Teaching AIDS to Primary Level 6 children in Africa was easily one of the most eye opening experiences of my life. We went in there with great information and a pretty solid lesson plan. After about 2 minutes we had to throw it all out the window. We had to take it down to the extreme basics. It was rough at first but by the end we were really starting to get through to them. The few concepts they had heard about AIDS were so random and out there that half of our time was spent denying rumors. I can see that this is one area that I can definitely work on while I'm here.
We also met up with some Susu, or private savings groups, through the District Assembly. Everyone thinks that NGO's are an a amazing thing, and 3 of 4 are, but they do have their downsides. All the collectors wanted to know was how much money we were going to give them. When we asked what their biggest problem was they answered finding the right NGO's to get money from. They have become so reliant on these programs. PC does not come with financial aid, we're here to teach them sustainable skills so that someday they won't need all these NGO's. My job over the next 2 years will be to teach my counterparts enough basic business skills that I myself will become obsolete by the end of my service.
Things have been really great lately even though we did lose the first person out of our group. He was a good bud of mine and it's weird to think that it could be me home already. I'm really lucky to have a great host family here and above all great friends and family back home (today's mail was awesome). My 8 year old brother here, Kwoko, is like instant joy when I need it. He may be a little slow, I won't lie. We have a handshake and we've been playing catch lately every night, complete with Momma Aggie cheering, "YAAA Kwoko and Dan!" When the guys come over to play rummy we give him the 2 jokers and he's in heaven. He's pretty much a celebrity with the volunteers since both Adam and I love the kid.
This week I got to accomplish a few firsts. I watched my first pirated movie. In the large cities they sell these movies that are like 42 random movies in one and they're only 3 cedi. We watched Prince Caspian and it's really funny when people on the tape get up at the theatre to use the bathroom. I also had a conversation in 4 languages in a day, english, german, twi, and eve. I felt like my head was going to explode.
Next week should also be exciting as I get to open my Barclay's bank account, brittish bank=cool right? Thursday I also leave to go to my site for the first time. I will be staying there for a week and then coming back to complete training. Throw in the December election that I tried to hide from mom and it's a pretty exciting time for us. I think of you guys back home a lot and really randomly honestly. My fellow volunteers are pretty jealous of some of the stuff I get in the mail, you guys rock.
"What if my Tuesday is full?"-Julie in Language class, the Eve word for Tuesday is Blada, our instructor didn't get it.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
I totally forgot about the fruit here in the last blog! We get fruit as desserts, you do that to anyone in the states and they'd be like what the..? Here we're like heck ya. Pineapple, mango, oranges, tangerines, and apples are all pretty readily available and are pretty much amazing.
Fan Ice is milk and sugar pretty much frozen in a bag. You bite off a corner and suck it out. It comes in vanilla (tastes like frozen frosting), chocolate (those malteds you eat with a wood spoon), and strawberry yogurt (frozen Gogurt). Mikey, in a HUGE Texas accent, has been known to freak out when someone walks by with it. "HEEEY DAN, get Ya'll over here, they's got FANN ICE!" All water that I drink here also comes out of 1/2 liter bags. There is a big problem with this as the country is starting to be covered in trash, I will start using my purifier once I get running water.
The soccer match was a blast. The goals are logs in the ground with one across them usually. The field is mostly dirt. A big crowd came to watch cause there's not much else to do after church on Sunday. The trainers were short on players so I started on their team. The trainers had a 4 to 1 lead at half, one of the goals I scored but was booed by the rest of the volunteers. By half more trainers were there so I switched teams. We still lost but put up a good fight 7 to 3, when I scored in the second half for the trainees the cheers were super loud. This was just a warmup to the final on Dec 3rd. They're bringing in players from Accra but I think we still got a chance.
Tomorrow I get to teach my first AIDs lesson to an actual class. I'm not that nervous about it because I partnered up with a guy Adam, who is basically Kyle Lemoine when he's 26. They're both so similar it's scary. Kyle and I never really had trouble presenting so I'm confident him and I will not either, simple logic right?
They haven't given us our weekly allowance yet from last week so right now I'm poorer than poor. It's kinda fun. We usually get 2 cedis, like 2 dollars, a day and that's a stretch. Anyways things are going very well right now. I love hearing from everyone, please keep that up!
