Dude, let's go!: November 2010

November 17, 2010

So here is my first breakdown/bitch session in Ghana. Last week I traveled to Tamale (26 hours of travel spread out over 2 days) for Peace Corps training. Trip up went well, had a week with my SED group. After training me and a couple other PCV’s went over to Mole for a safari. Trip there (4 hours) fine. We spent 2 nights, had a good time, saw warthogs, antelope, bushbuck, monkeys and baboons…no elephants, but elephant footprints and poop. The breakdown occurred on the trip back. Our 4 hour journey back to Tamale started at 4 am. We catch the bus and head back…we stop to pick up people at Domango and people are literally fighting to get on the bus. People were packed standing, leaning on you and your bags. (we think it was because it was a Monday and all the highschool students were going back to school…they stay in dorms at school like our colleges). So whatever…fine. We get to Tamale, taxi driver tries to screw us on money…we win. We go to the tro station and the dude tries to screw us on the luggage price…we argue, Nivole cusses…that never happens. Finally I give in, she leaves and Chrissa and I load on for the 6 hour ride. This tro is one of the “bread boxes” as I call them. They look like delivery trucks and are packed with seats and a roof rack. Rams are loaded onto the roof along with our luggage. We’re smashed in like f’n sardines. I’m sitting on one of the jump seats…the ones that fold up and then flop down in the aisle…which means I have a half back rest and no ass padding. The woman next to me is coughing and hocking out the window, the woman on the other side of me has her kid’s head flopped over on me making me sweat even more, all of our thighs are smashed together in a sweaty, soupy mess, the guy behind me doesn’t have a back rest at all so he’s always leaning on my back, and the dude in front of me is huge so his seat back mashes back and takes away the 2 inches of leg room I’m supposed to have; his seat was smashing my knees the whole way. I can’t move my legs or put my shoulders back against my seat because we’re mashed too tight. An hour in I want to cry. To make matters worse the tro is a piece of shit and we stop every 45 minutes LITERALLY to add water to the radiator and/or beat the tires with a metal rod to make sure they’re still working. I have never been so uncomfortable and irritable in my life. Chrissa had spit fly on her 3 times from the chick in front of here spitting out the window. The tro was so slow it turned into an 8 hour trip. Luckily, when we stopped half way through, the German couple was so fed up they got out and picked a different car, so I got a slightly better seat…if that wouldn’t have happened, I don’t know if I’d have made it the whole way.

We finally arrive at Kumasi ( a huge city, and it’s dark) and get a taxi; we arrive at the guesthouse we were gonna stay at because it’s cheap….and it’s full. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????? As we discuss our options with the guy who is running the guesthouse, his friend keeps looking me up and down and by this point I have lost all patience with all things. “Will you please quit looking me up and down, dude?!!! What are you looking at???” He kinda smiles and walks off. “Mister you better keep your friend away from me; I’m in no mood for games tonight.” “Oh, he was just saying if you are stranded….” Apparently here, if chicks are stranded they’ll go home with someone and sleep with them. “Dude, we’re not stranded. I’m never stranded; there’s always options and fucking your friend ain’t one of them!” I was so pissed.

So then we have to get another taxi, which we got ripped off on but because we were exhausted we took it, and went to a different guesthouse and paid twice as much. OMG. Nivole arrives and we all meet at a restaurant split some food and I drink 2 glasses of good red wine even though I can’t really afford it. I was running off 3 hours sleep and a full day of bullshit. I shower and pass out in seconds.

Day 2-Wake up at 6, get my shit together, tell the girls goodbye and taxi to the very crazy huge Kumasi tro station. After several tries, I am directed (with my 40 lbs of luggage) to the right tro shed, where I am promptly fucked with. “It will be 3 cedis for your bag.” “Brother, this is a 1 cedi bag. It costs 1 cedi all over this country. You, me and everyone here knows that.” Because of course all the tro guys come over to stare and/or laugh at the Obruni chick. “You will give me 2 cedis. It is not a lot of money.” “Brother, I am a volunteer; I do not have tourist money. I have lived in this country for 5 months and will be here for 2 more years. I am not a tourist; I know how much this bag costs…it is one cedi. I will pay 1 cedi.” At this point I’m still very polite but firm, kinda playing the cute, know-it-all card. “Ok, 1 cedi.” “Thank you.” Another guy, “Sister why are you sweating so bad?” “I am obruni, whities melt in the African sun. At some point my white will melt off and I will be black like you and will not sweat anymore.” They all got a big kick out of that. So that was not bad. I won! And didn’t even get pissed off.

