A few things about Ghana and my life these days

These are things that I see/do on a daily basis that I just wanted to let everyone else know about while they still seem new to me before it becomes natural. It's the things that I am about to tell you about that make me laugh everyday and really make me enjoy my time here.

1. Pointing out the blatantly obvious is not only done regularly but it is pretty much expected, and no one will make fun of anyone for doing so. Example: I was washing my clothes the other day (picture clothes in bucket of soapy water, me physically scrubbing my clothes) and 4 different people came through my yard. Each and every one of them said something along the lines of “Oh, you are washing your clothes.” I tend to be a bit on the sarcastic side so I really had to restrain myself from saying “Nope.” This could be about anything from eating to going to take a bath.
2. That brings me to my second point. Sarcasm is not understood here. At all.
3. Relating back to point 1: people repeat 50% of what you say back to you. Example: I say, “I am going home.” Someone replies, “You are going home?” At first I thought people were mocking me, then I realized that this was their normal conversation pattern, and then my sense of sarcasm kicked in…
4. “I’m coming.” In the states this could have many meanings, but usually you say it when you are physically going towards a person like if they ask you for help you could say “I’m coming” as you actually get up to go and help them. In Ghana it is a little bit different. “I’m coming” actually means the person is leaving you. For example, say you are having a conversation with someone and they have to go and do something, they would say, “I’m coming” as they are actually physically walking away from you. It is also perfectly acceptable to use this line of a person who is trying to sell you something that you don’t want to buy. Just say “I’m coming” as you wave, keep walking, and never come back.
5. One phrase that makes me laugh every time I hear it is, “Are you sure?” I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I’m pretty sure it is meant as a joke in most situations? A person would say this to you after you make a statement (serious or not serious) and they either don’t believe you or want to pretend they don’t believe you. Either way I think it’s hilarious.
6. I also really enjoy the rhetorical questions. People tend to use them a lot when they are giving lectures, speeches, or giving you information of some sort. They pose the question and then immediately answer it.
7. For those of you who still have a hard time differentiating between your left and right (be honest) just come to Ghana for a few months and you’ll be sure to figure it out. In this country (not sure if it’s in other countries also) it is VERY disrespectful to engage other people with your left hand. You would never give them anything, take anything, gesture towards them, or sometimes even eat/drink with your left hand. If it just so happens that your right hand is busy (covered in food, crippled, holding something) you have a few options. You can use your left hand if you say “sorry left”, or cross your left arm with your right arm to signify that you know it isn’t right. This has become almost second nature now, and I quickly notice when I see people using their left hand inappropriately like in movies.
8. The logos and phrases I see on clothes are phenomenal! I notice great ones almost everyday but I quickly forget. Some of the ones I remember seeing are Aldis (for my Buffalonians), Phillips, Playboy (always makes me laugh), other sexual comments which I will not include, Gucci, Vogue, Northface, and many more.
9. Dis ting. What is a dis ting you might ask? Well you see the meaning is constantly changing. Dis ting is a phrase used for almost anything imaginable that you either don’t know the word for or have forgotten the word at that time. For example: “I bought some of the dis tings at the dis tings, but I didn’t see the dis tings.” Translates into: “I bought some of the rice at the market, but I didn’t see the cucumbers.” This might be a little dramatic and it’s usually only used once in a sentence and you have to try and figure out what the person is talking about. I have heard it said multiple times though and there’s just no way to make any sense of what the person has just tried to tell you. It is kind of like how we say “whatcha-ma-call-it” except we would stumble and try to explain the noun we were referring to. Not here. They just move on like that is a perfectly acceptable thing to call whatever they are talking about without even the slightest worry that you won’t be able to figure it out.
10. Finger snapping. I suck at this. In Ghana, it is customary to shake hands with people a lot. This would be fine except then you are expected to finish this hand shake with a joint snap. As you are releasing the other person’s hand, you grab onto their middle finger, and you both use the other person’s finger as the starting point for your snap. I’m terrible at it. I can only get it about 70% of the time.
11. Speaking of handshakes, they aren’t always “normal” handshakes. In the states we do maybe between one and four shakes (unless we’re realllllyyy excited about something). Here it is more of a hand holding while you talk to the person. This includes greetings, questions, random conversations, political matters, the weather, etc. This hand shaking process can take anywhere from 2 seconds (if you’re lucky) to 10 minutes if they are also trying to get your phone number and request your hand in marriage….
12. This brings me to my next point. Never did I ever imagine that I would have so many marriage proposals at the young age of 21. I think the most I got was 5 in one day when there was a funeral in town. I have come up with a number of strategic way to diffuse the situations including “I’m married”, “Ok sure, pay my father 500 cows”, “I don’t know how to cook or clean”. Along with many other lines that only work sometimes.
13.  “You are invited.” This is a statement that you will always hear when food is being served. The person is inviting you to come and share the food that they are eating. Usually the person invited doesn’t actually go and eat unless this was a previously planned thing, or they are really close. If you don’t invite those around you to your food it can be taken as offensive in some cases. The response, if you are not going to eat, translates to “I am satisfied” or literally to “My stomach is full” depending on the language.
14. Taxi and tro (small busses) rides. Taxis are made to hold 5 people (4 passengers and the driver) and tros are usually made to hold 12 people (11 passengers and the driver – except for some larger tros). These are basically just guidelines though which are rarely followed. Drivers will try to fit in as many people as physically possible before they are satisfied. So most of the taxis are very small cars that hold 3 people in the back and then have two bucket seats in the front. I’ve been in several cars with 4 people in the back, and 3 people in the front which means 2 people are squeezed into one bucket seat – I’ve heard it gets worse than this though. The most people I have ever been in a tro with is 18… it was tight.
15.  “Snot rockets.” I don’t know what else to call this without using this slang term, but for those of you who don’t know what snot rockets are it is when a person turns their head (sometimes), plugs one side of their nose with their finger and blows the other side onto the ground, and then usually repeats this process for the other side. Not only is this habit extremely common here, it is also perfectly acceptable to do in all situations. Along with buggers, let’s talk about picking your nose. Also extremely common, and perfectly acceptable at all time. 

