New September Posts

September 5, 2010


Today is Sunday and I woke up around 3:30 or 4am to pouring rain. Tin roof is loud…I love it! It rained all morning. I laid in bed till about 6:30 or so, got up, decided to properly (instead of jankity rigged) hang my mosquito net since my counterpart had brought me a hammer and some nails. After that I swept, cooked breakfast and then it was about time to get ready for church…it’s supposed to start at 9:30am.

I’ve decided to go to church on Sundays, not for riveting sermons in Ewe, but it’s a good way to spend time in the village and meet people. So I head down the hill around 9:35 because I heard drums. I get down there and there’s only like 3 adults and 8 kids in the church…the kids were drumming. Anyway, church actually gets started around 10:30. After the service my supervisor tells me that some men from Accra are going to come today because the village wants to build a road up the mountain for something like Jeep tours/moto tours, and that when they come, I should join them. Ok, do I need to wear hiking clothes? No, ok cool.

So I get home and fiddle around a lil bit and he calls. It’s raining and kinda chilly (the Ghanaians think it’s cold and have sweaters and stuff on) so I throw a 2-yard around my shoulders (over my dress), grab my chacos and umbrella and head to the tourist office. Some of the elders are there, but the Accra men are not. I sit in the office with the old guys and we kinda nod off for a while; the people show up almost 3 hours later…I spent the three hours sitting on the steps of the office talking to people and getting language lessons. Also, YaYa, Confidence’s aunt, came to town and brought me a big bag of rice…she sells raw rice in HoHoe----I told you people feed me all the time. I still have a ton of rice that I was given at my naming ceremony.

Anyway, the people get there and there’s one guy from the Likpe area, a British dude, a Belgian guy, 2 people from the US, and 1 Asian guy from Spain. Introductions are made, libations poured, shots of gin/schnapps taken. After a bit of jabbering they say ok, we will go up the mountain. I wanted to go so I could figure out what they were planning on doing, but wasn’t gonna invite myself because only the men were going. So one guy goes, “Boala, you coming?” “Yes.” So I walk outside, wrap my 2-yard around me like a towel/sarong, pull up my dress underneath (I had leggings on too) so I can take big steps and hike…off we go. As we start to ascend I see that they have cut down a ton of stuff in order to show these guys where the ROAD will go. What??? Ahhhhh…I keep my mouth shut, but my tree-hugging side is starting to get scared. So as they take off through the cut down area, “Boala, don’t walk through here, please. Meet us at the path junction.” Fine. One guy, Israel, walks with me. We keep walking and up ahead are a bunch of young guys sitting around…they were slaughtering a cow and drinking. “Boala, you are welcome.” Thanks…I greet them in Sekua. I have no idea who they are and they don’t look familiar, but apparently they know me. They start talking about a pusu (cat) and one guy says, “I hear you are looking for a cat.” “Yes, I heard you just talking about a pusu…I understand.” “We have a small one, do you want it.” “Sure, where is it?” And then he describes the house I went to last week that told me that they already sold the 2 kittens they had, but that the other cat should be having babies soon. So I dunno what he’s talking about and I told him that. Then he says, “You are staying at the guesthouse, yes? I just came to town today and heard. Should we come visit you?” About that time, rest of the hiking crew show’d up. “Uhhhh…we are going. Bye.” And then we kept hiking.

So up we go and the men start talking about bulldozers…ahhhhh…and then I remember that I need to keep my mouth shut…this is their village and their mountain. But all I think of is 1) why would someone want to hike up a road instead of a path and 2) where are you gonna get the 4-wheel drive vehicles you’re talking about that will be driving up this proposed road? There isn’t anything but jankity tros around here. Anyway, we keep going and we’re hauling ass to get up and down the mountain before dark. The Asian dude is like, “You’re really strong!!!” Thanks, can you tell my village that…they’re afraid to let me do anything….I didn’t say that part.