I had a great ride to Koforidua. Get there after 3.5 hours and have to walk to a different station to pick a tro to HoHoe. There is no HoHoe car. Ok, so I walk back to the main station to pick a car to Kpong. “ Once cedi for the bag.” “Brother, this is a short trip. I pay 1 cedi for long trips, I’ll pay 50 pesawa.” “Ok.” Ok.” So I go off in a corner to smoke (yes I’ve picked it up again.) and the mate comes up and starts chatting me up while his homies sit back at the tro and jaw him on. I’m in no mood to be the entertainment. “Brother, I am tired, I do not want to talk, I’ll be back to the tro when it is full to leave.” Ok…..soo after an hourish we arrive in Kpong. There are only 2 guys in the tro….so it’s gonna take FOREVER to fill. So I go to the urinal. The lil girls who are running it think something about me is fucking hilarious. I’m in no mood. So I pee and head back to the tro. The guy is trying to charge me 2 cedis for my bag. I argue…I win. I pay the mate 5 cedi for my 4 cedi ticket. He later comes back and takes my ticket for whatever reason (I thought he was taking everyone’s or I wouldn’t have given him mine.) After 1.5 hours the tro is full. “Brother where is my ticket and my change.” “I am the driver, I will get you your ticket sister. Do not worry.” I’m thinking bullshit, you’re gonna screw me over somehow, like saying I didn’t pay since I don’t have a ticket. I didn’t pay the luggage guy. I told him I wouldn’t pay him until I had my ticket and change. We get in and leave…still no ticket or change. We get about halfway to HoHoe and they kick me and another girl out in Kpeve because the rest of the peops aren’t going as far as HoHoe and the driver doesn’t wanna drive that far just for us. So he pays another tro to take us. So he kept my 5 cedi for my ticket and luggage and then paid my fare to the other driver…so he didn’t screw me; yeah!!! So now I’m sitting and waiting for this tro to fill. Since it is a short distance tro (1.5 hours) they pack you in 4 to a seat instead of 3 to a seat…the woman next to me stinks like all kinds of funky and there’s baskets of dried fish behind my head. I want to puke.

Finally I arrive in HoHoe a frazzled, sweaty, pissed off mess. I strap on my luggage and walk to the Likpe station hoping I can catch a car down here even though it’s officially closed at this time (5:30ish). I wanted to pick some eggs, a box of wine, and some smokes…I’m wound super tight. And my egg lady is closed. And my cigarette peops. Dammit!!! But there is a Likpe tro! “Boala, where are you from?” “Oh I have been in Tamale for training.” “You did not tell me you were leaving. Oh Boala, you look very tired.” It was Raymond, Confidence’s father. I wanted to cry. So we start down the road and have to stop for someone to pick something up…and there’s a liquor store!!! YESSSS. I buy my boxed wine and I finally get home after 6:30…I started traveling a little before 7 am.

I get home and feel like I don’t ever want to talk to a Ghanaian again. I’m so tired of fighting!!! I’m tired of arguing all the time and getting cheated all the time because I’m white. It really pisses me off. I know it won’t change and normally I just turn it into a game of bargaining, but 2 days straight of all that bullshit just really put me in a terrible mood. Also, I talked to Mawuli and apparently Confidence had to travel a couple days while I was gone so she gave my key to Naomi to feed Monkey. Which is fine, but I wished she would have called me and asked me who I wanted to have the key. I told her before I left that I wanted no one else in the house while I was gone. So I’ll be having a talk with her tomorrow.

Today I went and talked to Mawuli and told him I would be in the house all day and that I wanted to be alone. I’m tired and generally in bad mood and that I’ll greet the village tomorrow. I go visit my supervisor and Esther and tell them the same thing.

So I spent the whole day laying in the house, cleaning, watched 2 movies and chilled. A guy from HoHoe that I know came out to visit even though I told him I wanted to be alone today. I was kinda mean; I actually started crying because I felt like I was defending myself again and all I wanted was to be left alone without having to explain or defend myself to anyone. “ Oh Jeanna, I am so sorry. I just wanted to see you since you’ve been gone so long. I brought you an energy drink and wanted to make you happy.” “I’m not crying because of you; I’m so exhausted and pissed off and I am so tired of arguing everyday just so I don’t get cheated. It’s exhausting; that’s why I told you I didn’t want to hang out today. I WANT TO BE ALONE.” He left. I felt kinda bad; he’s a real nice person and always helps me out. After he left I just started crying and couldn’t stop…nothing in particular; just an overwhelming feeling. I called my friend Chris; and then I was ok.

Anyway, I’m drinking my wine and venting to you fine people. Tomorrow is the water sachet group and they’re always fun!

Thanks for listening. Also, please excuse all the profanity, but it was absolutely necessary, I promise.

November 22, 2010

Hello. So the good news is I haven’t killed anyone since my last entry, but the bad news is I’ve been feeling pretty shitty since then…karma??? Anyway, Thursday with the women was exactly what I needed; they make me laugh. And Salomay gave me a big hug and bananas, and I danced with the lady that always calls me “Agonome”. Which is coconut oil in Ewe….she thinks it’s hilarious that I got all excited that I found coconut oil in HoHoe…so ever since then she calls me Agonome and laughs hysterically and tells everyone about it. She’s funny.

Anyway, Thursday was Water Sachet Group day, Friday was market in HoHoe, Chris came home with me and Saturday we went to Bakua (next village) to see 2 Pegasus Africa Volunteers who are teaching there. Saturday day I started feeling crappy: headache, queasy, not very hungry. Saturday night I got all dizzy and nauseas and ended up catching a tro home. I’ve felt funky ever since. I was supposed to hike the mountain yesterday, but spent the day lying on the couch. Today I went into the village for a couple hours to talk to people, but still feel funky.

