Monday, July 26, 2010

Almost there...

I hope this blog finds you all doing very well!
I am finally back in the South in Anyinasin with my home-stay family after a long but rewarding time in Gushie for technical training. I learned more about latrines, water pumps, and malaria than I ever thought possible, but it is fascinating work and great to gain some practical experience before I head out to site and have to educate people on my own. We had the opportunity to build a Mozambique-style latrine and a trench latrine, we dug a soak-away pit for water drainage, and taught several health-related lessons. I personally taught a lesson to some food sellers about proper sanitation when preparing and selling street food, an HIV/AIDS lesson to a class of junior high students, a hand-washing lesson to a class of 1st graders (so cute!), and a malaria lesson to a huge group of Ghanaians at a football match set up between Peace Corps volunteers and young boys from a local community (The game was very reminiscent of the Ghana vs. US World Cup game, except we lost by way more points in our game...). Needless to say, I am starting to feel very comfortable with teaching health, which is good because it is going to be a large part of my job when I get to site.
I mentioned earlier in my blog that I had a malaria scare last week, which was a little scary.... I got body aches, a quickly rising fever, chills, and other lovely stomach problems of which I will spare the details... The symptoms came on me fast, and I had been late to take my malaria prophylaxis about a week and a half earlier, which is how long it usually takes for symptoms to manifest. Thank goodness I was in a house with 12 other trainees, 2 of whom are nurses, so they administered an at-home instant malaria test, which came back as negative (we were all thankful). I was started on some antibiotics and I was feeling in tip-top shape the next morning, which was miraculous considering I thought I was at death's door the day before (if that's even close to what malaria feels like, I wouldn't wish it upon anyone...)
My trip wasn't just training and near-malaria experiences; we also got to explore a little of Ghana. One of my favorite days was a trip we took to the Upper East Region to visit a couple of sites and go site-seeing. We went to Paga Crocodile Sanctuary, which is basically a lake in a town called Paga where crocodiles live and come out to play with humans. You see, crocodiles are the totem of this particular area, which basically means they are sacred and therefore protected from being hunted by humans. It is an amazing site to see, because people in the community were just hanging out at the lake, washing their clothes, etc... while crocodiles were chillin' out right beside them. At the crocodile sanctuary, you can pay a small fee to have one of the Ghanaians lure over a VERY large crocodile (and all of its smaller friends) that conveniently parks itself on the shore so that tourists can sit on it. Yes, sit on it. So that's exactly what we did (pictures are on Facebook...). It wasn't actually very scary to hover over the crocodile itself because it looked like it was either asleep or dead at the time. The scary part were the other crocodiles who wanted in on the action and lurked behind the Ghanaian workers. I just kept thinking, "I hope I'm faster than a crocodile, or at least, I hope I'm faster than the other trainees..." Anyway, we all emerged safely and with some great pictures.


Now that technical training is over, we're back at with our home-stay families for a few more weeks as we close out training. There's a general excitement with the thought that we're ALMOST finished with training and ready to settle into our sites. Swearing in will be held on August 12th, just a few short weeks away, so you better believe I'm soaking up these last days of language classes and delicious, home-cooked meals from my home-stay sister. I hope your month of July was as good as mine-I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by.... Much love from Ghana!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Shortest blog post ever?

The title of this blog post is an apt description of what is about to happen here. I have only 10 minutes of internet left because I spent most of my hour uploading pictures to Facebook from my first month in Ghana, so hopefully that is some consolation... (check them out!) Needless to say, I'm still doing very well and loving Ghana! I am nearly finished with my two weeks of intense technical training, which has been exhausting and challenging, but very rewarding... In the past week, I've helped dig a pit latrine, sat on a crocodile, and thought I was going to die because I had a fever of nearly 104 degrees and I could barely move (the doctor thought malaria, but it cleared up and I am in tip top shape now!)