Well that it’s for now. I hope that these aren’t all things that you have to personally experience in order to find amusing. Welcome to my life!

Care Packages!

Ok so many of you have been asking about care packages… so here it is.

I have been told that the best way to send things in through the US Post Office (if you know of a better way let me know). You can get flat rate boxes and they are the cheapest for me to pick up (I have to pay to pick them up). I’m not really sure how it works, but I understand that they can run on the pricey side? Maybe it could be a birthday (November)/Christmas type thing? You can also send padded envelopes for much cheaper if the item isn’t fragile. I know there’s a list of things you’re not allowed to send through the mail, but you’d have to check with the post office to find out what that is.

So I’m definitely not suffering over here by any means but there are a few things that would be nice to have. Feel free to choose anything from this list or get creative!

Be sure to write “AIR MAIL” on anything you send and when writing the contents of the package write “used” for everything – I guess this makes it less likely for people to try and steal? But I’m not really sure if that’s true.

Please comment as to what you are sending so I don’t get duplicates of things like books or anything else I wouldn’t want multiples of. Most of the stuff I’ll always be able to use though.

Address:
Samantha Bobbe, PCV

Peace Corps Ghana

P.O. Box 5796

Accra-North, Ghana

West Africa

Stuff for the kids in town:

-children’s books

-coloring books with colored pencils

-the school age girls are required to shave their heads so hair accessories are out, BUT they all have their ears pierced so earrings are in

-toys – they really like little knick knack type toys

-learning games

-that colored string to make friendship type bracelets

-bubbles

-nail polish

For me:

-dry soup mixes that come in the bags and you just add water and boil

-stuff to make s’mores, or candy in general. The chocolate here is terrible

-powered drink mixes

-zip lock bags – bugs get into EVERYTHING here, tin foil, zip lock containers

-shells and cheese (it is really really hard to find cheese here and when you do its super expensive because they don’t really have milk – don’t send anything that needs milk!)

-books – I’ve got some of the new ones like the girl with the dragon tattoo series, and the 50 shades of grey series so not those ones

-toothpaste – they have toothpaste here but it’s gross

-shampoo and conditioner is really hard to find here and it’s expensive. I prefer the 2 in 1 types

-seeds – I want to make a garden at my school. I already have cucumber, cabbage, squash and beans so don’t send those ones.

