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780 Births

There’s a good chance I won’t get a free moment for a while, so here’s taking advantage of it. I’m sitting in the “computer room” in Accra at the Peace Corps HQ (headquarters). The room is air-conditioned and I’m a little chilly even in my jeans and t-shirt. I have a free moment because of the wonderful health care that I’m receiving here in Ghana. Last night I had a twingy eye pain and thought it was maybe just some dust/dirt in my contacts. After a night of not sleeping too much due to eye pain I awoke in much more pain. It felt like something was in my eye, but couldn’t see anything with much probing. Eventually I called the PCMO (peace corps medical officer) who wanted me to come to the capital if I couldn’t find the supposed foreign object. I, along with others, could not see/find anything, so down I came, most fortunately with some Peace Corps staff who were already planning a trip down. The PCMO looked in my eye, didn’t see anything so I went to an optometrist. I was driven there and within 5 minutes of entering the office was getting an eye exam. They were as startled as any optometrist I’ve ever been to, to see how badly near-sighted I am. After putting some numbing drops in my eyes and a stain it was obvious that I had a corneal abrasion upon inspection. It looks “okay” to him, but just to be safe I’m staying in Accra at the medical unit overnight. I’ll be taking some eye drops for the next week and all should heal on its own. I’ve probably been a little too careless with my contacts these past few weeks while traveling and living out of bags, so lesson learned. I’ll probably stick to glasses for the rest of training.

It was really good to be back in my home stay community and to see Momma Rose and Kris. We’ve had our favorite meal the last two evenings as well as pineapple, it seems as though we were also missed. Yesterday I painted my toenails, red. It was perhaps the most normal I’ve felt since arriving in Ghana. I had packed away the nail polish and left it at site for when we get there in the middle of August, Kris was nice enough to dig through my stuff and bring it down for me. What a good husband I have.

Yesterday afternoon I was able to work on my PPP (Personal Project Presentation) which included interviewing a local TBA (Traditional Birth Attendant)—Since I’m part of the government I’ve decided to use acronyms as much as they do (this is not actually possible), though I’ll give you the spelled out explanation of what I’m talking about. She’s an 88-year-old woman who in the last 40 years has assisted/birthed 780 babies (she's had 7 infants die/still born and one mother, pretty good stats). So far this month she’s had 10, and I hope I’ll be around for the next one. When I first met her she used the only English she knew to thank me profusely for coming, she was given no warning. She also had a small boy translate to me that she wanted me to stay for 3 months so that I could replace her/learn everything she knows. Upon interviewing her yesterday I learned that she was serious about this proposition, as she has no one to replace her; everyone in her family is scared about the idea. There is no TBA like her in the community… what’s going to happen to all of the babies to come? This lady melts my heart and boggles my mind when I think about all of the lives she’s touched. She’s delivered 3 generations now, grandchildren of babies she’s delivered. She’s extremely religious; the first thing she does for the mother and unborn baby when they enter her humble “clinic” is to pray for them. “I ask God to protect the mother while she brings his creation into the world.” “I ask him to help his child to enter the world safely.” When I was thanking her for sharing her life and work with me for my presentation she stated that the next time I came I should bring a gift (of course I forgot). I told her I would go bring her a mineral right now, so I brought her back her requested Guinness Malta (non-alcoholic), she prayed over it before pouring it and offering to share it with me. I hope to work with similar people in the community I will come to call home for the next 2 years. (the above photo is one I took of Veronica-the TBA)

I just got back from eating pizza in DT Accra with some current PCVs. I’m spending the night in the sick bay in my own bed complete with SHEETS(!!) and mosquito net. The room has electricity and it’s own air conditioner (!!). After I finish this post I’m going to take a HOT (!!) SHOWER (!!) in the sick bay’s private bathroom. Getting a corneal abrasion has more perks than I thought! Just kidding, I won’t be throwing sand into my eyes and rubbing them vigorously anytime soon.

I have a request to ask of those who are reading along. Do you have any questions for me/us? I feel as though there’s a good chance I’m boring you all to tears while you have questions and wonders about something specific that we’re encountering. Please feel free to comment with questions and/or topic suggestions.

Love and miss you all.

