Village Lessons

I have survived my first two and a half weeks at site!! All alone. Through the holidays. Due to the presidential election Peace Corps had us on "standfast" (yes, another strange Peace Corps term) from Dec. 24-Jan. 2. Then there was election drama. It is Africa after all. It might have been bigger drama if there was NO drama. So standfast was extended until Jan. 6. All of this meant that Peace Corps had us quit EVERYTHING cold turkey. No American friends. No non-Ghanaian English. No electricity. No running water. No cold drinks. We could not leave site at all during this time. So it was a bit intense and I feel like there were a lot of ups and downs. However, I did learn some valuable lessons:

1. Wear underwear on market days. I generally don't wear underwear because it is just one more thing to wash. Seems excessive. So two days after I got to site was my first market day. This involved travelling to a nearby village so I could get things like plastic buckets. So that I can wash myself, clothes, and dishes. This was right before the standfast and I was still free to travel at will. So anyway, the cars to this nearby village are all PACKED. My village friends help me climb up onto the tire of the large truck and into the drivers seat to climb across and into the passenger seat. First leg of the journey. Then I get to my friend Ana's site. We have to get another car. Unfortunately the only thing available is a cargo truck. So we hop up. Well by hop up, I mean climb a ladder up. We go rattling down the road and we're jostling up a storm before I notice that there is a COW a few feet away. A fucking COW! And we didn't even notice. So we make it to market. A bit dusty and shaken. On the way home we take a car again and they wedge me in the very, very front between the windshield and dashboard. So in the future, I will remember to wear underwear when travelling to and from the market.

2. While cleaning up your dog's shit, remember to close the doors or bats will fly into your bedroom. On New Year's Eve I went outside to talk on the phone because I have almost no phone service at site. When I came back I saw that Sage had pooped. I was angry, scolded her, cleaned up and went to bed. I'm laying there and here a whooshing sound. Uh oh, I think. I turn on a flashlight, and sure enough! A bat! A bat is in my room. So then I corral it out. Bats actually are kind of frightening when they fly at you.

3. Guns are common at funerals. I went to my first funeral celebration the day after Christmas. Many men wield large rifles, which they shoot off into the air at various times. Call me crazy, but something about a large group of African men shooting rifles just doesn't sit right with me. I think my village friend could tell I was visibly uncomfortable and although he assured me they weren't using guns, just gunpowder, we still left early. One man even held a rifle in one hand, a baby in the other and just shot the gun off like it was nothing. I wonder if that baby will ever hear again.

4. Buy toilet paper in Tamale. They do not sell toilet paper in Lungbunga. Or in my market town. So I haven't had a square to spare!! (Seinfeld reference?) I will stock up today.

5. Absolutely nothing gets done during elections. My furniture has STILL not arrived (since October or November) "because of the election." There have now been THREE elections and I have yet to see a spec of furniture. I don't get it. What are these carpenters doing, sitting with their ears glued to the radios waiting for the latest news?? Somehow I doubt it. Also, no one wants to start on any work in Lungbunga, "because of the election." Insanity.

So that's all I got for now. I'm doing well, glad to be in Tamale with friends, recovering from my two and a half week lockdown. I managed to survive thanks to BBC, sudoku, and little Sage. My friend Consuelo is coming to stay with me for a few days so it will be nice to have some company at site. I had a cheese sandwich, french fries, and a cold Fanta for lunch today so I am already feeling recuperated! And tonight I might even get a cold beer! Oh boy.