Anyway we get to the top and our chief is with us and he’s all excited that we all hiked up there…he’s super cute, his laugh cracks me up. One of the two “road guys” goes, “Look at all that wasted land. There’s nothing there.” Ahhhhhhhh….noooo…my mouth stayed shut no longer, “Ahh, yes there is, look at all those fantastic trees. That’s the reward for getting to the top…the beautiful view of nature!!” He says, “She wants to leave it that way…don’t touch it, right?” “Yes, sir, that’s right.”

So back down the mountain we go. We get to the bottom and all the old men and women waiting were like “Boala, you went the whole way, oh, you are strong!!!” They are so ridiculous. I’ve hiked that mountain at least 3 times a week for the past 3 weeks. One of the “road guys” said, “ Oh, congratulations, you did very well.” Ah, geeze. Boss (the man I hike with all the time) was very proud that his yevu could run with the big men.

I don’t really think this road is a good idea. Maybe I’m wrong, I dunno; they’ve been here longer than me, but creating a road that is gonna take away some of the farming land, hack through rock and trees…also, who has the vehicles to take tourists? If you drive, then is the guide gonna sit in there and try to tell the story? Is there even a market for this? Have they checked? Most travelers in Ghana are voluntourists, adventurists, or budget travelers…to me, these people would rather hike than take a 20-30 minute road trip up the mountain to just take pictures and then come back down. If the people are too lazy to hike the mountain they sure enough are too lazy to scramble through the caves. The caves are the most strenuous/uncomfortable/least safe part of the whole deal. I dunno. I dunno if I should ask questions or just keep my mouth shut. I might try to do some low key poking around. I think they should try to fix the safety issues around the caves before they start bulldozing a road, but…I need more details, but details seem to be hard to get here…I don’t know if my community really knows the details or if it’s just some idea …

Anyway, Happy Sunday to you.

j


September 7, 2010


So this morning Boss and I walked to Bakua (a neighbor village) to check on some cats we heard about. They were already gone...dammit. So on the road back we are talking about stuff. A tro comes by and we get off the road as to not get hit. The road is “paved” but there are huge pot holes/abysses so the tros swerve all over the road to miss them. There are usually some close calls with people walking on the edge of the road…and of course with goats, etc. So Boss starts telling me about how cars are scary and that they can just lock up and then they can bump you, and then you are dead; so he always gets off the road when they come. Ahh, it’s true. So we’re walking along. We walk/hike a lot together and so we only talk some times and other times we both go off into our heads. Anyway, we’re walking along off in our own worlds and hear a tro coming. Boss climbs into the weeds and I start cracking up. He starts laughing and explains, “Life is small. I like to be alive, very much. I want to keep the air in my belly. I do not want to get bumped and die. I watch when tros come; if the tires come at me, I will run away into the bush fast!” HE CRACKS ME UP!!!! I was laughing so hard I could barely breath.

You know how sometimes you get images in your mind and you just can’t stop the giggles? I could just see Boss’s old, bony body hauling ass through the bush, running from something that looks like the Mystery Machine. It still tickles me.

As we walk back through town and greet, I see a guy who, as of yesterday and with 2 colleagues, is staying at the guesthouse in the room next to mine. I say hi as we pass and then ask Boss if he knew this man was staying at the guesthouse. He says no, who are they? I explain that I spoke to one of them yesterday and they said they worked with the School District and they were auditors, but that the man we just saw told me he was going to farm yesterday. Boss makes a funny face…yup, that’s kinda what I thought...he’s a weirdo. So we progress with our greetings and stuff and when we get back towards the house, Boss says, “Oh, there is that man. Is he normal?” LOL. I doubt it, Boss.

