things on my mind

So I just wanted to interrupt the journal entries to kind of talk about my plans for this school/community.  I chatted with some teachers today about what they think this school needs.  And the biggest concern is building extra teaching quarters/classrooms to accommodate for such a high volume of students.  I said before that each class about 65-70 students.  Which is a ridiculous amount.  We talked about building new classrooms and also having the task of finding teachers to fill those classrooms.  If we could accomplish that, things would be amazing at this school. 

We also talked about a school feeding program.  The government currently has a school feeding program for select Primary and KG (kindergarten) schools.  Not even all of them.  Senior High Schools are most often boarding schools, so they have feeding programs too.  And then there is the Junior High Schools.  They get nothing when it comes to feeding programs.  And I have no idea why.  Neither do the other teachers.  So I am going to do some research and see if there is anything I can do to help with that.  If not help with all JHS’s, but at least Dondometeng.  Feeding the students and teachers is important.  Halfway through the day, everyone is hungry, and they quickly lose focus on learning/teaching.  They/we are focused on our growling stomach’s.  Plus, these students are still kids.  Growing kids.  Having a proper diet is important.  So, there’s project numero dos.

Project number three.  The other day we had people from the clinic come and administer CSM vaccines.  Which stands for Cerebral-Spinal-Meningitis vaccine.  Every student and every willing teacher received them.  For free.  At the JHS and the Primary and KG.  Apparently all the schools get them for free.  I thought that was amazing!  It made me realize I really want to get involved with the health aspect in this school/community.  I chatted with the teachers about bringing in some people from the hospital to talk about health, hygiene, HIV/AIDS etc.  And also setting up hand washing stations  at the schools. 

The final thing I’m starting to get involved with is a girl’s camp.  Another volunteer is setting it up and asked if I wanted to get involved.  Heck yes!  It’s going to be in February, so I have plenty of time to plan.  The camp is to encourage girls to pursue their education and knowing all the benefits from it.  As well as possible career options and other opportunities girls have with their futures.  She asked if I had 2-3 girls who I thought would be interested in going.  I have about 10 I think would definitely benefit, but I think I can narrow it down to 2 or 3.  The other volunteer also asked if I would be willing to be in charge of a workshop during the camp, specifically the one about careers.  Of course!  So until then, I’ll have to do some research and figure out what it is I’m going to talk about =) 

I’m so excited to finally get some project ideas.  Even though these projects are pretty big, I think they would be amazing to accomplish.  So for now, my hopes are high.  But I also realize it is a big risk, so hopefully I won’t get too disappointed if things don’t turn out.  So we shall see =)  Anywho, those are just a few things on my mind right now, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated on them all.

light journal reading - part 3

September 16, 2012

Let’s talk about my first week teaching!  As far as I know, it seemed to go well!  For the most part, the students seem respectful.  I had some issues with my form 1’s towards the end of the week, but it seemed every teacher did.  In one of my classes (I forget which form), I gave them 5 problems to work on.  I also told them if they wanted more points they could come up with their own questions and answer them and I would mark (yes, mark, not grade) them.  And to my surprise, the majority of the students did more problems!!  It made me so excited!  I’m sure it seems small, but it really made my day.  Every morning, I am greeted by students who offer to carry my things for me.  I have about a 30 second walk, but I always happily agree.  I also have students who walk by my house after school and always talk to me.  Some are genuine, and I think others are just trying to test me.  So I’m trying to stand my ground.  Especially at first.  I had another teacher tell me he thinks the students are really interested in what I am teaching.  They come up to me and ask me questions during breaks.  It makes me feel like I’m actually getting some of them interested in the topic.  But it’s also exhausted.  I remember only wanting to sleep after my day on Friday.  I was pooped.  But overall, I think the week went well.  Notice how I didn’t journal all week?  Yep, that’s how tired I was. 

