US v Ghana Cartoon Stereotypes

As I type, I am googling images for a project in Ghana. There are 16 main areas on which Ghanians spend money (transportation, communication, clothing, animals, food, health care, construction, celebrations, school fees, etc.) For the activity I'm making cards with the name of the area in which money is spent and including an image of what that could mean.

For transportation in the Northern Ghana I chose the popular motorbike and found an image with ease. I wish I could say the same for the rest.

When I searched food and drink, I got cheese burgers and fries and other processed foods- no fruits or veggies, which are more of a staple in Ghana. So I google cartoon images of vegetables and what is it with American's putting a face on the food we eat? It's like a constant infatuation with personifying the cow that is my cheese burger and the onion I use as a topping has a smiling face. Why do we feel the need to put faces on food. Does it really make vegetables seem more appealing? I finally found one but it had a pumpkin in it among other foods, not sure if pumpkins are popular but you do what you can. Oh, and the eggplant is purple, in Ghana the white variety of eggplant is more popular.

For construction I looked for bricks, which are the foundation for almost all buildings in Ghana. But the bricks were too gray, a sign of more concrete than dirt, which isn't realistic. Or I would find the really red bricks and the Ghana builds are more of a tan. I finally had to settle on a brick more gray than I would have liked- who would have thought I would be so aware of brick composition and be able to critique by color after only a few months in country?

The real shocker, oddly, was that almost all of the goats had horns. I see goats EVERYDAY in Ghana- they roam the streets just as people do. But this breed of goat, like many, don't have horns. When I asked my self if the goats here had horns, I remembered when a friend was having trouble distinguishing between a sheep and a goat and the cartoon-esque horns just aren't present on the breed of goats I see in Ghana. Or possibly I just see the female goats? Anyways, I'm afraid people from the U.S. may not be as versed in variety of goats as they could be.

For Medical/Health care, I found an image off of clip art I decided to use but it is of a female doctor. I am all for equal rights but am not sure if there are many female doctors in Ghana? Maybe it will be interpreted as a nurse, which would be more likely. It would be interesting to know if Ghanians had the same gendered view of health care as we do in the US- nurses are women, doctors are men. While this image could be changing, with the help of doctor shows like Gray's Anatomy and the fact that there are many female doctors, I'm not sure if there stereotype is gone yet.

Sadly, water had its issues as well. When I first plugged in water, I got a faucet filing up a glass and while I liked it, I didn't want to subliminally promote drinking from the faucet as it hasn't been treated and isn't safe. And all the rest of the photos were of a walking water drop and pool scenes. So I tried 'water faucet.' Why do our water faucet cartoons only have a drop coming out nothing at all? I even saw one where a cork was in the faucet. When I finally decided to settle for a dripping U.S. faucet, the real challenge was finding one that was not a stock photo that had a watermark on it. I'm not even sure how big of an expenditure water is as many get it from rivers or wells. The most popular drinking water is in a plastic baggy/satchel, which is much cheaper than it's bottled counterpart so putting a water bottle as the image would even be a bit frivolous.

Searching for land was an issue, but by this point, was kind of expecting it. When I tried 'farm land' it was flat, lush green and maybe parceled off as our fields often are and can be seen from a plane. Surprisingly if you just try "cartoon images of land" you will find a lot of political cartoos- I wasn't expecting that. When I tried savannah (assumed they wouldn't actually have guinea savannah, I just got the image of the same 'African tree' that is all alone in the middle of near desert but they all had a safari animal- some were even just images from the cartoon movie Madagascar. When I went to see what the former model I had, I saw they did a little compromising so I too lowered my standards of an image for farmland and went with a similar, lush, green rolling landscape. Granted, I've been in the North part for the dry season, with little to no rain so maybe it gets green during the rainy season? I know the south gets pretty green but not sure about this far North.

I recant my statement on 'land' being popular for political cartoons. 'Coffins' (the ideal image for a funeral) was at least 75% political cartoons (not nearly as surprising) but I had to sift through the politicos just to get to the actual coffin images- then had to forgo the ones with vampires, skeletons, etc. Wouldn't want to offend anyone because of a poorly chosen 'coffin' image.

Searching for 'clothing,' I was really hesitant at what I would find. Surprisingly it was either fairly normal and relevant or something random I wouldn't normally use for anything, regardless of target culture. Although by this point in time I think I might start saying: "All the good ones are watermarked!"

New winner for comics, the whole entire first 2 pages were nothing but for 'tithe.' At first I labeled this political cartoons but they weren't political just comics. I liked the one that said 'to speed up the tithing process, text your donation to 8480344" :)

Searching for a celebration photo is difficult. Here it looks like people dressed up in gorgeous African wear, eating lots of food with plenty of drink. The photos I'm getting are party hats, balloons and are mainly birthday parties. The first two are a tad frivolous for the rural farmers this is targeting and birthday's aren't that big of a deal here. Depending on finances, it might not be celebrated and I found out that for some children may not even know what day their birthday is so it will come and go without notice. Could you image a child in the U.S. not noticing their birthday? According to the social scientists, my generation, the Millennial (or Me Generation) has their birthday as their favorite day of the year and feel it should be celebrated as a holiday. I can't deny having thought that at one point in time but at this point, I can see it come and go without much worry. Don't get me wrong, I will eat whatever I want that day but don't care about doing too much (maybe because it is the first part of August so I never got a birthday at school).