Fan Ice is milk and sugar pretty much frozen in a bag. You bite off a corner and suck it out. It comes in vanilla (tastes like frozen frosting), chocolate (those malteds you eat with a wood spoon), and strawberry yogurt (frozen Gogurt). Mikey, in a HUGE Texas accent, has been known to freak out when someone walks by with it. "HEEEY DAN, get Ya'll over here, they's got FANN ICE!" All water that I drink here also comes out of 1/2 liter bags. There is a big problem with this as the country is starting to be covered in trash, I will start using my purifier once I get running water.
The soccer match was a blast. The goals are logs in the ground with one across them usually. The field is mostly dirt. A big crowd came to watch cause there's not much else to do after church on Sunday. The trainers were short on players so I started on their team. The trainers had a 4 to 1 lead at half, one of the goals I scored but was booed by the rest of the volunteers. By half more trainers were there so I switched teams. We still lost but put up a good fight 7 to 3, when I scored in the second half for the trainees the cheers were super loud. This was just a warmup to the final on Dec 3rd. They're bringing in players from Accra but I think we still got a chance.
Tomorrow I get to teach my first AIDs lesson to an actual class. I'm not that nervous about it because I partnered up with a guy Adam, who is basically Kyle Lemoine when he's 26. They're both so similar it's scary. Kyle and I never really had trouble presenting so I'm confident him and I will not either, simple logic right?
They haven't given us our weekly allowance yet from last week so right now I'm poorer than poor. It's kinda fun. We usually get 2 cedis, like 2 dollars, a day and that's a stretch. Anyways things are going very well right now. I love hearing from everyone, please keep that up!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
1/2 through Training
Training is half over and the next half should go by quicker due to some more exciting topics. This morning, after getting text messages from my friends in the states at 4 am (made me laugh), I finally got to do some laundry, I hadn't done any in over a week. Laundry starts by my fetching 5 buckets of water from the well. I put them in big sink dealies, throw in some detergent that's like powerful as heck, and start scrubbing. After about 2 hours of this my hands get torn up worse than from rowing. What idiot brings white socks to Ghana?...that would be me.
I thought there were a few extra kids around the house this morning but did some pushups and bucket bathed it up like a regular day. When I got out there were like 25 girls running around waving clothes and screaming/singing. Turns out my host Aunt was getting married and was using the room next to me to get ready. All of my host relatives were in from all over. That meant my 1 year old niece and 4 year old nephew that had never seen a white person before. The time I spent with them today was really something else. I hope everyone gets the chance to have that much fun with kids.
Traditions coincide with ours and clash with ours at the same time. Some things I really have to train myself not to do. First off, you really can't use your left hand for anything. The left is for cleaning your body. If you shake someone's hand with your left then it's like saying you're poopy roughly. The same goes for waving, which can be hard when someone is on your left. When paying for anything always give and take with your right, which can be uber awkward doing a one handed switch. Also never touch food with your left hand. If you touch it with your left no one else will eat it and they'll think you're crazy for doing so. It sucks for the left handed volunteers.
Another thing with food is whatever you do, don't smell it. That means you think they poisoned it. It's so natural to sniff your food, try to not do it. Whatever I don't eat, my little siblings get to eat. Food here is not very varied. My diet consists of:
breakfast (amazing)
2 fresh eggs with tomato on sweet bread
oatmeal
orange
or rice pourage sometimes.
The rest (usually pretty rough)
Red Red is my favorite, it's beans and plantain.
fried yam or plantain and cabbage
rice
fufu-think raw bread dough dipped in peanut sauce that you shouldn't chew
banku-sour fufu
pasta once in a great while
Meat:
fish is available but so disgusting I won't even touch it
goat, ginnie hen, chicken, "beef", grass cutter, lamb, snail (it was gross)
Saving Graces:
Fan Ice
plantain chips, I can make them!
Today is the first big staff vs trainees soccer match then hopefully bball again tonight or tomorrow. I just love it here sometimes. Tripp used Skype to call me for like 15 cents a minute, might want to look into that, and we talked just like we would back in the states. Nice to see some stuff stays the same no matter where you are.