This is about all the news I can share at this time. I'll be getting back on the internet in the next week or so and I'll give a long update then :) In the meantime, I have a new address to send ALL letters and packages to:

Katie Kirouac, PCV
Peace Corps-Tamale
Box 962
Tamale, N/R, Ghana
West Africa

That's all for now. I miss you all!

Friday, July 2, 2010

GO Ghana!!!

Anniwula! {your response: naaa.} Ka di be wula? {your response: Alaafee}
Congrats, you've just had a lesson in Dagbani! Basically I just said good evening and asked how you were doing, which is just a tiny portion of what I've been learning. Our language training is as intense as ever, and though most days I feel like I am just getting 6 hours of new information thrown at me, I'm starting to retain a little bit and things are really starting to click! I am getting very excited to leave for my site visit, which will start on Tuesday of next week. I will be at my site for about a week, then the rest of the WATSAN volunteers will be meeting me at my site because it is the location of our technical training, which will last for another two weeks. So basically, I will be leaving to go up to Gushie, where I'll be able to practice my language, check out my site, meet the chief, talk with community members, and start to gather a picture of what my life will really be like for the next 2 years... My homestay family is sad that I'll be leaving them for a few weeks, and as much as I will miss them while I'm gone, it will be great to have a change of pace for the next few weeks. However, during this time, I probably won't have any internet access, you can expect to (hopefully) hear back from me at the end of July. As always, I am desperate for letters, so send those if you find time!!!

Not a lot has changed since my last post... I've been watching A LOT of football (soccer) basically every evening with my family, and they definitely gave me a hard time after Ghana beat the US (I thought I'd cheer on the US, but I ended up cheering for Ghana...I can't help but root for Africa!). Tonight I am gathering with many other volunteers to watch the Ghana vs. Uruguay game at a gas station (strange place to go, I know, but this country can be a little quirky sometimes), so undoubtedly our Ghanaian friends will be thrilled to see so many Obronis cheering for their home country...

As usual, the food is amazing, my homestay family is always entertaining, and training is long and sometimes exhausting (but fun too). I think I'm starting to realize why current volunteers told us trainees that if we could get through training, our next two years will feel like a breeze! The phrase "hurry up and wait" has taken on a whole new meaning, but I must say I'm starting to really adapt to the laid back attitude here... I like taking things slowly and not feeling pressured for time or deadlines. I also love greeting everyone and really taking time to talk to people wherever I go. Just walking from my home to class in the morning is a social event, because I have to greet everyone I pass and talk to them. My concept of community has exploded-it's like I never understood what it meant to be live communally until I got here. They fully understand the need for humans to connect to one another, which is incredibly refreshing, though at times exhausting!

I am also starting to understand a lot about living simply and the fact that I have SO MUCH MORE than I need. The other day, my homestay father asked me to show him pictures of my house at home, but even as I pulled out the pictures to shown him, I felt a pang of embarrassment. It might sound strange, but I was actually slightly embarrassed to show him my pictures from home, because I realized in that moment how much EXCESS I have in my life back in the states. I showed him a picture of my kitchen and thought about all of the pots, pans, tupperware, food, etc... that we have at home, then I thought about the small fire that my sister makes 3 times a day, and the one pot that she uses for every meal she cooks for me, and the fact that they must save up money to buy a small package of smoked fish from the market as a treat. And although they have fewer possessions than I do, I was the one who felt embarrassed and jealous in that moment, because my family is so joyful with what they have, however simple it may be. So today when you eat dinner, take a minute to think about my family here, who cuts down their own vegetables from the bush, spends hours grinding the kasava into edible dough, and must allot at least 2 hours to walk and fetch a few days' worth of water. Just think of us. I will be thinking of you as I take my dinner tonight, too.

My homestay father sends his love, and my sister says that she wishes that God would bless you all. I pass these on with the same wishes for you in my heart. I miss you all very much-you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Katie

PS: Have a WONDERFUL 4th of July!! I'll be thinking of home and missing everyone, I'm sure. All of us trainees are gathering at a local spot for hot dogs and celebrations, which are being purchased especially for us, so that will be a nice taste of home :)