Gone to Ghana

I’m home! I arrived in Calgary on Saturday afternoon to be met by most of my family, complete with signs and everything.  I’ve always wondered what that would be like! Thanks Joshua, Caleb, Steve, Sue and Susan for the beautiful colouring and the rest of the family too for racing to the airport two hours early since I managed to sneak on another flight.  It was very exciting.  The weekend has been great with lots of time visiting as well as a bit of sleeping and eating.  I can’t believe how much Ally has changed.  Thanks Steve and Sue for coming down so I could see her right away.  What else could a girl ask for? Now I will spend the next two weeks ‘adjusting’ and then it’s back to work.  I think this will be the end of my blog, now that I’m not “gone” to Ghana anymore.  Plus, what could I have to say at home? Thanks to everybody who has kept me company with your comments.  Hope I will see you all soon! 

In exactly 11 hours I will be on a plane that will, hopefully, have already departed.  (We, okay so I’m the only one, call it DTD here instead of ETD….desired time of departure.) Anyway, yes, I am very excited to be on my way.  Not excited about the 30 hours to get to Calgary, but still excited to be on my way.  In anticipation of the first question I will be asked by everyone, here is your answer.

So, how was it? It was great actually.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, although yes I am ready to come home.  In many ways though I wouldn’t mind if I were home for a visit and then coming back.  It really is too bad it is so far and so expensive to fly between the two.  I just felt like I was starting to adjust about the end of November and that’s when the work thing kind of fell apart because of the election and the Christmas break.  

So, would you do it again? Yes.  Not sure if I would choose to be as remote as Jirapa but yes I am interested in working internationally again.  I was sooooooooo fortunate to make some really good friends in Wa, but I recognize that this is quite uncommon when you are so isolated.  Not sure if I’d push my luck twice:)  And although I think that teacher training is the way to go as far as development, I really missed teaching and so I would probably prefer to have a class of my own and do some workshops on the side.

What will you miss the most? Wearing flip flops in January.  The laughter.  Saying good morning to everybody, followed by how was the night.  T-shirts in January.  Buying a whole pineapple for a dollar, all cut up for you into a little bag while you are walking down the street.  (I won’t miss the rest of the food or cold showers every morning though).  Sister Marcelina and the girls at the convent.  Louisa and the women at the office.  Riding on the back of a motorbike.  Riding my bike to work every day.  Mel, Merilyn and the other volunteers I got to know.  The worst part of making friends is having to say goodbye.  I will probably have to make a new list in a week once I get home because that’s when you realize what you miss the most.

On that note, I have to sign off.  Hope to see you soon!

(Happy Birthday Mom and Sue!!!!)

Phew, we are back.  I am actually all the way down in Accra now for a meeting with my director today and then a week of sitting.  If I end up staying here you will get the full update on the trip.  If I end up travelling on the coast you will have to wait until Saturday (!!!!!) when I get home.

So, yes, we made it to Timbuktu.  I wasn’t actually sure if we would even try since there are a few warnings from various countries’ foreign affairs departments not to go there.  Okay, so all of the countries I checked (Canada, US, UK, and Australia) said absolutely do not go but you only live once right? (Just kidding Iris, we were very careful.  Hope you feel better soon!)

Here are a few things we learned along the way.

#1: Timbuktu is very far away.

#2: There is nothing in Timbuktu.  We were there for New Year’s Eve and were in bed by 8:30……some serious party girls, eh?

#3: Even though you are expecting to be robbed you should still take plenty of money.  We had this brilliant idea to leave one visa card and enough cash to get us back to Ghana at the hotel we were leaving from (and returning too).  The only problem was that the only bank machine in Timbuktu was out of order.  We were only there one day, New Year’s Day, when the bank was closed so it couldn’t be fixed.  Everything was VERY expensive in Timbuktu.  We had just, and I mean just, the right amount of money to get back to Mopti, the nearest bank machine.

#4: Never joke with a Malian about not being able to afford dinner.  While arranging our taxi from Timbuktu to the port for our boat trip down the Niger back to Mopti I mentioned, sarcastically, that the price was so ridiculous that we wouldn’t be eating dinner that night (all of this in french don’t forget).  Ten minutes later I got a call back from the guy who was making our arrangements to say that, no worries, we would eat at his friends house that night.  Oops!!!!!

