Riding Roller Coasters in Ghana

Everything has its ups and its downs- but they seem to be exaggerated when working in a different culture.

Earlier this week, as I was headed to work, I hopped in a taxi as I do every morning but when the taxi saw a police stop in the middle of the road up ahead, he turned around and took me to the junction- the taxi took me further away from my destination instead of closer- he even insisted on dropping me off past the point where he had picked me up. Not really understanding the situation, I figured I’d just walk (also, the other times I, the white person, have been in a taxi going through a police barracade, my taxi was always ‘randomly’ stopped to have to pay bribes to continue). So as I’m walking, I realize the extent of the heat and am drenched in sweat, also grumbling about the police, who often seem more interested in taking bribes than doing something audacious, like enforcing any laws that may exist. I was also grumbly because Ghana has a single-spine scheme where government employees just received raises. So police used to need to take bribes to supplement their income and care for their family, but now the pay is quite well, I guess old habits do die hard.

There I am, sweating and grumbling, about to work when a cute little girl, followed by another cute little girl run up to me, arms wide open, big smiles and bright eyes, flank me, and hug my legs, too short to even come much above my knee. It was the first time this has happened and it melted my heart! Once I started back toward the office, I rolled my eyes- that’s Ghana for you, one minute it’s getting you riled up, the next it’s pulling at your heart strings. Still super hot, when I do reach the office, I head into an air conditioned room to cool off and when my colleague arrives, I get up to give him his desk and he says no worries- he’ll grab a desk in the next room so I have his chair for the day! (Granted 30 minutes later I was getting cold, it was an extremely nice gesture!).

Another roller coaster moment. This evening, headed to dinner, I get out at a junction near “the woods” where thieves hide out because it’s where you have to get out in order to go to this one restaurant- it is on a busy road so as long as you’re not out at 10 p.m. when traffic has died down, you’re less likely to have trouble- plus I was carrying a book so nothing exciting like a backpack to want to nab. But I still joked with the taxi driver, if the theives don’t get me, I should be fine :) Silly me- I forgot about crossing the street!

The standard in “The Lawless North” seems to be- the right away goes to the bigger vehicle. If you are on two feet- you should bow to everything! (By this I mean, there is the road, then there is the shoulder of the road for bicycles and pedestirans, but motorbikes use the shoulder as they wish, driving on the left or right side of the road so you can be on the shoulder of the road and still have motorbikes coming at your from both directions- as happened this evening. Cars even use it as a passing lane- in case there is too much traffic to pass on the left side of a slow vehicle- FYI Ghanians do drive on the same side of the road as we do in the U.S.).

So there I am, faced with the task of crossing the street. With motorbikes and bicycles coming from both sides on the shoulder, as well as the occassional pedestrian and car that wants to use the shoulder to pass. While I was in a good mood and did so in a light-hearted manner, I started yelling with a hint of laughter in my voice and a smile on my face “you’re driving crazy,” “you’re gonna kill someone,” “someone’s going to get hurt,” hoping maybe a motorbike would hear and decide not to get within inches of me as means of speeding along or at least think about their behavior in the future. Instead, I kept getting pedestirans and cyclists wishing me good evening. One muslim man even stopped to shake my hand before moving along, which hasn’t ever really happened especially since we were strangers. They were just being friendly- it was random! Usually everyone keeps to themselves, but if the random white girl is going to yell politely at traffic, we might as well greet her- I guess that was the logic? Or maybe they agreed with my approach to trying to manage traffic! (Nah, they probably thought I was a little crazy- but outgoing so worth saying hello to :)

Can you hear me now: “You’re driving crazy,” to the motorbike using the shoulder to pass (the motorbike who sees this as being extremely common, so what's the problem?) then upon hearing “Good evening,” turning to my left and saying: “Good evening.” Just like this was all normal behavior.

The main reason I call this “The Lawless North” is because there is no traffic enforcement that I’ve seen. Speed signs are rare but there are speed bumps EVERYWHERE in Ghana that either the government or locals put up to slow the traffic down. Even remote villages will make big dirt mounds or put a tree in the the red dirt road to slow down fast moving vehicles. I don’t think the police really have anything to do with monitoring traffic, just mainly road blocks where their job is to check for paper work and smuggling.

And quite different from the U.S., drivers license aren’t necessary, especially up North. Most individuals with motorbikes don’t have a license and the first thing they do when they buy their new shiney motorbike is to rip off the rearview mirrors, because they are “outdated,” as explained to me by a colleague. Poor general education, compounded with lack of driving instruction OR enforcement and the mentality that the bigger the vehicle (and thus pocketbook), the more right to the road- shoulder and all, you get what seems to me like chaos- but a controlled chaos if you will as it seems I'm the only one who doesn't understand the logic. I have seen drivers slow down more for a sheep crossing the road than a human being- hierarchy is alive and well on the road and there are no cross walks for pedestrians- just honking vehicles saying ‘I’m here- don’t get in my way/don’t get hit by me.’

I would like to note that none of this was typed with anger, cynicism or bitterness, but rather, ‘eh, it is what it is’ and this is the reality of the situation. I do think these things need to change but I don’t get to joke with others about this being “The Lawless North” for nothing. My nickname even has a way of lightening the situation and when it gets a little much sometimes- you can pipe up or be told “We are in The Lawless North,” at which you can’t help but smile and nod. I can't wait to see what the Ghana Ride has in store for me tomorrow :)

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.