Short Break From Technical Training

Hi! I'm so thrilled to update with a post! Usually I'm able to write a post ahead of time, but Kris has the laptop (since I wouldn't be in a laptop safe environment for three weeks), so bear with me. I've been in Gushie (north of Tamale) for the past 2 weeks for "intensive technical training." We've helped construct a pit latrine, mozambique latrine and a soak away pit. I've also been able to help out at a community baby weighing... pictures to come... I've taught an hour lesson to 4th graders about Malaria and a similar length lesson to Mango farmers about HIV/AIDS. Tomorrow I'll be teaching a lesson to Junior High kids about HIV/AIDS. Once back in my home-stay community I'll be teaching a lesson to 6th graders about hand washing. Besides prepping for all of these sessions, we've been having learning sessions ourselves on how to teach and facilitate. Kris got to our site yesterday afternoon, I talked with him briefly and he seems pretty happy with it :) It has 4 rooms and a pretty large outdoor cemented-in area. The bedroom has a bed in it (wow!), the living/sitting area has several tables and a book shelf and the kitchen has 2 tables and a storage area/cabinet. I will post pictures soon so this all makes more sense. Our bathe-room is attached in our outdoor cemented-in area; it's open to the sky with high enough cement wall. We have a cat named kitty (female) and a rabbit (female) named bunny. I welcome more creative name suggestions. I slept outside 1.5 nights of my stay at sight. Night 2 was interrupted by a pretty dramatic rain storm. We have a huge garden including a bunch of Moringa trees (which I will be making into soap and protein rich powder)! To buy anything to eat or cook with I have to walk/bike 3KM into Kpassa. Unfortunately there is a pretty big hill in the middle of this commute and the road is dirt with some gravel and craters mixed throughout. I will have very large calves when I get back :) We have a latrine, very simple I believe it to be a V.I.P. (no, not very important person: ventilated improved pit). It's just a hole, so I'll be getting in some quality squatting time. The main road in the Volta Region is the worst in Ghana. I can even say this around Ghanaians or experienced PCVs without getting contradicted, it truly is.

My health: Had a malaria scare the other day, so I took a rapid test, which was negative. About 30 minutes after taking the test I had my first experience of thinking I was urinating when it was really from another source... you get the picture. So now I'm on Cipro along with at least half of the other WATSAN volunteers who also had fever + diarrhea. We're all feeling much better though now. Prior to getting sick I was trying to tend to those with high fevers (good nurse Tricia), I also made an antibiotic run on which I had my first car accident... well, more goat vs. car accident. The goat did not stand a chance, but unfortunately left the van leaking coolant all over the road. Poor PC vehicle. I sleep in a mosquito net... even in a screened in porch, I just really don't want malaria. My latest issue has been getting a mosquito in the net with me. Try as I might I usually manage to have one sneak in and miss my flashlight beam as I do the sweep... maybe I have poor technique. Nonetheless I am taking mefloquine which kills malaria in my blood so I don't get the symptoms as long as I take it regularly, which I have been doing.

I'm pretty excited to be heading back to home-stay on Sunday, Kris will be getting back around the same time, it'll be nice to see him after 3 weeks! We'll be stopping at a waterfall on our way back... I can't wait. I had the chance to sit on a crocodile the other day and see/hike some beautiful rock formations. Although there aren't many "wild animals" Ghana is truly a beautiful place filled with even more beautiful people. I'm missing Madison right now as summer is in full swing... concerts on the square, farmers market, terrace, but am really enjoying the work I am doing. Most of the people I've been able to talk with have thanked me profusely for sharing my knowledge with them. I'm convinced this is where I need to be right now and I can't wait to swear in and really get to know my community. Miss you all.

Random Update

Ok, can't think of a good title here, so let's call this post "random update." I'm at an internet cafe so I'll take advantage and give an update and a road map for the rest of training.

First off, if you are reading this, go to the comments page and give some feedback! I don't see any comments, and this is a good way for us to get feedback on the blog. Positive or negative, seriously, let us know what you think!

Training is still going well (I probably say that a lot). I feel well-prepared on the basic teaching aspects, but we still have some more to learn with regards to dealing with other teachers in the schools and district education offices, etc. They will also give us basic training on potential secondary projects. While these are not as fundamental to our jobs as teaching, there is great potential to make a positive difference through these secondary projects, so I'm excited for this.