I feel disconnected and like a bad volunteer. I was gone for almost 2 weeks, spent one good day in the village, and have been pretty much huddled up in my house since. Plus I leave Wednesday to go to Accra for Thanksgiving at the US Ambassador’s. So I guess I just feel bad about not being around; I’m gonna go to the PC doctor while in Accra (I gotta go get shots anyway) and will hopefully start feeling better so I can eat a bunch of turkey!!! Accra has a movie theatre and the new HARRY POTTER is playing!! And I heard you can get milkshakes there. Accra is a huge, dirty city filled with all the food we desire and can’t afford…but somehow we still do! I haven’t been to Accra since training, so I have no idea where to go or how to get around, so we’ll see how that goes.

General mutterings: I got a package from Uncle Glenn and Aunt Kathy….THANK YOU!!! Chocolate, just what a grouchy, sick girl needs…it has made me smile! I have my family send me condiment packets from fast food restaurants…light weight and reeking of America. In this package was Arby’s Sauce. Oh, God. At the very sight of that little packet I felt the buttery, toasted bun and delicious warm roast beef melting in my mouth…complemented by the deafening crunch of curly fries and washed down by a fizzy slurp of Diet Dr. Pepper. Ohhhhhh. I don’t even use Arby’s Sauce at home, but the very fact that this lil’ packet sent me into an emotional overload makes me question my sanity. I was almost pissed off…that I couldn’t have it. At that moment it represented everything comfortable and normal. I’ve kind of been in a funk since training; I’m gonna go out on limb and say that that’s normal, but it’s still a super shitty feeling, especially here. I’m feeling anti-social…even with the white people. So I’m trying to decide what to do for Christmas. Do I spend my 2 days leave to go to the beach with a bunch of people, or do I want to spend my holiday (first Christmas ever away from my fam…I’m 28) with a few close people? I dunno. We’ll see.

Is the Peace Corps making me a hermit? I’ve always been very happy spending time alone, but here I wonder if it is gonna become a negative thing. I miss my friends at home; the ones I hand picked because their individual traits were amazing and uplifting and brought joy to my heart and made my mind expand. The ones that I trust my life with and could indeed proclaim that they were 100% real. Ones you can trust not to blab your shit just because they’re bored and need something to talk about. I dunno…like I said…in a funk.

Anyway, things are bumping along here. I figure after I get back from Thanksgiving I’ll try to start getting things started again. While at training I made a list of 13 things I want to work on, in no particular order:

-garden (I got some seeds leftover from a volunteer..I’m starting with herbs planted in watersachets until I can find a place to plant a veggie garden…and build a fence to keep the goats out.)

-make moringa soap with palm kernel oil from women’s group

-start making lotion here like I did at home with local beeswax(once I get my herbs growing) and teach the women

-train POW group on business skills/make bookkeeping visual since they can’t read/write

-check into MTN/Vodafone sponsoring our tourism signboards/brochures

-talk to Ghana Tourism Board manager about visiting our site for an assessment and TMT training

-organize to talk to District Assembly about 30% contribution and tourism center

-start to work with orphans here in Todome (Mawuli just told me about this)

-screen in my front porch so I don’t have to hide inside at twilight

-make bamboo shelf for kitchen (Boss just brought me some bamboo today!)

-start doing yoga in the mornings again (tros got me body all out of whack!!)

-do an AIDS demonstration

-start a girls club

Today I talked to Mawuli and he announced to the church on Sunday that we will be having a community meeting soon and also told them that I would like to start working with the orphans..teaching them, etc. The community meeting will be about AIDS awareness, but he doesn’t want to tell them what it’s about or they may not come. We have to go talk to the chief first though. I asked Mawuli if there is anyone in the village living with HIV or AIDS, and he said he didn’t know. I asked what age people start having sex here in our village…he said 12. Geeze. So…next week I will be buying my very own wooden penis (are you happy Amy?????)…for condom demonstrations of course…not for me personally. I’m sure that shopping experience will prompt a few good stories. I have seen a juju shop by the station selling them. We were told in Peace Corps training that we should be able to procure a wooden penis for 2-3 cedis…so I really hope that they don’t try to rip me off. I really don’t wanna have to fight about a wooden penis at the very crowded tro station, but you know I will. I have been told it is very hard to put a condom on a wooden penis…so I will have to practice…and so will Mawuli…sounds fun, huh? –Katie, remember the Designing Women’s episode, “They’re calling me Mary Jo Shively, the Condom Queen!!!!” ???? Just call me Boala, the wooden dick chick. So anyway, Mawuli and I will give the presentation and have the crowd play games that show how easily HIV is spread and how you cannot tell by looking at someone if they have HIV or not. I hope they are receptive to it.

So….I think that’s about all for now. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! Eat lots and lots. Anner, Mom, good luck on Thanksgiving Dinner…I’m sure you’ll do well and make Granny proud. Love you guys and wish I was there with you.