My new perspective in an old place

Originally I thought I would never leave Ghana. I would serve my full 27 months without stepping foot on American soil. Why would I need or want to go back? I had spent 23 years there! Well, exactly. I had spent 23 years there and to be honest I missed America. I missed my family and friends. I missed the food, I missed playing the piano, and I missed my culture. I'd like to think I'm so integrated in Jirapa that leaving would devastate me but when it came down to it, I needed a break. Ghana means something important to me but Montana will always be my home and I needed to go home.

Now, I still have 8 more months of the Peace Corps and a lot to do so I didn't come home for a few weeks to forget. What I have done, everyone I met and everything I learned in Ghana is only making my vacation back home all the more interesting. In fact I've realized I've forgotten quite a few things about America. Observations:

1. I can use my left hand. I have gotten so good at always using my right to not offend Ghanaians I actually feel some guilt when I use my left hand.
2. I can pay with large bills and people will have change. I was so used to getting all my money in 1 or 2 bills I almost asked for 1 dollar bills at the bank until my mother reminded me it would be better to get larger denominations. Nobody can break a 20 at market but in a grocery store, no problem.
3. Fast food is really disgusting but amazing. I think I forgot the disgusting part but after a fake cheesy something with ham and triple fried curly fries at the airport my stomach wasn't exactly agreeing with my taste buds.
4. Nobody is hissing or yelling at me. To go in a store or shop and not have the owner try and persuade me to buy everything is strange but nice.
5. No offense to anyone but there are a lot of fat children in America. And you really notice it after being surrounded by skinny or really fit Ghanaian children all the time.
6. I have a seat belt.
7. No one says, "small, small", "sorryo", "I'm coming"(when they're leaving), "Aba"(my favorite saying in Dagaare) and "Paa".
8. I love milk. I really forgot how much I love dairy.
9. I can drink the tap water. :o)
10. American's are really nice. Everybody is always talking about how welcoming and friendly the people in Ghana are well, if it weren't for a friendly and nice American I would have missed one of my flights because I was so tired and fell asleep outside the gate. In my opinion we are just as courteous. At least in Montana.

I also notice a lot of things we take for granted. When people complain to me about their pipes freezing and not having water, or when I hear about spoiled children complaining about toys I cringe just a little. I'm not saying people can't complain and a lot of Americans I know work very hard for what they have but trust me, things could be worse. Cliche but, be happy with what you have, count your blessings, etc...don't make me say more.

America is not a completely evil self-centered place and its not perfect but it is my home and it has provided me with opportunities I am very grateful for. Opportunities many children in Ghana will never have. I can't even begin to address the differences and similarities between Ghana and America but I do know that people are people and that is what makes both of my two worlds go around.

I will head back to Ghana in a few weeks hopefully a few pounds heavier and a little refreshed. After my successful but stressful donation of 200 bicycles with 10 workshops, health club/school activities, and domestic disputes in Jirapa I feel I will be ready to go back to face all of these things with a new perspective. And the rest of my service will focus on my relationships. Although Washington DC likes numbers and results they don't make me smile quite the way a friend does. And thanks to Ghana my measure of success is qualitative not quantitative.


Happy New Year!!!!

I'll have to pencil that in...

So a common theme of my life here in Ghana is never knowing what will happen. Being asked to tell someone my average day here is incredibly difficult. For a lot of volunteers its the same in and out but for myself and Jirapa it is a different world. I can pretty much guarantee I'll wake up, let my adorable, rotten goat head eating, tick covered dog outside and drink a cup of French pressed coffee thanks to the amazing Adam Martyn (enjoy that compliment Adam). But after 8:00am I never really know what will happen. Sometimes that small morning routine doesn't even happen due to knocking on my door at 6:00am for this reason or that.

Anyway, the other day I thought I would go to the office, meet with the Gender Desk Officer and plan out some of our upcoming bicycle workshops for women. I get to the office and she has to leave in an incredible hurry (Vivien is impossible to pin down and is literally representing thousands of women in the Upper West) but we need to meet with this women's group in a small village, Tuggo, right outside Jirapa so it is up to me! I will take my bicycle and ride in the equatorial sun to someplace I have never been...OK, why not, right? The ride was nice minus one large hill and a bicycle with gears that don't work but the woman is waiting for me with pito in hand. Always a welcome surprise! Isabella is a truly sacrificial and selfless person. She is one of the few women in her village that can read and write and speaks English and even though she is retired she works tirelessly for these women. She stopped farming just to come and meet with me. We meet and discuss how annoying it is that all these people want bicycles that don't need them and how the husbands will probably take the bicycles from the women after the workshop but she is hopeful and so therefore, so am I.

After organizing details we decide to bike to the next town over, Babali. By this time it’s getting hot so I'm not excited about biking back to Jirapa so I'm invited to rice and stew with Isabella and some of her grandchildren. Plain rice is good when you've been riding your bike and only have caffeine running through your body so I was thrilled. We greet everyone in town and then I decide, I've come this far I should continue my bike journey to Lawra to visit Adam. I did this for two reasons. One, Adam is leaving soon so I won't be able to do this anymore or see him and two; he's a really good cook so chances are I'll get some good food. It's amazing what I'll do for food now. So I continue at about 1:00pm on to Lawra. As I'm pedaling and enjoying the scenery I realize I didn't put sunscreen on my legs (I'm wearing shorts for the bike ride) and it is BURNING out. I can feel my skin screaming. No Ghanaian has sunscreen and I'm in the middle of nowhere by some stream. So, being very resourceful, clever and dehydrated, I decided to make some mud and spread it all over my leg that’s getting slowly 3rd degree burned. These small village children were fascinated by the crazy white lady rubbing mud on her legs and I don't blame them, even I thought it was weird but I made it to Lawra with minimal sun damage!

