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.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Site Visit to Likpe Todome and New Address
Once I move to Todome in mid August, I will be able to receive mail/packages at the address below.
Jeanna Rolsing, PCV
c/o Frank Dogbey
HoHoe Municipal Assembly
PO Box 126
HoHoe, Volta Region
Ghana
HoHoe is about 30 minutes from my village and is where the tourism office is located. Thanks for the mail hook up HoHoe Assembly!
July 7, 2010
So July 4th we left our homestays and had a 4th of July party at the spot in Kukarantumi complete with hotdogs and REAL Heinz ketchup (the Ghanaian “ketchup” is funky). But that morning, I woke up at 6am so my host mom could teach me to make my favorite Ghanaian dish, fried plantains and beans or in Twi, “Red Red” or in Ewe, “Abladgototoe kple Bobo.” So by 8am I was stuffing my face with heavy food and therefore could not get even one hotdog down…boooo.
After the festivities we bussed to Bunso where we met our counterparts and supervisors we will be working with for the next 2 years. We all had a 2-day conference together. My counterpart is Mawuli, aka Frances. He’s probably around my age, is really nice, and seems like a great person to work with. He’s the finance secretary of the Tourism Management Team in the village I will be in; he is also the caretaker at the guesthouse I’ll be living in. Fo Nicho is Mawuli’s supervisor and also my counterpart; he is older and seems really cool too. My supervisor is Frank; he lives in HoHoe and is the HoHoe District Tourism Officer. So looks like I got good people to work with.
This morning (5am supposed to leave, actually left at 6:40 am…oh Ghana time) several of the volunteers who are moving to Volta and our counterparts all loaded up and troed to HoHoe where we went our separate ways. In HoHoe I met the Jica (Japanese Peace Corps) volunteer, Aki, who I had met when I vision quested there. She’s really nice and comes to my village on Thursdays to work with a women’s group…very cool. Also found out that there is a current teacher PC volunteer that is in the next village (about 5 minute walk).
Anyway, a 30 minute, 90 pesawa tro ride and we arrive at my village…IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!!! On the far side of the village we stop across from the primary school. Up a red dirt road flocked by corn, plantain, and cassava fields is the guesthouse where I will be staying. Out my front window are the towering green mountains, a mango tree, chickens…it’s really pretty. Mawuli lives right behind me; there are 4 guest rooms; I am in one, a HoHoe district assemblyman is in another, and the other 2 are open for when tourists come. Fo Nicho lives at the main road at the bottom of our dirt road.
The guesthouse I stay in. I stay on the right side where you can see three windows. for some reason I deleted the pics of the mountain view from my window...so I'll put those up later...the view is excellent :)
So I was supposed to go to meet the chief and stuff tomorrow, but he heard I was in town tonight and wanted to meet me. So I was taught a few Likpe words (I can’t remember the name of language…Sal…something) as we walked to the palace…oh yeah, did I fail to mention that my village has a language separate of Ewe…so that’ll be language #3 and apparently this will be the ONE I will really use. So I met our chief and some of the elders. It is quite strange having a bunch of men sit in a circle and talk about you in a different language; then comes the part where I’m supposed to throw out a few words I learned moments before…ah, yes, it went ok, they appreciated the effort. Anyway, they did a prayer to keep me safe and to wish me well, poured some libations and told me tomorrow I will be greeting the whole community by 10 am and the chief and elders will perform the naming ceremony where I will receive my Likpe name…pressure for tomorrow.
Anyway, that is all. I have my netting rigged up and am trying to settle in to my new digs. So far seems great...running water, electricity, fantastic view and good cell reception!
j
Jeanna Rolsing, PCV
c/o Frank Dogbey
HoHoe Municipal Assembly
PO Box 126
HoHoe, Volta Region
Ghana
HoHoe is about 30 minutes from my village and is where the tourism office is located. Thanks for the mail hook up HoHoe Assembly!