#5: A little french can be way more dangerous than no french at all.  Of the three of us I was the “expert” and I will say that I surprised myself with how well I did.  Every night we found a place to sleep and food to eat.  We managed to negotiate plenty of buses and pseudo buses and vehicles that can’t even be called anything close to a bus.  I even managed a few phone conversations too.  But on two very memorable occasions Merilyn came through with her expertise in drama to fix the situation.  One of our first days one of the girls was trying to get milk for her tea.  Lait did not seem to be cutting it so Merilyn proceeded to act out milking a cow, complete with sound effects, and we had success.  I also think that man will never, ever forget us.  On the second occasion I was sent to see if we could get the wine and cheese we had bought into the fridge at the hotel.  After a very confusing discussion I returned to the room with the items still in my hands, unchilled.  Merilyn then had no problem going to the restaurant and saying, “Fromage.  Vin.  Brrrrrrrrr.” Items in fridge.  Unfortunately, when she came back to the room she ran into a man who was looking for me because apparently I had sent for someone to come teach me how to make cheese.

Ah, so many more stories, but I can’t focus very long anymore:) Yesterday’s bus ride was 13 hours (still not worse than the one to Kelowna) but I do have a new “worst bus ride ever.” That will have to wait until tomorrow.

Bonjour! I am sitting in a cafe in Ouagadougou for my first Christmas away from home.  We left Ghana on Monday morning and have had a blast so far.  Since I can’t be with my family, I am so happy to be with Mel and Merilyn.  They are so much fun and hardly a moment goes by without a laugh (or a snort!)

Just a couple of quick highlights:

• arriving at the Ghanaian/Burkina border and discovering that the french I learned in high school did not cover most terms asked on a customs form
• missing the bus from the border to Bobo.  Fortunately the guy Merilyn had arranged to drive us to the border was allowed across to take us on a quick chase for the bus.
• my first hot shower in three and a half months
• riding a moped that requires pedaling to start.  Unfortunately I got the bike that had the spark plug pop off every ten minutes or so so I am now very good at starting the bike.  We did make it to the waterfall though and both the journey and the destination were a highlight.
• my first pizza in months
• my first chinese food in months
• a swimming pool!

Tonight we are off to the Moulin Rouge for supper again, hehe.  It was great last night and I think I will have pizza again.  Can’t beat my favourite food for Christmas dinner (only because Mom has promised me a turkey when I get home).  Then we are off to Mali in the morning and will see how far we actually get.  There is beautiful hiking in something called Dogon County and a great mosque in Djenne.  From the sounds of it catching buses will get significantly more challenging from here on and the food will be, well, more like “home” in Ghana.

Thanks so much for the notes Kim, Fred, Wendy, John, Sandra, Kirsten, Shanna, Kristen, Bev and the others I have missed.  Don’t think I will have internet again for quite some time so Happy New Year! See many of you soon!

It has been a busy week of packing, finishing up projects and saying goodbye.  On Thursday night a few people met at the convent for some drinks to say goodbye.  They had simply told me they had a “presentation” for me, but I was not prepared for what was yet to come.  I’m not sure if you know this but I don’t really like being the center of attention.  Actually it is really weird because I don’t mind it if I am speaking but if I am just being looked at I am very uncomfortable.  I think that’s why I can’t get married.  The marriage part would be no problem (ha, yeah right!) but I couldn’t do the wedding.  Walking down that aisle (four times!) as a bridesmaid has been hard enough.  Anyway, so when they handed me a bag on Thursday night and told me to go change I knew this was trouble. 

In the bag was a brand new outfit that they had worked hard at the office to get made.  Natalia had spent Wednesday going from the weaver where the cloth was made to my taylor where she sat all day prodding Vero to make the perfect outfit for me.  So…..tada! 

As I came down the stairs the group stood and clapped and proclaimed “how beautiful.” Oh my.  This was followed by speeches by everyone at the table.  So kind, but so not my comfort zone. 

Yesterday I, of course, wore the outfit to work and had to say my goodbyes to everyone in Jirapa.  It was a very weird feeling because I don’t yet have the excitement of going home and there is still a full month of transition time.  I have really enjoyed Jirapa but also don’t feel like I was there long enough to make really close friends.  So, mixed feeling about going but looking forward to the next phase.  Tomorrow we head to Burkina Faso and I will begin my attempts to communicate in French.  For three weeks.  I am the expert in our group.  Wonder what country we’ll end up in!