From here to the end of training it will be pretty busy, so Tricia and I may not be able to update as often. Here's a rough road map for you:

Tricia is up north doing technical training - she will be there the next two weeks. She says there is no electricity and no cell reception, much less internet, so it may be hard to reach her by cell phone during this time. But I just talked to her and she's doing fine :) I think they're excited to learn some of the technical aspects of health/watsan; up until now it has been all talk.

This week I am focusing heavy on language training. On Sunday I will be meeting my counterpart (another teacher at my school at site) and doing the "counterpart workshop," during which we will get to know them and vice versa. Then I will travel to my site in Volta with my counterpart and check it out. The next Sunday I will come back to Kukurantumi. Tricia will also come back Saturday/Sunday. Then we will wrap up the last two weeks of training, which include a language test, some presentations, and...some other stuff (can't remember the schedule right now).

Ok, bye!

(written July 10, 2010)

Intro to Ghanaian Foods

Now that I am in my 5th week here, I will make a novice attempt to describe the foods I have been eating here. I also need something to do, because it has been raining for the past 23 hours and I don’t want to go outside. Yeah, it’s into the heart of the rainy season here.

While it is possible to get some of the same raw ingredients as in the US – I fully plan to cook some of the same stuff I ate in the US once I get settled in at site – there are some differences in how they are prepared. First of all, with Ghanaian food preparation the goal is to have to chew as little as possible. In the US we are trained to chew our food thoroughly, so as to minimize choking. In Ghana the strategy is to prepare the food such that minimal chewing is required. Most Ghanaian staple dishes have two main parts; the starch and the sauce. The sauce is usually a soup, such as groundnut (peanut) soup or okra. You can also get stew that is thicker and may have more vegetables in it. Hot pepper is added to most soups/stews, as is meat (fish, beef, chicken, grass cutter and goat are all common – sometimes you get cow hide or some other mystery meat), so it is moderately spicy. The starch can be anything from yam to corn to rice to cassava. It is usually pounded or otherwise softened up to meet the minimal chewing requirement, then formed into a ball. Pounding fufu can take an hour, so there is significant preparation required. So you have your ball of starch and your soup. Place the starch ball(s) into a bowl and pour the soup over the top (don’t forget the mystery meat). Then, using your right hand only, reach into the piping hot soup, pull a piece off the starch ball, dip it thoroughly in the soup, and shovel it into your mouth. Repeat. If you are sharing a meal with others, keep in mind that the faster you eat the more you get. Continue until it is all gone, then take turns lifting the bowl to your lips and drinking the soup. Congratulations, you have just eaten fufu! For boiled yam (think: potato) the process is slightly different. The boiled yam is cut into half-moon shapes and then used to dip into stew (yam is usually not served with a more liquid-like soup). Banku is the ground corn version of fufu and is allowed to ferment, giving it a sour flavor – kind of like sourdough bread only more intense.

These foods are prepared at home or served from small kitchen-shops called “chop bars.” There is also the occasional restaurant where you can sit and eat. One thing that impresses me is that Ghanaians are very disciplined in washing hands before eating. In fact, hygiene in general is very impressive, especially given that much more effort is required. But that’s another blog post.

If you are eating in the midst of others it is common to say, “You are invited,” which basically means you are offering to share your food with others. This is mainly a formality, but if you were starving you could certainly join in.

So what have I been eating? While I am staying with my host mom I have been getting a lot of boiled yam and fish stew. The fish stew usually has tomato, and sometimes cabbage, 2 or 3 green beans, carrots, and other veggies. While veggies are expensive here, they are available, and if we ask our host families will buy them for us (they do get paid by PC, so it is not a completely charitable act). Sometimes I get rice balls with groundnut soup, though instead of eating it Ghana-style I eat it with a spoon, mainly because I don’t want to have a bunch of soup left over at the end (I am not yet good at maximizing the soup that absorbs into the starch before I shovel it into my mouth, so there is always plenty of soup remaining in the bowl). Today I got kenkey for the first time. It tastes like banku, very sour, but is shaped like boiled yam (half-moon or half-disc shape). I’m going to be honest – I didn’t love it. The rest of the time (40%)I get loose rice and soup/stew, which I happily consume completely. This balance of food has taken some time to develop – I give honest feedback on every meal, per Peace Corps’ suggestion. My host mom hosted a trainee in the group last year, and so she is familiar with the routine and hosts Tricia and I very well.