So I spent some time today nodding off in bed while it rained; then I tried to study Sekua, but kept getting distracted with my thoughts. I texted some other volunteers to see if I was the only one who felt like they stay in their house a lot, simply because they have no where to really be and roadside convos in the village can only last so long…I am not the only one, phew. It’s weird; at home, I could wad up in my apartment for 2 or 3 days and not go out and not feel bad/weird about it. But then I also figure that I spent most of my days at work or hanging out with people; so 2 or 3 days of solitude and peace were great. Here, I don’t have anything I HAVE TO DO. I’m supposed to work, but it’s not like a real schedule or anything; and everything I do relies on the people in the village participating, and right now almost everyone is harvesting at farm, so therefore no time to do projects/meetings with the yevu. So, I did a lot of wandering around in my head today. Not much serious, just let my mind wander where it felt like. Two years of this and I could turn into an astounding writer/philosopher or a raving lunatic. We’ll see.

This afternoon some of the girls who have taken to coming to my porch to draw and in turn help me with my Sekua, came over. They drew, I practiced my language. Then they said they had come from their rice farm down by the stream (utubi in Sekua). “Oh, will you take me? I see women going to fetch water there and I haven’t been yet.” They start laughing. “You want to go today?” “Yup.” “Now? Ok we will go.” So off we go. We get to the almond tree and Akos says, “We’ve heard this is your people’s kind of ground nut.” Ground nuts are peanuts…same, same. So I told them that Americans call these nuts, almonds; we eat them plenty, but we also have ground nuts. So we pick one off the ground and smash it open…yup almond 

They take me down the path to the stream; along the way we pass coco trees and pineapples…apparently the pineapples (ablobe in Sekua, atoto in Ewe) grow wild in that area, so if I find one I can pick it  Next, they take me back to their rice (molu in Ewe, kamu in Sekua…has the language lessons gotten annoying yet?) field. I have never been in one before; this one is newly planted so I’m excited to see the process through.

Anyway, we come back to my porch and they quiz me on what Ewe I know and then try to teach me Sekua words. It’s getting to evening time and they leave. I walk into town to visit Augusta, the Palm Oil Women Group’s chairwoman, and see if we will still meet tomorrow to crack nuts, and if so when. As I hit the main road I run into a man and his son; the man starts talking to me in really good English like he knows me. I’m sure I’ve met him before, but can’t place him. Turns out he’s a teacher I met back when I was here on site visit at the beginning of July. His name is Richard and he remembers my American name…even my last name…damn, I’m impressed. Anyway, we walk and talk and he tells me that he was just teaching here as his national service (you do one year of national service after you finish university) and he will be leaving; his service was over in August. “Oh, who will teach form 4?” “Oh, Jeanna, you can teach it. Do you want to? You could do it!” “Uh….I do want to help at the school, but I don’t know about teaching full time. Isn’t there someone coming?” “Yes, they will send someone else who is doing their national service. So I will stay until they come.” Ok…whew, got out of that one.

I see Esther, my supervisor’s wife and 3 of his kids; they are sitting by Esther’s shop/hair place. So I go over and sit for a while. We talk about food. Dixon (he’s 4) has someone’s cellphone held up to his ear blaring music. Michael Jackson comes on; I start bustin a move to Dixon’s great delight. It was fun. I asked the word for “dance” in Sekua, they told me, but I’ve already forgotten it.

I head to Augusta’s compound. A bunch of lil’ kids are sitting outside and her one older son is there. I greet, ask if she’s home; I hear her in the kitchen room. We jabber a lil’; as in they laugh at my Sekua. “Oh, Boala, you are trying!!” Yup, sho’ am. I ask if we are gonna crack nuts tomorrow…what time? If it doesn’t rain we’ll meet at 8am. Ok. “You will teach me?” “You will crack palm nuts?” “Sure, why not?” More rounds of laughter at the yevu. “Ok, see you tomorrow. I will come strong to crack nuts.” Off I go, take the footpaths through the village and greet the usual people I see on that route. “Oh, Boala, you are trying.” Yes…it’s true, I am.
J