-spices for food

-raisins

-hand sanitizer

-clorox wipes

-cheese-its

-olive oil (they have it here, but it’s super expensive)

-pepperoni

-plain colored t-shirts - size medium (avoid red and black because they are mourning colors) – can be used as “bubble wrap”

-candles – I’m a big fan of the summer/fall scents (apple, pumpkin, spice, flowers, beachy), not a big fan of the winter ones though (mint, evergreen, etc)

-printed off pics of friends, family (the internet takes a long time to load fb pics)

-bug spray

-citronella candles

-benadryl

-a fast drying towel – I only brought regular ones which don’t do well with washing and line drying

-duracell rechargeable batteries (they have lime green on them)

-I want to learn to play guitar so I think I’m going to buy one but I need a “guitar for dummies” type book and maybe some music books

-Q-tips

-beef jerky

-nail polish

-white out pens for grading

-deodorant – any female type EXCEPT fresh powder (they have it here but it’s not good)

-a yoga book – in case I get reallyyyy bored

-dresses – must be at least knee length

-dried fruit/nut mixes

-any type of food things that just require water/eggs/oil and heat (I do have a gas burner)

-spice packets – taco, pesto, alfredo

-tuna and chicken packets – they have mayo here

-I don’t have much music so if you want to fill a cheap flash drive with the music you know I like or the latest in the US that would be awesome! I stole some music from all the other trainees, but it’s a random assortment. I’m especially lacking in the country department. If you have books in PDF format they can also be added to the flash drive.

That’s all I can think of for now, let me know if there’s anything you have questions on, need clarification, or have an idea but you’re not sure it would be good/work.

Thanks in advance!

Global Evangelical

I guess I am the newest member of the Global Evangelical Church in my community. Although I don't go to church in the states and I had planned to stay away from religion while in Ghana I've decided that it's not the worst thing to do on a Sunday for 3 hours. It was actually a good time and the whole congregation was very friendly. It will be a good way to get to know people, practice my language, and integrate into the community. They translated the important parts for me, made me dance, made me go up in front of everyone to introduce myself (which was super embarrassing), and gave me their blessings.
I traveled into Ho to go to the market which was a lot of fun. I realized that I didn't buy the one thing I seem to really need which is tupperware containers. I have hundreds of these teeny teeny tiny little ants that are everywhere. They seem to even be able to get into my zip lock bags... not cool. I just keep killing like 20 at a time and they just keep coming back.
Well since the last time I wrote I was able to officially meet the chief and elders after it was put off 5 times between my first site visit and since I've been here. They recorded all of my information and told me that if there was any problem at all I could come to them. We even did the traditional shot of gin (at 6am by the way) which is a way to "wash the feet of newcomer and welcome them into the community). On Wednesday I will be formally introduced to the whole community. There is a convention in my town for 10 days and the people come from all over Ghana, Togo, and a few other countries I think. Many of them don't speak the local language and I can't recognize the people that are from my village compared to those who are new so they just look at me really weird when I try to great them, and then someone else has to tell me they aren't from this village.
What else is new?
I get to run a little store type thing that belongs to Da Mama, who has kind of taken me under her wing. I have started to know all of the prices, and it's a lot of fun :)
School starts one week from tomorrow. AHHHH!

Saviefe Gbogame

Well the last few weeks have been crazy! I passed my language exam, which means that I can successfully introduce myself and my family, shop in the market, ask for/get directions, give my daily routine, and some other randoms things. We were all officially sworn in as volunteers on August 16h, 2012. It was really hard to say goodbye to our home stay families the next day. How can you thank someone enough that has taken care of you for almost 3 months, and considered you part of their family?
We travelled to Bunsu College on Friday to do some cross-sector training in the fields of Health, Agriculture, and Water-Sanitation. This was a completely volunteer led training so it was a lot of fun and hands on. We learned about malaria, compost pits, latrines, soak-away pits, nutrition, baby-weighing, chicken/rabbit rearing, bee-hiving, growing vegetables, school gardens, and the list goes on. We were also able to network with other volunteers, get the inside scoop, and ask a ton of questions. On Sunday morning we all left for our sites. Mine, which I've said before, is Saviefe Gbogame. I've been spending time unpacking, hanging picture, meeting people, eating, decorating, walking around, playing with kids, etc. I love my village and all of the people here. Maybe I am just biased because Volta is my region, but I really feel like it's the best region (even though there's many I haven't been to). Everyone here is more relaxed, and it's quieter. It is also nice to be able to finally use the language that I have been learning even though it is slightly different here than the dialect that I learned. It was hard to leave all the friends I've made over the last few months knowing that I won't be seeing them again until November (you can't leave your site at all for the first three months), but we all plan on staying in contact. I know it will fly by with school starting up soon.

