akwaaba (welcome)

Akwaaba!

Well I’ve been in Ghana for about 2 weeks now, and so much has happened. It feels as if I have been here for so much longer.

I will be working in Ghana as a Health and Water/Sanitation Volunteer but we are just usually called WATSAN Volunteers. In total, there are 24 of us. We started out with 25 but after a few days at our training site we lost a girl to ET (early termination).

The first few days after we arrived in Ghana, we stayed in Accra at a local university called Valley View. We had some introductory workshops and basic lessons in Twi (one of the many languages spoken in Ghana). We had two PCVLs (Peace Corps Volunteer Leaders) with us at Valley View. Beth from up near Tamale and Mikey from Kumasi. It was really nice to have them around and share their experiences and hear all their advice.

During one of the days in Accra we had to divide in groups and go into Accra. This is called Accra Quest. We broke up into groups of 3 except for one group of 4 (two married couples) and we all had tasks we had to accomplish and return to Valley View. My group was instructed to go to Kaneshi Market, Kaneshi Station, and the STC. It was extremely hectic but very fun. We had to find our own way there and back within 4 hours I think. Everyone had places scattered throughout Accra. Our group ended up having to go the furthest…more to come on that later…let me explain how we are supposed to get to these places….

The local transportation in Ghana is quite something and that was how we had to get into Accra. Most people take Tro Tros, which are small vans that can sit about 20 people plus bags and various animals like goats. Its not uncommon for the lights to be broken or have holes in the floor. Tro rides are always interesting. There is a driver (and you never talk to him) and a mate. The mate is in charge of filling the tro and collecting the fare. However, you have you be able to decipher what they are saying as they shout out their destinations. One place is known as “circle” so the mates call out “circle circle circle…” while swinging their hand in small circle except it sounds nothing like “circle circle circle” more like “circ circ circ” or if you were like us and had to get to Kaneshi station, they would call out “circ-kanesh.” If they are going to Accra they usually yell out “accra accra accra” while pointing up to the right. There are various signs like this. This is how the majority of people in Ghana travel.

So back to us. We flagged down a tro and had to transfer tro’s in a little city called Medina before Accra. We made it to our destinations and decided to walk around the market for a while to kill some time before we headed back. They sell everything at the markets. Material (fabric), batteries, stoves, soaps, live crabs and snails, smoked fish, pigs feet, etc. You can imagine the smells. Experiencing a typical Ghanaian market is quite interesting.

We decided it was probably time to start heading home but before Adam, the only guy in our group, decided to take Leahy and I down this narrow alley that sold car parts. “Charlie” is a common name given to white men – they use it to mean “friend” – so as we were walking down this alley all the men were shouting “Charlie, how much for your sisters?” Several men grabbed our hands and proposed to us (not uncommon here in Ghana). One man actually bowed down to me and touched my ankle. None of this is aggressive or scary (don’t worry mom). It’s pretty entertaining actually. But apparently if while shaking their hand they scratch your palm it means they want to take you back to their place dot dot dot…! Hah. That happens too. These things always make for good stories later.

Anyways, we made it back to Valley View but we were the last group. We got in a tro accident on the way back...our driver hit a taxi so that delayed us and then there was crazy traffic in Medina. In total, it took us 6 hours to complete this mission, when it should have taken about 3 or 4! Still it makes for an interesting story later.

On one of our last days at Valley View we learned how to take bucket baths (goodbye American showers) and how to HANDWASH our clothes. Bucket baths really aren’t that bad. It makes you realize you don’t actually need that much water to get yourself clean, but as my hair gets longer it might get harder to get all the shampoo out!

You usually have two or three buckets for washing your clothes. The first is filled with water and a powdered soap, the second has water and you can use a bar of soap for extra scrubbing, and the third is a rinse bucket. To get your clothes clean you have to scrub (with your hands…duh) the armpits and the collar pretty well. It’s definitely an arm workout.

So after our time at Valley View we traveled up to Anyinasin, a town in the Eastern Region. We will be here in Anyinasin for 3 months about doing Pre-Service Training (PST) and living with a Ghanaian family. We have all been divided into our various language groups because we will all be going to different regions that speak different languages. 14 out of 24 are learning Twi (the most common language, pronounced chwee), 3 are learning Dagbani, 3 are learning Dagaare, 3 are learning Kaseem, and 1 is learning Ewe. I am learning Twi so that means I WILL NOT be going to the Upper East, Upper West, or Northern Region. I could be going to Central, Volta, Eastern, Western, Brong-Ahafo, or Ashanti but we don’t find that out till sometime in March. I’m lucky that I am learning Twi because my host mother and aunts and some uncles don’t speak English.

The family system is complicated in Ghana because Ghanaians considered everyone their sister, brother, mother, father, husband, so if you want to know if they are “real” brothers and sisters you have to ask “same mother same father?” otherwise it could get real confusing. In my household I have my mother, Margaret, an Aunt, 3 uncles (1 speaks English), 5 brothers, and 2 sisters…I think everyone is accounted for. I don’t know two of my brothers’ names because they aren’t my real brothers, they are my brother’s friends who live in the compound, I think they are in their early 20s. So my “real siblings” are Apweyah or Mark 23 years old, Aduwah or Millicent 16, Kujo 16 (I don’t know his English name), Orgray or Grace 12, and little Richard 5. There is always something happening here. Mark and Millicent speak English really well so I talk with them a lot and they translate what I say to my mom. But as I continue to learn Twi I will be able to speak with my mom better.

My days are pretty busy. We usually have some training exercise in the morning or late afternoon and in between that we have language and culture lessons. 3 hours of language instruction with our teacher and 3 hours of independent study, which sometimes turns into naptime or other various things like that. Our language classes are really small…just 3 people so it makes it easier to learn and ask questions. And they are outside, usually under trees or on a porch.

My typical day….

4am: woken up by church bells

6-6:30am: officially get up

6:30-8am: bucket bath and eat breakfast, talk with family

8-12pm: classes

12-1pm: lunch

1-5pm: class or independent study

5pm onwards: dinner and hangout with my family or sometimes with Americans for designated “American time”

8pm (9 at the latest): bedtime!

But usually throughout the night I wake up to goats, sheep, chickens, people preaching, music, etc.