Which brings me to my weekend.  Friday was stressful at school.  I just wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing.  I spent some time in town doing nothing, waiting to meet up with my headmaster.  We finally meet up and we have a drink.  He figures out that I had Pascal go around and find estimates for a wardrobe and a few tables.  He asked me why I didn’t consult him about it first.  Oh, he wasn’t very happy with me.  I told him I didn’t mean to offend anyone and that it’s much different in America.  I told him he has to tell me these things, because I’m still learning the culture.  So after that point, I think we’re good.  Saturday I go and meet up with Sheila who is a weaver I met last week.  I sat at her house/compound for several hours.  There were so many women there.  It’s t hen that I realize I have not made friends with any older women.  Only men.  I also realize that I enjoyed being around these women.  Music was playing and every once in a while they would start dancing.  I told them they would have to teach me these dances some time. Sheila’s sister Sawla made me some food too!  Fried yams and plantains and the spiciest pepe I have ever tasted.  And Sheila agreed.  The pepe was “too much.” (Pepe…pronounced pep-pay…is like a spicy salsa like thing).  It was just so fun to sit and talk and laugh with all these women.  There were a bunch of kids there who called me Sister Jessica or Auntie Jessica.  It was adorable.  Sheila and another woman (Update:  her name is Vida and I love her!) pulled out the loom and began setting up their weaving.  Holy crap is that time consuming!  And it’s just the set up!  I didn’t stay long because I was meeting my headmaster.  We met at a spot and drank some pito.  We were in a big group and everyone was talking.  In Dagaare.  So I didn’t chime in much.  It started to pour, so we moved under shelter.  After the rain cleared, Roger showed up and we decided to leave because it was getting late.  I said goodbye to my headmaster and went on my way.  I was still feeling pretty blah at this point.  Roger and I go grab a bottle at a nearby spot, and he doesn’t seem happy either.  Maybe it’s just the day?  I’m just ready to go home at this point.  We make it home finally after discovering my bike has a flat tire.  Perfect.  Roger says he’ll fix it tomorrow.  Okay good.  That means I won’t have to spend loads of money on it.  I climb into bed and relax finally and fall asleep.  Sunday.  I spent most of the morning reading.  Janet came over to help me with my laundry.  Awesome.  Because my hands are irritated for some unknown reason and are killing me.  I’m still not in the best of moods.  All the kids just sit and hang out.  I am not in the mood to entertain.  I feel bad, but I keep reading.  They seem content for the most part.  After an hour or so, they leave and Roger comes over.  He collects my bike to fix it.  I love that man.  He brings it back maybe 30 minutes later and we decide to go into town.  We stop at a spot and drink some pito.  He says he’s hungry and we should go grab some lunch at NVS (Nandom Vocational School).  Score!  I love NVS!  And jollaf!  It was a tad spicy, but delicious nonetheless.  We go visit Noella because she leaves for SHS today which is a boarding school.  She won’t be back until December.  Sad.  It looks like it’s about to rain, and I left my clothes on the line, so Roger and I decide to go to the market so we can head home.  I buy my few things (which include these delicious crunchy groundnut ball things) and we go.  Roger says he’ll bring some pito over and we can just sit and chat.  Okay.  I can handle that.  And it’s fun.  There was a point where he almost falls asleep mid-sentence and I find it hilarious.  We joked and laughed about it.  His son, Martin, was over and he actually DID fall asleep.  How precious.  He decides to leave to go prepare some food for his kids (well..someone will prepare it).  And here I sit.  I finally feel relaxed and calm.  It’s nice to have some alone time.  I’ve been surrounded by people so much recently.  I’m also missing my friends and family a lot.  I haven’t been able to find internet here, so that mega sucks.  Hopefully next weekend I can find some.  Whenever I get lights, I am buying a modem so I can get online whenever I please. (Update:  yep…didn’t wait for lights and I couldn’t be happier about buying a modem!)  Roger and I decided we are going to meet up with the Assembly Man this week to keep bugging him about lights.  I don’t mind sitting in the dark.  I just wish I could have some sort of contact with people back home.  I just hope it doesn’t make me miss them even more.  Hopefully the next few days turn out better than the last few.  I definitely have my fingers crossed!  I think now I will snack on something and figure out what new book I am going to start.  I hope it rains tonight.  It will relax me and make me happy.  Oh the little things =)

