I went to Chi(a)na!

Friday I ventured to Chiana (pronounced China) in the next district over to visit my friend Vince. Vince is Chinese American now living in ‘China’ Ghana. Two other friends met me there so we had a small party. We watched Vince play in the teachers versus students football match at his SHS. During the half, the Azonto was blared on the girls so we girls started dancing small (translate: a little) when instantly a circle of students and children formed. I then hid behind a camera since I got shy. It got awkward quickly because we were just being stared at while good despite wanting them to join us. Especially since Ghanaians are generally good dancers. It was a nice weekend- Friday night we had somehow pad thai and did a lot of catch up talking. Saturday we made pumkin pancakes with banana orange sauce, chicken dogs for lunch, played Bananagrams for a long while, hiked the ‘mountain’ (translate: small hill) for a pretty view, dined at a spot in town, and watched a movie. Chiana is a good sized town with a PO and police station and it was nice to take a much needed break from my village. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but hopefully someone else will post pictures soon.

On my way back home Sunday I had to sit and wait for a lorry to Sandema in Chuchulga. While I was sitting and reading, the Sandema police drove by and then a few minutes later passed again coming back. A few minutes later it came by and that’s when people started running to the street to look and make noise. I didn’t know what was going on but later found out they were chasing an armed robber on a moto but the police car couldn’t pass the way he rode. Too much excitement for me!

Celebrity, Animals & Azonto

Friday afternoon I borrowed a bicycle and rode the 15 minutes to nearby Jiningsa to watch the students play a match. Along the way I passed village houses where I greeted people on the go. I live in what’s called Gbedema Central but once you get past the dam in the direction I was going the houses are more spread out so the landscape becomes more noticeable. The path I follow is red dirt and since it’s dry season I look out and see mostly brown. Every so often a nice green shade tree is seen and there are many baobab trees with their hanging seeds. I also blazed past many of my students wearing my floppy hat as they were walking their in the hot sun. People who live near my house and the school are accustomed to seeing me by now and though every once in a while someone makes a big deal over me and the kids still love to gawk for the most part i don’t feel so out of place any more. It’s normal. But here it was different even though I’d been once before I am still an attraction. A celebrity of sorts. I was cracking up because many of the kids were staring at me instead of watching the game. I don’t think I’m all that interesting to watch but I guess my gleaming skin is enough of a draw. After the students played some of the teachers played a match for fun which was pretty hilarious. Too bad I quit soccer way back in middle school...

After the match I was biking away when a local man called to me to see if I wanted to buy a rabbit they’d hunted. I’d seen some people hunting rabbits recently and told myself next time I’d get one. So I took the opportunity and placed it in the basket for the trip back home. The girls skinned and smoked the meat and we enjoyed it in okra soup one night and groundnut soup one night the next. Speaking of animals, I’ve had a mouse friend living in my room for a little while and just recently got some rat poison to kill it with. Saturday morning I found more droppings and was thinking I needed to buy dry fish to put out with the poison on it. I was doing a bit of cleaning and organizing in my room and opened a shoebox that I use to store dvds in- out popped the mouse! I started of screaming of course and ran into the kitchen where the girls were while it first ran under my bed and then ran into the kitchen. I wasn’t much use besides making noise but I did manage to close both bedroom doors while the girls chased the mouse out through the wash room. There’s a hole in their for the water to drain outside which I am thinking is how the mouse got inside in the first place. Also I’ve been storing a big bag of groundnuts for my friend Chris to sow during rainy season so the mouse found an easy food supply once it chewed through the burlap bag. We moved the bag out of my room into the living room. I thought we’d seen the end of the mouse but Monday morning while Felicity was sweeping in the living room she discovered it (or one) again. I was screaming again but she remained cool and this time smashed him. Poor dead mouse.

The heat has started climbing enough here that people have started sleeping outside. I haven’t yet had to resort to that since my stand fan keeps me relatively cool but I almost got that desperate one night when the lights went off. I took my bath just before getting in bed then kept a cool rag on my pillow but was having a really hard time sleeping. Thankfully the power came back on right around 11 so I didn’t lose too much sleep. During the day I sweat so much (especially when I sit- yuck) even though the wind is blowing still. After school I’ll come home and if I rub my skin I can make small balls of dust. It’s pretty gross. As I mentioned a few posts ago, it’s the season for CSM now. I went to greet the nurses last week and they told me that there have been deaths reported in our district capital Sandema from CSM, targeting children. I did some research and found out that since January 1 in the Upper East region there have been 81 reported cases and 16 deaths. Our district’s numbers are some of the highest with 24 cases and 4 deaths. They’re calling it an epidemic and are urging people to wait and have funerals in the rainy season to avoid overcrowding and prevent further spreading. I decided to talk to my students again about the signs and prevention. Hopefully all my students have been vaccinated now but I want them to know what to look for in their family members, especially children.

