This is the Real Africa

When we think of Africa, most of us in the western part of the world, think of mud huts, naked children running around and boobs, but i am here to tell you that things have changed in Africa and its time that we catch up with them. Before joining the Peace Corps, I had this grand view of what my life was going to be like; no electricity, no running water, some very interesting food, and dirt floors. This is what a lot of us wanted and expected when joining the Peace Corps, but we soon learned that Africa has moved on and left us 100 years behind in our thoughts.
Just last night i was Skyping with a friend and she asked "How does one get to Ghana? Do they even have an airport?" I was taken aback, how could she not know that all African nations have airports, cars, internet, cell phones....how is that Americans have such a simplified view of Africa? Where in our education are we lacking, that we still portray Africa as it was 100 years ago. I'll admit that it has taken me months to get rid of the stereotype that has been imbedded so deeply into my mind of Africa; that even while living here, i wanted to see and experience the Africa that i was brought up on. But i have now come to terms with this "new" Africa that i live in and its time that Americans also face the fact that Africa is changing, quickly, and we need to keep up with what it’s really like over here.
Here are some examples of what the real Africa is like now: most people in West Africa have at least two cell phones and as many as 4 different numbers, in Ghana there are 7 different cell phone companies competing against each other, the number of cars and motos (small motorcycles) on the road are just as plentiful here as in America, internet cafes can now be found in smaller and smaller towns and villages, watching TV and movies is now a favorite past time, there is formal education here all the way up to universities, which can be found all over the country, there are paved roads popping up everywhere, and many other examples. Now, i understand that Ghana is more developed than other African countries, but i am sure that many of these examples can be found in other countries as well.
This is not to say that most African nations are now out of the third world category, this is more to point out that people are changing; life styles are changing. Something that many Africans don’t realize is how we view them; they don’t understand that when most Americans think of Africa, they don’t see tall buildings and complete infrastructure; they see wide open land, filled with wild animals and people who still live in small huts and live with their "tribes". It’s time to open your eyes America, and appreciate how far Africa has come in this new millennium; it is our own fault that we see them as less advanced, that we don’t allow our self’s to experience what Africa is like now, not 100 years ago. If you don’t believe me, you are invited to come experience what Africa is really all about and start a change within yourself and back in the states; my doors are always open.

Paragliding, Prom Queen and President

April has been and will continue to be a month where I won’t stop moving. It started off when i decided that i needed to jump off a cliff (literally)! Here in Eastern Region of Ghana, there is a Paragliding festival that happens each year on Easter weekend. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer, how could i pass up this opportunity? Well i couldn’t! And it was one of the most AMAZING things i have ever done! Being up in the air, attached to a very attractive man ( not all of them were, so i got lucky) flying over one of the most beautiful places in Ghana...I wish i could have just kept going and never land; super addictive, i would do it again in a heartbeat! After this stupendous adventure, i headed down to our All Volunteer conference. This is where all the PCV in Ghana (all 162 of us) get together and learn some new things, get a chance to brag about all that we are doing, and have a GREAT time together. If i have learned one thing about Peace Corps, is that we really are a big ol' family....no matter how corny that sounds; you have your "mom" and "dad" types that will help you out with anything you need, you have your crazy, odd, not sure what to do with them, aunts and uncles, you have the Super annoying younger bro's and sis's that you kinda wish weren’t there, but could not imagine life without them and then there are the ones that make you a better person and know will never get enough of them.
So with all these different personality types brought together, we somehow worked together in harmony and had an amazing 4 days. The Highlights: 1. Talent show- the amount of talented people shocked me!!! 2. Craft fair- gotta love the chance to shop and not get haggled about prices 3. Date Auction: this is where a PCV can design a "date" to sell, like taking someone horseback riding in Accra, or treating someone to an AMAZING Meal (bugers, fries and beers), and all the money goes towards GYD (gender youth development) 4. Prom: Yes, i know this sounds silly, and a bit odd that a group of 162, ages 22-75, all got together for a another go at prom, but it was awesome! We all put on our best 2 yards, and were looking good! On a personal note about all the stated above activities, i did two songs for the talent show that i wrote ( a play off of "I wanna be a billionaire...or I wanna be a Ghanaian, and a little mermaid parody), I was one of the announcers for the date auction, which was a lot of fun, and I was nominated for prom queen ( Who would have ever thought that in high school.....for sure Not Me) and then ended up sharing the crown (Mean Girls style) with the other 2 lovely ladies who were also nominated. It was a Blast! During All-Vol, we also met with all the committees that we have, and i am now president of the Food Security committee, which works with USAID and Feed the Future initiative. I am very excited to have this opportunity to get things started and bring a new outlook to the group.
I am now waiting in Accra, trying to get my visas for Togo and Benin, since a small group of us are going to the West African Trade Hub Shea Conference, which starts this Saturday. Now the bad part about this is that it falls under the same time as my regions GLOW (girls leading our world) camp...Which SUCKS cause i won’t get to go to it....but i will be learning ALOT that will help not only my village, but all of Ghana. So that’s where i am in my life at the moment, I can’t wait to get back to site and just have some down time and hang out with my friends there. I will write again about the adventures of the other West African countries I’m going to, so till than!