light journal reading - part 2

September 7, 2012

Cultural topic for today:  funerals.  Today was the second time I went to a funeral since coming to site.  The first one was last weekend.  It was my counterpart’s brother who passed away.  Roger and I went together (Update:  I seem to be pretty repetitive in my entries…sorry!)  As we were approaching, I heard loud gunshots.  It killed my ears!  Roger said it was because the chief just arrived so they shot off guns as tradition.  Okay, no problem.  When we got to the area, I noticed a large stage about 10 feet off the ground with a man sitting inside.  Oh, that must be the chief.  As we got closer, I noticed the man wasn’t moving much, if at all.  When we finally reached the stage, I realized the man sitting upright was the deceased man.  Holy crap!  He was just sitting there holding a book like it was no big deal.  It was definitely different than the funerals I’m used to.  As we passed the stage, we threw coins towards it.  apparently, these coins went to the xylophone players.  There were xylophone players at today’s funeral too.  But this time, the deceased was in his coffin.  People threw coins as usual.  This time, I went with my headmaster and a couple friends (they were there when I bought my bicycle.  I can’t remember their names).  We got to the stage and walked around and made sure we stood at every angle facing the deceased.  Then we threw the coins (I know I’m telling the story out of order).  We walked towards the music, and my headmaster told me to go find a seat while they finished up.  I stood for a few moments admiring the xylophone poets.  I went to go sit down and about 5 minutes later was served pito.  When the rest joined me, Roger had already found me.  We talked for a few minutes, and we headed towards another area.  Under a tree.  With several other people.  We sat in a giant circle.  There were maybe 20 of us.  Someone came out with a crate full of beer bottles.  I happily took a Club.  Later, a jerry can of pito was brought out.  I declined.  I had already had 2 Clubs earlier and some pito.  We were all just sitting and talking.  And not even about the funeral.  This sad and unfortunate event was just an excuse for us to mingle and socialize.  It’s so interesting.  We finally made our way home.  I successfully biked home, in the dark, while wearing a skirt.  ‘Twas intense.  I did however get my skirt caught in the back wheel of my bike on the way to the funeral earlier.  Luckily, those friends of the headmaster helped me come untied.  And as I was leaving the funeral, two women helped tie my skirt so it wouldn’t hang.  I absolutely love this place.  I know I have my bad moments, but as of now, the good times greatly outweigh the bad.  Let’s hope that lasts for two years!

light journal reading

So I snagged my journal from my still bee-infested house.  So now I will copy down some things I wrote in it, so you get a better idea of my life here!  PS I believe tonight is the last night I will spend in paradise aka the hotel.  Supposedly by tomorrow, the bees should be gone.  But hopefully I will be able to get online about once/week to updated everyone and stay connected!  In the mean time, happy reading!

August 31, 2012

So I have been here for a little over 3 months now (I’ve been at site for less than a week).  And I must say I have definitely had a rollercoaster of feelings. There are days where I am 100% in love with this country, and days when I miss home like crazy.  I miss the simplicity of everything.  I miss electricity.  I miss air conditioning.  I miss warm showers.  I miss curling up in a blanket on rainy days watching movies and pigging out.  I guess the more I think about it, the more petty these things seem.  Who cares if I miss all of that?  I am in Western Africa teaching math to junior high students.  I am meeting so many great people.  This town I am in is filled with smiling, helpful people.  It’s so wonderful.  So why do I feel down about it all?  I try to tell myself the first few months are the hardest.  I have just recently left my new Peace Corps friends and am on my own for the first time since coming here.  So maybe the shock of it all is hitting me.  Once school begins and I become even more comfortable with this place, it will be better. (Update:  that was about a month and a half ago.  And I must say things have gotten a gazillion times better!  It was definitely rough beginning to settle in, but now it’s pretty great!)  It just sucks to go from seeing my Peace Corps friends everyday and getting online every so often to never seeing them and not knowing when I can get online again.  But I guess I’ll have to get used to it.  I mean, I did join the Peace Corps!  But knowing everyone in my group has power totally sucks lol

I am going to a funeral today.  My counterpart’s brother passed away a few weeks ago and his funeral is today and tomorrow.  I talked with my neighbor, Roger, and he asked if I was going to go.  We decided we would go together when he is finished with work.  I’m not sure how much longer I will have to wait.  We talked an hour ago and he said in 30 minutes he would come home and we would leave. So we shall see!