When I tried 'farm rake' I just saw a bunch of stereotypical bib-wearing farmers but seriously, do they have to look goofy? If those were the images of farmers that I saw, without having much to do with farming, I would view farmers as hokey and less intelligent. Seriously, the cross-eyed farmer wasn't seen as being a little too much? I just got a simple hand hoe- no farmer necessary.

Well I found everything but celebration and household items (I tried household items but it was like couches, refrigerators, ovens, a lot of electrical appliances, items that are primarily for the wealthy in Ghana, not to mention the fact that electricity is needed for all of those items and a plug in is not ubiquitous throughout the Northern regions.) We'll see what I end up finding tomorrow.

I have found it quite interesting the cultural differences one "sees" when looking for cartoon images, that have so much potential and possibility but are marked by one's culture. Great cultural comparison for what a pictorial image depicts as a version of the 'real world' and what is actually seen in different parts of the world.

Happy Humpday!

This past weekend and the early part of this week were quite busy with lots of positive events- so many I’m not even sure where to start so I will just write about today (I find that’s where my blog starts to fall apart, when I feel like I have to write about everything in chronological order, which becomes overwhelming so instead nothing is written for weeks :) I’m learning!

While this morning started out QUITE slow, (I was still sleepy from the big day of sight seeing with the board from Tuesday) it finally picked up after lunch and didn’t stop until 7 p.m.!

1. A highlight today was skyping with a former volunteer. I am testing the feasibility of staff creating ICT pieces such as making small podcasts for local radios using volunteer knowledge as well as short videos of their experiences. I’m excited to take notes of the lessons learned from our conversation as well as start editing the audio to get prepared for the Soundslides video. It was really nice to get to talk with a former volunteer about their experiences AND someone I will get to collaborate on for posters on soil health and plant insects and disease that can be pictorial and a visual resource for farmers, regardless of language. (Oh the ease with which one gets sidetracked! The comment on noting the lessons learned couldn’t wait so I typed that up, then chose which audio recording I liked best and then proceeded to start editing the audio. I got up to use the restroom, which made me realize that there was a blog post I had started… :)

2. Yesterday the ACDI/VOCA Board members were in Tamale learning about the project. I spent an amazing day with the family, photographing the sight-seeing adventure! I had the opportunity to meet some great people and by dinnertime had promised one family member to get her some 100% real shea butter that was produced near the office in Tamale. Wanting to be true to my word, I walked to the facility in the morning and bought some shea butter. A few staff members from Accra were in town so I found one with luggage space to take the shea butter to Accra. We worked out a system and I passed it off to the driver so it would be with the group- ready to go so no one would forget it at the office. I did my part in handing it to a very trustworthy driver and am happy I was able to keep my promise. Hopefully it ends up in (and on) the right hands next Saturday.

3. Lunch was a pretty good experience today. For the first time we ordered food to be picked up (we were told it would take an hour to be ready- hence calling ahead). Usually you sacrifice at least 1.5 hours to eat at a restaurant, which can include travel time and often deters from a very exciting lunch. So the hungry volunteers ordered food and when it was time, I hoped on a bike and cycled to the restaurant. I was impressed! The food was ready and waiting. The containers were labeled and the receipt was ready to go- I was thoroughly impressed with organization and preparedness of the pick up. I believe we should do this more often (and take turns cycling- although it does help to work up an appetite! :)

4. I almost forgot why I had been a little late in leaving the office to pick up lunch. After placing the order, a colleague and I planned my next brochure. I made a few brochures in October for some of the agriculture groups we work with and only one or two since then. Our project is now getting ready to roll out farm equipment grants where a farmer orders and pays for 50% of a piece of machinery to an equipment dealer who then makes or orders the product. Upon delivery to the farmer, the project pays the remainder of the bill.

I’m excited to make a brochure for farmers and test out some of the lessons I’ve been learning (incorporate photos, use visuals, minimize words, marketing to Northern Ghana farmers by including aspects important to the culture, etc.).

What I like about this project is that it is not a hand out. On their side, the farmers are showing their need and commitment for the equipment by paying half the bill. On our side, we are helping farmers become ‘mechanized,’ which improves productivity and yields, leading to higher incomes. I use ‘mechanized’ because the equipment could range from a dibbler to a tractor operated thresher (created in Northern Ghana, a dibbler has a push bar and 1-5 wheels with pegs that poke holes in a straight line, which allows one to plant faster than by hand and increases the number of plants (and thus yield) per acre. A thresher for maize/corn separates the kernels from the cob which decrease post-harvest loss and increases quality of product over the traditional method (beating the cobs with sticks until the kernels come off).

Some of the equipment is produced specifically for and in Ghana, aiding the local economy. This type of investment in farmers also helps overcome financial barriers. First off, many farmers can’t afford the machinery at full price, but will still need some level of savings in order to participate. Secondly, banks are hesitant to provide small loans to farmers because of the high costs of processing the paper work and the low repayment rates. While we are working with banks to increase accessible ag loans, they are not readily available throughout the country. Finally, with bank loan interest rates an average of 30%, who can afford to borrow?