I don’t expect I will have internet very often so I will pass on my Merry Christmas and Happy New Year now.  I hope you have a wonderful, relaxed holiday.  See you in 2009!

I’ve been working on a new rendition, what do you think?

I’m dreaming of a sweaty Christmas,

Not like the ones I’ve ever known,

where the armpits glisten,

and children listen

for breezes yet to blow and cool.

I’m dreaming of a sweaty Christmas,

with every blogpost that I write.

May your days be sunny and hot,

And may all your Christmases be sweaty.

(It actually isn’t that hot here right now, and the breeze is definitely blowing, but we’ll just call that artist license, right?

Thank you to those of you who sent me Christmas cards here.  That was great! Julie, Mrs. Ratcliffe, and Kris, you guys made my day.  I only sent one (to “The Family”) and we shall see if it ever gets there.  Hmmmm, I just realized that I should have told you all that I sent one and then blame it on the mail system……oh well.  As an aside, I have become good friends with the lady at the post office and I think she will genuinely miss my daily visits to see if there is anything more for the white lady.  She is actually looking for a penpal and wanted me to find her one.  If anyone is interested, let me know.

Yesterday when I got back to the convent the sisters gave me a gift.  I was so touched I can’t tell you.  They had a very nice Christmas card and a piece of fabric.  It really felt like the true meaning of Christmas.  It was not given out of expectation and they also really thought about what to give me.  It has been a running joke here how much I like the fabric and how often I get new things made and so it was only fitting that they give me fabric.  Thank you so much to Sister Marcelina, Sister Joyce, Sister Lizzy and all of the girls working at the convent.  I have been so fortunate to have known you!

Last night I had to pack up most of my things even though it is a month (4 weeks Friday, but who is counting) before I come home.  My director from Accra was here today to assess how I have done and was kind enough to take a big bag of my stuff back with him in the vehicle .  This seemed so much easier (for me at least!) than going from bicycle to bus to taxi to bus to bus to taxi as I would be doing in a month.  And after Friday I am going to be living out of a backpack anyway.

I am so disappointed in myself at how much I brought.  Granted I had no idea what I could get here but I also realize that I don’t use nearly the same amount of “stuff” here as I do at home.  Really, how much hair gel does one girl need in Africa? The thing that is most disappointing is that if I don’t need it here I don’t need it at home either but I am quite sure that I will go back to my old ways before long.  Anyway I thought I would make a list of the best and worst things I brought just in case any of you plan to spend a few months in rural Ghana someday:)

Most useful things I brought:

1. Headlamp.  Vital for cooking, making it to the bathroom, reading, whatever, when the lights are out.
2. Spices from home.  When you are needing something familiar it is easy to do with a little dill or basil.  Tonya’s idea I think, brilliant,  thanks!
3. Small laptop.  Acer just came out with a mini laptop, the size of a hardback book, before I left and this has made a world of difference both for my work and personal life.  It was well worth it to get the one with enough memory for pictures and music just to keep me going somedays.  And a very good price, check them out….no they aren’t paying me.
4. My sweatshirt.  Who knew it would get cold in Africa at night? I’m wearing it pretty much every night now, just as soon as the thermometer drops below 29!
5. Light, long sleeve dress shirts for work.  Dressing up is important.
6. A travel pillow. 
7. A sarong.  This often doubles as my sheet and towel when I am travelling.  It is super light and easy to pack.
8. Anti-nauseants, malaria pills, pepto bismol, tylenol, muscle relaxants, bandaids and antibiotic cream.  I haven’t needed anything else from my medicine kit (yet…knock on wood) but I guess you would have to assess this for yourself.  I don’t really know why I thought I would go through TWO tubes of polysporin though.
9. SPF 45 sunscreen for my face.
10. Socks.  These really help with the cold nights and also the super duper dry air.
11. Cards and calendars with pictures of the Rockies.  These are making great goodbye gifts for the people I have worked with and the girls at the convent.
12. Sunglasses.
13. Pumice stone or foot file.  The air is so dry and walking around in flip flopts all day even my feet are starting to crack when I’m not careful.  (Yep, flip flops in December, it’s great!)
14. Swiss army knife.  Very handy.