4th of July, Site Visit, and Shadow Visit - June 24th 2012

July 24th 2012 - 4th of July, Site Visit, and Shadow Visit

            Wow I haven't written anything in almost a month so hopefully I can remember everything that's happened. We put on an awesome 4th of July celebration. We all brought a dish to pass and we ended up with apple crisp, apple pie, coleslaw, guacamole, fried chicken, tomato basil salad, pineapple, mango salsa, icecream floats, and I brought a box of cheese-its that my parents had sent to me (thanks Mom and Dad!). I had made everyone fill out some superlatives (best smile/eyes, best humor, etc) and we read the answers, which was a lot of fun. We also all sang the national anthem. Even though there wasn't any fireworks it was one of the best 4th of July's I've had!

            I ended up eating the snail that my homestay mom made... It was definitely interesting. She made it by boiling it in palm nut soup and serving it with banku. To me it tasted like a rubbery thing that had been rolling around in the dirt. I did have the opportunity to have some much better tasting snail made by someone else a few weeks later.

            We spent a few days learning Ewe that was supposed to help us when we went on out site visits. On July 8th we left for Kumasi. We stayed in a hotel type facility until the 12th doing a counterpart workshop. Each volunteer gets a counterpart person from their school (usually the same subject) that is meant to serve as a mentor, friend, guide, etc. for the next two years. Unfortunately my counterpart couldn't make it but the headmaster of the school came to do the workshop. We had sessions for three days about the role the counterpart is supposed to have, and the rules and regulations that Peace Corps has for the volunteers. On Thursday we left early in the morning to travel to our sites.

            My town is Saviefe Gbogame, in the Ho District, in the Volta Region. It took about 12 hours to get to my site from Kumasi. We arrived at Ho, which is the capital city of Volta, and my headmaster and I met up with Mike who is the volunteer that I'll be replacing. He helped us get back to my (soon to be) house. I'll be living in a compound with a few other people including my landlord who is also the head of the School Management Committee. About a year ago a woman moved in to help take care of my landlord and the compound. I will have the option to pay her every month to cook for me, but I haven't decided yet what I want to do. I'll have two rooms that are connected and they are completely furnished because I am lucky enough to be replacing a volunteer. There is a well right in the compound and I also have a mango tree! I am one of the few volunteers that has a flush toilet, but we all have electricity except for one (sorry-o Jessica). Thursday night we walked around the community and meet a bunch of people including some of the other teachers. On Friday we went to meet the chief early in the morning, and then we went to the school for a few hours. Since it is the end of the term the students were just reviewing for finals. The school is in a really nice location and I'm hoping to be able to start a school farm as a project. I was also able to meet a lot of the teachers at the primary school and the kindergarten (which I plan to spend a lot of time at). On Saturday morning Mike and I went out to the bush to drink palm wine and eat before going on a hike. The palm wine is collected from palm trees that have been cut and tipped onto their sides. They carve a hole through the trunk and place a container underneath it to collect the juice. If you drink the wine very early in the morning it is very sweet and it has a very low alcohol content. If the wine is left to ferment throughout the day the alcohol content increases. It is delicious no matter what time you drink it at though! They also use it to make apoteche (not sure how that's spelled). They use a system o f tubes to boil the wine and the collect it. It is very strong. I also had snail again, but this time I actually enjoyed it. It had been roasted over the fire and I think it was seasoned with pepe and salt. I also had banku and stew and bush chicken. Needless to say I was quite full by the time we set off on our hike up the mountain. Once we reached the top there was a lookout place that had an awesome view of the town on the other side. You could also see part of the Volta river. During my time there I just spent a lot of time trying to get to know a few people that will be helpful to me when I return. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and I think that I am really going to love my site! Mike has also been informing them for a while now that I am coming, and that they should treat me with the same respect that they treat him (thanks Mike!) so I should be in a pretty good situation.