On a fun ending note, my students have been crazy for a song and dance that’s currently popular in Ghana called Azonto. I have a couple of dance videos on my laptop that I shared with the students and we even tried to do some of the dances. It’s a good way to cut loose with them and also exercise. But the song is definitely overplayed- I hear it all the time on people’s speakers or phones and I am starting to tire of it. The girls asked a few nights ago to watch the video and though I allowed them I told them I think I am getting sick of Azonto!

Stepping Out

I know this is a random photo but I wanted to share the awesome locally made (aka in my village) shoes I got last week. I bought them from our resident cobbler Joe who sold them to me for 5 cedis which is roughly $3. Please note the matching toenail polish too which goes along way to cover up all the dirt that is a permanent part of my body it seems, especially my feet. Since I first started writing way back in June, I meant to write about my blog's name. I have many nicknames from all over the world (Ghana and Thailand) as I've shared previously. I also have lots of nicknames that my family has so lovingly bestowed upon me: Steph (of course), Nienie, Noonie, Nooner, and Step. When I was in middle school my very first email address was steponme1602@hotmail.com which now makes me laugh. When I went to Thailand my blog's name was Step in Thailand. So I thought for my second blog experience I would continue the theme; hence, Step in Ghana was born.

Ups and Downs

I read a blog post this week from a PCV in Ethiopia that’s being passed around the Volunteers circuit and so many parts of it really resonated with me. For example the author says he thinks he hasn’t a picture that’s completely accurate. I too am guilty of wearing and sharing my rose-colored glasses since I am an optimist after all. But there are many challenges, difficulties, and struggles here. As I’ve written before, often times I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. In cross-cultural living the ups are higher than the norm and the lows are, well, quite low. The last time I blog I had just finished a great week of teaching and living. It’s only natural that it should be followed by a ‘bad’ week. First off I didn’t sleep well which then caused my throat to start hurting last Monday. Even though I made the best of Valentine’s Day I felt pretty crappy and thus homesick too. Although I write a lot about the food I miss from home really it’s the people I miss most. Before I begin my story I want to apologize for not being able to tell or email this to people individually. Maybe I rely on my blog too much to tell about my life here but it does make it easier to give mass updates. Also just keep in mind as you are reading that I am safe and secure and the situation seems to be resolved now.

By Wednesday I had a full out cold which kept bothering me all week and didn’t help me cope with the rising temperatures (the highest I’ve seen on my thermometer so far is 97). A new contact came to the school last week to introduce himself that he’s come to the community to work on sanitation issues. Both the headmaster and I (since I’m the health madam) gave him our phone numbers (first mistake). I was hopeful and excited about the prospect of a new partner especially on sanitation. I have good working relationships with some (I’m not close with all) teachers at my school to work education issues and the nurses at the clinic to work on health issues. In retrospect I was a little too eager to think the best of this new community member which made me vulnerable. Everyone knows where the white lady lives of course since I’m the only one so he dropped by my house after dark. My normal rule is not to let people in unless it’s someone I trust but a couple of students were in my house at the time so I let him in (second mistake). That night I smelled alcohol on his breath and became increasingly uncomfortable with him especially when he asked for a picture of me. It’s happened before but not by someone I’m in contact with in a professional capacity. My response: Tomorrow (you keep saying this until the person stops asking). (Third mistake) With my big mouth I told him about the HIV/AIDS peer educators program we were going to do at the school tomorrow. So he came by the school for the program again smelling of alcohol.

Side note- Despite his interference the program went pretty well and there was a teaching moment with the 10 students that made the whole thing worthwhile. We were talking about STIs and I asked the question ‘If you find out you have an STI, should you let your partner(s) know?’ The gut reaction of my students was to rpely ‘No!’ to which I prompted them to tell me more by asking ‘Why not?’ Of course the reasons were mostly self-preserving because they would be the subject of gossip and other things. Then I posed the question ‘If your partner has an STI, would you want to know?’ Of course they said ‘Yes!’… ah ha and right there I could see a shift in thinking happen. It was a rewarding moment.