September 8, 2010


So today I was supposed to meet the Palm Oil Women’s group at the chairwoman’s house at 8am so we could crack palm nuts. I show up around 8:15, knowing good and well that I’d probably be the only one there that early. I get there and sure enough, no one is there except the chairwoman, her son, and his friend. Apparently people were called to work at the chief’s farm that day. So Augusta (chairwoman) tells me to go with her son into the mud shed thing and he’d show me how to crack nuts. Awesome. So there’s an overturned wooden fufu pounding bowl with a very large, flat rock laid across it. 2 small stools and 2 small (hand size) flat rocks. Sammy (her son who is somewhere between 25 and 35ish???) sits down and shows me how to crack nuts; lay it on the big rock and hit it with the small rock. Ok, got it. A special note is made to watch for the flying shells as they can hurt…good to know. So we start cracking. He, his friend, and I sit and talk while we crack. They both speak pretty good English and the talk in English mostly so I’m entertained. Kids and adults come by and see the Yevu cracking and get all excited, “Boala, you are trying!!” Yes. So as we’re cracking, Sammy asks me how old I am. “28.” “Oh, you are old!” “What you talking ‘bout?” “You are old; not married, no kids.” Wow, you’re a charming fellow! So we keep cracking…they keep talking, I kinda stare out the cut out/window thing at the kids playing soccer with an orange. Then some woman with a new baby comes by and talks for a while. Sammy, “Boala, one day soon you will have to have a little one of your own.” “Uh, yeah, sure, maybe.” He laughs at me. Dude, if you start talking about my womb like my homestay brother did, I’m gonna chuck my nut-crackin’ rock at your head. He doesn’t say any more…so we crack nuts for 2 hours. They tell me (as did about 3 other people who came by to watch my progress) I need to stop because this is my first time and my arm will be sore. Ok.

September 9, 2010

Today Boss came to my door and said that yesterday he found a house in the village that has pusus. He went and saw them…there are 3. Ok, so I throw my shoes on and off we go. And it’s true! There are 3 lil kittens running around outside these people’s compound. So I start looking around to see which one looks healthy. Boss has apparently already scouted them for me, “Boala, look at this one. It is very clever; it will do good for you.” Ok. So he nabs the kitten and I flip it over to see if it’s a boy or a girl (I want a boy; they don’t spay or neuter here and I don’t want a prego cat). I think he’s a boy from what I can tell…there’s a bump in the right area…but I dunno. The kitty is tiny! Barely bigger than my hand. So now I have a kitty. He is brown and white and after a few days with him I think I will call him Monkey. He jumps around all goofy and chases his tail and attacks his own feet. He will grow to be a great mouse assassin! He spent his first night crying all night long…no sleep…this is why I’m afraid I do not have the mothering nature…I wanted to snap his neck at about 2 am…but of course I didn’t.

September 10, 2010

So today is market day in Bala (two villages over) and HoHoe (my big market town). I usually go to Bala first because I get fruits and veggies there much cheaper. So Nymetchay said she wanted to go too (Muwali’s cousin who is in town until she goes back to school in Accra next week). So we decided to walk because she had to drop something off at Mate, the village in between mine and Bala. So we carry a basket of stuff to Mate. As we’re walking through Mate a couple boys (probably around 13 or so) start yelling, “Obruni, lady. Oh I love white lady…” I just kinda wave them off and keep going. On the way back to the main road we see them again, “Oh I love white lady…” “Boy, you ain’t old enough to handle a woman of any color…” and as my mouth is flapping I realize he has no idea what I’m saying and instead throw out, “Obimini.” Which means black/African child. I figure calling him a child in his language is the best comeback I have. This cracks Nymetchay up. Anyway…

We get to Bala and start walking around. I’m buying stuff to make groundnut soup and banku and Nymetchay apparently just wanted to go on the trip because she buys nothing and just jabbers to cute boys. So I go to the dried fish area of the market (it smells something awful) to buy some lil dried fish for Monkey. As I’m buying a disgusting baggy full of dried fish, I can tell the market ladies are talking about me. So one speaks in Ewe, “Yevu, efoa?” Which means how are you. I respond in Ewe, “Mefo. Wo ha efoa?” Which means I’m fine. How are you? Before I even get the ‘mefo’ all the way out, the market women start hollering. “Eh, mese evegbe.” Yes, I hear Ewe...so quit poking fun at the Yevu! So they all start talking to me in Ewe…which of course most I don’t understand. But with Nymetchay’s help we determine that they want me to take them to America. I said sure, I will be in Ghana for 2 years…after that we will all go. They enjoyed that…it’s a fun game to them. Some days being the butt of every joke is okay, some days, I just don’t have the mindframe for it…