I am going to Wa tomorrow morning to snag a gas cylinder and a tabletop stove.  I’m pretty stoked to actually start cooking for myself!  I also need to buy a wardrobe and some kitchen cabinets/shelves.  And tables.  I need to get this place looking like a home.  I will feel so much better.  My first purchase was a bicycle for 120 cedis.  Yikes!  And my counterpart paid for my helmet!  How awesome!  People here really do look out for you and care about you.  It’s great.

September 3, 2012

Ah, the weekend has come and gone.  And school starts tomorrow.  Yowza!  I learned there are about 60 students in Form 1 inside a tiny room.  So that’ll definitely be a challenge!  Still, I’m excited for school to start because that will actually give me something to do.

This weekend was a rollercoaster of feelings.  I went to Wa and go my cylinder and stove.  Someone said the cylinder was about half full, so I decided to go fill it.  Someone was gracious enough to help me haul it around.  We walked for what seemed like forever, only to find out there was no LP anywhere.  Lovely.  Oh well.  I’ll use what’s left and fill it later.  By this point I was tired and cranky.  I didn’t get much sleep the night before.  I headed back to Nandom in the most crammed tro ever.  I sat right behind the driver facing backwards.  It was insane.  But I made the trip in 2 hours and we still made stops along the way.  So that was a bonus for sure!  I walked around looking for cooking utensils and what not.  I got all my things and a few ingredients for supper and headed home.  I started washing all of the dishes and hooked the cylinder up to the stove.  When it was all finished, I went to light it, and nothing happened.  Hmm…maybe I hooked it up wrong.  I called my neighbor, Roger (who is by far the coolest and nicest old man ever) and asked if he would come help me.  When he got there, everything seemed to be connected correctly, and then he picked up the cylinder.  He proceeded to tell me it was empty.  Ugh!  I was super bummed.  But we made a plan to get it filled today, so by tonight I’ll finally get to cook for myself.  I was so bummed out. 

That evening, I went outside to my squat toilet and was happily greeted by a bat!  Scared the crap out of me!  There are also bats in my ceiling.  My Assembly Man, Maurice, boarded my ceiling up, and the bats stayed.  So I hear a squeaking noise throughout the day (Update:  those bats are insane.  They make so much noise at night and when they walk around it sounds like a giant animal is up there.  It’s ridiculous, but I’m slowly getting used to it.  Hopefully when we spray for these bees, the bats will magically disappear as well!). 

Sunday was so much better than the previous day.  It started off raining, so I stayed in bed doing nothing all morning.  It was great to relax.  Roger shows up, and we decide to go to the market.  I buy rice, tomatoes, carrots, Maggie cubes (bouillon cubes), bananas, a mortar and pestle, buckets, etc.  I loved that I actually got to buy things for my house/kitchen!  Afterwards, we went to go drink some pito at the Assembly Man’s house.  (Pito is a local drink that practically every family brews.  And we drink it out of a calabash, which is the outer layer of a dried up gourd thing).  We sat around chatting, and the Assembly Man shows up, and we make our way to the nearest spot (in Ghana, spot means bar).  We each have a beer and just chat.  It was great.  After that, we parted ways with Maurice, and Roger & I head to another spot/restaurant to get some food.  Jollaf and Alvaro (a sweet malt drink…deelish!).  AMAZING!  I go visit Noella (a young girl who helped me buy a few things a week prior).  We head back home as the sun is setting.  It was just amazing.  It’s days like this that I love everything about my site.  I love spending time with people in my town.  Even when we do nothing but drink and eat and talk.  It’s glorious.

I decided to clean the house a little today and do some laundry.  I also read my book.  I am now reading 1984.  It’s 1:30pm and I have nothing else to do.  I am waiting for my clothes to dry, so I can go into town.  I need to buy some tables and a blanket.  My house gets pretty cold at night believe it or not!  So there was my weekend in a nutshell.  I can’t wait to write about my first week of school!

September 4, 2012

Today was the first day of school.  I was the only teacher who arrived on time at 8am.  The others trickled in within the hour.  About 10% of the students show up.  The first week is dedicated to cleaning the area.  They clean for maybe 30 minutes, and it start to downpour.  The heaviest rain I’ve seen yet.  It rains for almost 2 hours (I think).  During this time, I’m reading through the science textbooks.  (Oh yea, the science teacher is continuing his education in a town in the Eastern Region and will be gone for 4 years.  So I was asked to teach science instead of math.  Super bummed).  I was seeing if it was something I could tackle.  And it actually didn’t look too bad.  So I agreed to take the subject.  I’ll be teaching forms 1, 2, and 3 of science.  My fellow teacher says I should now be thinking of science always.  I should be dreaming about it.

