Being at site

July 9, 2010
So the naming ceremony has not happened yet…here’s how it goes. At about 10:30 (ceremony to have started at 10) Mawuli comes to tell me that some people had come to teach the women’s group how to grow oyster mushrooms. They wanted me to attend, but he told them I was doing my PC paperwork. So, now the ceremony will be around 11:30; they are setting up the ceremony grounds now. Ok, right on, no worries.
Around 12:30 there is knock at my door, ahh, naming ceremony…ok I’m ready…nope it’s Aki, the Jica volunteer. It’s Thursday and she’s in our village, so she came to bring me a welcome pineapple and sit until the ceremony. And then it starts to pour. So we sat and talked for a couple hours about all kinds of stuff…she’s really a cool person and has a lot of good info since she’s been living in HoHoe for one year already. So around 1, Mawuli arrives drenched. “Oh Jeanna, I am so sorry, the sky does not want your ceremony today. I have just come from town; we have taken all the ceremony stuff down, maybe we will have to reschedule.” Sure thing, Mawuli. So, due to some mushrooms and rain I am still “Just Jeanna” for a few more days  The ceremony has now been moved to Sunday after church, before I leave for Ho. Everyone will be off work so more people will attend…this makes them happy and me more nervous…oh well; I hope I get a good name.
So in lieu of the ceremony, Mawuli, Boss (a tour guide and the man who will be my local language teacher), Patience (a local guide as well) and Fo Nicho took me around town to meet people they think are important. Like all languages I have experienced in Ghana so far, Likpe’s language has a very formal greeting spiel…. I do not know this, yet, but by the end of the two hour tour I can kind of just, “Wa, yoo, aaaa,” my way through it, even though I have no idea what is being said. Anyway, I met a bunch of people and got to walk through our town, which is less than a mile long. There are about 1800 people in my village according to the 2001 census, but many of them work in Accra or go to university in a different town so it doesn’t seem so many.
Everyone seemed very nice; I ran into the elders again (one of them sent me a pineapple this morning…I like Ghana) and met with the chief. We then walked over to the next town (there are 10 Likpe Villages; mine is third on the road from HoHoe) Likpe Mate, where Rhoda, a PC teacher lives. We’re about 5 minutes walk apart; she has been here for a year now, so that’s really cool we’re so close.
Today Mawuli and I went to HoHoe to do some shopping and for him to show me around so I’ll be able to go by myself in the future. HoHoe is a pretty big city with lots of shops, a big market on Mondays and Fridays, and is a transportation hub. So I bought some buckets to wash clothes and dishes in, a power cord, cleaner, soap, dishtowels, mosquito coils, and candles. We then set off to do a few other errands and then I meet up with Chris who is a PCT like me; he and the guy he is replacing came to town to shop today too. We meet at the tourism office where Aki is also. So Frank, my supervisor at the office says we need to go meet the HoHoe District Chief…excellent. So off we go. The Chief tells me I have very big shoes to fill; that Leanne (the previous PCV at my site) was the best white person he has ever met. So, I must do better than the best; he will be expecting it…Right-o. Off for a cold beer and some Obruni talk.
Mawuli tells me that he does not like HoHoe, it’s too loud and the sun is too hot there. Ah, it is true. So back to the quiet village we go; the breeze picks up on the way, we walk up our red dirt road. I close the door and sit down as rain comes over the mountain.