect here, and not greeting someone is considered extremely rude. Typically when you greet them you will shake their hand, and when Ghanaians shake hands they can tend to shake for an uncomfortably long time. Be warned, if you begin walking while in the middle of the Ghanaian extended hand shake it will often turn into holding hands. Another important fact about the Ghanaian hand shake is the snap. As your hands begin to separate at the end of the shake, your middle finger and thumb will snap off of theirs. This is typically done between close friends, so don't take offense if you don't get a snap. Ghanaians are also very close talkers and a good way to add distance in a conversation is to embrace the long shake and use it to push back. Be careful though, they can trick you and use it to pull in! Women, beware! If you are shaking a man's hand and he scratches your palm with his finger while shaking your hand, pull it away and smack him. That is his disgusting way of saying he want to do much more to you than shake your hand. Ladies, also be prepared to be proposed to....ALOT! But mainly, be prepared to meet some of the nicest, most caring, and genuine people you will ever meet. I'll just leave that at that! If you are going to have more than a greeting on the street, say a sit down conversation, their is a customary introduction you must know. You will enter the room and shake everyone's hand from the right to the left as you greet them. Next you will sit down and greet the group as a whole, introduce yourself, then state your mission, or why you've come. They will welcome you and then they will stand and shake everyone's hand. You are then free to have your conversation, which will usually take place over some sort of alcoholic beverage, apateshie, palm wine, or gin. You must thank them and say good bye before shaking hands your final time. Good byes can often be 2, 3, or even 4 hand shacks long. Well on that note, I will say my good bye... so until my next blog! Stay safe, happy, and healthy!
I'm seeing red...
Well I'm seeing red dots all over, my holiday present from Ghana were ant bites, bed bug bites, and heat rash. But I made it through the holidays, and that's something to be happy about. I can't say they were my best, but they sure were memorable, and I learned a lot.
I would like to apologized for the lack of photos on this posting. It seems my idea of posting pictures on my blog won't work due to the fact my camera was stolen two nights after Christmas. I will explain that later though!
Christmas Eve was the beginning of my holidays and challenges. Midnight mass! Those of you who know me know that I've never been much of a church goer. However, respected community members are church goers, therefore I am a church goer. I came here to live the way Ghanaians live, I've decided that just living is enough at this point, any way I can. So I've decided to immerse myself in the culture, and a very big part of culture here is religion. My small village happens to have one small church, Saint Matthia's Catholic Church, it is the largest building in my village. (Insert picture of my church here) I normally arrive at church promptly at 9:00Am and it starts promptly between 9:30 and 10:30. The whole service is in Nzema, so I typically daze off and watch the kids, who all sit close to me so they can shake my had, or I watch the old ladies doze off, only waking up to wipe their sweat with small neatly folded white hankies. I have become a small hankie carrier also! Anyways, we normally have 3 to 4 collections which are somewhat different than in the states. Instead of passing the collection plate around, they put a plastic bowl in the front of the church and we dance up to it to make our donations. Well, Christmas Eve midnight mass started at 9:00 PM and apparently I didn't get the memo, I was supposed to bring a food donation for Christmas. Tonight everyone brought eggs, rice, plantains, etc instead of money. Mass ended at midnight and I headed home!
My next big feat was surviving Christmas day, which was surprisingly easy! I went to mass once again, and once again did not get the memo! Apparently everyone wears white to mass on Christmas morning, I decided to wear my best bright blue Ghanaian dress and stick out like a sore thumb... as if I didn't already! Besides being at church on a Tuesday I would've never known that it was Christmas. After church I walked around town and greeted people. I spent my evening packing for my 2 day trip to Accra. I took a break from packing to enjoy our Christmas feast of a dinner, I mean I ate banque and fish again. My day was made when I got to call my friends and family and hear about their holidays though!