Nothing else really exciting happened today.  Went to town and chatted and drank with people all afternoon.  Bought a blanket and some t-roll (that’s what they call toilet paper).  And then came home.  Went to shower, and a lizard was crawling on my leg.  Gross!  Decided I wasn’t motivated enough to cook, so I came to read and to journal.  It’s about 7:45pm now.  A much more acceptable time for bed.  Think I’ll read some more and call it a night!

September 6, 2012

Today started off being a bland boring day.  I spent over 5 hours at school doing nothing but sit.  Ugh.  The students where told which of them got promoted to the next form and we got new students from the primary school (elementary school).  I saw a girl from form 2 crying because she didn’t get promoted.  I felt bad.  Also, the circuit supervisor (the person who is sort of in charge of all the schools in the area) stopped by to give us all some encouragement which was exactly what I needed.

After school, I went into town to see some people.  Noella was not at her store, Aaron was not answering his phone, Pascal is out of town.  So I phoned Roger.  He said he’d be in town shortly.  In Ghana, shortly doesn’t mean anything.  I waited almost 2 hours and it began to rain.  I knew for sure he wasn’t coming now.  I sat around for a little longer, got tired of waiting for the rain to stop, so began my trek home.  I wasn’t in a great mood, so I was just ready to get home and relax.  On my way towards home, I ran into Noella.  Oh I was so happy.  I needed a pick me up.  She was going to buy a few things, so I decided to join her so we could chat.  By the time we finished, the rain picked back up and I wanted to hurry home.  There was no point, though.  I was beyond drenched by the time I made it.  And water was covering entire parts of the road, so I’m even surprised I made it!

When I got home, I called Roger to tell him I made it safely (he called while I was still in town saying he couldn’t make it).  he said he was going to pay me a visit.  I was not really in the mood after the day I had, but I agreed.  He came and we talked for almost 2 hours.  It was fantastic.  This is what I love about Peace Corps.  And I wanted to write what we talked about even though it wasn’t that significant.  For some reason, I just want to capture that moment.

He is retiring soon.  In April.  When he turns 60.  In Ghana, you are required to retire at that age.  They collect social security upon retirement.  However, some people wait 3-4 months before receiving their first payment.  One man has waited almost a year because according to certain documents, he was only 59 when he “retired.”  So he couldn’t collect.  Roger said if when you were working, you made 10 cedis/month, upon retirement you would make half, or 5 cedis/month.  Who can live off that?!  That’s ridiculous. 

He told me these schools I work at were built in ’68.  (Which I later found out the school started in 2004.  Maybe the buildings are that old, but definitely not the school).  He corrected himself by saying ’86 instead (still…who knows).  They were built when he was last in Accra.  He told me of his travels around the country.  He said his senior brother was a soldier and wanted to recruit him.  He said he didn’t have the money to travel to Accra.  After some time, somehow, he got the money.  Made it to Kumasi, and stopped in a town (I can’t remember how he pronounced it) that dealt with a lot of gold mining.  He said this town was a lot of fun.  But he decided to make it to Accra instead.  He spent 6 months there, but never saw the person in charge of recruitment.  He just roamed and returned to gold mining town.  Here, he met up with some friends at dawn (when they finished their shifts), they drank 3 bottles each.  Yikes!  Then they were brought a huge amount of rice and plenty of meat, and proceeded to have 2 more bottles.  He had so much fun there.  Now, there are machines that do all the work, so the town is no longer interesting.  Damn.

We talked about mosquitoes and how I don’t have my net yet.  He said a while back, his family was given 3 nets.  He gave one to his young children, one to his wife or daughter (I can’t remember), and then one extra.  He said I could borrow it.  I asked him why he didn’t use one, and he said he already had one.  Okay, good.  Then I don’t feel bad for taking it temporarily. He also said he had cement nails that came with the nets.  Awesome! It’ll be nice to get away from the bugs at night.

