How to Become a Real PCV

I made it another week! Things are settling down now, I am thrilled. We have moved in with homestays, found out our site placements, got cell phones, and are operating on a regular SCHEDULE (my favorite)!!

I am living in Old Tafo, a community near Kukurantumi, our main training site. My homestay family situation is odd. I'm not entirely sure who I live with and who my family is. I know the mother, father, and about 3-4 siblings, but they do not all live in the same compound with me. They are all nice though and most speak English. That's a plus. I also have my own latrine (BIG plus) with a lock on it. It doesn't smell too bad at all, but sometimes it is scary when the flies tickle your butt. Not pleasant. I like my room a lot, I have made it cozy, but the sound of rats scuttling in my ceiling every night is disconcerting. The rats, along with loud choir music/tongue speaking and bleating goats can make sleeping difficult at times. But interesting, nonetheless.

The eating situation is a bit strange. I eat alone, like a child who is being punished. I actually like it though. I am nearly at the end of my tolerance for yam, plantain, fufu, and various meat stews, so I don't mind that my family doesn't witness how difficult it is getting for me to eat. My mother or sisters bring food to my room while I am away at class and then take the dishes away after I have left again. A little mysterious.

For the next two years, I will be living in Lungbung (or Lungbuna, I think it has various spellings). It is in the Northern Region, about 35 km northwest of Tamale, which is a pretty big city. I am happy with my placement. I get to work with NGOs including the Carter Center and UNICEF on things like guinea worm and just general health and sanitation. I am close to other volunteers too (the closest one is only 10 km) and 4 of us live along the same road to get to Tamale. My accommodations actually sound nice: a bungalow associated with the junior high school, including 2 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, private bath, private bucket flush toilet (!!), and courtyard. Unfortunately my Ghanaian mansion is not equipped with electricity. So I will be going to bed around 7pm every night.

I also have a cell phone now! I have no idea if it's a bad idea to put cell phone numbers on blogs, but I feel like it might be, so if you want to call (or text!) ask my family or Whitney, they should know.

I am still doing well. I have yet to get deathly ill. Amusing events happen on a daily basis and it's hard for me to remember them all. Last night I was with other volunteers on the way home from a spot (Ghanaian bar) in a taxi. We are driving down the road and the driver pulls over to purchase something from a man. I notice that it is a very large rat. Like a Gobi-sized rat. Maybe slightly larger. And the rat is STILL ALIVE. The driver purchases the rat to take it home, kill it, and prepare it for a meal. He keeps it in his lap and under the front seat of the car the rest of the way to Old Tafo. I was sitting directly behind him and TERRIFIED it was going to crawl on me. Luckily, it didn't.

Here is a story that nicely sums up the Peace Corps experience and the bonding that we all go though: it is commonly known that you become a "real" Peace Corps Volunteer once you have shit your pants. One of our group joined the club recently and was telling the story to a group of other trainees. He actually shit himself in his bed while he was sleeping and was asked what he did with the dirty underwear. He replied, "I just threw them in the closet." In perfect unison, the trainees all said, "You have a closet?!?!" Not, "ew gross, you are a grown man and pooped yourself" or "ew gross, you thew poopy pants into the closet." Amazing. And this is why I love Peace Corps right now.