Some photos for you to enjoy of ghana

 Near Cape coast...fisherman coming back from fishing

 Fresh honey combs from the honey harvesting training

My baby boy Tully....Sooo cute

I Love my Life...

 I love my life right now!!!! There is nowhere else I would want to be, but in Ghana. I don’t know if I ever thought that I would say or think that if you asked me 5 months ago, but now that I have things to do, places to be, I could not be happier. Let me explain a bit more about why I’m so happy….first, I am getting things done like I have never done before. I won’t lie…I can be a bit of a procrastinator… but here, I want to do more, have more responsibility, be involved in everything I can be involved in. I don’t know if I am feeling this because im “growing up” or because I just fit into this life style so well; this is my niche. Growing up, I never even thought about the Peace Corps or even really knew what it was. It was not until a friend from college (Nicole Abrams) talked about how she was going to be serving in Morocco as an environmental volunteer that I thought to myself, yea, that sounds like an awesome thing to do with my life.  So, here I am, living the life that I never knew I wanted to live and loving it.

Some of the things that I am now involved in are:

 a. Shea Group, called PC-SHEAV, where I am helping to plan a training for Shea farmers

b. Helped develop the new Bee Keepers group: United Beekeepers of Peace Corps Ghana, where I am the secretary and just finished a honey harvesting training

c. I am writing a Plant Guide book for Ghana; divided into three section-grasses, crops, and trees. This is going to take a lot of time and effort from lots of people and I can’t wait to get it going

d. I am also writing a theater games book since Ghanaians LOVE Theater and playing games. So this will be a guide for the volunteers to teach games, songs and other activities to their kids and communities

e. Traveling…I love to Travel. I was selected to go to Mali this April for a Food Security summit, but since Mali had a bit of a coup, not sure what will happen there. Than I am going to Benin for the west African Shea Conference at the end of April with 5 other PCV’s, going to be so much fun

f. Also in April…Big month I know….my region is putting on a girl’s camp called GLOW, I will do a whole blog on that one later. So im super pumped for that

So that is why I am in such a good place in my life; the busier I am, the happier I am. It also does not hurt that I love most the people that I am working with in my various projects. And the fact that I have a real bed and fan in my room at site makes life so much better since it is SOOO HOT HERE!!!!!! My cat Tully is also doing amazing, and makes me so happy each time I see his little face, such a special boy. He caught and ate a mole the other day…what a good cat. Well that’s my life and I hope  life wherever you are is just as satisfying as mine is…

a guide to better understanding

I have now been in Ghana for almost 9 months if you can believe that. When you first come to a new place, there are so many different stimuli, that it’s impossible to receive all the information that is being thrown at you. This is particularly true when you are in a place so different from what you have ever experienced; part of your brain goes on vacation without you even realizing it. But soon, this part of the brain comes back, and starts to notice all the things that were lost when you first landed.  When this happens, you start to take on the traits of those around you, mostly subconsciously, only realizing what has happened when you are with others who are going through the same things. For example, those of us who live in Ghana know that there is are 70+ local languages, each of us knowing a certain one or even two of these. But there is one language that we all begin to learn just by interacting with every Ghanaian we meet; this is Ghanaian English. Here are some examples that I find myself and others who have been here some time:

1.       Small small- this can mean many things and used in most sentences…it will take time, it’s a small thing, I like something only a little,  etc.; Ex: I am hungry small small

2.       Somehow- this one creeped up on me, and I did not even know that I was using it till the other day Ex: somehow, we will get food today, somehow

3.       O, WHY!!- This is often said with great vigor and passion; usually used when something bad has happened or something you don’t like; Ex.  you get to your tro that you are supposed to take to get home, and a women cuts in front of you to get the last spot…WHY….

4.       Fine- when I first got to Ghana, it felt odd to say Fine  to every comment or question someone threw at you, but now it feel normal; ex. How are you?    Fine…

5.       Sorry-o- adding O to the end of words is common here, and kinda fun…. Ex: a women trips and instantly you hear a string of “sorry-o’s”

6.       Please- this is one of my favorite things, anytime you have a question or ask anything of anyone, you start the sentence with please…so polite

7.       Dis Ting- this is a common phrase heard that is in reference to just about anything…Ex: O, have you seen my dis ting? You know the dis ting….. (they are meaning to say this thing)

8.       Come and go-  this is said in two different ways; a. someone says it to you, meaning you will leave and come back, b. this is said by you to someone to get them off your back about the fact that you can no longer stay and chat, it’s the polite way to say I’m outta here

9.       I’m coming- this is said each time you are leaving a place; it took some time for me to get used to it. Ex. I am going to the restroom to urinate-another thing they say here often..hate that word…so I would say I’m coming…

10.   You are invited- this is said each time you might see someone eating; whether in their home, on the street, in the market, anywhere; when someone comes to talk to you and you are eating something, you should always invite them to whatever you are eating; most times they don’t really mean for you to eat with them, but just a way to be nice and polite.

11.   Small boy/girl- this is generally called out of younger members of the community who are than asked to do small jobs for whoever had called them…ex: I want some pur water, so I give my money to a small girl to go get me one… and they do this without a sneer or complaint like one might expect in America; it’s just part of the culture to respect and obey the people older than you. Or you might get called small boy if you are in fact….just small in stature…

There are a ton more, but those are some of my favorite and most commonly used. I’m sure some of you, that have talked to me on the phone, have heard some of these slip out, and know you can better understand what I am saying. 

A run through the African Bush

Twas the night before my run, when all was silent, other than the bats and rats in my ceiling and my cat clawing up my body, that i had a dream, a dream that i was flying, but i was not really flying, more it was like when i jumped, i jumped Real high and ended up at a very far distance. Upon waking the next morning, i knew that it was going to be an excellent day for a run. I had set my alarm for the very early time of 5:30am, so that i would get out before the heat and the villagers.
I sat on the edge of my bed, listening to the sounds of morning in my village, the girls in my compound cleaning, the birds waking up, the guinea fowl Squawking, and now the sound of me putting my shoes on and warming up before my run. Because of the dream that i had, i chose to take a route that i had not traveled yet, into the bush.
It is a path that i had once walked for a small time, but did not make it to the end, well that was my goal, to find where this bush path ended. I started out on slower pace, working my way up to kicking my butt. All was fine, the sun was rising, i had the whole bush to myself, hitting the hard packed red dirt with a satisfying Thump, each time my foot fell. I was looking down and up and all over the place, just happy to be out and seeing the world. I took a few turns, thinking nothing of it. The hills formed by the Volta on my right and the flat expanse of savannah on my left. After running for around an hour, i succeeded in my goal of finding where the path ends; a small fishing village along the lake. I stopped for some small time to talk (and when i say talk, i mean a lot of hand gestures, and smiling and laughing, cause i had no clue what anyone was saying) to the villagers, than i was on my way.
I decided to take my time on the way back, looking around, and this time....really not paying attention to where i was going. Soon I found that i was unsure of where i was, but never fear I have taught a class in tracking (animals that is), and decided to track myself...or my footprints, and try to find my way back to site. I was feeling good and proud of myself....till i realized i was following the wrong footprints....this put a small glitch in my tracking idea. The sun was up by this time, and i was near out of water, when a man comes thundering through the bush, half naked and carrying 4 large bush birds (as he called them) and offered to sell me them. I said i had no money but thank you; he then proceeded to call me beautiful and ask me to be his wife. Much to his dismay, i had to turn down the offer and ask if he knew the way back to my site. He said he did, and led me back..A completely different way than i had originally come...and i made it back to site, after 2hr 30min journey. I thanked the man many times over, and went my way to my compound.
This is my life, in Ghana, crazy......