            I left site early Saturday morning and traveled 12 hours to Cape Coast in Central Region. We are all required to do a shadow visit, which involves watching another Peace Corps volunteer teach. Unfortunately, the schedule didn't work out so well and we are shadowing during exam week so there isn't too much to do. We got to see the school, meet the teachers, and help mark exams, but we didn't get to see any teaching. On a more exciting note we did get to go to the beach in Cape Coast which was beautiful. We met up with a Health volunteer before going and got to help with a baby weighing in her town before going. The mothers would put their babies into a kind of fabric sling, pass me the babies, and I would hang the sling from a scale. They keep track of their weight so they can be sure that they are growing and getting enough nutrients. Many also got shots and Vitamin A. Afterwards we set off for Brenu beach (I think that's how it's spelled). Some beaches aren't so nice for swimming, but this one was really clean. We met another Education volunteer who had two trainees staying with her so we had quite a large group. We swam, ate coconut and pineapple, did some walking, and just relaxed. I got to try slack rope walking, which is like a rope tied between two trees and you try to balance on it. I wasn't very good, but it was fun! On the 19th we spent the night in Cape Coast so that it would be easier to travel in the morning. The place we stayed at had awesome food and smoothies! I definitely hope to be able to make it back to Cape Coast a few times over the next two years.

Boti Falls, CRIG, and Ewe - June 29th 2012

June 29th - Boti Falls, CRIG, and Ewe

            So we finished practicum today. The students and teachers put together a little goodbye ceremony for Lou and myself and they gave us each 2 yards of batik fabric (which I have already dropped off at the seamstress to have a dress made). A lot has happened recently but I have been too busy/tired to write about it. We did go to the Ohoum festival on the 22nd but we didn't see any traditional rituals. We just saw the chief being carried in a chair down the street. Then the whole city turned into a dance festival.

            On the 24th we went to the Boti Waterfalls, which were awesome. We did a two hour hike that was basically climbing straight up and down the side of mountains. The views were unbelievable though and we even got pizza at the end.

            Those of you who have known me for some time know just how clumsy I can be... Well, I managed to drop my phone that I bought here into a puddle of water. Now it doesn't really work so I unlocked my smartphone that I  brought from home, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the internet to work.

            My family has been collecting snails which we are supposed to eat one of these days. That should be interesting.

            On the 28th we went to the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to learn about cocoa trees and harvesting them. They gave us all fresh cocoa which I love! It comes in small football shaped hard shell type things and on the inside are the cocoa pods. You don't eat the pods/beans themselves, but you eat the white soft "meat" from around the pod. It tastes nothing like chocolate, but it's sweet. They use all of the parts of the plant though and are able to make soaps, lotions, cleaning supplies and cocoa gin.

            I found out that I'll be learning Ewe and going to the Volta region on the east side of Ghana. Ewe is actually spoken in many areas of Ghana and across West Africa. I am lucky because there is a man that lives in my house who speaks Ewe so he is going to help me with my language skills.

Dancing in the Rain - June 22nd 2012

June 22nd 2012 - Dancing in the Rain

            I have finished one week of practicum. I am getting used to teaching, but it is still difficult. My day is always made better by the homestay mom's grandson. He is 5 years old and just precious. He likes to look at my pictures... everyday... multiple times a day. The silence for the Ohoum festival has ended so people are allowed to make noise in town again. The past few nights people have been singing and dancing in the streets until at least 10pm. I was dancing in the rain with my little 5 year old and a few other Ghanaians. Experience of a lifetime. Today I will go to Old Tafo for the festival. The cheif will do a ceremony by the river, which I think is intended to bring the rain.

Teaching Practicum, Eating Dog, and Festivals - June 20th 2012

June 20th, 2012 - Teaching Practicum, Eating Dog, and Festivals

            I have had two days of teaching actual classes in the classroom. It's hard. Seventy minutes is a long time to keep a bunch of teenager's attention, especially when I am trying to make something like vectors exciting.... because they're not. The language barrier is another issue. Math is hard enough to understand, but when it's in a foreign language that you barely know it is much harder.... and next week I'm supposed to teach science.

