IST

We just had our In Service Training. This was a training event for my swear in group. We all got back together and talked about our past 3 months at site and plans for our next 21 months at site.

It's a little scary how fast the time is passing by. Just two months ago I was living in what I thought was a small town (of about 1,000 people or so) and I thought I was roughing it without running water. Now I find myself in a village of about 400 people without electricity or running water.

I've never been happier in Ghana.

At the close of 3 months at site I realize I haven't done too many tangible things. Hearing everybody's stories about what they've been doing definitely made me realize the things I haven't been doing. However I came to understand something, and that is I have 21 months to do things still.  I'm here to learn just as much as I am here to teach. So I've gotten some great ideas and heard some really good plans and I think I can really take it and run with it.

During IST I found the sessions we had seemed to drag on and on though. There were definitely times when I started drifting off but I think that may have had more to do with my narcolepsy? Impossible to tell but I am happy be out of that stuffy room!

And I was lucky enough to have my birthday fall on IST where I could celebrate it with everybody. Somehow the group even managed to get a cake to me! Cakes are not really made in Ghana so I'm not sure how they got it to me but it was much appreciated. So I had some less enjoyable presentations and a more enjoyable cake on my birthday. All in all a successful birthday.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and I hope everything is going well!

Funerals and hair cuts

So on Friday I went to a neighboring village (called Tamalagu) to attend a funeral ceremony.  The ceremony was for the chief who passed away. I asked when he had passed away and they said 5 or 6 years ago. In my head I was thinking "whaaat... are you serious? Why are they still have the funeral??" and out loud I said "Oh, sorry. God will help him to heaven." Classic Ghanian saying. And save for Diana!

Funerals last a week here so maybe I'll show back up again later. I'm not sure though because, once again, I was made to dance in front of the entire village. The whole "let's make the 'white' girl dance" routine is getting old. Still a lot of laughs were had and I survived with only minor emotional damage. No big deal.

I've come to learn though that while the funeral for the Tamalagu chief had just started, the funeral for the Tamale (capital of Northern Region Ghana, aka a big deal) chief was just ending. The chief for Tamale died 20 years ago. So apparently Tamalagu was ahead of the game. Sons and daughters take out loans to pay for funerals here! That's dedication man (and the culture of Ghana).

 

This is my morning running path. Check out my backyard!

 

So I cut my hair this past Wednesday haha...

 So here is your photo shoot of me. It was pretty difficult trying to cut my own hair for two reasons: 

1.I've never cut anybodies hair (other than my roommates pet dog twice) before.

2. I lacked a second mirror so cutting the back of my head was... interesting.

   

(In case you're wondering how/why I had the guts to do this, it's because I was growing a mini-fro. Sorry but I didn't take any pictures of that. Plus I figured if I really messed up I would just buzz my head again.)

 

Three people on a moto- common. I barely look twice anymore. I once saw 5 people on a moto (that time I looked 3 times). The father was driving and the mother was sitting way far back on the moto with their 2 children sandwiched between them. The mother was also carrying a baby on her back.

 Ghanian version of Mancala. Who needs a board anyway?

Also! If you want to see my village here is a link to it on google maps! Yapalsi Now you can see my roaming grounds.

Pictures

I have received all of my mail! Woohoo! My mail got forwarded from Accra to Tamale. Once in Tamale they were forwarded to a sub office of Peace Corps, which I was unaware of. Okay I got a ton of letters to write back so here's some pictures to hold you guys over.

 

Cooking station in my compound

 

Two peculiarities in this picture. Can you spot them? 

 

Daily lunch and dinner- T.Z, fish, and stew (okra)

Setting fire to the rain

So I’ve much to talk about, too much actually. Let’s get started.

First and foremost: All of my mail has been getting lost. Ghana’s postal service has been eating up anything and everything for a Diana Hsieh since November. Depressing, I know. I’m sorry for any letters I haven’t responded to! I promise it wasn’t intentional. I’m trying to get it worked out and I’ll keep you all updated. 

Second: Integrating into my community is going well! I’ve stopped cooking at my site. My host mother makes me food every day and I’ve come to enjoy Ghanaian food. I remember just 3 months ago I was struggling and fighting to get through a starchy ball of fufu, but now I look find myself looking forward to it. I’m enjoying talking to all of the village people.

I believe I am becoming more and more accepted as a member and less like a guest. I’m laughing constantly with my village, mostly about some shenanigans I did or am trying to do. The other day my community dyed my entire left hand black with henna. Sometimes I wake up and think “Demon!!” before I remember. It’s a sign of beauty in my community to dye the sides of their feet black and their hands. They don’t do any type of decoration though (no cool swirls, dots, loops or patterns). They put my hand in a plastic bag overnight with crushed up plants and water. When I woke up my hand had swelled up and turned into grandma hands to the MAX. It was actually painful but no worries folks, it’s a-ok now (minus the scared looks I get from people who aren’t from the northern region of Ghana haha).

Integration is almost going too well… sometimes I wonder how I’ll be able to go back to the American culture haha. 

Third: Every compound in Yapalsi has a tube that allows liquids to flow outside of their homes. This drainage will contain urine, bath water, cooking water, laundry water, etc. Well I was tired of stepping over one of these sludge streams and decided to do something about it so I made a soak away pit in my compound.
A soak away pit is pretty much a hole filled in with rocks. You dig the hole right in front of the end of the tube (where the liquid is flowing out) and the sludgy water won’t turn into a stream of foul smelling-ness, but rather sink into the ground. So I just have to dig a hole and fill it in with rocks, simple right? No.

I get a hoe and begin digging up the ground. The beginning half foot is not pleasant and it isn’t an understatement to say I played in pee all day (or the next day) long. After about a foot down I realize that the hoe I’m using isn’t actually able to pull out the freshly dug up dirt and the metal part keeps falling off. It’s strange but somehow a shovel doesn’t exist in Yapalsi… so I’m forced to become creative. With a combination of a lot of squeals (“oh my god oh my god what did I just touch?! Gross gross gross!! Diana WHY are you doing this?? Do not touch that. Whatever you do don't touch it! Get it off, holy shit get it OFF.) and pure determination (perhaps stupidity) a make shift shovel was improvised out of a piece of sheet metal, a larger hoe, and… my hands.

Two days of work goes into this hole in the ground and then an hour or two searching for the rocks. Now I have to see how it works. If it works well I’ll share it with the other community members and if it doesn’t work well I’ll have to dig the hole deeper I suppose. Cross your fingers that 2.5x2.5 feet were enough.

Fourth and most recent: I went to a workshop in Togo this past week! It was a diversity training workshop where all the attendees (varying PCers in West Africa) learned about how to begin their own diversity committees, how to address diversity, and how to be a good ally. First a shout out to the Togo PC team for doing such an excellent brilliant job. It is no understatement for me to say that what I learned will stay with me for the rest of my life.  

It’s fitting for me to be writing this blog at this moment because the rain is pouring down (hello rainy season!) and listening to the beautiful Adele sing about “setting fire to the rain” I realize how I’ve discovered another dimension to myself and to society. We are all different and diverse people who come from varying cultures (isn’t this what makes world travel so much fun?). No one culture is completely correct or wrong, they are all just different. West African culture unfortunately discriminates against a specific community but I’ve seen that individuals are able to go against their culture and make decisions for themselves. It’s a breath of fresh air I got when I didn't know I was holding my breath.

Rain can burn.