Cody sent me some pictures and people thought the picture of all the srs in their varsity jackets was from space camp.
I thought there were a few extra kids around the house this morning but did some pushups and bucket bathed it up like a regular day. When I got out there were like 25 girls running around waving clothes and screaming/singing. Turns out my host Aunt was getting married and was using the room next to me to get ready. All of my host relatives were in from all over. That meant my 1 year old niece and 4 year old nephew that had never seen a white person before. The time I spent with them today was really something else. I hope everyone gets the chance to have that much fun with kids.
Traditions coincide with ours and clash with ours at the same time. Some things I really have to train myself not to do. First off, you really can't use your left hand for anything. The left is for cleaning your body. If you shake someone's hand with your left then it's like saying you're poopy roughly. The same goes for waving, which can be hard when someone is on your left. When paying for anything always give and take with your right, which can be uber awkward doing a one handed switch. Also never touch food with your left hand. If you touch it with your left no one else will eat it and they'll think you're crazy for doing so. It sucks for the left handed volunteers.
Another thing with food is whatever you do, don't smell it. That means you think they poisoned it. It's so natural to sniff your food, try to not do it. Whatever I don't eat, my little siblings get to eat. Food here is not very varied. My diet consists of:
breakfast (amazing)
2 fresh eggs with tomato on sweet bread
oatmeal
orange
or rice pourage sometimes.
The rest (usually pretty rough)
Red Red is my favorite, it's beans and plantain.
fried yam or plantain and cabbage
rice
fufu-think raw bread dough dipped in peanut sauce that you shouldn't chew
banku-sour fufu
pasta once in a great while
Meat:
fish is available but so disgusting I won't even touch it
goat, ginnie hen, chicken, "beef", grass cutter, lamb, snail (it was gross)
Saving Graces:
Fan Ice
plantain chips, I can make them!
Today is the first big staff vs trainees soccer match then hopefully bball again tonight or tomorrow. I just love it here sometimes. Tripp used Skype to call me for like 15 cents a minute, might want to look into that, and we talked just like we would back in the states. Nice to see some stuff stays the same no matter where you are.
Cody sent me some pictures and people thought the picture of all the srs in their varsity jackets was from space camp.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
My friend Ana from Equador at Boti Falls
A kente weaving structure.
KENTE! I get to learn how to do this hopefully! More importantly though, I get to promote this.
Some Kente products. Notice the bags, those were a previous volunteers idea and they sell like woah. Let me know any new ideas for Kente.
Mud huts with mountains in the background in the Volta Region.
Some of the group on top of a huge bolder during the hike at Boti Falls a while back.
The viewing rock.
Boti Falls, the first waterfall I swam in, there's another one just off to the left of the picture.
My buddy Adam from Vermont and me poising under the 2nd waterfall we've visited. This pose is for Scotty. Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Halloween, Elections and Travel
The group is still going strong. No one has ETed (early termination) yet which is basically unheard of. On average you're supposed to loose 30% of your group during training.. We still might loose some, we're only halfway done, but I hope not.
The idea of Halloween doesn't even come close to existing here in Ghana, so what do a bunch of Americans do? We introduce them to our culture, it's the PC way. We had probably the tackiest costumes ever, due to lack of possessions, but the point was still made. Sam and I were Indians, get it, Native Americans?
The next morning we broke into our 3 sectors and took off for field studies. The 13 SED volunteers and 3 trainers piled into our "tour tro" and took off for the Volta Region. That's the region that my site is located at. It's absolutely gorgeous. We went to businesses and tourists sites for 5 days straight. From sites that attract about a person a day to full fledge fruit factories we saw it all. I however don't do well when I'm traveling without a point and had a low day. Sunday I didn't get to go to church, coincidence?, but we did climb a mountain and swam in another waterfall. The hike was a blast and water instantly drops the maturity level of anyone in Africa. When we got back we had a horrible lunch and an even worse dinner though. Food can be directly related to my mood here. That night I wanted to go home. Mom called and I was like "It's HORRIBLE." My phone had horrible or no service and I hadn't been online in a week so I was basically out of touch with everyone. Thankfully I packed the letters I got from Chrissy and the Arnies crew, those helped.