            I am starting to feel at home with my home stay family. It is weird how after only a little over a week I feel comforted and at home when the taxi turns the corner into my town or when I see my house down the path. My family likes to look at all of my pictures over and over again so they have started to memorize a lot of people's names. I have learned that my home stay mother worked in the cocoa factory for 30 years, and now she owns two stores: one sells provisions and the other cells cement. I have grown to really enjoy banku and ground nut soup. They also made me chicken for the first time yesterday. I've had ice cream and rice water (cream of rice) and okra stew (which is like snot). Today when I was leaving the house this morning they were roasting a dog over the fire. Needless to say I panicked a little bit. I couldn't decide if I would just try it at least once for the experience, but I quickly decided I didn't want to. When I came back home I told my mother I did not want to eat dog and she said that was OK and she doesn't eat dog either. We went to the Ohoum festival today. They hold this festival twice a year and it originated in Old Tafo. I'm not exactly sure what the festival is for, but all of the students go to the chief's palace and they bring firewood.

            Other notes: I ended up killing that huge spider that was in my room after I tracked it down for about 30 minutes. I did laundry this weekend and they helped me because they said I was doing it wrong. I also went to church with my mother and they made us all introduce ourselves. After teaching a group of us usually meets up at a bar in town that is owned by one of the other volunteer's home stay mothers. It is nice to be able to sit, relax, laugh, and vent with some people going through the same experiences.

Home Stay - June 14th 2012

June 14th, 2012 - Home stay

            We have been in home stay for three full days now. At first it was really hard. Just as hard as it would be to go into any stranger's house and trying to integrate into their daily lives. They have been encouraged to speak only Twi which makes learning about the culture very difficult. I am learning though, and I am becoming more familiar with the family as they become more familiar with me. I am lucky enough to have electricity because a few volunteers don't. We also have a toilet that works with gravity (you just pour a bucket of water into the bowl when you're finished and it goes down). I have been taking bucket baths which isn't too bad. My room is basically just a cement room with a bed, and a plastic nightstand. The hardest part is getting used to the food. It's not bad, just different. I have yet to try something that I do not like, which is awesome. The fofoo and banku are a little difficult to manage because it is messy and difficult to eat. They are not meant to be chewed, but instead you dip it into the soup, and then swallow it. Fofoo is made from ground cassava and plantains, and banku is made with ground and fermented maize. They have something called red bread, which is fried plantains in palm oil and some of seasoning. They also have peanut butter,  but it is made out of ground nuts and called ground nut paste. The consistency is more of a liquid than a solid, but it's very good. I have been eating a lot of fish in different stews and soups.

            Last night when I was outside we saw a scorpion (which are very poisonous). I also saw a very large spider... in my room.... inside my mosquito net... He is now living underneath my bed.

            My favorite part about home stay is the nights. I go with my mother and sister into town from about 7:30pm until 10pm every night. We sit in front of the store that she owns and I get to chat and laugh with the children and community members. I learn some of the local language (Twi), and write my lesson plans. Staying out so late is catching up with me though because I get up around 6am every morning, but the roosters and goats start making noise around 4am... UGH!

            Other than some of the new cultural aspects it still hasn't really "hit me" yet that I'm in Africa, except every day from about 12pm-3pm when the heat become almost unbearable. Maybe it's a good sign? It really makes me feel that I have made the right choice and this is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. I really don't think I'll ever have a moment where it "hits me" because it feels so right and so natural. Just another adventure in my life.

Bucket Baths and Hand Washing - June 10th 2012

June 10th, 2012 - Bucket Baths and Hand Washing

            Today during breakfast we bought phones, sim cards for them, and minutes. For a very basic phone (and I mean really old school), one sim card, and Ghana cedi worth of minutes it was 56 Ghana cedi. That is about $31 US dollars. My phone number if you're trying to text/call from the US is +011233248207663 (and yes the plus sign needs to be included). It is free to send texts if you enable the SMS messaging on your google chat through gmail, and then it is cheaper for me to text you back. So feel free to send me texts every once in a while!