We talked about poor eyesight and how we both have it.  He told me his father was blind.  I told him I had to wear my spectacles (that’s what they call them) all the time and that maybe he should look into getting some if it turned out to be a burden.  He said he doesn’t read much anymore, so he doesn’t feel the need to buy them.

His daughter is visiting from Wa (the capital of the Upper West Region).  She is waiting for her school fees to get paid.  Almost 400 cedis worth.  Damn!!  Roger had to go to Wa to get an advance or something out of his life insurance policy to cover it.  I wasn’t able to meet his daughter.  She made banku and I was invited, but when he invited me (when he first arrived at the house that evening) I was just not feeling it.  I should have.  She leaves tomorrow.  But I am sure she will visit again.

As of now, I don’t really remember much else.  It was just amazing to actually have a legit conversation with someone.  Something more than the weather, or how their night went.  It definitely made this day worthwhile.  And I hope things like this continue to happen, because I think this will be what keeps me sane.  Plus, this is where I actually learn about the lives of the people here, rather than just greeting them.  It was great.  I hope I meet more people like Roger while I’m here.  I hope I learn all I can from everyone.  What an experience that’ll be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so, as I’m typing all of this up, I realize it is going to take me a loooong time to get it all down.  I have written so much in my journal.  So I think for now, I’ll leave it at the first few entries.  I apologize in advance for the random organization of things, but to make it all easier, just check out the date of each entry.  These are the first journal entries I wrote once I got to site.  When I get more time, I will add the next few, so we’ll enjoy a good read every once in a while.  

wanting to send me something?

So Mom texted me the other day asking what I would like in a package if she were to send me one.  And the more I thought about it, the more things I came up with.  So if you’re thinking the same thing, here are a few ideas!  And it’s okay to get double (or even triple!) of these things, because I will most definitely use them!

Package Ideas:

Pictures
Letters
Leisure books

Shampoo

Face Wash

OB Regular Tampons

Empty half-dozen egg carton (or a plastic egg carrying container)

Cheese-Its

Chicken In a Biskit

Club crackers

Ritz crackers

Wheat thins

Flavored triscuits
Doritos (family size =P)
Individual size chips (I don't care if they arrive in crumbs...I need them! haha)
Pretzels
Chips & salsa (again, I don't care if they turn to crumbs =) )

Oreos (LOTS)

Chips Ahoy

Fruity snacks (fruit roll ups, gushers, fruit snacks, etc.)

Chocolate

Candy bars (snickers, Hershey miniatures, M&Ms (all kinds), twix, take 5 etc.)

Shells & Cheese (lots!)

Meat and cheese gift set

Cheese of any sort! (that does not need refrigeration)

Salted Peanuts/Cashews/Almonds/Party Mix (yes, we have them here, but I’m craving the ones from home)
Honey roasted peanuts
Instant mashed potatoes
Small cans of spaghetti sauce

Powder cheese packets (cheese packets from box macaroni)

Sauce packets (pesto, alfredo, marinara…preferably just add water kinds)

Powder ranch packets

Drink mixes (Gatorade, poweraid, not a huge fan of crystal light)

Chai tea drink mix

Condiments (Cookies BBQ sauce especially!)

Seasonings/Spices (oregano, basil, cinnamon, etc.)

Pancake mix (just add water)

Syrup (not sure how well that’ll travel)

Microwave bacon (no refrigeration necessary)

UPDATE

fig newtons
s'mores poptarts (any for that matter, just my fav)
s'mores makings
granola/nutrigrain bars
those super crunchy granola bars (nature valley?)
grits (instant, buttery)
skittles, starburst
anything fruity (suckers, jolly ranchers, life savers)
snack packs
ranch dressing packets

chex mix (regular, cheddar, any/all kinds)
gardettos
home made baked goods vacuum sealed
graham crackers
cake frosting (for those graham crackers)
crunchy bacon bits
Summer sausage
goldfish crackers
jif peanut butter (regular or crunchy)
cereal (any children's kind will do =) )
gummy bears/worms
stovetop rice mixes (stovetop anything, for that matter)

little debbie snacks (zebra cake, cosmic brownie, any kind)


post it notes
painters tape/scotch tape/masking tape

As of now, that’s all I can think of.  As you can see, all you need to do is raid the snack aisle at any store you walk into!  Also, pictures and letters and updates would also make my day!  Check out the previous blog entry for my new address.  But I'll put the address on this post too!