Now I will stop talking about food, because I just ate lunch an hour ago and I’m getting hungry already…

Perspective

Greetings from Cape Coast!

I am here for a few days visiting a volunteer that is already one year into their service, to get an idea of what it will be like once I get to site after we swear in August 12. So far I have found it helpful in gaining some perspective on service, and has helped me to see beyond training. I have seen the volunteer's village and living quarters, and experienced travel from his small village into the city of cape coast. It is a relatively short distance, but can take over an hour due to the poor road conditions and transport available. Also, today we need to be back mid-afternoon otherwise we might not get there at all - transport quits on Sunday pretty early.

As for the region, I am gaining no perspective on what my site will be like, because Cape Coast is basically a different world from north Volta. You can apparently get most things you can get in Accra, and every time I enter a taxi they try to charge us triple the price because they think we are tourists. But it is interesting to experience. An additional perk is internet :)

So what do you do in cape coast? You go to the beach. I now know where to meet all of you that want to come visit, but don't necessarily want to endure the long, arduous, exhausting travel required to get up to our site from Accra. There are plenty of resorts, not quite like Cancun, but relatively nice (flush toilets!). So look it up. I also did a tour of Cape Coast Castle, which is one of the slave castles along the coast. I'll go into detail about that later (hopefully), with pictures as well.

But as nice as this vacation of sorts has been, it will be over soon - I'll be back in Kukurantumi for training in a few days. Tomorrow i will observe the volunteer teaching in their school, and see how they interact with the other teachers, to gain some more perspective there. For now I will take 5 and catch up with world news, then my half hour will be up!

Best,

View our photos so far!

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The Spider Incident

The following is a glimpse into what I’m growing accustomed to while living in Ghana. A wise PCV once told me to take every challenge, bad experience or bad day and give it 13 days (why 13? I didn’t ask). If at the end of those 13 days you are still upset, frustrated, depressed, angry, or fearful, go home. She said she hasn’t made it past 3 days of feeling ready to go home, I’ve had to give it 2 days so far. Every day brings new challenges, joys, and experiences. The subsequent journal is a tale of a traumatic experience I endured.

Most of you know I’m phobic of spiders. I’ve gone through a small amount of desensitization so that I can be in the remote area of a spider without completely breaking down and it has helped me quite a bit. I’ve killed spiders here! I’ve killed big ones! Hold your applause until after I tell the tale of my latest encounter.

It was a normal morning here in our host village, Kris had left for the day to get to another town to teach and I was taking my time getting ready, as I didn’t have to be in town until 0800. I fetched a bucket full of water out of our large water barrel and headed into the bathing room in the house (which is a 4-sided concrete room with semi-tiled flooring and a wooden door for an entrance, there’s also a window for light opposite the door), I was wearing my “2-yard” which is just as it sounds, two yards of Ghanaian fabric used as a towel, and my shower sandals (flip flops). I sat down my bucket, turned around to shut the door and there it was, a huge spider, just below the nail to which I would typically hang my 2 yard. Its body was the size of a half dollar and oddly shaped and its legs were about as long as half of one of my fingers.

I tired to keep my cool, which didn’t last long, as I contemplated whether or not I could kill this giant. After arguing each point to myself for about a minute I decided that I could kill the spider. Then I wracked my brain with ideas as to how I was going to kill it. I came up with squishing it with one of my shower sandals. Then I started to doubt my plan, what if I missed and it came at me, then I’m at it’s mercy, one-shoed, I’d potentially have to step on it with my bare foot! That would not be okay, on second thought, because if I killed it in that manner, I’d have to get very close to it with my hand to squish it! So plan fail.