After that I hop a tro for HoHoe. I spoil myself by buying chocolate soymilk and REAL chocolate chip cookies. I spent 6 cedis on the 2 of them. For one more cedi I could have bought another flat of 30 eggs. It’s sad when I weigh my purchase decisions on how many eggs it costs.

Chris A. comes back to the village with me and we’re gonna hike and go to the caves tomorrow. Tonight we made Asian noodles, swapped movies and music, jabbered, and shared a 2 cedi box of wine 

September 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Marilyn!!!!

So today Chris and I woke up, made breakfast and went to hike the caves. Boss was not feeling well, so he had Joseph, one of the chief’s twin sons, take us. We hike fast up the mountain; Chris and I are sweating are asses off. Then we go to the caves. We had so much fun. It really is a great hike; the caves require some mountaineering and questionable rock climbing, but they are awesome! We had a good time making fun of each other. Chris is scared of bats; cave 3 has plenty bats. This is the cave that you climb through a small hole and descend a ladder into the cave about 6 feet below. You climb around down there and listen to the story of the ancestors as bats fly around you. So Chris is freaking out and yelping and Joseph is cracking up at us and calling him “Batman.” Chris asks Joseph to climb back into this little room off the main part and take a flash picture of all the bats in there. Joseph says sure and Chris flies up the ladder at top speed so they don’t all fly out while he’s in there. I also climbed out; I don’t mind the bats, but I don’t want a shit ton of them flying at my face either. So we climb out to the ledge area and wait…you can hear the bats fluttering in the cave underneath of us. Then several come flying out of the main hole. A little while later Joseph emerges, unscathed, with good pictures, and laughing at us.

Then comes Chris’s turn to laugh at me. You have to descend into the ravine and they have ropes tied so you can kinda repel down. It’s very steep and the rocks are always slippery due to all the rain. So you know I’m short and stubby, so it’s hard for me to find footholds sometimes. So I’m hanging onto the rope, repelling backwards, I have lowered my body to find the next foothold so that one knee is up by my ear; I still can’t reach another foothold that’s not slippery. So I figure f* it. I release my one foot and decide to just kinda slide down the rock face with my arms holding onto the rope and my belly skimming the rock. The 2 guys are below me and are laughing their asses off. Whatever…I made it. Chris does have some entertaining video though; complete with me yelling at him to stop video tapping me and him doing his evil/shit-eating laugh.

So we progress through the caves; hearing Chris’s “Oh, Mylanta” comments assure me that I’m not a pussy and certain parts really are challenging. So we climb through the final cave, which is a vertical climb, and then comes the part that I hate. You have to shimmy across a small ledge for about 20 feet with nothing to hang onto except the rock and a questionable wire. It scares me! Joseph goes first and then I start. I tell him that this part is very scary for me so he talks me along and when I get close to the end he grabs my hand (which is noticeably shaking) and helps me over. “You are safe! You are scared, I can feel you shaking!” Yes, it scares me. Then I hover on the other side of the bend and I hear Chris, “Oh, Mylanta.” We made it across and then comes the feeling of knowing it is over!!!

So we descend the mountain and are both exhausted. We bumble through the village covered in sweat, dirt, and bat shit. “Sia bidzi?” Where are you from? “Budzi kotini.” We are from the mountain. “Oh, you have tried.” Yes, we have. So back at the house we shower and then take a stab at making banku and groundnut soup. Turned out pretty good. The soup was a little runny, but the flavor was good. Anyway, that’s about it.

j