July 7, 2010
So July 4th we left our homestays and had a 4th of July party at the spot in Kukarantumi complete with hotdogs and REAL Heinz ketchup (the Ghanaian “ketchup” is funky). But that morning, I woke up at 6am so my host mom could teach me to make my favorite Ghanaian dish, fried plantains and beans or in Twi, “Red Red” or in Ewe, “Abladgototoe kple Bobo.” So by 8am I was stuffing my face with heavy food and therefore could not get even one hotdog down…boooo.
After the festivities we bussed to Bunso where we met our counterparts and supervisors we will be working with for the next 2 years. We all had a 2-day conference together. My counterpart is Mawuli, aka Frances. He’s probably around my age, is really nice, and seems like a great person to work with. He’s the finance secretary of the Tourism Management Team in the village I will be in; he is also the caretaker at the guesthouse I’ll be living in. Fo Nicho is Mawuli’s supervisor and also my counterpart; he is older and seems really cool too. My supervisor is Frank; he lives in HoHoe and is the HoHoe District Tourism Officer. So looks like I got good people to work with.
This morning (5am supposed to leave, actually left at 6:40 am…oh Ghana time) several of the volunteers who are moving to Volta and our counterparts all loaded up and troed to HoHoe where we went our separate ways. In HoHoe I met the Jica (Japanese Peace Corps) volunteer, Aki, who I had met when I vision quested there. She’s really nice and comes to my village on Thursdays to work with a women’s group…very cool. Also found out that there is a current teacher PC volunteer that is in the next village (about 5 minute walk).
PCT's and counterparts heading to the Volta Region. The guy on the left is Mawuli, my counterpart...he is awesome!!!
Walking in the door of my place :)
built in closet, hall going back to toilet, first door, shower is second door, and the back door goes to a storage area that will be my kitchen.
View coming back from the hall
For the next 4 days I will be in my village before I go to Ho for my 2 weeks of technical training. In the meantime, Mawuli has arranged for Confidence to cook me food until I get my place set up when I come back. She’s a really good cook and seems like a great person; she speaks English well and has a striking face. She works at the District Assembly in HoHoe as an environmental person and is organizational chair on the Tourism Management Team in Todome. She also makes batik fabric and said she will teach me how.So I was supposed to go to meet the chief and stuff tomorrow, but he heard I was in town tonight and wanted to meet me. So I was taught a few Likpe words (I can’t remember the name of language…Sal…something) as we walked to the palace…oh yeah, did I fail to mention that my village has a language separate of Ewe…so that’ll be language #3 and apparently this will be the ONE I will really use. So I met our chief and some of the elders. It is quite strange having a bunch of men sit in a circle and talk about you in a different language; then comes the part where I’m supposed to throw out a few words I learned moments before…ah, yes, it went ok, they appreciated the effort. Anyway, they did a prayer to keep me safe and to wish me well, poured some libations and told me tomorrow I will be greeting the whole community by 10 am and the chief and elders will perform the naming ceremony where I will receive my Likpe name…pressure for tomorrow.
Anyway, that is all. I have my netting rigged up and am trying to settle in to my new digs. So far seems great...running water, electricity, fantastic view and good cell reception!
j
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Yeah waterfalls :)
(can't get stuff to rotate here, sorry)
Love you !
J
Training Update, pics
June 26, 2010
Not much has been going on except TRAINING. 8 – 3pm language training with one hour lunch, then business training from 3-5, Monday through Thursday and Saturdays. Friday we go to the HUB site for shots and meetings with people. People eat early here, so I’m usually shoveling down massive amounts of carbs (cassava, plantains, yams, rice, noodles, corn mash stuff) by 5:30 or 6. World Cup is on at 6:30, bathe at 8:30, sleep by 9pm. I usually wake up around 5 am, due to some unknown reason, lay under my mosquito net and listen to the goats, roosters, sound of women sweeping, and all the other morning sounds.