My only other option was to go get my host mother, Momma Rose. So, off I ran, scantily clad, to my mother’s store. Next I faced a slight language barrier as I found it hard to talk slowly in my panicked sate, and no I didn’t know the Twi word for spider. I managed to take four fingers on each hand and mock the image of a spider, to which she finally understood and laughed. She said, “let’s go,” and I followed her up the path to our home. She went into the shower room and looked in the direction I told her it had last been. She said, “it is not here, it must have left.” Right (I’m thinking to myself), but I believed her enough to take a second look. Yep, there it was, unmoved and scary as ever. I told her, no no, it’s still here, kill it please. She came back into the shower room (so now I’m trapped in there with her and the spider). At this point I’m hysterical and crying, yes crying, she looks at me unsure what to do with her adult American “daughter” crying in her 2-yard over a spider, she then shooed it out. She said, “it is now gone” and “is it okay?” I responded with a pitiful “yes” as she closed the door. I was left alone mortified as I could hear her laughing and talking to herself as she walked back down to the store. It took me as long as a bucket bath takes to stop crying and to feel somewhat okay.

Later I called Kris on my walk into town to tell him about the incident. I started crying again in reliving my feeling of terror and vulnerability. Freaking spiders, I hate them; they scare me senseless and make me cry. Kris has been extra vigilant since the described incident, killing (not just shooing them out of eyesight) anything with 8 legs. I’ve also been killing them myself, much more in my element with multiple weapons (i.e. shoes) to kill them with and wearing much more protective clothing. I’ve even spit my toothpaste out on one on purpose while brushing outside. I hope this incident is a rarity, I hope the big spiders just leave me alone and that my future cat at site would rather eat spiders than any other thing I could feed it. I am typing this in my safe zone, which is in our bed enclosed in a mosquito net. I fear malaria, which is a real threat here, but it doesn’t scare me to tears like spiders do, so for now I shall rename it my spider net.

What's Tricia Been up to?

What has Tricia been up to? I’ve been told this is a common question among people back home, so here’s a brief description if I can conjure one. My second week in Ghana I left for “vision quest” where I had the opportunity to travel and visit a current Peace Corps Volunteer at their site. I went to a town called Tampion in the northern region of Ghana. The days of travel were trying to say the least, total it took about 16 hours to reach my volunteer. The roads here are quite different than in the states, as is the physical terrain. There are mountains and valleys, poorly maintained roads and poorer maintained vehicles. Personal space is a luxury not a typical standard in any vehicle in which I’ve ridden. Air conditioning is having the windows open. There is no such thing as a double yellow solid line here, passing the car/truck/tro/bus ahead of you is left up to when you feel lucky or sense that an oncoming car is not just ahead or beyond the top of the hill you are climbing.

Due to the danger of traveling at night I stayed one night each way in the Tamale Sub Office (in Tamale). Once in Tampion I visited with the currently serving volunteer, ate good food, rested and walked around her village. We observed a math class, the village’s market day, and normal daily activities such as fetching water from the nearby crocodile infested dam. We greeted all of the elders in the community and even met with the chief. We were invited to a baby naming ceremony and I got to hold a 7-day-old infant girl. The lorry ride back to Tamale was made more special because of a live bull I was able to share it with. No one got hurt, but it was yet another example of things that are done differently here that may take some adjusting.

When we made it back down to Kukurantumi (where we are currently staying), I stayed in a local hotel for 3 nights. The hotel had running water and an air conditioner, after a week in “the bush” I took full advantage of the amenities. During my time staying at the hotel I had separate classes from Kris, mostly stuff I had missed while on vision quest. Then I got to meet my host mom and move into her home with Kris. Since moving to this smaller community my days are comprised of 6 hours of language training and 2 hours of technical training. My technical training has been related to learning tools that will help me assess the community where we will be located. We’ve also done quite a bit of walking around our small village talking with the community members and gaining an understanding for what their health/water sanitation needs are. Most of the issues in the community are related to sanitation, i.e. refuse dumping and latrines/open defecation (sorry) and standing water (mosquito breeding ground).

