Craziness, Happiness, Sadness

June 13, 2012

Today is exactly one month until I leave my village.

On Monday, riots broke out in HoHoe (my market town, about 40 minutes away) between the Muslim and Ewe people.  Many things have contributed to this, which I will not write about here.  Businesses were burned down and several people killed.  The military arrived on Monday and instilled a 6pm to 6am curfew; it is reported that things have calmed down, although the military is still there.  I have contacted my friends in HoHoe and they are all accounted for and safe.  Peace Corps has forbade any of us to travel to or through HoHoe.  I have been contacted each day by our safety and security coordinator asking about the situation in and around my village.  There have been no issues in my village; we are all aware and upset about what is happening in HoHoe, but there have been no issues here or in other villages that PCV’s are in.  We are remaining in our villages until we get the all clear from PC.  I feel perfectly safe in my village and with PC’s communication with me.

Now on to other things J  One month left, holy moly!  I have done the accounts for the Batik and Women’s groups.  Yesterday we disbursed money to Batik group and they were all surprised at how much they got.  “That’s what happens with you keep good books and don’t let people steal…you have a lot more money to share.  Now aren’t you glad I always yelled at you about money and receipts?!?”  Francis asked them all what they learned from our experience together:  “I have learned how to keep books and why it is important.” “I have learned to have a good business you must be on time.”  “I have learned you have work honestly with each other.” “I have learned that sometimes you have to show you are mad so people see that you are serious.”  That last one came up twice and I don’t know if that’s good or not…it’s true, I have gotten so furious at the group (for stealing!!!) that I’ve yelled at them and left for the day….that’s happened twice.  In a way I think it is a good thing for them to learn; they usually just don’t say anything when people steal, but that doesn’t get things changed.  But then again, I don’t want them to remember me just because I would get red and scream about honesty…I dunno.

I also balanced my Women’s accounts and will disburse money tomorrow.  Between the two groups they will have earned over 2,000 cedis since we have started…that’s a lot of money here.  I am so proud of them.  And we didn’t use NGO or foreign money to start the projects; they did it all on their own.  I often sit and think about what good I’ve really done here; God knows I get so aggravated about things not working out that I get red in the face.  But if nothing else, this village can see 2 successful groups that did it ALL ON THEIR OWN!!!  That’s so important here where people are used to saying “Give me” to NGO’s and foreign aid.  If you are just given money for your business, you don’t give a shit if it really works out or not.  You’re not losing your money; you don’t fight and make a big deal when money is chopped…if it fails, someone else will give you money, you poor thing, you live in Africa…yes, this is honestly how I feel about development here.  But with these groups, they did it on their own; even if the whole village doesn’t see the importance of it, I know some of them do, and that’s enough.  Peter has started keeping accounts at his tailor shop and has saved money and had a sign made; he told me he learned the importance of keeping book and advertising from me; he wants his business to be serious and successful.  He will keep batiking and selling it and will try to make purses and have them sold in HoHoe…I’m a proud mama.

I spent the morning writing my going away speech for the village.  I’m gonna have Francis translate it into Sekua so I can practice and deliver it all in the local language at my closing ceremony (set for July 11^th as of now).  I started writing, thanking them for all we’ve shared, talking about the things I’ve learned, and praising my 2 groups for achieving things for themselves, and stated that development is not buildings (because people have started asking what I will build before I leave) but instead it is people.  I wrote it all down and then reread it…and then cried.  As much as I sometimes hate so many things about this place, I freaking love so many, too.  Oh, I am so not looking forward to these goodbyes; just like when I left the U.S. 2 years ago, I felt slightly sick for a month because of all the goodbyes I had to say and all the emotions made me a wreck.

Time is flying by; both happy and sad.  I still have no idea what to do when I get back to the U.S.  I have hopped around from going to grad school for Public Administration, to just finding a job…but where?  The only thing for sure is that I’ll be squatting at mom and dad’s for a while.  I think I’m just gonna take my time and feel things…see what feels right after I spend some time back in the States, in Jeff City.  We’ll see.

That’s all for now.  See you in one month!!!

j

Pics: Monastary, Juju Market, Henna

Monastery in Techiman

View from rocks at monastery.

Nikki and I at the rocks.

If you can find my green-clad self up on the rock bridge...

Techiman dump...where cattle feed and people shit...awesome.

Juju market...check out the bowl on the left full of dried chameleons :)

More juju: tails, feets, skulls, etc

Here is a delightful pile of various heads...

Market at Techiman.

Juju bling.

I just loved these chameleons..no idea why.

My henna'd feets.

Little girl chillin' on the porch while we got henna'd.

All our sassy hands.

Pics: Porch, Beach, COS

Porch time fun.

Meet Me There; beach chill before the big COS conference.

We've decided we're one of the very few sets of mixed race twins in the world.  Now we just have to figure out which of our mothers have been lying to us... :)

Motley looking crew.

Always a great drinking buddy!

This is my official junior sister in Ghana.