I hope the brochure 1. does the project justice and 2. markets the grants in an easily understood format for farmers, regardless of literacy.

NOTE: This is my analysis of the grants projects. While I was given the information of how the project would operate in order to make the brochure, most of the analysis I am providing is what I have observed and the impact I expect to see from this project, which is why I am so excited to see it roll out and help with the brochure!

5. I also found out an expat in Tamale wants to lead an informal yoga class so just the idea of doing some stretching creates happy thoughts!

Only In Ghana- 3 Positives from Thursday, Feb 16th

1. Having been exposed to the international news network Al Jazeera while in Ghana, I have kept aloft of the news of and even heard a 30 minute live interview with the President of Iran. Last November, when traveling with another volunteer, we camped in a huge tree house (the tree was more than 100 years old) with seven other people, two of which were from Iran.

This was the first time I had ever actually met an Iranian and really only knowing what I had heard on Al Jazeera, treading carefully, asked her questions about Iran. She commented that she and her husband left because the government was being too controlling. While they both love Iran and their home country, the current rulers were being repressive. She had a degree in engineering and commented that while the government censors information coming into the country and sends out its own propaganda against the U.S., most Iranians are quite fond of U.S. citizens and any educated person maneuver around the censorship to know what is going on in the real world.

I was talking about this tonight after dinner with a volunteer whose parents are Iranian, yet she was born and raised in Malawi. I learned a little about her family’s experiences with the government and lack of basic human rights. Remembering an article I hadn’t yet read, I forwarded it to my friend so we could both see what the NYT had to say. While I thought the article (link below) did a pretty good job of telling a complete story and including various sources, I ended it knowing something was missing. So I hopped back on gchat and commented:

“The article does seem to beat up on Iran, but at least the focus is on the leaders and not the people, which makes me wonder why we aren't hearing anything from or about the citizens of Iran. While the article is clear it is commenting on the government, it would be good for Americans to be able to see the difference so they don't correlate the government with the people.”

If all we hear is Iran is bad- at some point does that make you think Iranians are bad? While we are an era of the fall of hard ruling dictators, I

While I have had the privilege of meeting my first three Iranians in Ghana (as my friend pointed out), I wish others in the U.S. were just as lucky. As the Iranian couple under the tree house in the middle of the Ghanaian jungle passed around freshly sliced apples and oranges to the other campers, I remember the wife commenting that she wanted to return to Iran and hopefully the government would change so she could return home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/world/middleeast/frantic-actions-hint-at-pressure-on-iran-leaders.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

2. I like playing in InDesign! While yesterday I was glad I was able to create the 3-page handout, today I am glad I was able to condense the content to less than 2 pages (I love condensing things- you should see me wrap Christmas presents!). Even better- it is even more reader friendly and makes more sense- one page one health safety and safe places to eat with the other page being safety. Between work and dinner I worked on the layout some and then after dinner got on it again- adjusting more for fun than necessity.

I am really excited because I am going to begin making technical posters for the staff and look forward to spending more time with InDesign. It reminds me of being in college, normally when a student comes home from “Thirsty Thursday” they eat a hotdog, browse the internet, maybe watch TV and crash. I enjoyed coming home, eating a hotdog and working on my latest homework assignment that wasn’t due for another week. Isn’t it great when you can’t distinguish between work and play?

3. Hummus! Randomly, there is a great Lebanese restaurant in Tamale. When I found out someone from work was headed to the bank (right next to Mike’s Place) I passed them 10 cedi and asked for some hummus. It makes such a good lunch! Hummus and pita bread are delicious and filling, yet I’m ready to eat when I get off work, which is idea because if we get to the restaurant around 5:30 p.m. and order, our food usually doesn’t arrive until 6:30 p.m. (usually later). It gets dark at 7 p.m. and depending on how much we chat or what we need to do that night, may not leave until as late as 8:30-9 p.m.! So being ready to eat dinner helps to get home with some time to do something before bed.

Ants and a Peanut (I say don't judge me, maybe because I'm already judging myself... :)

So the suggestion was 3 positive things but in the middle of the last blog post, I saw a bunch of ants gathered around a piece of food that caught my eye. I paused for a moment, wondering what it could possible be that I would have dropped (I don’t eat in my room much and I was pretty sure that I hadn’t dropped anything recently but to be more cautious). I went back to my blog and then when I looked back, it had moved a pretty good distance! The ants caught my attention! I got up and watched my step to avoid the ants (who weren’t in much of a line) and inspected what was going on.

They have half a peanut and moved it more than a few tiles in a short period of time! The fact that the only peanuts I have are creamy peanut butter and a devoured Snicker’s bar- I still have no idea where this nut came from! But I feel there is a lesson to be learned from these ants. Wild. I just saw another peanut half appear and was prompted to look under my bed. While some decent dust bunnies are appearing, nothing too appetizing. The original peanut has almost made it to my door- more than 7 feet away. I am too amused to care and seeing how they’re not in my bed- I don’t really have a problem with them. Once the food is gone, they will be gone. Gone with a peanut someone dropped at some point in time.

