1person

Today I found out how grouchy and tired I was yesterday by the contrast in my mood. I must have been exhausted on Wednedsay. Today we met the different PC Staff members and learned all about what they do. PC hires may local people to staff the offices. The APCDs of ecducation have worked in the Ghana education system for years and bring those skills and knowledge to the PC.

We also talked about our two quests. Accra quest on Friday and Vision quest Saturday through wednesday next week. Friday we go out in groups of three to explore Accra and use a tro tro. Tro tro’s are minibusses. They travel within cities and between cities. On Accra quest each gropu is given three things to do or places to visit and we must get there on our own. I am psyched. I want to by the Ghana equavilent of Ice Cream, a 2 yard piece of cloth and another hankie as well as my vision quest assignments.

I will be going to the north region for vision quest. Find the Mole Game Preserve,on a map near Tamale, and I will be somewhere near there. Most people will go on vision quest on their own but I get to go with Andrew, another PCT. I am excited to go to the north because if I am not stationed up there I may not get up there again. Ghana may be the size of Oregon but travel time is as if it’s the size of Texas. Vision quest is for us to see a PCV at home, at work and at play. We will have some specific tasks to complete while there.

Today was a much better day. I had more patience. I wasn’t dead tired. I absorbed much more of the information that was presented.

I had a nice talk at supper with Grace, our training manager, and Rachael a PCV who is helping with training. We discussed about building relationships in Ghana and how the greetings in Ghana are part of that relationship building. We also discussed the role of women in Ghana and America. Grace Ghanaian, Rachael has lived here a year and I am brand new to this culture. I learned so much. I will share more maybe a blog entry or two on the role of women but my battery is dying so I’d better bring this to a close!

I head to bed toniht with much more optomism, hope and courage than last night but still as I finish this time reflecting on my first few days in Ghana i still say

ah glorious bed!

-vc

Accra First Full Day – Wednesday 11 June 08

We are staying at in Accra, for security reasons I really can’t say where. But on Wednesday I really did not see the place very much. We traveled to PC Headquarters in Accra to get our first shots. We will have 4 more times to get shots. At headquartes we also learned some Twi and toured head quarters. When we visited Bob, the director of Peace Corps Ghana, he had on a Red Sox wrist band. I said I liked it he gave me one. At the embassy reception he came to show me that he was wearing a Red Sox bowtie. Then we visited the Minister of Education. The current minister of education was taught by a PCV from the very first PCV group. It was inspiring to know that I may be helping to mold the future leaders of Ghana. I was reminded that hospitality was very important to Ghanaians when they not only served us water but minerals (soda) and a small snack of chicken on a stick, donut holes and small meat pies. Ghanaians also like to know peoples names. Yesterday I introduced myself at least three times at the Educatios ministers was one of those times. Last we went to the ambasador’s house for an evening cocktail party. We arrived back at our sleeping quarters after 9:00 and at supper.

Then glorious bed.

Reflections:

I was thrilled to learn that many people in Ghana’s government have been taught by Peace Corps volunteers. It makes me proud of America in a way I have been proud in a long time.

I want to apologize to all my family, friends and co-workers for putting you through my months of not bathing everyday! Ghanaians bathe daily sometimes twice a day. They just don’t use as much water as we do.

The heat is bearable but when a breeze comes along it’s like air conditioning. Beth gave me a hankie and I have it with me at all times to wipe my face.

Ghana smells different. Good but different.

After more than 24 hours intransit we arrived in Accra Ghana. We waited for luggage. Went throught customs and as we exited the airport we were greeted with cheers from current PCVs. The bus ride from the airport to our beds took about 1.5 hours. The drive was surreal. I was exhausted because I had only catnapped on both the flights. The road was crammed with cars and people selling stuff out of containers on their heads. We were on this busy highway. Cars were bumper to bumper and moving pretty quickly and voila! there were people standing by the van with a container of dried plantains on their head or a man holding bags of toilet paper. At least I know now where to get toilet paper – on the highway out of Accra! I looked to my left once and saw three illuminated fake plam trees. They were red, blue and green. That will be a lasting image of Accra in my mind. There are very small buildings clustered along the roads that sell things too. I saw mangos piled up on end in a pyramid for sale, small chop shops (fast food), spectrum of patterned cloth hung on lines, huge yams and so much else for sale in these shops.

