Finally at Site!

The journey north to my site was interesting, to say the least.  Thankfully, I was with 2 other Volunteers and didn’t have to go the whole way alone. 

Getting to Kumasi was our first task and that went fine.  But when we arrived and tried to find the cheapest place to stay (as indicated by my travel guide), we discovered that it had been removed recently.  We tried another hotel, booked it and paid, and then were told that 3 people couldn’t room together.  Welcome to Ghana, where important facts like that are often overlooked.  Discouraged, we went to another hotel, booked it and were then told the exact same thing.  After a few minutes of looking pathetic and lost, the worker decided to let us stay in the room. 

The following morning, we got into an argument with staff over a crappy breakfast that was supposed to be for 2 (they didn’t know we all shared it), and then they tried to charge us for the second plate even though it was included in the room price.  We tried to leave the hotel and were literally chased outside for a few cedis.  It was stupid that it was a big deal but after all of the trouble we had with accommodations, we just wanted to go. 

Then we tried to find a bus to take us north.  We chartered a taxi and I bartered the fare.  When we got to the station, we discovered it was only for southern cities.  Then we asked the driver to take us to the proper station and I had to bargain again.  We didn’t exactly come to an agreement because I had no idea how far it was and I didn’t want to get overcharged.  When we got to the station, I tried to pay him with “the only money I had left,” which clearly wasn’t enough.  We ran into a sticky situation where there were people surrounding us, and they were all arguing about the fare situation.  Finally, it was ended when a taxi driver pulled us away and told us he was going to the same place and gave us a fair price. 

We decided to risk our safety and go along with the driver for several reasons:  Much more room, we would get there faster, the seats don’t feel like a plank of wood, it’s a lot quieter, etc…

Thankfully, there were no safety issues with the driver.  He was very nice and did as he said he would.  But, when I was about 1 hour away from my site, his car broke down and we had to get out and find another vehicle.  Luckily, we were stopped at a police security check and the cops stopped another car and pretty much told the driver he had to take us to out destinations.  It was shady, I’ll admit, but it was getting dark and I just wanted to get home.     

When I arrived in Bolga, my nearest city, it was dark and raining.  I called a friend to come pick me up and he was able to get me home safely.  In all, the travel from Kumasi to my site took about 10 hours.  I probably won’t be doing that again!

But now, I am basically just relaxing at my house with Biggie, my cat, and waiting for school to start.  I feel like my sign language is starting to go downhill since I haven’t really used it in about a week or so.  I also don’t know a lick of the local language yet.  I should probably go get on that. 

Swearing In

I got a pretty sweet haircut the night before the swearing in ceremony.  I call it something between the monk do and the bull cut.  In other words, I would have never asked for this cut in 100 years, but when in Ghana, expect to be surprised by the variable understanding of phrases such as “not too short.”

Our homestay families provided us all with a final outfit for our ceremony.  Usually, the trainee matches their family members but since I was moving to the north, my father presented me with a traditional smock from my region!  This was not a cheap gift and I am very thankful of it (even if it is pink). 

At the ceremony, I sang the National Anthem with a fellow Volunteer, performed The Lion King’s “Circle of Life” in Sign Language as our language presentation, and took the oath to formally become a Volunteer.  All of the Volunteers also got to perform 2 traditional dances for the homestay families. 

After the ceremony, we all went back to our homes to pack to leave the following morning and ultimately move to our respective sites. 

So we are all finally official Peace Corps volunteers now.  It has been a very long 10 weeks and I won’t lie about being glad it’s over.  But now the real work sets in, as I get ready to spend the next 24 months here. 

End of Training

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to say about the past few weeks.  Basically we have only been in language training, preparing for our LPI (Language Proficiency Interview), which must be passed in order to be sworn in as a Volunteer. 

We finally had the interview and it was set up to allow us to talk about our family, what work we will do in the Peace Corps and whatever else came up in discussion.  Thankfully, I passed!  So now, after 10 weeks, I don’t have to worry about this test and can relax until Swearing-In next week.  After then, we will all officially be Volunteers. 

As my time winds down in the village I am becoming more aware of the things I will miss:

The children.

Being close to anything I could possibly need for daily life.

My sister’s cooking.  She’s amazing at it.

The other Volunteers

Some things I may not miss so much:

The Church across the street, including the late night and early morning service, and all day service on Sunday

            The bleating baby goats everywhere

            Children following me in hoards shouting “Obruni!  Obruni!”

            My one little brother that is a crybaby

            The insects

            The training schedule.  Freedom is nice.

I have also been compiling a list of my “firsts” during my service so far so here they are:           

Solo flight           

International flight

Red-eye flight

Guinness beer

Airline food

Passport

Going through customs

Meeting a US Ambassador

Eating West-African food

Dry heaving

Heat exhaustion

Living in a village

Teaching a deaf classroom

Defecating in a cup

Chasing goats and chickens out of my house

Speaking an African language

Being called Obruni (White man)

Finding a chicken foot in my food

Having tailored clothes made

Seeing a Rhino Beetle

Eating dog

And its liver

And brain

Eating Guinea Fowl

Blacking out in a foreign country

Lying about going out to my family

Blaming intoxication on bad street meat/Malaria small small