We’ve had a few sessions related to malaria, hand washing, and family planning. We also have four presentations to present before the swearing in ceremony in August so I’ve been gaining ideas for two of them. One will be a lesion/teaching moment. I’ve made up a little ditty about hand washing and am working on translating it to Twi. I’ll then teach the song to some kids and do some education about why we wash our hands as well as a hand-washing demo with them. For my second project I plan to meet with the local traditional birth attendant to talk with her about what she does, I’ll then present my findings to fellow trainees. I met with her the other night just to introduce myself. She’s a spitfire ~80 year-old woman who doesn’t speak any English except for thank-you. She was thrilled to meet me, and tried to convince me to stay and learn from her for 3 months (all translated by a young boy who was in the immediate area when I sensed I needed some assistance communicating). I’ll go back to talk more with her in 4 weeks, she can’t wait J. Starting Sunday for the next 3 weeks I will be first visiting our future site (yay!) and then doing more hands on technical training in the north. I will once again get to experience the joys of traveling, which I’m gaining confidence in quicker than I’d imagined.

Besides being in class or traveling we try to do our laundry (which resulted in about 20 mosquito bites this morning), visit with other trainees, hang out with our host mom, and “relax.” We’re looking forward to when we’re at site and can control our own schedules, but for now are appreciating every bit of preparation that is available.

I'm fine!

I’m not quite sure how you all thought I would do in the bush, but anyone I’ve talked to on the phone so far has said, “it’s so good to hear your voice” and “you sound good” and “you sound happy.” Don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not offended, in fact it is an affirmation that I am doing well and am happy here. So, to those of you who have been worried/nervous/anxious to hear how I am doing, I am fine (as any good Ghanaian would reply upon greeting). Let me explain the greeting thing.

So, every day I walk into “town” (it’s really a small village), it is about .75 miles to my final destination, which is typically the Methodist Church where I’ve been learning the language Likpakpaln. It’s hot, always here, so generally after shocking myself with cold water from my bucket bath in the morning I begin to glisten J, when I walk into town I must greet every single living thing (okay maybe not all of the baby chicks and goats, but for sure their mothers). Greeting goes as thus: Ma Che? (good morning), yea ena/eja (I see that you’ve greeted me woman/man) Ete sane? (how are you, they may also say it wo hotesen just to throw me) I respond me hoye or me hoye paaa (I am fine.), Now oon swane? (and you) menso me hoye paaa (I am also fine.). This could be the end, but it typically isn’t.

Now they want to know where I’m going, I tell them me quo Methodist (I’m going to the Methodist church), they then ask why, I tell them for school (for ease of quick explanation), they then ask where I have come from, which I respond with Rose Aframuah’s house, they then tell me how they are related to Mama Rose and that technically we are sisters, I’m their niece/daughter, mom… I tell them that that is very fine (which is a good response to any compliment). Then they ask me my name, to which I respond, Ama Kissuwa, they then laugh uncontrollably at me having a Ghanaian name. Then I do the polite thing, ask them their name, to which they respond with their name (and I immediately forget their name as it is so foreign to me). They then ask me if I will remember their name… to which I lovingly reply, I will try (right). Then they ask me when I will be coming back (past them to greet again), to which I reply with when I will be going home for lunch. I then ask for leave (please let me get to class, I’m already late J), they then say quo bra (go and come, meaning come back soon), I say trey ebeshia (we will meet again soon). Mind you all of the people greeting me think they’re doing me a favor, teaching me the Twi language, it’s actually quite confusing since I’ve finished learning Twi and have moved on to Likpakpaln (which no one besides our instructor speaks here). This is one reason I am sometimes late to my destination though I left unreasonably early. I make this journey (to and from) about 4-6 times a day depending on my schedule, good thing I like walking.

Another reason, children. The children love white people, well besides the ones who cry when they take sight of me, they call out and even full on chant Obroni, Obroni, Obroni (white person) until I respond, typically in Twi which they don’t expect, then they run away, or continue asking me questions, like my name. Most of the kids here now know my name so instead of interrupting my classes by shouting Obroni, they now interrupt by calling out Ama Kissuwa, which is debatably more distracting. The children also think I will not harm them when they surround my legs and attach themselves, and hug me around the middle, they are right so far, but did I mention it’s hot here? And these children generally have sticky hands from eating fu-fu. I do love the kids though, the most cheerful and beautiful children.

That is all for now, I hope all of you are well. Unless you’ve been emailing me or talking with my parents I don’t know how you’re doing, so let me know what’s going on! We feel a little (okay a lot) isolated here, we know little about what’s going on back home and in the rest of the world, I hope we can find some way to remedy this.