With Christmas down, I just had New Years to go! The morning of December 26, or "Boxing Day" in Ghana, I decided to head to the capital, Accra, to pick up my boxes. I left at 5AM and managed to make it to Accra in the early afternoon. With little cash on me I went to the Peace Corps bunks and stayed there to wait for the banks to open in the morning. In the morning I made it to the banks and ran some errands with Carolyn, my PCV buddy. We enjoyed American food and conversations about diarrhea, food, and gossip, as most Peace Corps conversations go. That night we went to Champs for a trivia game and an expensive American meal. When I was leaving the restaurant I walked down a back road to get a taxi just past dark, and a man came up behind me and took my bag. He snatched it right off my shoulder and jumped a fence. The whole thing happened so fast I didn't even know what had happened till I realized I was now missing my camera, cell phone, and some cash. I never even got to look at the guy. With my remaining 3 dollars I went back to the Peace Corps bunks. The next morning I went to the office and reported the crime to the Peace Corps only to learn they can't reimburse me for any of my losses. After I made the report I checked my mail and have to admit, they came at the perfect time! I had 5 packages waiting for me, full of candy, books, CDs, lights, pictures, egg nog, and money... just enough to replace my cell phone. I spent the rest of the afternoon going to the bank, and buying a new phone. I left the next morning and headed back to site for the New Years festival.
I made it home and relaxed for a few days and went to work. New Years Eve meant midnight mass again, and what do you know, I missed another memo! I guess I was supposed to bring a candle, because we were going to do a parade through town, dancing, candles, and singing (in a language I don't know!) So I had to explain why I didn't have a candle... Ghanaians always seem shocked that we don't do things the same exact way as them in America. So I did my shuffle my feet and sway dance through town, with every 15, 16, and 17 year old girl wanting to dance near me and be my best friend. We finally made it back to the church and lit a huge bonfire (well really it was only about 12 feet, small to any Aggie!) The fire was lit and followed by... big surprise.... more singing and dancing! We went back into the church and the service continued and we prayed till midnight when we all shook hands. In the morning it was back to mass for me! Can't wait for the holidays to be over just so I can get a break from church! After mass we relaxed for a few hours before I headed to the big festival 2 villages away. I got there and about 20 drunken Ghanaians rushed up excited to see me and asking if I would take pictures with them. The photographer started taking pictures and the situation quickly got out of control. Before I knew it standing next to me went to hugging me in pictures. Someone tried to kiss me on the cheek in a picture and I pushed them away very mad. (I found that you have to set the limits, early and straight with Ghanaians) So I started pushing all 20 of them off of me and I felt hands grabbing me all over. As soon as I got out of the crowd I headed back to my house more frustrated than ever. I stayed in my village away from my only friends in the country to celebrate this big festival with my community who got drunk and tried to take advantage of me. I left before the festival even began.
So my holidays were a flop! But I'm looking forward to life getting back to some sort of a normal schedule. I hope everyones holidays were better in the states!
I would like to apologized for the lack of photos on this posting. It seems my idea of posting pictures on my blog won't work due to the fact my camera was stolen two nights after Christmas. I will explain that later though!
Christmas Eve was the beginning of my holidays and challenges. Midnight mass! Those of you who know me know that I've never been much of a church goer. However, respected community members are church goers, therefore I am a church goer. I came here to live the way Ghanaians live, I've decided that just living is enough at this point, any way I can. So I've decided to immerse myself in the culture, and a very big part of culture here is religion. My small village happens to have one small church, Saint Matthia's Catholic Church, it is the largest building in my village. (Insert picture of my church here) I normally arrive at church promptly at 9:00Am and it starts promptly between 9:30 and 10:30. The whole service is in Nzema, so I typically daze off and watch the kids, who all sit close to me so they can shake my had, or I watch the old ladies doze off, only waking up to wipe their sweat with small neatly folded white hankies. I have become a small hankie carrier also! Anyways, we normally have 3 to 4 collections which are somewhat different than in the states. Instead of passing the collection plate around, they put a plastic bowl in the front of the church and we dance up to it to make our donations. Well, Christmas Eve midnight mass started at 9:00 PM and apparently I didn't get the memo, I was supposed to bring a food donation for Christmas. Tonight everyone brought eggs, rice, plantains, etc instead of money. Mass ended at midnight and I headed home!