Back to my story, the next day he introduced me to his ‘woman’ as he referred to her which at first made me feel a bit better especially since I’d made it abundantly clear that I have a boyfriend. But then later as we were walking around the village he tried to hold my hand and hug me but I was able to deflect the attention. This has happened to me before with other drunkards around my village but this guy really started to creep me out. At this point people gave me advice to not let him in my house again, be cold to him, and work with him as little as possible. I didn’t sleep well at all that night- it was the first time in a long time I haven’t felt safe here. When I first came to the village I didn’t feel safe at night just because I didn’t know the place yet. The next day he called 9 (yes you read that correctly) times and I made it clear I didn’t want to talk to him. I discussed the issue with the headmaster and he let me know I didn’t have to work with on health issues outside of sanitation and that if the unwanted attention continued he would have a talk with him. So basically the only contact I must have with him is if he comes to the school to do a sanitation inspection. Since then he came by my house one morning this week to greet me but I was still getting ready and told him as much without opening my door and curtly said goodbye. Hopefully there won't be much else to report on the situation. I’ve (re) learned that I’m too trusting and need to be careful and that I should listen to my intuition. I was so worried about trying to have someone to tackle sanitation issues with that I let my guard down. I shed lots of tears in the process and it was the first time I really, really wanted to just quit and go home.

It’s too easy for me to get completely overwhelmed by all the problems I see here- lack of sanitation and so much more at the school, teenage pregnancy, malnutrition in children, trash everywhere, open defecation, lack of access to clean water, rampant alcoholism, bush burning, etc.- to the point where I get really discourage and feel paralyzed by how little I am doing to help. But I’m learning to give myself a break and realize that whatever I am doing here does matter and if nothing else helps lay the foundation for the next Volunteer who comes to my site. And you know either way it’s challenging- it’s hard being the first Volunteer at a place but I have friends who are struggling because they’re constantly being compared to the previous Volunteer.

Sunday was a better day. I went to Sandema for market (for the first time in two weeks- I got so sick of eating rice) and got to spend time with my language trainer PP. I’d seen him at the Feok festival in December but it was in a big group of people so this time we got a chance to talk more. I told him all about some of the problems I am facing in my village and even teared up (though I played it off as though my rice was too spicy) over breakfast. Displays of emotion aren’t common here plus I really hate crying in public so I saved us both from feeling awkward. He’s also having a hard time at his new job he started in September and has realized he has to let go of all the plans and great ideas when he started to slow down and make little changes. I went to the Catholic church with him and two of his kids then ate lunch at the nicest restaurant in Sandema with one of his friend. It was much needed break from my village.

Monday was also a good day- my lessons went well, it was overcast (and even drizzled in the night which I just learned rain was possible during ‘dry’ season), borrowed and rode a bike to my student’s family’s house (see photo), and my chicken finally laid its first egg. This week the form 3 students are writing their mock BECE (Basic Education Certificate Exam- which determines if they get to further their education in high school) while taking up 2 of our 3 classrooms. It’s also sports week so no teaching is going on at our school or the primary. Though I would rather be teaching, at school I’ve been helping invigilate (procotor) the exams which means I’ve been reading- a lot. Let me end by saying that I've started preliminary research on grants working on a latrine at the school and a borehole at a local primary school and feel good having some direction on these potential projects.

Perspective

I found this article to be very interesting when it was included in our Peace Corps Ghana newsletter this month by our country director and have been meaning to share it for some time. Check it out....Americans make up half of the world's richest 1%

The last sentence struck me the most: "In the grand scheme of things, even the poorest 5% of Americans are better off financially than two thirds of the entire world."

Waiting

Another astute excerpt from The Shadow of the Sun:
The African who boards a bus sits down in a vacant seat, and immediately falls into a state in which he spends a great portion of his life: a benumbed waiting.

“These people have a fantastic talent for waiting!” an Englishman who has lived here for years tells me. “Talent, stamina, some peculiar kind of instinct.”

Africans believe that a mysterious energy circulates through the world, ebbing and flowing, and if it draws near and fills us up, it will give us the strength to set time into motion-something will start to happen. Until this occurs, however, one must wait; any other behavior is delusional and quixotic.