Boys singing me Tom Petty at COS conference.

I LOVE these guys.  This is a love pile up at about 2 in the morning.

Fun and Work

May 29, 2012

So last week I went up to Techiman to meet Nikki and go to the monastery.  It’s a small monastery with maybe 7 or 8 monks and the building is set back in a heavy tree-lined and rocky spot.  It was really pretty.  The monks make jams, chutneys, and wine/schnapps from the fruit trees they grow.  We spent the day climbing on the rocks and just talking.  It was really nice; I never get to spend time with Nikki because we live so far apart.  The next day we went to Techiman’s big Friday market; it’s coined as being the largest market in West Africa.  Nivole came up and met us and Nikki’s counterpart took us to the market.  We ran around looking at stuff and then he took us to the juju part.  There were stalls of dead animals, live animals, wooden juju dolls, brass figurines, powders, and viles of liquid all used in the practice of juju.  My favorites were the dried chameleons.  I don’t know why, but I thought they were super cool.  The women said they were used to make people strong again.

After the market we said that we wanted to get henna.  The Muslim women have henna painted on their feet and left hand usually for weddings and other special occasions.  So the guy took us to a compound of his Muslim friends and then she called a woman to come and paint us.  We spent about 3 hours sitting under a tree while a young woman drew henna on our feet and hands…they turned out great!!!!  We drew quite a crowd and had a good time laughing with all the ladies that came by.  Then after they were done with us they used the henna to draw the women’s eyebrows…another reason so many showed up.  After we left, we went a got a couple beers before heading back to Nikki’s village for the night.  It was a great day!!!

Next came STARS; over 70 high school kids from all over Ghana.  We spent the week at KNUST a University in Kumasi.  This is a leadership conference and the schedule included:  leadership skills, team building activities, HIV/Sex education, specialization areas (science, computers, writing, photography, art, environment), many speakers came in, and they also had a volunteer outreach day where the kids did volunteer projects in the community.  Overall it was a long and successful conference.  I didn’t take kids; I was there as a photographer, snack maker, and general helper.  My favorite part was once again the sex talks.  We separated boys and girls and we PCV’s answered questions the kids had.  We also had nurses on hand for questions.  Several of us female PCV’s were pulled from the girl group since some of the boy groups had questions that the male PCV’s couldn’t really answer.  Some of my questions from the boys:  “I have heard that it has been scientifically proven that if menstrual blood enters the penis it is toxic.”   “I have heard that a part of the woman gets erect like a penis.”  My group learned a lot about the importance of the clitoris…which they had no idea of what it was called.  This lead to discussion of female genital mutilation, which occurs in many parts of Africa.  “Do women like sex?”  “What if a girl cries during sex?”  “Why do girls get so sad, mad, mean when they are pregnant?”  We talked about what menstruation really is, oral sex, condom use, how to be a good lover instead of just demanding sex.  Also, please keep in mind that high school students in Ghana are in dorms (like American universities) and the ages of kids range from 18-25.  After spending a week here and seeing these “kids”… guys with muscles that we only see in magazines and girls with boobs and asses that just don’t stop (it was open showering and no one covers up…I saw more boobs and hoo-ha’s in one week than I have in my whole life!) I see why they sleep around so much…everybody is sexy as hell!  So I mainly preached safe sex every time!  I told them about the one thing that always made me really believe in using condoms:  When you have unprotected sex with someone, you are not just having sex with them, but with every partner they had unprotected sex with, and every partner each of those people had unprotected sex with…so by having unprotected sex with one person, you may actually be “sharing fluids” with 30 or more people..GROSS.  It’s like sticking your hand in a public latrine…

So after STARS we decided not to go to the Upper West.  Super tired from the busy week and I needed to get to Accra for a doctor appointment.  I spent 3 days in Accra babysitting/dogsitting for an ex-pat with Chris.  AC, hot shower, washer/dryer, real bed, couch, TV, pool!  It was nice!  We bought food and made homemade pizzas and Mediterranean pasta.  Saturday we went down to this big market where they resale clothes donated from all over the world.  I found 2 tunics and 2 pashminas for 10 cedis and bought a pair of refurbed purple Birkenstocks for 30 cedis.  It was a fantastic day!!!

Yesterday I got back to the village and am now working on my reports for Peace Corps and starting to go through all my stuff.  I have a burn pile, pack pile, and give away pile.  Less than 2 months!!!!!

j

Oh, the End is Near

May 13, 2012

So last week was our Close of Service Conference.  A few days before that, me and some other PCV’s went to the beach for a couple days to relax before the conference.  We had a great time just hanging out and talking about what we’re doing after service and how we’re feeling now that we’re so close to the end. 