My next big feat was surviving Christmas day, which was surprisingly easy! I went to mass once again, and once again did not get the memo! Apparently everyone wears white to mass on Christmas morning, I decided to wear my best bright blue Ghanaian dress and stick out like a sore thumb... as if I didn't already! Besides being at church on a Tuesday I would've never known that it was Christmas. After church I walked around town and greeted people. I spent my evening packing for my 2 day trip to Accra. I took a break from packing to enjoy our Christmas feast of a dinner, I mean I ate banque and fish again. My day was made when I got to call my friends and family and hear about their holidays though!
With Christmas down, I just had New Years to go! The morning of December 26, or "Boxing Day" in Ghana, I decided to head to the capital, Accra, to pick up my boxes. I left at 5AM and managed to make it to Accra in the early afternoon. With little cash on me I went to the Peace Corps bunks and stayed there to wait for the banks to open in the morning. In the morning I made it to the banks and ran some errands with Carolyn, my PCV buddy. We enjoyed American food and conversations about diarrhea, food, and gossip, as most Peace Corps conversations go. That night we went to Champs for a trivia game and an expensive American meal. When I was leaving the restaurant I walked down a back road to get a taxi just past dark, and a man came up behind me and took my bag. He snatched it right off my shoulder and jumped a fence. The whole thing happened so fast I didn't even know what had happened till I realized I was now missing my camera, cell phone, and some cash. I never even got to look at the guy. With my remaining 3 dollars I went back to the Peace Corps bunks. The next morning I went to the office and reported the crime to the Peace Corps only to learn they can't reimburse me for any of my losses. After I made the report I checked my mail and have to admit, they came at the perfect time! I had 5 packages waiting for me, full of candy, books, CDs, lights, pictures, egg nog, and money... just enough to replace my cell phone. I spent the rest of the afternoon going to the bank, and buying a new phone. I left the next morning and headed back to site for the New Years festival.
I made it home and relaxed for a few days and went to work. New Years Eve meant midnight mass again, and what do you know, I missed another memo! I guess I was supposed to bring a candle, because we were going to do a parade through town, dancing, candles, and singing (in a language I don't know!) So I had to explain why I didn't have a candle... Ghanaians always seem shocked that we don't do things the same exact way as them in America. So I did my shuffle my feet and sway dance through town, with every 15, 16, and 17 year old girl wanting to dance near me and be my best friend. We finally made it back to the church and lit a huge bonfire (well really it was only about 12 feet, small to any Aggie!) The fire was lit and followed by... big surprise.... more singing and dancing! We went back into the church and the service continued and we prayed till midnight when we all shook hands. In the morning it was back to mass for me! Can't wait for the holidays to be over just so I can get a break from church! After mass we relaxed for a few hours before I headed to the big festival 2 villages away. I got there and about 20 drunken Ghanaians rushed up excited to see me and asking if I would take pictures with them. The photographer started taking pictures and the situation quickly got out of control. Before I knew it standing next to me went to hugging me in pictures. Someone tried to kiss me on the cheek in a picture and I pushed them away very mad. (I found that you have to set the limits, early and straight with Ghanaians) So I started pushing all 20 of them off of me and I felt hands grabbing me all over. As soon as I got out of the crowd I headed back to my house more frustrated than ever. I stayed in my village away from my only friends in the country to celebrate this big festival with my community who got drunk and tried to take advantage of me. I left before the festival even began.
So my holidays were a flop! But I'm looking forward to life getting back to some sort of a normal schedule. I hope everyones holidays were better in the states!
Friday, December 21, 2007
My first 3 months in Ghana!
I have been in Ghana, West Africa for just over 3 months now. I am finally getting a feel for life here, both it's struggles and it's beauty. After a long plane trip from Philadelphia to New York to Germany, to Africa.... around 14 hours in all we made it to our final destination. I arrived here September 17th to a warm greeting by Peace Corps Volunteers from all over Ghana, as well as a police escort to our hotel. We spent one week at the capital and in that time had a welcoming party put on by the U
S Ambassador of Ghana! The picture to the right are 5 studly men from our training group at the Ambassadors palace!(Left to right is: Eric, Blake, Darren, Joe, and Mike) All looking much thinner and hairier at this point! From there our class of 48 went to Valley View University where we stayed one week.Our next stop on our 27 m
onth stay in Ghana was to our homestay families that we would spend the next 10 weeks of training living with. I lived with a family in Nsuta, right outside of Techiman. They were a wonderful family and took me in with loving arms. I had 3 siblings, 2 brothers, Hilfor and Rich, and a 6 year old sister, Michelle.Every Thursday afternoon and all day Fridays we would go to the Dery Hotel for training and medical as a group. All in all, we probably got about 15 shots total!