Dinner was familiar chicken and rice, and watermelon for dessert. The water was wild. Water is sold for 12 oz for 5 pesowa (approx 5 cents) in small sealed baggies. I was instructed to bite off a corner and squeeze water out into my mouth. Then when I had a drink I watched the PCVs balances it on another corner and it kind of settled like a bean bag chair until I picked it up again.

Then glorious bed.

-vc

Jen the country coordinator for Ghana repeated over and over to tell our families and friends that “No News Is Good News.”  So I am with this post.

For my PST (Pre-service training)  I will not be very close to internet and phones. So I may not email much or if I get near a computer I may blog and hope my family and friends will read my blog and understand if I don’t have time for personal emails to everyone.  Or if one family or friend gets a call or email I hope you will share with others.  I will send snail mail I promise but that will take a while to reach you all.  (I will set up a couple of blog entries to post at a later date. Like this one that I wrote Sunday evening and that will post on Friday.)

So you mantra for a little while will be “No news is good news”.

Again thank you all so much for your help and support that got me here and will carry me through this amazing adventure I will have.

-vc

This group of people is dedicated, energetic, enthusiastic, compassionate and adventurous to list a few adjectives that describe them. It will be very fun to serve with them for the next two years and three months.

Today was a very busy day and I am not sure I can tell all that happened.  We talked about safety yet again. I think this will be a theme for the next three months. We broke in groups and did case studies to highlight policies that are most often broken.   And that usually lead to a PanAm.  (Lingo for doing something bad enough to get kicked out.) We saw a video about unwanted attention and discussed strategies on how to deal with that unwanted attention.  We talked about assimilation into another culture. Did you know that the most important factor for assimilation into another culture is to understand your own.  Then we had another nuts and bolts session about the clinic tomorrow and going to Newark airport.

I remember the games the best of course.  We played one game where we paired up and we each changed 5 things about ourselves then found the changes on our partner.  We did it with the same partner three times.

The best activity was when we were broken into 5 groups.  We picked a group from Artistic, Musical/Poets, Actors, Storytellers and Dancers. Each group was given a Peace Corps training theme and we had to tell others about it.  I joined the dancers to swell the ranks. We had to do a pantomime about sustainable development. We decided to do growing a grain, grinding it, baking something distributing it and consuming it.  This showed using local resources, involving the community and meeting a local need. The storytellers wrote a letter home.  The artist drew about your local community protecting you. The musicians/poets did a song about adapting to local culture and the actors did one about volunteer safety. We laughed so hard at the presentations. And we saw a different side of our fellow volunteers.  It was wonderful.

For the last activity each volunteer wrote down something they wanted to say to the group. We put them in a large basket then we each pulled out one and read it to the group.  Very kumbya (sp) but also very comforting, and encouraging.

Reflection:

This is becoming more of a reality everyday. Today I had my first butterflies about learning the language, finding my way around and really integrating into my community. After the video and after talking about the ways our culture can be a wall I realized how foreign it will all be.  Jen and Kate, our staff and RPCVs are living proof that it can be done. If they can do it so can I.

I am also getting to know more people everyday.  The seeds of community have been sown this weekend and I think the next 3 months are going to make us into a great support group for each other.

-vc

I am done with my travels. Promise to at least post some photos of Maine and Texas. Now come the big push to pack and get ready for Ghana!

I will train in Ghana through the middle of August and on August 19 (19 like my birthday date!) I will be sworn in. Everyone send prayers and good thoughts towards that day!

3 days to staging. 6 days to Ghana.

-vc