            We got a demonstration today on what our home stay family might be like. It was quite frightening. The main lesson is that we just have to be upfront with our families though and ask them questions if we are unsure about something. We also learned the correct way to take a bucket bath, which was exactly what I expected it would be. They showed us how to wash our clothes by hand and it wasn't too bad. For the rest of the day we basically just relaxed and packed up for leaving in the morning. Breakfast is at 7am, and after that we are going to Kukurantumi and heading to our home stays for the next ten weeks.

Accra Quest - June 9th 2012

June 9th, 2012 - Accra Quest

Well I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go on the Accra Quest this morning because I spiked a pretty high fever last night (101.5 F) and was having body aches and stomach cramps. Luckily the Ibuprofen I took did wonders, and I felt much better in the morning. So we left to catch the tro at about 6:45am, but we didn't get picked up until about 7:45am. My group had four destinations to get to: Busy Internet, Neoplan Station, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and OA Station.

            We didn't have any problems at all with the first one, but after that we decided to walk to Neoplan station because we didn't think it was that far, but that may have been a mistake. When we were in Neoplan two men offered to help us and they essentially became our personal tour guides. They walked us all through the stations and stopped other people from pestering us. We discovered that the circle is a hugeeee shopping center and you can get clothes, shoes, shampoo, food, and really anything else at all that you may want.

            We got called "obrunis" by many children, which means foreigner or white person. It is not an insult necessarily, but it does get kind of annoying. They are all very excited to see us, and they are happy. One little girl, maybe three or four years old, waved at me and as soon as I waved back she grabbed onto my hand and walked with us for a while. I didn't want her to get too far away from where she was so I tried to let go of her hand and say bye, but when she realized I was trying to leave her she clung to me for dear life and entwined herself in my legs. After a few bystanders saw me struggling to get her off they helped me by pulling her off. It broke my heart, but made my day at the same time. Maybe she will have a PC teacher someday. We had a little trouble with the tros on the way back, but made it back safe and sound.

            In the afternoon we learned a little bit more about how our home stay families are selected, which is quite a rigorous process. We also learned about how to support each other through the difficult times that are up ahead.

            In the evening we did a talent show. People sang, recited poems, juggled, did magic tricks, and many other things. My partner and I decided that since we had no necessary tools to do any of our current talents that we would learn a new talent. We chose balancing the baskets on our heads like the people do in the city to sell things, and all over the country as a practical means of carrying objects. I found that I'm actually really good at it. In no time at all I was walking around Valley View with a basket of water sachets on my head. The staff members were very impressed. We ended up turning it into a little skit, and my partner was tossing items into my basket. We had a few more discussions in the evening and then did some team bonding exercises.

Teaching Goals - June 8th 2012

June 8th 2012

             Today was the first time that I was actually hot. It was very humid, and didn't rain at all so it will probably be worse tomorrow. Three of us have fallen ill to either vomiting or diarrhea, but all of us will be in their shoes before long. They keep reminding us to drink a lot of water, but there is only so much I can drink in one day. It was difficult to eat today because of the heat and humidity, but I powered through. As I was getting ready this morning I could hear a woman singing gospel songs and Amazing Grace. It was beautiful. Food today included maize for breakfast, hot rolls, and coffee (instant, but it's delicious!). For lunch we had rice, spaghetti, spicy meat sauce, and apples (which I peeled because they warn us about eating fruit skin). For dinner we had a chicken stew, cooked plantains, steamed vegetables, pineapple, watermelon, and mango. The mango is phenomenal, nothing like in the states.

            We had many sessions today including a PST (pre-service training) overview and information on malaria. I had to get two shots today: Typhoid and Hepatitis A (which I'll have to get again in six months). We spent a lot of time on language, which I think I'm starting to catch on to. Hopefully at least because tomorrow they are sending us out of what they call Accra Quest. Basically they give us some money for transportation and send us out of our own for a scavenger hunt. The PCVL's and training staff did a reenactment of what our first experience on a trotro (shuttle van) will be like, and it looks terrifying. But I'm excited. They stress how willing the Ghanaians are... if we just ask. If we can all survive, we will be sworn in on August 16th.

