Is eating rocks bad for your teeth?

Ok, so internet is down at the Tamale office yet again. So even though I actually took lots of pictures in preparation for multiple blog posts, I won't put them up now. It's entirely too difficult and annoying to do at an internet cafe. But just look forward to many, many pictures to come!

I'm trying to remember highlights of the past few weeks...it seems almost like a blur actually. Things are going well though! I'm feeling more and more comfortable in my village. Getting used to people and people are getting used to me.

I've been going to help out at the clinic on antenatal and baby weighing days. This is interesting and also terribly frustrating. I go and stand around for a while and ask if I can help out anywhere. Sometimes they let me make tallies in a big book, recording the number of pregnant women coming, their trimester, how many kids they've had, etc. So this is nice. I don't mind doing that. But then sometimes they will pair me up with a nurse and give us a task that one person could do easily and probably more efficiently. So then I try to sort of step out. It just seems insane to me. Also, there is NO system or organization at these days, so I want to try to develop a sort of routine. Maybe. Concepts such as "systems" and "routines" and "order" are somehow out of the grasp of many Lungbungians. Maybe most Ghanaians really. So after standing around for a long time doing absolutely nothing I say "Okay, I'm going to go take my lunch." And they proceed to laugh at me and act like I'm skipping out on work! But how can I explain to them that if I stand here and watch the inefficiency and lack of productivity any longer that I might go CRAZY?? It's easier to say that I'm hungry.

The teachers are all still around, which is great. Most of the teachers are really awesome and we can relate in a way because they are generally from Tamale and we have similar complaints about village life and living away from home. They are also great with Sage. One in particular likes to do this weird arm-flailing dance/hop thing and repeat her name over and over. I think he's trying to play with her, but she just looks confused. I've started teaching in the schools a bit. Well, I have once so far. But it's a start. My friend and I taught a lesson about malaria. I'm going to try to get in the routine of going to the JSS (junior high school) at least once or twice a week. The primary school is kind of my worst nightmare, so I tend to avoid it. Dozens of children screaming in Dagbani...why would I want that?

Last Monday was the first day of a two-day Dagomba festival. It was great! It's called Damba and is held to celebrate the prophet Mohammad's birth. The second day will be this coming Monday and is supposed to be even bigger than the first. So I went to the chief's palace with my camera and everything is great, I'm watching the drumming and the old men dance around in their smocks, but then the GUN MAN had to come in and ruin it for me. Apparently I am absolutely terrified of guns! The village thinks it's hilarious. And then they lie to me and say, "Oh no, he won't shoot again." So then I get angry and say, "You are LYING to me!" Haha it's pretty funny though really. I just follow the kid's cues and cover my ears whenever they do. But it's hard to take good pictures and enjoy the festival when you're constantly on the lookout for the gun man!

Lungbunga's been having some crazy weather too. A few nights ago there was an intense storm - I mean like hurricane intense. I had just finished dinner and was getting all excited for a little evening rain (since I rarely ever see rain anymore), when suddenly the lightning started to flash and the wind started howling and my back door completely blew open even though it was latched. Oh and a panel in the bedroom ceiling started popping off. So my excitement kind of turned a bit panicy, but once all the windows were closed and everything valuable was safely away from the wind and rain I started thinking about the implications of natural disasters in the developing world. You don't get any hurricane watches, or hurricane warnings. Nope! It just COMES and pretty quickly too. I feel like I have a better understanding of the devastation communities go through due to weather - failed crops, floods, houses destroyed by wind. It's crazy! We're lucky in America! I remember back in elementary school doing all those drills for different natural disasters. Get in the hallway, duck and cover, go in the closet, etc. All those annoying tests on the radio all the time for severe weather. But that's nice! It would be nice to get a little heads up on these things.

That pretty much sums things up. My house is definitely starting to come together and I'm feeling very much at home. I really do love my house. I'm also still learning how to cook. Slowly getting better at the whole rice and beans thing. I need to be better about cleaning the rice though, I think eating rocks is bad for your teeth.