And Sundays include a smattering of things. Tomorrow (Sunday) we all get to go to Boti Falls and NO CLASS!!! I’m stoked. First waterfalls of Africa and a 2 hour hike. I’m going to try to stop in Koforidua on the way back so I can hit the internet.
So tonight the U.S. lost to Ghana in the World Cup. I watched the game with my family. After Ghana’s first goal, my mother said, “ Jeanna, mommy will cheer with you!” since the men of the family were bouncing around and pinching my cheeks and screaming for Ghana, and I was of course the only person cheering for the U.S. After we lost, my dad pointed out that it was a good thing I had already eaten my dinner, because if not, I would not get to eat tonight since my team lost…so is the tradition here. My mom pointed out that she made sure she had my dinner ready early tonight….thanks ma!! I will get pics of the fam in the next couple weeks; my sister, Kristi, will be coming back from Germany tomorrow night…she is 17 and left for Germany the day I got here, so I haven’t met her yet. On a side note, I got a simple dress made, but I need to have the waist taken in a little, and then I’ll post pics. I paid $2.50 for the fabric and $4 for the tailoring.
So, next Sunday (July 4th) we bus to another town where we will meet our counterparts (the person who will be our go-to person at our permanent sights) and have a seminar with them for 3 days. Then we and our counterparts tro to our permanent sites where we will spend 4 nights getting to know our villages and projects. After that we all individually go to Ho for a 2 week hands on business training. So, I will not be back with my homestay family for 3 weeks. Then I think we have about 2 weeks with homestay, then we get sworn in as volunteers and our 2 years start; crazy, huh?
Ingtifafa kple lolo
…which means “peace and love” in Ewe…except spelled differently with special Ewe letters
j
Random pics
Not much has been going on except TRAINING. 8 – 3pm language training with one hour lunch, then business training from 3-5, Monday through Thursday and Saturdays. Friday we go to the HUB site for shots and meetings with people. People eat early here, so I’m usually shoveling down massive amounts of carbs (cassava, plantains, yams, rice, noodles, corn mash stuff) by 5:30 or 6. World Cup is on at 6:30, bathe at 8:30, sleep by 9pm. I usually wake up around 5 am, due to some unknown reason, lay under my mosquito net and listen to the goats, roosters, sound of women sweeping, and all the other morning sounds.
And Sundays include a smattering of things. Tomorrow (Sunday) we all get to go to Boti Falls and NO CLASS!!! I’m stoked. First waterfalls of Africa and a 2 hour hike. I’m going to try to stop in Koforidua on the way back so I can hit the internet.
So tonight the U.S. lost to Ghana in the World Cup. I watched the game with my family. After Ghana’s first goal, my mother said, “ Jeanna, mommy will cheer with you!” since the men of the family were bouncing around and pinching my cheeks and screaming for Ghana, and I was of course the only person cheering for the U.S. After we lost, my dad pointed out that it was a good thing I had already eaten my dinner, because if not, I would not get to eat tonight since my team lost…so is the tradition here. My mom pointed out that she made sure she had my dinner ready early tonight….thanks ma!! I will get pics of the fam in the next couple weeks; my sister, Kristi, will be coming back from Germany tomorrow night…she is 17 and left for Germany the day I got here, so I haven’t met her yet. On a side note, I got a simple dress made, but I need to have the waist taken in a little, and then I’ll post pics. I paid $2.50 for the fabric and $4 for the tailoring.
So, next Sunday (July 4th) we bus to another town where we will meet our counterparts (the person who will be our go-to person at our permanent sights) and have a seminar with them for 3 days. Then we and our counterparts tro to our permanent sites where we will spend 4 nights getting to know our villages and projects. After that we all individually go to Ho for a 2 week hands on business training. So, I will not be back with my homestay family for 3 weeks. Then I think we have about 2 weeks with homestay, then we get sworn in as volunteers and our 2 years start; crazy, huh?
Ingtifafa kple lolo
…which means “peace and love” in Ewe…except spelled differently with special Ewe letters
j
Random pics
Vanessa (PCV), Nivole and I in the jankity taxi from Nkwanta to Kwe Village
Pic taken of Nkwanta from the jankity taxi. I LOVE THIS PIC!!!