We had language and sector training on Mondays through Thursdays. I am learning to speak Nzema, which is a language spoken in the Western region. The Western Region is on the coast and the boarder of the Ivory Coast. We graduated from training on November 27th! 
It was a great day, we had a dancing group, drumming group, we all did skits in our language we were learning. Our homestay families came to watch us swear-in and we had lunch with them, followed by massive amounts of pictures! That night we did some serious partying that night before saying our very sad good byes and heading to our sites. I have to admit, leaving o
ur group of now 42 to head off to Ghana alone was much harder than I thought it would be. It was scary to leave the only safe place we knew. Before going to site though me and 3 friends decided to head to the beach for some well needed R&R! We went to Cape Coast and laid on the beach. In all the excitement I forgot that we are now right on the equator with a much stronger sun and was burnt to a crisp. From Cape Coast we headed east to Accra, the capital of Ghana. Ghana is known to have the best night life in all of West Africa so we hit the clubs. They were nothing like America that's for sure! Occasionally we would hear songs from America but mainly reggae! After Accra we had to say good byes again... and really get to site. It has been difficult adapting to a new way of life. Time goes by slower here, it means nothing to them. One of the hardest challenges I have had to face is lear
ning how to slow down. Meeting times are set and I am always there early, and my supervisor Cynthia will often arrive hours late. I eat fish and banque every night. The fish is fried, and eaten whole, skin, bones, and all. Banque is made of plantains, and fermented corn, it is pounded into a dough and has a very sour taste. I was nauseated by it at first but am finally becoming accustom to eating it every night. We drink water our of bags if we buy it on the street. They are called water sachets, or pure water by the locals. Come to think of it, we drink and eat everything from bags, water, street food, even shots of liquor. I have been very fortunate to stay healthy while in Ghana, a lot of the PCV have had what we call GT or Ghana Tummy.... sever diarrhea. Many of our guys have lost anywhere from 10-30 pounds.
My site is beautiful! I will be living in a small town called Elloyin for the next two years. It is two villages west of Beyin. Beyin is the closest village to Nzulezo...the village on stilts. My village is very welcoming and excited to have me there. The kids all call me "boofalet" which is Nzema for "white girl". I have been in my village now for 3 weeks and they are finally starting to call me "Yaba", which is my name in my village and means "Thursday born". The ones who don't call my by my name are at least calling me "my boofalet".I am very lucky to have running water and electricity.... sometimes! I live with my landlord, his name is Ateiko. He is 63 years old and is the town doctor. He is also a community elder, which means he is respected and any problems in the village are brought to him and the council of elders. He has been my life savor the past few weeks, introducing me to essential people in the community, teaching more Nzema, and keeping the village scum away from my door.
In my free time I like to work in my garden.... it's my only escape from Ghana. I have
a lot of work to do though, as of right now it is the town dump. I have been burning and burying the trash and it is finally starting to look like a garden. I planted my seeds in empty water sachets and they are just now starting to sprout. Hopefully I will have some fresh vegetables soon. It is so funny to see the reaction of the Ghanaians when I work in the garden.... they say I am strong and hardworking. When I start to sweat they ask if I am tired and try to get me to stop. Of course it only takes 5 minutes to start sweating! It is December and it is in the 90s! Last night it was so hot that I had to sleep on my concrete floor to stop sweating long enough to fall asleep. It's strange living in an endless summer! I'm looking forward to Christmas though, and our New Years festival in my village. I can't wait to post again and tell you all about it!Until next time, I hope everyone reading this has happy holidays and stays safe!
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