This lesson begs to have something to do with team work- while an ant can lift 10x its weight, no one ant can lift the peanut half by itself. Could the lesson also be patience and waiting to see results? It’s taking quite awhile for these ants to get away with an entire peanut- patience could be a lesson. What about the fact that they just made it to the door but the crack big enough for them to fit under won’t allow them to get a peanut half through? Well now I am sitting on the floor by my door watching the ants try to fit a peanut half through the crack…. (what does this say about my life? Maybe I really want to learn the lesson here- maybe I am that easily entertained…)

I was thinking it may be a lesson in ingenuity and creativity but it’s taking a bit for these ants to get the peanut out of my room- I’m now wondering if the lesson is about planning and foresight- just because I can work with others to follow a great idea (picking up a peanut) for the betterment of the colony- will it really work? Damn! My focus on the blog made me miss sight of the peanut and now it’s gone!

Nevermind- in a slight dip between the tiles, they slipped under the door and then- the peanut had completely disappeared under the door. They finally figured out to push the peanut since carrying it was making it too tall to fit. So I opened my door to see if the ants had made it to the other side and saw that my door shuts into a ledge maybe half an inch off the florr. So that means the ants will need to go under my door and then will there be enough space between the door and the ledge for them to squeeze the peanut between to get on the other side? I shut the door so they could continue their mission but hope I remember to look tomorrow to see if they made it. While maybe it’s possible to squeeze the entire peanut, another option is to break it into pieces? I’m not sure. Maybe the space big enough for them to enter will not be big enough for them to leave with their loot? I guess I’ll see tomorrow if there are any peanut halves and it will be really sad if I forget to look, seeing how much of my time, focus and blog they have taken! I can’t believe I just blogged about ants and a peanut!And there slips the second peanut under my door frame!

Okay- curiosity, impatience and a desire to have a completed blogpost (or we could say necessity to get up and turn the light off to go to bed, with the only light switch being right beside the door as a legitimate excuse to open the door and see if there isn't anything to see...).

Both peanut halves were gone.

3 Positive Things that Happened Today

A few days ago I ran across a great Ted Talk discussing that when we say, I will be happy when I receive a promotion, then receive the promotion and say, I will be happy when I receive the next promotion- that we are putting happiness at work out of arms reach because there will always be that “next promotion.” (http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html#.TzXHFEI87v1.facebook )

His idea on being happy at work was based not on letting successes that become harder to attain be the source of one’s happiness but instead be happy and it will show in your work. The ways he outlined doing this were: exercise, random acts of kindness, meditation, journaling and recognizing 3 happy things that happened that day- so you look at the world through the good things that happened.

Then, this afternoon, I realized how easy it is to write a negative blog. I spoke with another volunteer who agreed, writing becomes easiest when you’re most excited- rants come easy as do posts from inspiration but just regular great things that happened and then subsided, don’t come to the front of one’s mind to share. While I am all for sharing one’s thoughts and ideas, I recognize that if all of my blogs are rants, then it looks to the outsider like either I’m a negative person, this is a negative place or I’m having a terrible time.

None of those are true. While working in Ghana is hard, I came here for the challenge and haven’t been homesick. I feel I am just as happy here as I would be elsewhere. The only place I have day dreamed about is Costa Rica and the beaches of Playa Samara, but I dreamt about those beaches all the time in the US so it’s life as usual :) So, in combining the 3 good things and journaling- I will work to blog the best parts of my day- with the occasional rant included as needed :)

1. Facebook’s rapidly exploding new meme starting these past few days have been the posts that compare what one thinks they do in their career compared to how others see them. It’s funny and a creative way to debunk stereotypes and my favorite, is I get to see how others feel they are being viewed. Like the one I saw titled: Gay Man. As a straight female, I have no idea what it’s like to be a gay man or how they view with all the perceptions and while the creator recognized that it was just his opinion, I liked getting to see someone else’s perspective. Here is a link with a collection of What I do posters: http://twistedsifter.com/2012/02/top-10-what-my-friends-think-i-do-vs-what-i-actually-do-posters/ Great thought- imagine what this would look for international volunteers!

2. I finally got the okra stew I’ve been craving! If I had it my way, I would eat banku and okra stew a few times a week but I had gone two or three weeks since my last serving so it was a treat to get to have my favorite food again! Not only did I have some this afternoon for lunch but I also had some a few days ago for lunch as well- I’m getting back on track!

3. Not too long after I arrived to work this morning I began designing a handout with information for volunteer’s safety in Northern Ghana. It took me until lunch to get everything to fit and look somewhat like I had wanted but is now more reader friendly and will provide future volunteers with something to skim through so that hopefully they can avoid getting the all too common malaria and theft that recently happened to another volunteer. I’m happy that there is a document that really explains to volunteers what to look for specifically in Northern Ghana and is catchy so most of it will be read (and remembered!).

The Wedding Party... Half the Fun is Getting There

Adventure #5 from this week:

Saturday evening, Mona and I got together to head to a party being held for a coworker who married over the holidays. There was a map of how to get there- so armed with the image of the map, we hopped in a taxi. (This is already starting to irritate me :) We go on the right road and were supposed to call a number once we reached the gas filling station. We went by something that looked to be in construction that we dismissed and then the taxi driver drove like a grandpa because he knew we’d only seen a map (but I still have no idea why going slow was going to make us change our minds... FYI it didn't).