Beautiful sky on our walk through the cassava farm in Nkwanta.
Pumping water at the bore hole
Carrying our baby buckets of water.
The pros
Our refugee camp (aka training place) in Accra
Pretty piecie, piecie cloth :)
A Few Things Learned
June 24, 2010 A few things learned so far in Ghana:
I smell completely different over here. You know when you stick your finger in your belly button and it has that belly button smell? Yeah, even that’s different over here…I checked today. I (and all the other obrunis) smell sour. I guess cause we sweat a lot and maybe all the different food, aka carbs…I think we might be fermenting.
You spend at least 30 minutes of every day talking about poop with no less than 4 different people. It’s very important.
You chew carefully for bones even when you are eating a dish that contains no meat, because fish bones end up in the weirdest places.
You don’t even expect to get a cold drink anymore.
You don’t get excited to eat, you just do it because you have to.
There is no such thing as being politically correct in Ghana. You is what you is.
I smell completely different over here. You know when you stick your finger in your belly button and it has that belly button smell? Yeah, even that’s different over here…I checked today. I (and all the other obrunis) smell sour. I guess cause we sweat a lot and maybe all the different food, aka carbs…I think we might be fermenting.
You spend at least 30 minutes of every day talking about poop with no less than 4 different people. It’s very important.
You chew carefully for bones even when you are eating a dish that contains no meat, because fish bones end up in the weirdest places.
You don’t even expect to get a cold drink anymore.
You don’t get excited to eat, you just do it because you have to.
There is no such thing as being politically correct in Ghana. You is what you is.
Mutterings June 19, 2010
business trainees on way to school..6 plus the driver :) yes, those are knees you see in the back
Kente cloth weaver
So today we started the Ewe training…yeah, it’s a challenge.
Tonight my dad and brother Robert stared the drilling: will you stay in Ghana after your service? Do you like it here? How old are you? Will you marry an African man while you are here? My response is the usual, “I don’t know if I will marry anyone.” This is not well received. But my favorite reaction was, “So you do not want to give birth?” To my great surprise I was able to keep a straight face and make it through the firing squad. FYI, mom and dad (American mom and dad, that is), I told my brother Robert (who I am pretty sure is the intended African husband) that he can come and stay with you. He wants to come to America. Please cook him mashed potato salad and BBQ.
Tomorrow I am going to church with my family…church is three hours long. I am going to be saved.
My family has asked me to cook them dinner next Sunday since I will have the whole day off. (I had school all day today, Saturday, that is 8 to 5…seriously?? And I have 2 hours of school tomorrow. I have not had time to do any laundry (by hand and wait for the sun to dry it), go to the market or anything…training=not fun). I am planning on making garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and maybe fried chicken??? Or I could do a pasta…I dunno. Whatever I make is not going to have a tomato sauce…as that is what I eat everyday. Olive oil is expensive over here; it’s all palm oil…lots of it...it is also red…red is coming out my ears!! And everywhere else, too.
That is pretty much all for now.
Fie (goodnight in Ewe; pronounced fea, long e, long a),
j
Homestay and Sight Announcement!
June 16, 2010
On the 16th we moved in with our homestay families. My host mom is Grace; she is 52 and has 6 children ranging from 17 – 30. My father is a Methodist preacher named George. I have so far met 2 of my brothers: Robert who is probably 26ish and Opie, who is probably a lil older (they live at the compound). My parents are really nice; mom keeps telling me to eat more and the boys want to make sure that the family is making me feel welcome. My dad wants me to stay in Masse (their village) and do my service…so I am very lucky. I have my own room and bathroom, electricity, running water, a real toilet and a ceiling fan! I am super fancy. There is also a small girl (house helper who works for food and shelter) named Presla. She is starting to talk to me more, which is nice. I stay up and watch soccer with them or play Ghana board games with my brothers…all the board games here are very strategic and I’m pretty sure that they think I am absolutely feeble minded…which these days (thank you malaria meds) isn’t that far from the truth.