The next day however I woke up, had some fresh eggs and was in a great mood. From there the trip just got better. We saw a few District assemblies and sat in on a lotta really cool stuff. The best part for me was when we went to a Kente village. It was insane, just so awesome! I got so excited I was like jumping for joy. This wasn't my village, it was Steve's, but my village is actually better known for Kente. Here is where I finalized my nickname, "Tuttle". In the movie Volunteers about the PC, John Candy plays a character named Tom Tuttle from Topeka that is so excited about the PC and is beyond prepared. I love it here and I came in having been in West Africa before, able to speak Twi a little, and read up on the history. I also made 2 remarks during "how to start a business" session along the lines of "avoid alliteration at all costs" followed 2 minutes later by "proper placement of prominent products." Thus Tom Tuttle from Topeka works. I called mom that night to let her know I wasn't hating life.
We stayed a night at a very rustic but very beautiful resort on top of a mountain. That night a retired Dutch anthropologist decided to sit next to me while I was reading. He seemed very nice but he hated Americans and Bush. I didn't get defensive but just sat there and listened to him talk. It was pretty interesting actually.
Then we went to the city Ho, which is 15 miles from my site and will be my local large market. I had heard it was everyone's favorite city in Ghana but so far all cities seemed the same. Ho is different, actually kept clean, spread out, and has a store in it that usually has cheese! There's also a spot called the White House where NGO's from all over come and chill. We met a group from Sweden. That night when we were just about at each others throats we showed up to our hotel and it had a pool. We freaked out and played in in for hours. Other guests took pictures of all the crazy white kids.
Today we toured the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, complete with golf course, high school, and police. Cocoa is serious here, 2nd largest producer in the world but best quality. Then I finally got to come back to my host family. I missed them and the comforts of having your own room.
Most important thing now, the election. I can't describe how awesome it was to be in Africa when the first African American president was elected. With the time difference, and we don't do daylights savings so we're now 5 hours ahead, it was cool to wake up and watch it live at 4 AMish. The people here are so excited about it. I won't get into politics but it was an experience I'll never forget.
I think of you guys a lot and due to medications dream about some of you really randomly (Blake and I made our major league debuts with the Texas Rangers against the Tigers a few nights ago. We were carrying bats like oars to the wrong dugout and Jimmy Leland was like, Umm Danny, that's ours. Blake doesn't play baseball.)
The idea of Halloween doesn't even come close to existing here in Ghana, so what do a bunch of Americans do? We introduce them to our culture, it's the PC way. We had probably the tackiest costumes ever, due to lack of possessions, but the point was still made. Sam and I were Indians, get it, Native Americans?
The next morning we broke into our 3 sectors and took off for field studies. The 13 SED volunteers and 3 trainers piled into our "tour tro" and took off for the Volta Region. That's the region that my site is located at. It's absolutely gorgeous. We went to businesses and tourists sites for 5 days straight. From sites that attract about a person a day to full fledge fruit factories we saw it all. I however don't do well when I'm traveling without a point and had a low day. Sunday I didn't get to go to church, coincidence?, but we did climb a mountain and swam in another waterfall. The hike was a blast and water instantly drops the maturity level of anyone in Africa. When we got back we had a horrible lunch and an even worse dinner though. Food can be directly related to my mood here. That night I wanted to go home. Mom called and I was like "It's HORRIBLE." My phone had horrible or no service and I hadn't been online in a week so I was basically out of touch with everyone. Thankfully I packed the letters I got from Chrissy and the Arnies crew, those helped.
The next day however I woke up, had some fresh eggs and was in a great mood. From there the trip just got better. We saw a few District assemblies and sat in on a lotta really cool stuff. The best part for me was when we went to a Kente village. It was insane, just so awesome! I got so excited I was like jumping for joy. This wasn't my village, it was Steve's, but my village is actually better known for Kente. Here is where I finalized my nickname, "Tuttle". In the movie Volunteers about the PC, John Candy plays a character named Tom Tuttle from Topeka that is so excited about the PC and is beyond prepared. I love it here and I came in having been in West Africa before, able to speak Twi a little, and read up on the history. I also made 2 remarks during "how to start a business" session along the lines of "avoid alliteration at all costs" followed 2 minutes later by "proper placement of prominent products." Thus Tom Tuttle from Topeka works. I called mom that night to let her know I wasn't hating life.