Finally we found a petrol station and when we got there Mona called the number and I in the backseat told the driver to go ahead and turn around since we were supposed to turn on the road right before the gas station. He sat there- I told him 5 times and he blatantly ignored me- want to infuriate me- ignore me! Mona got off the phone and told him to do exactly as I had said and he kindly obliged her. He turned, started heading down a dirt road and it led to some houses and just ended. The man on the phone said he was on his way so we just tried to pay and get out.

Paying taxi drivers sucks! It flat sucks! So, unethical taxi driver, seeing two white girls says 6 cedi. I know immediately that is b.s. From the backseat I say I refuse to pay more than 4 cedi total. He finally agreed (I later found out it should have been 2 cedi, do Ghanaian’s have any idea that by trying to rip off/steal from the white people that they are giving their entire country a bad image, let alone themselves- I’m so tired of being given the Salminga (local word for white person) price. Granted I'm assuming one should think about something other than the right now and oneself.) Once the taxi was gone, I was much happier- I would rather be in the middle of nowhere than with that rude and racist jerk. (Yes, charging me more because of the color of my skin is racist).

So Mona gets a hold of the person who is supposed to pick us up and he says he is at the filling station. We are by a set of houses so we start cutting through a small field that is empty from bush burning toward the gas station. We get there and realize, the person we are supposed to meet isn’t there. We went much further than we were supposed to go. So Mona and I start walking along the side of the road as he is heading to come get us. I’m actually quite enjoying myself, the dust is down today and the heat has subsided- it’s a nice cool evening. Normally, it’s not a good idea to walk around after dark alone, and while not something we practice much, I felt pretty safe. While I stay firm that criminals are stupid, they at least know to converge where there is a decent population of white targets.

Being far enough out of town, I had a feeling the locals around us were going about their own lives and that this was not a hotspot for robbery. When the guy appeared, he was on his motobike, which only fits one other person. Mona offered to give me her stuff. I would be dropped offer first and he could pick her up afterwards. At that point I was feeling calm and safe and wanted to spare Mona who had been robbed the week before of walking along a street in the middle of nowhere. So I kept her cell phone to use the built-in light and she hopped on the back of the motobike.

So there I was, in the only shoes I had brought to Tamale (ankle-high hiking books- can’t say enough good things about them), with a little cash in my pocket and the light on the cell turned on. I kept up my fast American walking pace and really enjoyed the walk. It was very comfortable in the cool evening to walk around without being hot (a rarity), see the stars in their fullness (I spotted Orion’s belt) and be reminded of high school. When you live in a town of 668, it’s easy for all streets outside of city limits to be classified as ‘the middle of nowhere’ when in reality there are farms, houses and livestock all around and of course you know what belongs to whom. Oddly, I felt at home. A handful of vehicles, motobikes and bicycles went by no body really seemed to care. Once, someone said ‘good evening’ as I kept walking and they kept cycling- much less attention than when walking in town.

After a bit our friend returned and I hopped on the motobike- glad everyone was getting around safely. Right as we were to turn onto the dirt road toward the party, I saw to the left that we were elevated and that you could see Tamale below with it’s lights glowing. I was at the ‘Cemetery Hill’ of Tamale, maybe even a little higher.

We went for awhile down the dirt road and showed up at the party, which was obvious by all of the vehicles and motobikes parked outside. I got off the bike and started saying hi to other coworkers. The set up was quite nice. There was a little compound of around 3 houses with a courtyard in the middle, where tables and chairs had been set up. My boss had spent her evening and day cooking for the event and I kid you not- that was the best chicken I have had in Ghana! It was tender and juicy, two things I’ve learned not to expect when I order chicken. The mean of chicken, rice, cold slaw and a tomatoes salad was served. Because one has to be wary of fresh vegetables with skins, I haven’t had salad in Ghana, making the cold slaw taste even that much better!

We hung around for a few hours, ate, chatted with coworkers and danced to a few songs before heading out. I had taken an afternoon nap, which left me feeling sleepy so I had the group drop me off at my hotel on their way to a Lebanese restaurant and bar.

5 Adventures This Week

I just had a great ‘meaning making’ session with a fellow volunteer. There are a lot of random and various experiences working in another country and having those near you to help vent, relate to and make meaning of the experiences helps enrich the experience and in some situations, make it a little more bearable.

There are so many things to type about, those that have happened recently, experiences I have since reflected upon, things that happened months ago but are amazing stories that should be shared (like the elephants in Mole or the driver ants and treehouse in Kakum). My idea was to make this a combination blog by putting in 5 "adventures" I've had this week. As you will see, "adventures" is loosely defined as those events, experiences or thoughts I've had throughout the week. Some include me going to new places and others are just those random events that happen during my everyday life in Ghana.

NOTE: The first entry ended up being quite lengthy so #2-5 are listed here and #1 is it's own post. Happy Reading!

2. Fine Dining in Tamale. I’ve posted on the intricacies of easting in Ghana, mainly Tamale. Well Friday Mona and I decided to have a proper lunch- our first real lunch ever in Tamale! We decided to try a local restaurant we had each been to before. We had a terrific and filling lunch that left us with the expected afternoon drowsies. Generally we eat supper right after work in an attempt to be home before it’s completely dark, but between the time it takes to get through the dinner process and the sun setting around 6:30 p.m., we haven’t made it back with light left yet. Having finished lunch at 3 p.m., Mona had a snack for supper and while I too wanted something light, there wasn’t much in my room.