At COS, after some very long and scary deliberations (we were left to decide all on our own…there are 70 of us), we all decided our COS dates… and I will be flying out of Ghana on the 18^th of July…yippee!!!!  Nivole is leaving the week before and Chris is flying out the same day as me…but on a different flight L  It was so strange at the conference; normally we can’t wait to get out of those things, but this time at the end, when we were done thanking our awesome training staff, no one wanted to leave.  We all (70 of us) just kept sitting there because we didn’t want to walk out the door because that meant it was over.  This would be our last PC conference and the last time we would all be together…it was sad and really overwhelming to see that we were all feeling the same thing…there were more than a few pairs of misty eyes in the room…but sucking it up like true PCV’s we had a heck of a last night together!

After the conference I went to Accra where Daisy and I were working on a digital memory book for our group.  It’s gonna be awesome if we ever get it done.  We made up questionnaires that we had the PCV’s answer at the conference and now we are in the process of taking pictures from everyone’s facebook pages.  Once we get it finished, it will be available online to view, but can also be ordered as a coffee-table book…I’m really excited about this.

Now I’m back in the village for a few days.  During COS I got all sentimental and was really looking forward to coming back to site, but now that I’m here, I’m just bored again.  I’m trying to hold a couple meetings this week before I leave again on Wednesday.  I don’t really have any reason to be spending time in the village and I got a ton of paperwork from Peace Corps to do.  I’m still sewing the market bags for my women’s and batik group…I think I have 4 left to sew…I’m tired of sewing the same thing…it’s boring.

Next week I head up to Kumasi to help with STARS (camp for highschool kids all over Ghana, that PCV’s put on).  Before STARS, I’m gonna go up to a monastery you can stay at and hike in the rocks…a lot of people really like it, but I’ve never been.  After STARS I’m gonna venture up to the Upper West for a few days since that’s the only region of Ghana I haven’t been in.  Then back to the village for a month or so and then on to America to see you fine people!!!

Mixed feelings about all this, but that’s to be expected I guess.  I think I’m gonna take the GRE in August and then apply for some Grad schools and PC fellowships.  There’s all kinds of stuff in the works: school, epic Northwest road trip, Austin trip, Katie’s wedding…and that’s just through December J

j

Pics of Late

My bean lady at the HoHoe market.

Shot of HoHoe market (on a non-market day; market days are crazy.)

Critters at my house.

Rose; look at those eyes.

So a few months ago I made the finger mask face at some of the kids.  Since then we practice; some of them get it and some of them are still stabbing themselves in their eyes.  It's hilarious to watch them try.  I'll be walking through the village and a kid will randomly pop out of a door or window and throw up their mask, then I throw up mine in return...and the adults look at us like we're nuts and laugh.

Pretty rainbow over our mountain.

Today Was a Good Day!

April 25, 2012

Today was a good day.  I woke up to a cool breeze; I laid in bed for about an hour just feeling the cool and smelling the smell of cool. The sky was overcast and looking like it might rain.  It felt like a fall day and that’s something I miss terribly.  I made some cinnamon toast and a cup of tea and sat around reading a book.  The rain didn’t come, so I got ready to head to HoHoe.  I dropped off headbands at Aunty Felicia’s and then headed to my seamstress.

I spent time there hanging out and figuring out what to make with all the cloth I’ve recently bought (I have a serious addiction). After that, I started to walk to town; the day was still cool…I didn’t sweat…it was nice.  I stopped off to eat some banku and palm soup at small chop bar.  I usually stop here when I’m on this side of town.  I sat in the little hut, feeling the weather, and thinking how I’m gonna miss eating with my hands.  I walk on and stop to see Eric at the cloth shop…low and behold he has the brown linen I’ve been looking for to make pants.

Now it’s on to the market.  Last week I talked to some of the ladies and said I wanted to come and take pictures of their stalls.  They think I’m insane because I think the big bowls of beans and rice look beautiful.  They laugh at me as I snap the dirt paths and wooden stalls.  I catch my tro back to Todome, drop, and walk through the village with the breeze still singing through the leaves.  The breeze here sounds amazing because the trees, grass, and bushes are so thick…it’s really amazing.  I love that a simple thing like air moving has a feel, sound, and smell.

I arrive in my yard and find kids gathering mangos that have fallen from my tree.  I drop my stuff of inside and we sit on the porch sucking on mangos; juice dripping down to our elbows.  Mango season…  After our snack they want to color.  Later, I bust out my camera and they turn into little bouncing monkey children.  After a while they go home and I head inside to read.  The breeze is actually cold.  These days, if I’m not sweating at least a little, I feel cold….I LOVE IT.  I curl up in bed under my two-yard, snuggle with Monkey and read my book.

Chris calls and we talk about how we can’t believe that we have less than 3 months left in Ghana…we are all a giddy mess about this.  It’s so exciting!  Next week is our Close of Service conference and we’ll get to pick our actual dates of flying out of Ghana…it’s like Christmas morning!

I’m currently cooking light soup while Francis is pounding fufu.  A delicious meal at the end of a delicious day.  I’m happy today.  Francis said we’re gonna play cards tonight.  Last time I kicked his butt at rummy; tonight is the re-match.  My favorite baby, Michaela, turned 2 this week; we killed a chicken and had soup.

j