Most useless things I brought:

1. Wayyyyyyy too many clothes.  I had some made here which were better for work anyway plus when you are washing by hand you don’t want to let them pile up.  I mean, when you are having someone else wash them by hand you don’t want to let them pile up.  Nobody cares or even notices that you wear the same thing all the time.  That’s what they are doing too.  I haven’t touched half of the clothes I brought. 
2. Too many “products”.  I don’t know why but I have used less than half the shampoo I normally do and had a similar experience with lots of other “essentials.”  Maybe the fact that I am having a 30 second cold shower has something to do with it and I put off washing my hair for as long as I can.  Just about anything I would buy at the drugstore I have used less than half of what I thought I would.  Wow.
3. Running shoes.  What was I thinking?
4. Mosquito net.  Yes this is important, it is just better to buy here than at home.
5. Vitamins.  They are only useless because I never take them. 
6. Yoga mat.  What was I thinking?
7. Peppermint oil.  I was told that this would keep the ants away.  Not true.  It does smell nice though.
8. A book of exercises.  What was I thinking?
9. Too many books in general.  These were heavy and I have had no problem making friends who also have books and are willing to swap.
10. Gum.  I don’t chew it at home, why would I start here?

The list of things that are useless probably make up half of the total mass of what I brought.  I really am surprised, but I guess now I know.  I’m not sure if the things I would have left at home if I had packed later would have been the right things to go.  Live and learn.

That sounds interesting, Uncle Don.  I will meet you at Tim’s.  By the way, there must have been someone who came here with a whole box of Tim Horton’s shirts because I see “Timbit” shirts everywhere.  Or maybe that’s just a mirage.  So good to hear from you Bev, Tonya and Kristen.  I like to know you are reading, makes me feel connected.  Hope you are well! Joseph, so glad to hear you got home safely.  Jirapa isn’t the same without you.  Both Brother and Peter seem to have disappeared.  I suspect Brother got on the next bus and followed you to Wa and apparently Peter was just in it for the game:) I also forgot, “You will give me your hair” which is interpreted as, “Run if you see someone with scissors!” Enjoy the cold.

I have made two fairly significant discovies over the past 24 hours.

Epiphany number one. Yes, I can hear the horn from the bus in my bedroom at the convent and still make it aboard. I have wondered this since coming to Jirapa as the schedule is not all that consistent and now I know. One of the things that really got to me in India was the excessive use of the horn. And no it is not just my opinion that it was excessive, it really was, honest.  So far Ghana is just the opposite. It is very rare to hear a horn in Jirapa, I guess because most people are on foot or bicycles and even the motorbikes don’t really seem to use their horns very often.  Really the only time you would use it on a bike is if a goat was moving too slowly when getting out of the way.

The metro mass is the one exception. A couple of minutes before it is going to head out of the station its blare can be heard throughout the town and I have noticed that I am pretty much the only one who arrives at the station and stays waiting on the bus. Everybody else seems to materialize shortly after the horn goes.  So, being one who likes to push things just a little bit, I have wondered if I could wait at the convent to hear the horn.  The big question was not just whether or not I could/would hear the horn but if I could make it there fast enough. I so wish I could take an overhead picture of Jirapa to show you this but Google Earth hasn’t got a detailed pic yet. So, from the convent you have to go past the church, the Brother’s house, a school, and a youth center to get to the bus. Today for my regular trip to Wa I planned to take the “two o’clock” bus. This is what I call it, not what anybody else calls it, but it usually leaves about quarter past so I have thought it must be the two o’clock bus. Last week it didn’t leave until well past 2:30. So today, as I was lazily reading my book at 1:45 it is quite impressive to me that I actually heard the horn. After a second of that registering I jumped up, finished packing my bag, went to the washroom, and ran (literally) off to the bus. I just barely made it. The only thing I didn’t have time for was remembering my phone….

Epiphany #2: I like kids, specifically teenagers. You would think that as a junior high teacher I would know this but sometimes you just need a little reminder.

Yesterday I was approached by one of the girls working at the convent, Monica. “Sister Sandra, could you help me?” I love Monica. She has only recently started working at the convent but she works so hard all day (8 to 8 ) and then goes home to look after her mother who is severely disabled. Monica is really such a nice girl and her eyes just shine. So of course I was more than willing to help. What she wanted was help completing the registration form for the dressmaking program she is going to start in January. Helping her do this, things like explaining what surname and first name meant, made me so happy. When we got to the part where she had to write a sentence explaining how she was going to afford the program (why she’s working at the convent) it thrilled me as we worked through it word by word after I explained that no I wouldn’t write it out for her, she had to do it,  Monday I am going to teach her how to address the envelope and take her to the post office to send it.  Yippee!