I kept getting side tracked with stuff on the internet and when I finally ventured out to get something it was about 9:30. The shop right outside my hotel was closed but the food place seemed to be open. I went up and she just said ‘it’s finished’ (as in all of the food has been consumed, which I translated as ‘We’re closed’ but not wanting to be too honest, said that all of the food was gone… even though I could see some through the window).

So I headed across the street to the gas station that was still open. I looked around and finally left with a large carton of mixed fruit juice, a Coca Cola, a package of biscuits/cookies and a little bread. I ended up having some juice and the sweet bread- I don’t know the last time I had a meal that came 100% from a gas station. I guess over break in the US I had some breakfast pizza’s in the morning, but I feel like breakfast is the most common meal to get at a gas station.

3. Baby sheep! From the looks of things, we are in lambing season in Tamale right about now. There are so many uber pregnant sheep and goats walking around. This week, traveling to and fro work I noticed many fresh baby sheep- so small and clean and cute! But what makes this worth posting about?

I first started to notice these very pregnant ruminants when one goat, who had to be carrying multiples, was waddling down the road. I kept walking and watching it sluggishly dodge the motobike traffic until it crossed the road. (Goats are normally super jumpy and fast with traffic, this one was too pregnant for that).

So I instinctively go straight to lambing/kidding mindset and think- she should be birthing any day soon. Then, without really consciously doing so, I looked over and "wow that ovula is swollen!" No doubt she would be kidding shortly, but not wanting to go into too much detail, she would not be kidding within the next few hours.

Oh the random thoughts that go through my head- for all the sheep and goats roaming around this town, how many Westerner’s do you think check a sheep/goat for signs of birthing? You can sell of the sheep and take the girl off the farm, but…

4. The Western Store. Saturday morning, Mona and I got together for lunch then headed off to town for her to introduce me to the stores that had Western food items. We went to three stores, the second of which, Zeus’s, was the best! Another volunteer had told us about this find and together we remembered what it was called and found it relatively easy. I bought Snapple, instant mac and cheese, spaghetti noodles and a can of Heinz meat sauce, milk, Kellog’s Cornflakes, Snickers bars, the local version of ramon noodles and a week’s worth (5) small sweet breads in the shape of hearts! I also bought a bowl and a spoon :)

Most of the food items were purchased to be eaten for lunch at work- all this past week I kept saying things would be better once I had bought some food I could prepare at work so I look forward to eating, what I now see as mostly pasta, for this week’s lunch. While I spent about 80 cedis/$50 of food- there are 2-3 weeks worth of lunches for work and stay at home cereal that I can eat for breakfast, dinner or whenever I want really :) While it is pricey by local standards- It will still average out to me spending $1-2/meal- not too shabby (Snapples and Snickers don’t apply)!

5. (Not So) Dangerous Motobikers! Monday, as I left work and started walking to Luxury to eat the usual after work dinner, I was still fuming at my friend having been mugged by men on motobikes. So walking to work that morning I couldn’t help but have bad thoughts whenever I saw a man on a motobike (which is probably the most common sight in Tamale!). The only exception was if the man had on a helmet, which happens so rarely that you know this is a person of a different caliber- at least safety is a thought. So here I was fuming in my head about all these terrible motobikers, then would see one with a helmet and concede- fine, you must not be that bad- plus the thieves weren’t wearing a helmet so you’re okay I guess.

Tangent: Recently, I found out many will buy a bike brand new and then remove the rearview mirrors because they are ‘old fashioned.’ How do you respond to that? Although, I feel this gives a nod to the impact the poor education in the North has on its citizens. Oh, and most people with motobikes don’t have license so it’s not like they really even know the rules of the road- but that assumes anyone would follow them even if they knew them. Police could care less here about following the law, it’s only important if they’re getting their bribe. (End of tangent.)

During work, my ire at motobikers somewhat subsided. Then, on the walk to the restaurant for dinner, a motobike had the audacity to stop next to me!

On my guard and ready to tell Mr. Motobike off once he started with whatever nonsense I knew was going to come out of his mouth, I looked over with a scowl on my face, looked through the yellow helmet at the face inside and instantly smiled and said, ‘Hi!’ I wasn’t being hassled by an evil motobiker- a coworker was offering to drop me off at the restaurant so I didn’t have to walk! (My other coworkers laughed when I told them how mad I was and then it ended up being someone we all know and trust and wasn’t out to “get me” :)

Regardless of this comical situation, I still have a heightened distrust of others, which in reality is how it should be- in the US we are blessed to feel safe and secure and that’s just not how it is around the world. I, as many other volunteers I have noticed, am guilty of having a false sense of security in a place where it’s not warranted. I learned in college it’s a common mistake for Westerns to make and I can attest that it is difficult to constantly be wary of one's surroundings, especially when you’re not used to it. And as some coworkers are now telling us, even as locals they don’t get too close to others since you never really know who you can trust. While it’s sad it has to be that way, it does help a little to know that it’s not just me, everyone regardless of if this is their hometown or not has to keep their guard up.

The Ghanaian Diet

It’s easy to lose weight in Ghana. I haven’t gone on an intentional diet but it takes less to feel full and I’m losing weight- no effort required!