We stayed a night at a very rustic but very beautiful resort on top of a mountain. That night a retired Dutch anthropologist decided to sit next to me while I was reading. He seemed very nice but he hated Americans and Bush. I didn't get defensive but just sat there and listened to him talk. It was pretty interesting actually.
Then we went to the city Ho, which is 15 miles from my site and will be my local large market. I had heard it was everyone's favorite city in Ghana but so far all cities seemed the same. Ho is different, actually kept clean, spread out, and has a store in it that usually has cheese! There's also a spot called the White House where NGO's from all over come and chill. We met a group from Sweden. That night when we were just about at each others throats we showed up to our hotel and it had a pool. We freaked out and played in in for hours. Other guests took pictures of all the crazy white kids.
Today we toured the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, complete with golf course, high school, and police. Cocoa is serious here, 2nd largest producer in the world but best quality. Then I finally got to come back to my host family. I missed them and the comforts of having your own room.
Most important thing now, the election. I can't describe how awesome it was to be in Africa when the first African American president was elected. With the time difference, and we don't do daylights savings so we're now 5 hours ahead, it was cool to wake up and watch it live at 4 AMish. The people here are so excited about it. I won't get into politics but it was an experience I'll never forget.
I think of you guys a lot and due to medications dream about some of you really randomly (Blake and I made our major league debuts with the Texas Rangers against the Tigers a few nights ago. We were carrying bats like oars to the wrong dugout and Jimmy Leland was like, Umm Danny, that's ours. Blake doesn't play baseball.)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Boti
We had been pretty intense with classes so they decided to give us a field trip. It may have had to do with one of the 2 main presidential candidates coming to our town that day too. As PC we're not allowed to partake in anything to do with the election but we still get to learn about it, it's pretty exciting.
The field trip however was absolutely amazing. We went to Boti Falls. There are 2 huge waterfalls over 30 meters each, into the same pond. Omar and I were the first to jump in despite the signs. About 30 of us ended up going in and it was like kindergarten recess again. We were all just so excited about being completely covered in water and almost cold! It was easily one of the most refreshing and exhilarating things I've ever done, a few of us went into the falls as much as you could. After the swim we went on a 2 hour hike up and down semi mountains through a cave, and up to the top of an umbrella rock, what a view. West Africa has such thick vegetation and it's so green.
That night we got back and the city was still going nuts for the presidential candidate so we decided to have Team Ubroni, white person, take the only basketball court in town. I wish I had taken video tape of them playing. They have seen way too many and1 videos and not enough layup practice. We volunteers didn't lose any of the 10 games we played despite their cheating with scores, 4 steps before every shot or pass and fouls. I showed them what damage Polish Thunder can do down low.
This week they forgot our mail in Accra, that's a low blow so instead I've trekked to the internet cafe a few times. I don't want to spoil myself as I'll probably only be able to go to Ho, the major city near my site, once a week tops to get online. I'm ready for training to be over and become an official PCV, no more of this PCT stuff. Talking to current volunteers it sounds like I really got lucky in my site placement.
Some highlights have been:
*My entire family watching me sew up the rip I got in my pants dancing to Journey at a spot (a guy that can sew isn't as odd to them here but still amusing).
*Whenever the closest volunteer to me, Adam, walks by they call him Daniel. They yell out Obruni usually and I know just enough twi to correct them and say, " My name is not white person, it is Daniel, how would you like it if I called you black person?"
*Adam, Mike, and I went on a 45 minute quest to find FanIce late at night downtown. FanIce is a gift directly from god. It's basicaly frozen frosting that you suck out of a plastic bag.
*my malaria dreams: it's like reality TV every night. I never realize I'm in Africa when I wake up until I trip on my mosquito net.
I miss you guys back home a lot but am really excited about what I'm doing for the next 2+ years. People say that the PC is a lot like being pregnant, at first it's exciting but the first 9 months stink. Then after that it's pure joy.