Jessica Keeton, PCV

PO Box 49

Lawra-Lawra District

UW/R

Ghana

West Africa

When sending packages, label the green customs form with “school supplies” “food” “personal health items” etc.  Don’t write anything valuable.  Also, on the envelope/package write “Air Mail”.

Send packages and letters and everything there.  It’s in the town very close to me, so I’ll be able to get my mail much more quickly!  Love to everyone!!

site thus far

Oh my gosh, where do I start?  It has been two whole months since I last blogged!!  Holy crap!  Since coming to site, I have not been able to find readily available internet access, and I haven’t wanted to bring my computer out into the open just yet.  But now I have some privacy and some time to blog about a few things.

Right now I am staying in a hotel.  With air conditioning, a tv, running hot water, a toilet, and a fridge.  It’s wonderful.  But why am I staying here, you might ask?  My house is currently being overtaken by a swarm of bees.  I woke up this morning and I heard nothing but buzzing outside my windows.  I saw a few of them yesterday, but didn’t really think anything of it.  I then noticed they began getting in through my windows.  Crap.  This isn’t going to end well.  It was about 6am, and all I had wanted to do was sleep in.  Oh well.  I decided to get up and hurry out of the house.  I went into town and met a few people and told them of my issue.  They said they would get it taken care of.  Until then, I just wandered around town. 

The power just went out in the hotel.  Hope I didn’t just fry my computer cord.  Fingers crossed!  I have had the worst luck with technology since coming to Ghana.  But that’s a whole different story I will get into later.

Anywho, so I was just wandering around town all day.  I went and got breakfast (egg sandwich and coffee…my fav!), and walked around to different stores chatting with people, making new friends, and seeing what everyone had to sell.  It was really fun actually.  And everyone is really surprised at my language/Dagaare skills.  So yay!  I ran into my friend Aaron who is from the capital of the Upper West Region.  He comes to Nandom every once in a while, so we sat down and chatted for a while.  He then showed me where he stays in town.  Holy crap.  It’s a house with electricity and carpet.  Wowza.  We just sat on his couch and watched amazingly horrible flicks all afternoon.  It was glorious.  Anyway, I leave his place because I wanted to go check to see how my house was coming along.  I call Peter, who is the local welder and a good friend, to see if he knew anything more.  He told me someone would come to my house around 6 or 7pm to spray.  What?!  I have to wait that long?!  And by that time, will I even be able to stay in my house?? Clearly, the answer to that is no.  But anyway, I see some more people, and finally make my way to the house with Peter, the Assembly Man (Mayor) Maurice, and another person with the special spray.  By this time, I’ve been told I will be staying in a Guest House (hotel) until the bee problem gets fixed.  We get to the house, I go to unlock the door, and lo and behold, the key gets stuck.  The lock won’t budge and the key is not coming out.  Awesome.  Now what?  I have a back door, but I also have a back screen door that I always lock.  Maybe this time for some reason I didn’t lock it.  Nope.  Securely fastened.  Damn.  Peter ended up tearing apart the screen door so we could unlock the back door.  ‘Twas marvelous.  We get inside, I pack up a few things, we spray the house, and leave.  Tomorrow morning, they will spray with a stronger chemical.  I have no idea what that chemical is.  And now I am sitting comfortably in cool air and a comfy bed.  So that was my night in a nut shell.  Let’s talk about the last 2 months.

I have been keeping a journal to document my time here so far, but sadly left it in the house.  I was going to type it all up to share with everyone, but maybe I can do that tomorrow. 

School started on September 4^th, and we are almost halfway finished with the term.  The school year is broken up into three different terms.  The first term (for my school anyway) is from September 4^th-December 13^th.  The second term is from January 8^th-April 18^th.  And the third term is from May 14^th-July 25^th.  And all the time in between are the holidays.  Yahoo!  So everyone should plan their visits accordingly!  You can still come visit during the school year, but I won’t be as free as I’d like during those times.  So the Junior High is split into 3 classes.  Form 1, Form 2, and Form 3.  The students in Form 1 just came from the Primary School (Elementary School) and those in Form 3 will (hopefully) be graduating to a Senior High School.  About the 2^nd week of school, 2 students in Form 3 came up to me and asked if I could help them after school with Maths (yes, Maths…that’s how they/we say it).  Heck yes!  So I have organized an after school tutoring session.  We meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3-4:30pm.  I actually really enjoy these sessions, because the students who come really want to learn and do well.  It makes me happy.