When I applied to come work here I didn’t do so because I disliked my job at home, I just was feeling restless, like I needed a change. And, yes, I definitely got a change, in pretty much every aspect of my life. I have liked living here and doing the workshops and working with the teachers. But spending just a few minutes “teaching” Monica reminded me how much I like working with kids, really the highlight of my month so far. Good thing, eh, since I am headed back to the classroom soon!

Two great discoveries….I wonder if they’ll make a history book.  Nope, not writing one myself, Steve. And thanks for the support! I bet Mom and Dad might  buy a copy too (just one for the two of them, one each would be excessive).

Those of you who follow world news may have been wondering why I have not mentioned the election in Ghana.  This was not because I was unaware of it, quite the contrary, but the one time I mentioned it to my parents I think I may have taken a few years off each of their lives due to worry.  So the filter went back on and I have been waiting for the all clear before saying more.

Yes, I knew about the election before coming here and everything pointed at this being a peaceful situation but I also was well aware that this was the case in Kenya last year as well so you never can know what will happen.  Another thing that I have learned is that when people here would say with confidence that there would be no problems surrounding the election that this was more a desire than a statement.  I think that many people felt that if they voiced the possibility of violence that this would make it more likely to happen.

It really has been very interesting to be in an African country during a presidential election and I won’t bore you with all of my observations now.  If you’re really interested you can buy me a Tim’s when I get home:)  So just a few thoughts.  People here have been extremely involved in the whole process and really for at least the past month almost nothing else has been done but prepare for the election, discuss, campaign, discuss, debate, discuss, vote, discuss, wait, discuss, etc.  There have been rallies daily, all of which I have obediently avoided, and trucks driving down the street have loudspeakers blaring their message. I wasn’t 100% obedient on Sunday about staying in the house (we had to go get Mel’s wallet that had been picked the previous day, honest, it was important!) so I did have a chance to see the polls.  First of all I have never seen the place so quiet.  I guess everybody else just went out to vote and then stayed home too.  All of the polling stations were out in the open, an important requirement, so voting took part under the mango trees at schools or other official buildings.  I didn’t see any long lineups, never more than 10 or so people, and I will say that it was one of the most relaxed days I have witnessed in Wa.

 It has also been interesting to watch how information is transmitted without the usual internet and tv that we are bombarded with at home.  Some people up here do have tvs and there is a national tv station that plays the usual election notices that ours would at home plus a lot about the need for a peaceful election.  For those without a tv there is the radio.  For the past 3 days waiting for the results it seems like the whole town has been sitting around a radio at one drinking spot or another.  And nobody here is isolated and therefore word of mouth is a huge way that information is transferred.  I can honestly say that I don’t think there is a single person in the upper west who didn’t know about the election, the parties, the day to vote, and so on. 

So, the results.  First of all, just under 70% of the population voted.  People were voting for two things, their parliamentary representative and the president.  Basically there are 2 main parties and for president the results are 49.1% for one guy and 47.9% for the other.  Talk about close.  The difference in actual votes is less than 100,000.  And, the real kicker is that, since neither got the 50%+1 that they needed there will be another election in a few weeks (I will be in Burkina….phew!).  The need for this will seem quite obvious to Canadians at this time I would think:) So there will be a presidential runoff where people will just have the option to vote for one guy or the other, all other candidates are gone, and therefore there will be a guaranteed winner.  The part that interests me the most is that 2% of all votes cast were spoiled ballots, enough to have made a significant difference in the results.  The other interesting thing is that one party does have a majority of seats in the parliament, 116 of 230, and this will not change with the runoff election.  (I think there were 5 seats taken by independents but not sure on that.) Right now the guy with 49.1% is NOT the one with the majority of the seats in parliament.

Sorry, more talk than I thought, especially for a girl who doesn’t like talking politics.  Still so many more things to talk about, like the people I met from the EU who were here to observe the election as well as the training of election officials I listened to while lying in my bed….they were kind enough to hold this workshop in the meeting room next door and leave the door open.  But all in all my biggest hope for Ghana is peace for the runoff election and the swearing in of the new government in January.