            We went over some of the goals of teachers in Ghana:

1. Teach students

2. Collaborate with other teachers to learn from them, and teach them.

3. Find available resources in the community and develop new ways to use them to enhance the community.

            We are also expected to do a secondary project and I think I'd like to do an afterschool program for girls who are interested in Math. By the time students reach Junior High School, most of them are boys because the girls are needed elsewhere. Unfortunately, many of the girls dislike math because they think it is too hard for them. I'd like to have the girls who are more advanced in the subject tutor the girls who are struggling. This is a great learning opportunity for both groups.

            We also spent a lot of time talking about keeping ourselves safe while in Ghana. Always being aware of your surroundings is crucial, along with integrating into your community. The better your relationship is with those around you the more likely they are to watch out for you.

Ambassador's House - June 7th 2012

Today was a long day. We drove back into the city which was crazy with all of the traffic. We were blessed by traditional religious leaders and were all offered a shot of some liquor, which tasted similar to Vodka, but went down a lot smoother. We were also blessed by a Christian leader and a Muslim leader. We got a tour of the Peace Corps Headquarters Office in Ghana. They have a lot of admisintration buildings, medical offices, and lodging for volunteers that are traveling. We filled out paperwork to become residents of  Ghana and to open bank accounts here. We also had to get vaccines and speak with the PCMO (Peace Corps Medial Officer) about malaria, STDs and other ways to stay safe. I took my first malaria pill today, and since we didn't start before we came we have to take them for three days in a row, and then once weekly (except for those on doxy which is daily). We also started learning some of the Twi language whcih is spoken pretty much all over Ghana.
We have been eating like Kings and Queens. Most meals have chicken of some sort, and usually fried rice but we've also had potato sald, mac salad, fried plantains, porridge, a ton of pineapple and a ton of watermelon. For a snack today we each got a fresh coconut which was full of juice and after we drank that it was cracked open so we could eat the meat. They are delicious.
We learned about a few vital Ghanain customs. For example, it is considered very rude to extend your left hand for anything. You would never give or take anything with your left hand. Also, it is customary to always offer water to anyone entering into your house. We were formally invited to attend a recetpion at the U.S. Ambassador's house in Ghana. We met him and his family and many other Embassy workers. The Ambassador's speech was very inspiring. He mentioned the fact that although we will not have an impact on every student we teach, we will have a lifelong impact on many. Since his time in Ghana he has met many people who have been taught by Peace Corps teachers, and they can still remember their teacher's names many years later.

Accra and Valley View - June 6th 2012

So we landed in Accra today after a 10.5 hour flight (which I couldn't sleep on) and we all made it through customs and immigration. There are 25 of us in this group and we are all doing education (science, math, or art). We come from across the U.S. including Florida, California, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Iowa, Michigan, Arizona, Maryland, and of course New York. I am the youngest one in the group by about six months, but I'm used to that.
After we landed we made our way as a group towards a van that was going to take us back to our destination. Two of the volunteers were asked by men outside of our van for money and they gave it to them thinking it was for the ride... unfortunately it wasn't and they just took the money. We will be staying in the Valley View University dorm rooms for about five days before we travel to our training site for Pre-Service Training (PST) for 3 months.
The people here are so friendly and welcoming. A woman in the Dulles airport in DC was also heading to Ghana, and she saw me crying after skyping with my family for the last time. She pulled me aside and said "Do not worry because everything will be ok! Your family loves you, but you will be fine. I love you!" I'll never forget that.
The Peace Corps staff here is very welcoming as well. They know all of our names already and try to help in any way possible. They cooked us a fantastic meal which consisted of fried/seasoned rice. There was also cabbage, potato salad, watermelon and pineapple. The water here comes in little bags that you bite the corner off of in order to drink. The University is beautiful and our rooms are really nice. Two beds, table, fridge, TV, AC, toilet and a shower (which was much needed after today). We also found a little lizard friend in our room :) Well tomorrow we have breakfast at 6am and leave at 6:30 in order to get back to Accra by 9am. It's not that far but traffic is horrendous and there is absolutely no order to the road system. Side note: something interesting to see was the hundreds of people trying to sell things on the street from water to maps to anything else you could possibly think of.