The Gift of an Uneventful Day

Posted on 08.02.11 by Jessica under Africa, Ghana

The past day or so has been pleasantly, uneventful. After a a hectic weekend, the slow pace has been a welcome change.

Yesterday, the day was spent at the University, mostly in meetings. In the computer lab, Sheban, Jame’s graduate student found me and informed me we had a meeting (of which, I had just learned). He led me to the graduate student’s conference room, and long, narrow dim-lit room with a white-board in front. He handed me a marker and requested I went over Elisas with him. He sat down expectantly. I did my best, I’ve never been a strong teacher, but he seemed to understand, and I was able to field his questions adequately. We spent the next hour talking, I learned where he had gone to University (Cape Coast), and that at 28, he was finishing his master’s program. This is very common, many people work for several years before attending university to save up money. Public education costs about $1,000 USD a year for room and board, average incomes range from $1,000/yr-$3,000/yr. The government officials of course pull in six-figures.

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Learning.

Posted on 07.28.11 by Jessica under Africa, Ghana

Walking to lunch, Joyce tries to teach me phrases from her local language-from the Volta region. I try, she laughs at my inability to properly pronounce anything. I ask her, how many languages she speaks, she says 5. And, once again, I feel like a dumb American. She asked me, how many I speak. I say, English, and some Spanish. She then asks how to say a few key phrases in Spanish, and immediately commits them to memory. I can say hello now, and respond “good” when asked how I am. I also asked Joyce her favorite beach around Accra (she has lived here 17 years, since high school). She hasn’t been to any. Evidently, she has a slight fear of the ocean-apparently, this is typical. But she was enthusiastic about trying to go to one “now that she has a friend to take her.” I promised that of course, I would accompany her. I am beyond grateful to have made a friend so early on, and has been a great companion. Her ease and joy makes her an absolute pleasure to be around. Later, she took me to lunch and had me try another local dish, red-red. It’s just beans with a chili sauce that you eat with fried plantains that have a ginger-cayenne seasoning. The sweet and spicy is excellent, and the flavor combination is familiar. So far, I’m loving local food. I’ve read many blogs stating how much volunteers disliked the food, and perhaps I’ll tire of it too, but so far, it’s fantastic.

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First Days

Posted on 07.27.11 by Jessica under Africa, Ghana

Last night, I spent about 30 minutes relying random events of the day on the phone. The first day was a blur of several, seemingly unrelated events. I’ll start from the beginning. I woke up at 7am to a luke warm (thankfully, not cold) shower and was picked up a 8am. I had nescafe, apparently Blue Bottle doesn’t have an Accra outpost. The farm, just outside of Accra and east Legon (the upper-class region of Accra-house prices near 350k US). The farm itself is huge, with animals roaming around. Side thought, when returning to the US do I have to declare I’ve spent time on a farm? If yes, what will they do to me? There are quite a few goats, much smaller than the US variety, and the newborns are beyond cute (I can keep one in my room right?). Accra is very industrial and congested, so the farm is a great refuge.