Homestay house
So yesterday I got my assignment….drum roll…I will be in the Volta region in Likpe Todome. It is Northeast of HoHoe by 10 miles; you’ll be able to find HoHoe on a map. I am right up against Togo. The village of Likpe Todome is about 2000 people; I will be learning a different language than the one I have studied so far; my new language is Ewe. My assignment is sustainable eco-tourism. We have 6 ancestral/spiritual caves above our village; they were opened to tourism/hikes back in the 80’s; we also have a beautiful waterfall (so I am told, obviously I haven’t been there yet). I am within miles of the Wli Falls which is claimed to be the highest single drop waterfall in West Africa…I have seen pics of this one and it is very pretty. I will also be working with women’s groups; helping them with their small businesses. I will be able to start secondary projects as I see fit. There was a volunteer here, but her service ended in August 2009 and I will be going to my site August 2010.
room at homestay
On the 16th we moved in with our homestay families. My host mom is Grace; she is 52 and has 6 children ranging from 17 – 30. My father is a Methodist preacher named George. I have so far met 2 of my brothers: Robert who is probably 26ish and Opie, who is probably a lil older (they live at the compound). My parents are really nice; mom keeps telling me to eat more and the boys want to make sure that the family is making me feel welcome. My dad wants me to stay in Masse (their village) and do my service…so I am very lucky. I have my own room and bathroom, electricity, running water, a real toilet and a ceiling fan! I am super fancy. There is also a small girl (house helper who works for food and shelter) named Presla. She is starting to talk to me more, which is nice. I stay up and watch soccer with them or play Ghana board games with my brothers…all the board games here are very strategic and I’m pretty sure that they think I am absolutely feeble minded…which these days (thank you malaria meds) isn’t that far from the truth.
So yesterday I got my assignment….drum roll…I will be in the Volta region in Likpe Todome. It is Northeast of HoHoe by 10 miles; you’ll be able to find HoHoe on a map. I am right up against Togo. The village of Likpe Todome is about 2000 people; I will be learning a different language than the one I have studied so far; my new language is Ewe. My assignment is sustainable eco-tourism. We have 6 ancestral/spiritual caves above our village; they were opened to tourism/hikes back in the 80’s; we also have a beautiful waterfall (so I am told, obviously I haven’t been there yet). I am within miles of the Wli Falls which is claimed to be the highest single drop waterfall in West Africa…I have seen pics of this one and it is very pretty. I will also be working with women’s groups; helping them with their small businesses. I will be able to start secondary projects as I see fit. There was a volunteer here, but her service ended in August 2009 and I will be going to my site August 2010.
From what I have been told, I will stay in a guesthouse that is used for tourism (I read somewhere that it was built in the colonial days; once I get to internet I will be googling my a$$ off ); I will have a private apartment there with electricity and piped water…we shall see. It also says my home has a beautiful view of the mountains…So you guys have NO reason not to come and see me. There are several other volunteers who are within a couple hours of me; and lucky me, we all enjoy each other’s company. HoHoe is the main city close to me and I have spent 2 nights there when I was on my Vision Quest last week…so right on! (Also where the orphanage we visited is located..here's some pics from that).
Irene and Chauncey...they loved "forehead, eyewinker..."
That’s about all that’s going on. I enjoy interacting with the people in my homestay village, it helps me with my Twi; my family usually speaks to me in English. The kids constantly yell, “Obruni, Obruni” from blocks away; I usually just smile, point, and yell "abimini" (african child) back at them. I feel like Santa Claus. Everyday I bring joy to people just by showing up and being a foreigner. I don’t even have to do anything and I’m hilarious…and when I try to speak Twi, they really get a kick out of that. So far, this is fun, but I am sure that at some point it will get aggravating. I am currently in search of fabric to have a dress and a shirt made.
room at homestay
Business Goup
j
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