The Ghanaian Diet is based on the following principles:

-Too sick to be hungry. Illness such as food poisoning, malaria and typhoid are common, which leave you feeling sick with a loss of appetite- hard to eat when you don’t feel well.

-It won’t stay. Then there is common traveler’s diarrhea where even if you are eating regularly, it goes through you quicker than you can absorb all it has to offer.

Sickness aside,

Food is not easily accessible. This takes many faces.

-Restaurants aren’t near the office so travel time to get to food can take awhile.

-Fast food is not common, nor are restaurants that prepare food quickly. Right now I have been waiting for more than hour for a cheese burger and fries- it doesn’t seem to be arriving any time soon either. Hence I started this evening by reading a USAID report and due to the sun going down, was forced to find another means of self-entertainment.

-The sun goes down. In Ghana, it gets dark early and it gets dark fast. Generally, if I eat out, I go straight after work when it is still light and generally get a taxi back to my hotel because it has been dark for hours by the time the meal is finished. If one waits too long, is walking around alone at night worth the risk? Nah, I’ll just eat a granola bar.

-Eat with your hands. Many local dishes (that are quite delicious) are meant to be eaten with your hands. If you try to eat them with silverware, it begins to take quite a while and the hassle of trying to cut a piece of bone-in goat meat with a knife and fork instead of just picking the meat up and chewing a piece of with your teeth, is so time consuming that you eventually give up for not wanting to spend you day eating.

-If you can’t stand the heat- sometimes the food is so hot or it is so hot outside (enclosed restaurants are few and far between) and I have found, I don’t like to work up a sweat eating so I just quit eating.

-Eating with others. When eating abroad, if you have someone to sit and chat with, the stories are usually endless so getting absorbed in conversation, compounded with heat or a difficult to eat dish, causes the act of actually eating the meal to be cut short.

-Time is Money. Even in Accra, where I am surrounded by restaurants, I know it will take them forever to prepare my food, then I will eat it and wait at least 15 minutes if not more just waiting for someone to bring me a bill- and that of course is after I ask for it- those things just don’t show up on their own. So instead of enjoying my 30-minute American lunch alone, I’m stuck for over an hour and I really don’t like taking my work with me to lunch- dinner, okay, but not lunch.

-Neon Lights. In the U.S. it’s easy to take for granted the golden arches, Taco Bell or Burger King signs that glow for miles- alerting travelers of food nearby. And while Ghana only has one fast food “chain” restaurant (there is one KFC located in Accra), there are no glowing signs to indicate a restaurant. I hear there are a handful of restaurants near the office but I only know of a few and those were shown to me by others- nothing of my own discovery.

-Lack of variety. Don’t get me wrong- look at a menu in most any restaurant and the options are endless- dishes made of beef, chicken, pasta, rice, local staples such as fufu, banku and T.Z. (pronounced tea-zet. Tastes a lot like banku) to name a few. BUT don’t expect variety at breakfast.

I am a diehard breakfast fan:

1. It is the most important meal of the day and

2. I get queezy my mid-morning if I don’t eat.

But after you stay in hotels where they provide the same fried egg and toast, every morning for breakfast- it starts to become too much. I’m going to go to a store this week and buy milk and cereal just to have something, anything to mix up the monotony of that egg. Also, hens aren’t fed as well as U.S. chickens, they kind of fend for themselves so the yolks are not a rich, yellow color- instead they are a slight gray color if anything. This morning, I fantasized about eating a grilled cheese sandwich.

-Cleanliness is next to Godliness. When food is easily accessible, it’s because someone is selling it from a container of some sorts they have been carrying on their head all day or they have started a fire on the side of the road and set up their cooking pot- yes it’s convenient, but is it sanitary? If running water or access to a toilet is considered sanitary- then no.

-Kitchen’s Closed. Most hotels have kitchens and those kitchens close around 3 p.m. so if you want dinner, you must order around 8 a.m. before you leave for work- hopefully you’re thinking that far in advance. Also, it’s hard to extract information in Ghana. No one’s really willingly provides information- if you want to know something, you must ask and hopefully, you ask the right questions. I have been in situations where I was at a hotel and told them I would want to eat later, could I order food. They say sure, but when I try, the kitchen is closed. Not just closed for business but the cook has locked it up and went home with the key so getting bread isn’t even an option. By this time the situation is compounded by darkness, new location, not knowing where restaurants are and being located at the end of a windy dirt road that will take a 10 min walk to get to a main road with taxis so it’s safer to stay inside and eat the peanut butter I’ve been toting around. I’ve discovered I can eat about two tablespoons of straight peanut butter before I’m back to not caring about eating any more.

So with all of these points to consider when thinking about eating, sometimes it just doesn’t all seem worth it so you skip it. I do not condone skipping meals but must admit, I’ve skipped more in my few months here than possible all of the years combined proceeding my trip to Ghana. But I’m not saying that is necessarily a bad thing because:

-My stomach has shrunk so I fill up faster, minimizing overeating and weight gain

-We are supposed to eat lots of little meals instead of a few big ones so eating a miniature Snickers and Jolly Ranchers throughout the day is acceptable- right?