Impromptu Dance Party in Ghana

Its Official, i have now been in Ghana for a little over 7 months and have been a PCV for 4 of those months! How has the time just flown by? I know they say that as you age, time just slips by you, but why did that have to be one of the things that are true? Why couldn’t it have been like Santa and proved to be wrong (or is that the biggest ruse of all????) During the first 2 months at site, life was....should i say a bit difficult for me. I had to deal with the fact that i was alone....yet surrounded by people 24/7. It’s odd to be treated like a rock star just because of the color of my skin; I know that it will be difficult to go back to the states, where i will no longer get special treatment, because of the way i look.
I won’t lie to you, i did not do much those first 2-3 months; i read ALOT of books, watched some TV shows on my net book(when i had electricity), and walked around town. Again, for me, the hardest part of all of this was that i did not have anyone to really talk to in my village or anywhere near me. The closest volunteers to me are around 40 mins by taxi....when i can get a taxi that is. But, things are much better now. I have made many friends in the community, I painted my room, and made it mine, and got a cat.... I have also been laying the ground work for some projects!
Project 1: I have established a Shea Parkland in my community, this means that i worked with MOFA (Ministry of forestry and agriculture) to set a piece of land apart that is only going to be used to cultivate Shea. For the past few years, my community has been cutting down large, mature Shea trees for charcoal...Well that just won’t work for me! So i am setting up education for the farmers, giving them other options to use for charcoal and setting up the parkland. I am also going to be planting Grafted Shea (this is a process that makes trees come to maturation much faster, and bear fruit quicker) in this parkland.
Project 2: I am setting up a big brother, big sister program, where the JHS students will read story books to the Primary (elementary age for those in America) school, to practice their English, as well as having the younger kids get better exposure to English.
Project 3: I am going to be working with a Cashew farmer in my area, getting contracts for him so that he can get the best price for the nuts.
Project 4: This is my favorite, and going to take the longest; I am going to form a women’s group that will harvest honey! I am going to build (and when i say I, i mean a carpenter) around 6 hives, and then harvest the honey to sell at my local market. Women here, do not get many opportunities to make something of themselves, so i am going to do something about that, and try to get them to be able to do all the harvesting themselves. One of the biggest problems that Peace Corps Volunteers have is that they start something, but once they leave...so does the project..It’s all about sustainability people!
A small story about daily life in Ghana: Last night, a small group of us went out to get some Egg Sammies (aka egg sandwiches, one of the best things to get in Ghana) from a vender down the street. Since this is Ghana, someone near the vender was playing Very loud music, as they do at most times of the day and night...as we were waiting for our sammies, a man comes up to order one too...One of the people with me, starts to dance bit to the music, well let me tell you, Ghanaians LOVE to dance, so the man starts to dance with Jake (fellow PCV) than the other guy in our group (Jordan) gets into it as well! And we end up having an impromptu to dance party, at like 10 at night, eating egg sammies, and Chilin with this random Ghanaian....That is my life now....Wonderful