"You visit East Africa for the scenery and West Africa for the people."
The field trip however was absolutely amazing. We went to Boti Falls. There are 2 huge waterfalls over 30 meters each, into the same pond. Omar and I were the first to jump in despite the signs. About 30 of us ended up going in and it was like kindergarten recess again. We were all just so excited about being completely covered in water and almost cold! It was easily one of the most refreshing and exhilarating things I've ever done, a few of us went into the falls as much as you could. After the swim we went on a 2 hour hike up and down semi mountains through a cave, and up to the top of an umbrella rock, what a view. West Africa has such thick vegetation and it's so green.
That night we got back and the city was still going nuts for the presidential candidate so we decided to have Team Ubroni, white person, take the only basketball court in town. I wish I had taken video tape of them playing. They have seen way too many and1 videos and not enough layup practice. We volunteers didn't lose any of the 10 games we played despite their cheating with scores, 4 steps before every shot or pass and fouls. I showed them what damage Polish Thunder can do down low.
This week they forgot our mail in Accra, that's a low blow so instead I've trekked to the internet cafe a few times. I don't want to spoil myself as I'll probably only be able to go to Ho, the major city near my site, once a week tops to get online. I'm ready for training to be over and become an official PCV, no more of this PCT stuff. Talking to current volunteers it sounds like I really got lucky in my site placement.
Some highlights have been:
*My entire family watching me sew up the rip I got in my pants dancing to Journey at a spot (a guy that can sew isn't as odd to them here but still amusing).
*Whenever the closest volunteer to me, Adam, walks by they call him Daniel. They yell out Obruni usually and I know just enough twi to correct them and say, " My name is not white person, it is Daniel, how would you like it if I called you black person?"
*Adam, Mike, and I went on a 45 minute quest to find FanIce late at night downtown. FanIce is a gift directly from god. It's basicaly frozen frosting that you suck out of a plastic bag.
*my malaria dreams: it's like reality TV every night. I never realize I'm in Africa when I wake up until I trip on my mosquito net.
I miss you guys back home a lot but am really excited about what I'm doing for the next 2+ years. People say that the PC is a lot like being pregnant, at first it's exciting but the first 9 months stink. Then after that it's pure joy.
"You visit East Africa for the scenery and West Africa for the people."
Thursday, October 23, 2008
About a week ago it was pretty rough but now thing's are much better.
The Red Sox losing has really been the only negative thing. I got my ball and gloves out a few nights ago and played catch with Kwocie. For never having played he was pretty good. It felt like back in the day when Dad and I would play catch out in the front yard. I'm making progress in Eve even though instead of saying "I have 3 siblings" I said "I have 3 girlfriends."
I didn't know I was the only accountant here until we went over bookkeeping. It looks like despite sleeping through most my college classes, I still got the just of the topics. The cool thing here is that it's the basics that need improving meaning the stuff I've learned is applicable whereas in the US a lot of it is automatically done.
The days go by quickly, we've already been gone almost a month. I take it one week at a time. Church every Sunday is nice to relax. I do find it hilarious that they even take a second collection here for "a mission." Where the heck do they send their money?
'That's quality you just can't get at home.' Marcus one night when the egg sandwich lady took the oil she put in the pan and put it back in the container for next use, adding flavor.
The Red Sox losing has really been the only negative thing. I got my ball and gloves out a few nights ago and played catch with Kwocie. For never having played he was pretty good. It felt like back in the day when Dad and I would play catch out in the front yard. I'm making progress in Eve even though instead of saying "I have 3 siblings" I said "I have 3 girlfriends."
I didn't know I was the only accountant here until we went over bookkeeping. It looks like despite sleeping through most my college classes, I still got the just of the topics. The cool thing here is that it's the basics that need improving meaning the stuff I've learned is applicable whereas in the US a lot of it is automatically done.
The days go by quickly, we've already been gone almost a month. I take it one week at a time. Church every Sunday is nice to relax. I do find it hilarious that they even take a second collection here for "a mission." Where the heck do they send their money?
'That's quality you just can't get at home.' Marcus one night when the egg sandwich lady took the oil she put in the pan and put it back in the container for next use, adding flavor.
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