-I just eat one big meal a day now and while lunch is the preferred big meal according to the diet gurus, I rather like the traditional heavy dinner American’s enjoy because eating the same fried egg every morning makes eating breakfast hard sometimes.

As you may have noticed, while true, a majority of this article is my attempt at rationalizing why I now regularly skip meals. Excuses, excuses, excuses :)

Okra Stew in Wa

It's quite nice to have an evening where I've enjoyed a delightful meal with a fellow volunteer and arrived home (a.k.a. my hotel) with a few hours to relax, read some research for a project I am working on, maybe squeeze in a little pleasure reading and of course, watch an episode of Big Bang Theory before bed.

So far, my time here in Ghana has had more travels than it really seems. When I touched down on Sunday January 8th, I had just one day in Accra before leaving on January 10th for Wa where I gave my writing and photo workshop to the last office. It was quite enjoyable. Wa is the capital of the Upper West Region and the consensus among coworkers was that it has a population of about 12,000 people, and that's when the University of Development Studies (UDS) is in session, which draws about 6,000 people to town. While it was small in number it was quite spread out. The last training went well and was the best practice photo session of all- we were able to go to one of our actors to shoot photos of them using a tractor and mechanized sheller on a small communities corn harvest.

But the real highlight of my first weekend back in Ghana (and one of my best memories so far) was that, Eva, an employee in the Wa office invited me to her house to make my and her favorite local dish: banku with okra stew!

She picked me up Saturday around 11 a.m. and we went to the market in town where we bought the ingredients we would need. It was nice having a true market experience (I'm not sure if there's even a grocery store in Wa that sells all the items we would need). Watching the butcher take your order then whack at the goat carcass, severing the bone, and be right at the one pound mark, just by eyeing the piece of meat! Once we had bought all of the ingredients, we hopped in a taxi and headed back to her place.

It was interesting going with her to get water (okay so she got the water and I took photos) before rinsing out the dishes. Also, she had just moved into the house so it was her first time cooking in her new place. Before anything really started, we removed the stove top from the box, set it on two concrete blocks and attached it to the propane tank. It was a three burner stove top, less than 5 inches tall. It reminded me of a stove top I would expect to see in a camper.

Once the stove was ready and the dishes washed, she cut up the ingredients including: fresh okra, white egg plant (or garden eggs as they call them in Ghana), goat meat, tomatoes, chili peppers, and lots of onions (we both enjoy onions!). (Please don't use this as a recipe as I'm just going from memory- I will have to email her for the real deal).

She cooked the goat meat with lots of spices then began the process of making okra stew and banku. For the banku, she bought a premade bag of banku (which is made from maize that has been soaked in water for about 3 days, which is then pounded and heated. It has the look and texture of bread dough and a flavor that is hard to describe (kind of salty, with a bite but when eaten with okra stew, it's like you're adding a spice that adds to the meal and the two complement each other wonderfully).

We didn't end up eating until about 6 p.m. and I was hungry. She gave me a large bowl with a big portion of okra stew and lots of goat meat. It was the best okra stew I have had in Ghana. Yes, while the experience no doubt added to the taste and the day of cooking and anticipation added to the excitement, it was truly delicious! This is a meal I have had several times over and I like the way she cooks it and the spices she uses. It was so much I couldn't bare to finish but did my best to eat as much of the amazing food she had prepared for me as possible.

Oh, one thing I forgot to add, was how to eat okra stew. Okra stew is best when eaten the traditional, Ghanaian way- not the Western way. To eat okra stew, you first wash your right hand with soap and water, then using your fingers on your right hand (I use the middle three), you tear a piece of banku (bread dough texture) off and use it as additional leverage to grab some okra stew up. I learned while cooking the importance of making sure you have enough okra to make the dish as sticky as it needs to be. The sticky of the banku and the sticky of the okra stew help the dish be eaten with your three fingers.

Like many meals, it is best with just the right combination of banku, okra stew and goat meat. So you can start with the banku and okra but normally it's easier for me to grab a piece of goat meat, chew off a piece then put the goat meat back in the stew and grab some banku with okra. Once finished, you rinse your hands with soap and water and are on your way! The first few times I tried to eat this dish with a spoon and while it is possible, it takes forever and isn't nearly as good (although the restaurant I used the silverware at was too 'fancy' to 1. have a sink in the dining room or even 2. bring a large bowl of water and soap to rinse your hand with.

While half the fun is how you eat the dish, I really do enjoy banku and okra stew- don't be surprised if I have it multiple times a week (like for example I had it Monday and Tuesday of this week- I'm starting to even figure out what restaurants have the best stew!). And it's just a rule- if you eat it with anything besides goat meat, it's just not going to taste the same or as good. I went to a different fancy restaurant (that provides soap and a bowl of water) to eat okra stew but the only options are chicken or guinea fowl (a delicacy in Ghana) but it's just not the same.

I can't thank Eva enough for the wonderfully warm hospitality of inviting me to her home to not only see how my (I mean our) favorite dish is made, but to taste my first homemade meal in Ghana. I spent 2.5 months in Ghana the first time and was never afforded such a luxury. Yes, Wa may be our most remote office and in a small town, but the staff is wonderful, there are some great farmers to work with and harmattan was rolling in so it was cool out- about 75-80 degrees (quite cold for the locals but wonderful to a girl who just returned from Christmas Missouri).