I have a neighbor whose name is Roger.  And I just want to start off by saying that this man is my hero.  He is almost 60 years old and speaks amazing English.  I don’t know what I’d do without him.  We see each other every day and spend the nights chatting away about anything and everything.  It’s wonderful.  He’s has several kids who like to come around and sit in/on/around my veranda.  I give them groundnuts (peanuts) all the time, so I think that’s why they like coming over.  The two girls, Theresa and Janet, always help clean my house and my clothes and my dishes.  It’s great.  For many reasons.  One being that I think I may be allergic to the soap I bought.  My hands are kind of breaking out and peeling.  I bought the soap in bulk too, so until it’s gone, I’ve asked the girls if they could clean my things for me.  They happily agreed.  They’re so wonderful.  I can’t wait until I get lights.  Because all I want to do is have them come over and watch movies and eat popcorn all night.  That sounds wonderful to me. 

My house is slowly coming together.  When I first arrived, I had a bed and a desk.  That’s it.  Since then, I have been mostly working on my kitchen.  I have a 2-burner tabletop stove, a gas cylinder, plastic shelves, and dishes.  Oh yea, and food.  I put the stove on the desk, so now I was one desk short.  I was given 4 plastic chairs, one of which has since been traded out for a wooden one.  One of the chairs was used as a dresser.  I put all of my clothes on it.  And another one was used to hold all of my textbooks and lesson notes.  So I had 2 chairs.  That’s it.  I met with a carpenter and he made me a writing table (that’s a little too small, but oh well) and a giant wardrobe with doors!  I was able to put all my clothes (easily) on one side of the wardrobe, and the rest of my things on the other side.  And my books now sit on my wobbly writing desk.  It’s nice to actually have a place to put my things.  I have gotten an estimate for a 3 person couch (which is too expensive as of now, so I have to wait until I get paid again).  So in the mean time, I am getting a coffee table and a bookshelf made.  Roger’s junior brother is making them for me, so hopefully they won’t cost me a butt load. 

I just got over a cold earlier this week.  It had been kicking my butt for about 3 weeks.  Everyone told me it was the change in weather.  Which maybe they’re right, but I think it was from all the sick kids at school.  It felt like a sinus infection, and I couldn’t stop coughing.  I drank plenty of (purified) water and tried to get plenty rest.  By the way, “plenty” is said plenty here.  Anywho, I think I have finally beaten this cold. 

I know a ton more has happened since coming to site, and I know I have written it down in my journal, and I know I should have brought the journal with me, but alas, I did not. 

Oh!  I met with the Assembly Man to see if he knew of a place I could take/use my computer that was private because I thought it was too risky taking it into town.  He said to go to Nandom Secondary School (abbreviated Nandom Sec) and see if I could use it there.  Perfect!  Roger works at Nandom Sec!  So we went and visited the Headmaster (Principal) there and told him of my dilemma.  He said it was no problem that I come and use the electricity.  I asked him what days and times would work best, and he said I could use the staff room during school hours.  Uh, crap.  I teach during school hours.  So I told him that, and he said if I were to come and befriend one of the teachers at Nandom Sec, maybe they would let me use their home to charge my computer.  Okay.  I could do that.  Luckily, Roger knew someone who would be willing, so we went and chatted with him.  He said any time I wanted to use my computer, I would just let him know, and he would let me use his office.  Score!!  So hopefully I will now be able to get online more often.  And I apologize for not finding an alternative sooner.  I’ve just been so busy with school and integration and bees. 

Oh, and I have a new address for you to send me packages and/or letters!

Jessica Keeton, PCV

PO Box 49

Lawra-Lawra District

UW/R

Ghana

West Africa

So for now, I think I shall stop.  I plan on going to Nandom Sec tomorrow, so I will take my journal with me and copy everything down then.  So until then, I will enjoy this air conditioning and maybe watch a tv show or a movie or something!  Goodnight world!