When I arrived in Lawra I had somewhat of an international evening. I sat and had a drink with Adam (another PCV), an Italian student, a Canadian Volunteer, and a Cuban doctor. I got a lot of different cultural perspectives on a culture we are all experiencing and studying which was a refreshing change of pace. However, explaining why there was mud all over my legs was difficult but we had a good time. I rode back to Jirapa the next morning and carved a pumpkin with some neighbor kids (one woman told me I was wasting a pumpkin but I grew it so I can do what I want with it) and I cannot be happier with the randomness of my life. I am learning to not have control over everything and that being flexible can sometimes lead to the best of moments and days. I hope to have a little bit more of a predictable life for all of my current bicycle workshops but in Ghana living is about the moment and success is based on the process not the end result. Weird concept for us westerners but I'm getting it. It’s the only way to stay sane and the only way to get anything done. So who knows, we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Jirapa’s 5KRace, Kirsten’s Visit, Girls Camp, Oh my God I need to sleep and wash my clothes…

Sorry its been so long since I’ve wrote. I think I’m mostly apologizing to my mother who has been on me about writing another blog so Mom this ones for you! The last few months have been busy but very very fun and I think I may spend this next week sleeping and eating fufu (I finally just got my very own fufu mortar and pestle!). Let me just re-cap past events in my life because I think its been too long to go into too much detail.

Jirapa’s 5K Combating HIV/AIDS and TB Race

Although this was one of the most stressful things I have ever done in my entire life it is also something I am very proud of. Organizing a race for 100 people with an educational event on HIV/AIDS and TB proved exhausting. Everything is done last minute and the budget kept changing so it made my life difficult. I often go running with Jirapa’s Keep Fit Club and they’re always trying to think of ways to give back to the community, sponsor programs, and increase their membership so we decided on the race. Although a smaller event we had GREAT attendance (There are pictures on Facebook)! And about 10 Peace Corps volunteers came to help me which saved my life. Having other volunteers support you and their ability to help turn any project into something fun and successful is amazing! Kudos to everyone that helped to make it happen! I don’t know if we’ll do another race but maybe a football match…The Keep Fit Club has told me it so far has been their most successful event and they are very proud so I am very proud of them :o) Maybe the next one they won’t even need my help!

Kirsten came to visit:

One of my favorite people in the entire world came to visit me for 2 weeks. And it was a magical two weeks! We did so much it will be hard to recall. We saw the new volunteers swear in! We salsa danced and just plain danced A LOT! We went to the monastery in Techiman and then got to feed monkeys at a monkey sanctuary! We came to Jirapa and drank the finest pito in all the land. We spent some lovely hours in tros. We went to the beach and played in the ocean. We went to the rainforest and went on a canopy walk. We ate fufu, got attacked by insects, played with small children, turned down marriage proposals, and she met a ton of my new friends and Peace Corps family. Kirsten rocks and I am SOOOOOO HAPPY she came!

Girls Leadership Camp:

Speaking of working with other volunteers Nicole just organized an all girls leadership camp which we held at one of my favorite places-the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary. I brought 7 girls from Jirapa who were selected based on an essay contest. Overall we had 38 girls and 6 volunteers. The girls met girls from other cities in the Upper West, they had senior high school students as senior counselors and a variety of activities. I had a member of my People Living with HIV group come to talk to the girls about HIV and why its important to know your status and get tested. She was wonderful and her talk was real but optimistic. She got HIV through a blood transfusion when she was a child and is one of the happiest people I have ever met. She never stops smiling. Makes me feel bad for being upset about things like waiting for rides or rain... She spent half the week with the girls and I was so impressed with their ability to look past someone having HIV and I even saw one of my girls sitting with her arm around her. They have never met anyone living with HIV and I was worried about stigma but the girls were respectful and understanding. I was very happy it went so well. We had dancing, we played games and told stories, went on nature walks and looked for Hippos. I am so so so proud of my girls! They participated, met other campers, and were very respectful. Brings me back to camp when I was in middle school. I am just thrilled that we were able to give these girls this opportunity. They don't get a chance to just be kids very often always cooking, cleaning, studying, doing wash, helping their families raise the other kids...this week they got to scream and sing and just play. Props to Nicole for making it happen. One of the best times I've had in Ghana.

What is next:

So currently I am back in Jirapa for awhile, working on my garden and the pumpkins that have taken it over. I want to get my football team running (literally), finish District Assembly reports I’m like 4 months behind, and drink some good pito with my friends in Jirapa! I have my mid service medical at the end of this month and I am running the ½ marathon in Accra on the 26^th so wish me good training for this last month! I hope everything and everyone is well back in the states! Eat lots of ice cream for me!!! Bye bye til next time!