What does this dull waiting consist of? People know what to expect; therefore, they try to settle themselves in as comfortably as possible, in the best possible place. Sometimes they lie down, sometimes they sit on the ground, or on a stone, or squat. They stop talking. A waiting group is mute. It emits no sounds. The body goes limp, droops, shrinks. The muscles relax. The neck stiffens, the head ceases to move. The person does not look around, does not observe anything, is not curious. Sometimes his eyes are closed- but not always. More frequently, they are open but appear unseeing, with no spark of life in them. I have observed for hours on end crowds of people in this state of inanimate waiting, a kind of profound physiological sleep: They do not eat, they do not drink, they do not urinate; they react neither to the mercilessly scorching sun, nor to the aggressive, voracious flies that cover their eyelids and lips.

What, in the meantime, is going on inside their heads?

I do not know: Are they thinking? Dreaming? Reminiscing? Making plans? Meditating? Traveling in the world beyond? It is difficult to say.

Fill in the Blank

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I wore a red shirt today and talked about some different ways we celebrate the holiday in America with my students today plus gave them heart-shaped stickers. I also dug into my candy stash and had some Sour Patch Kids and popcorn with M&Ms while watching Pride & Prejudice to celebrate.

When the kiddos come to my house, I usually have them either help around the house or do a short English lesson with me before I allow them to color (paint as they call it) or draw. They also like playing cards, jumping rope, throwing the Frisbee, and eating toffee (candy) when I let them. I have this one basic one where I have them repeat words after me mostly based on pictures. Recently I discovered I sometimes emphasize words by either closing my eyes, making a face, or other times I scratch my face or brush my hair off my face. I know this because the kids will not only repeat the word I am saying but also my action as well. Then I start laughing and have to try to be really careful not to anything besides say the words. I not even all that sure I am helping the little ones that much since I speak American English and they are trying to learn Ghanaian English but I have fun helping them.

Last week a form 1 student came in the office to call the other madam to teach them but it was way past time. Cultural side note: One of the formalities at my school which didn’t occur during my practice teaching in the Eastern region is that the class prefect comes to fetch the teacher when it is time for them to teach. I don’t really like this practice since to me it makes sense that the teacher should be responsible for getting themselves to class on time. Back on track: He was trying to tell her it was time after all so then she made him read the clock in the office. He had a lot of trouble reading it and upon further prompting it was clear he was confused about which hand was the hour and which the minute. The other madam was having fun messing with him and being entertained but also gave him a mini ‘how to tell time’ lesson. After he left we discussed how important the foundation laid at the primary school and how challenging it is for us at the JHS to try to make up for basic skills that are lacking in our students. Just one of the many challenges of teaching here…

On Friday the nurses from the clinic came to talk about Cerebro Spinal Meningitis with the students. During the dry season there’s almost always an epidemic somewhere in Ghana since it spreads more easily at this time. After the education portion they gave injections to the students who needed them. Of course many of my students feared the needle so I tried to reassure them it would be ok and told them I probably had up to 10 vaccinations just to live in Ghana. I also told them to be nice to each other after getting their shots and not punch each other in the arms- this happened to me once in middle school and has ever since stayed with me.

I didn’t mean to alarm anyone with my talk of the upcoming lean season where some people only eat once a day. It is a problem here for various reasons including a small harvest because of a lack of enough rain, improper storage, and the men especially spending most of the money they make from harvest on alcohol instead of saving it. The last is a serious issue here. I will be able to go to market and pay for food when other people can’t afford it. Also be reassured, I weighed myself at the clinic Friday when I went to talk to the nurses and I am ______ (fill in the blank) to announce I have gained 10 pounds since coming to Ghana. My students are achieving their goal of making me larger. For example, one night this week they fed me a second dinner that one student brought me from her house. I said to them ‘Abba! Are you trying to make me gain weight?’ To which they simply replied ‘Yes.’ I’ve had several people here recently tell me I’m ‘growing fat’ since it’s customary to discuss such things. I am growing that’s for sure especially since my diet here is so carb-heavy and I haven’t been very consistent recently with my exercise regime. It will only get more difficult with the coming heat so I want to try doing yoga, dancing, and jumping rope in the house. In one sense it’s good I have a little extra cushion in case I fall ill. On the other hand some of my clothes are getting rather tight which is no good. A couple of weeks ago I had a really hard time taking off one of my shift dresses while changing after school one day. I almost had a claustrophobic panic attack but calmed myself down enough to turn on the fan and cool down. I finally got it off but was worried for a few minutes I was going to either a) cut it off or b) have to go to my students for help! Either would’ve been embarrassing… I leave you with a photo my latest culinary adventure here- I made bacon mac ‘n cheese Sunday after church with a small block of Hickory Farms cheddar and bacon bits. I was pretty proud of my concoction and ate all!