The Snake and The Mouse...

About a week or two ago now two of the other volunteers, Chelsea and Neil strolled into the house, Chelsea as white as a ghost, Neil kind of smiling. "We just had our first snake scare," Neil announced. We all kind of laughed and said snake scare?? Chelsea replying, "Yes. Scare." and sat down. We all kind of laughed again and Neil went on to tell us that the two of them were walking back from school and cut through our regular pathway. The is a small hut on your right when you are walking home through this path that is vacant at the moment. The hut is made of made and the roof is a straw/stick material. Anyways from what we understood a snake was slithering up the side of the house when they were walking by and when it saw them it kind of fell of the house in their direction and slithered right by them. Chelsea was, and might i say, still is terrified of snakes. That was the one thing she said she didn't want to see while she was here so when the snake fell off the house in front of them she squealed and nearly jumped on Neil's back. She also said she started to cry which we all couldn't help but laugh at. Anyways after this all happened it was time for supper and of course we were still carrying on about it, laughing because of the story and poor Chels' reaction ha ha. Emily even cracked the comment, "Hope we're not having spaghetti for supper!" Chelsea was still mortified at this point and we didn't realized it and Emily said, "Your really scared aren't you." And she did nothing but nod so we had a good laugh then quickly changed the subject.
Later that night, after Chelsea got a little settled down and was able to not think about the snake for longer then five or ten minutes I went into our room. I was just grabbing a ziplock bag for something one of the children had and when I did a mouse ran out from behind the box on the desk down the wall and under our bed so clearly I ran out the room squealing to Chelsea. Hearing me Chels jumped up, two feet on the chair, and started yelling, "What?! What?!" Not even thinking that she was still tramatized from the snake I let out that there was a mouse under our bed. Not even thinking we were like let throw the Chappy in the room (Chappy is our kitty Godwin is trying to make a house cat, cats don't live in the house here). So we did. I then realized, well shit I'm allergic to cats. We needed to get it out of the room as quickly as possible. So we sat for like two minutes trying to decide how we'd get the cat out now. Patience, one of the boarding girls then walked into the house so we told her what was happening and she got the broom. By this time I just wanted the cat out the room so I went in with Patience and jumped up onto the bed while she broomed Chappy out from under the bed. By this point I was so tired that I was like I'm sure the mouse is gone so I'm just going to hop in the shower before bed(Washing every morning and night is a must in Ghana and is rude to not do so). So I hopped into the shower and got powdered all up before bed(Telcum powder, saves me, heat rash is terrible here doesn't matter who you are). Anyways, every night before I get into bed I have to tuck in the mosquito net because at dusk and dawn is when the malaria biting squiters come out. The bed Chels and I are sharing is a double so it's actually quite a bit of work to tuck the net down between the mattress and wood frame so I was right up on top of the mattress in the far corner against the wall and I pushed my hand downward and looked down at the same time and I just squeaked. I tired to be very quiet but Chels heard me and went running and jumped up onto the chair in the kitchen. WHAT WHAT!? She kept saying. Godwin hear this all and came into our room and asked what was wrong and I slowly pulled my hand out. He looked down and beside my hand to the right like a millimeter away was the tail of the mouse that we thought Chappy scared back up the wall. When Godwin saw this he flipped up the mattress the mouse running up the wall onto our desk where he originally was. Then Godwin grabbed Chappy threw him onto the desk hoping he would get the mouse but instead the mouse ran back down under our bed. Godwin then threw up our mattress again. At this point Bwakey, the kitchen lady, had come in with the broom, Chels was on the chair still, I was standing peeking in the door from the hall and Patience was just standing beside me giggling. When Godwin threw up the mattress the mouse ran in the opposite direction of the desk but towards me, Patience and Bwakey and Bwakey hit it with the broom, knocking it out... well killing it. We then started to all laugh but even harder when Bwakey flicked the mouse with the broom under Chels who was still terrified on top of the chair.
But what a day for poor Chels. It was a good laugh for everyone else but she said it was cool if I told the story as long as I called it the snake and the mouse. So I hope you got as good of a laugh as we did.

Oh. forgot to mention the very next night we had a new volunteer come, Jess, and she said she was fine with the bugs the only thing she didn't want to see was a cockroach. Let's just say 5 am that morning she awoke with a cockroach right on her chest and the next night with a mouse in the exact same spot! Ha Ha Ha. The joys of creepy crawlers!

It's the little things we take for granted that we should learn to appreciate...

Since I have been here I've have learned to do many different things. I have become so use to doing so many different things already that I didn't realize that I hadn't wrote about it yet so here I go...

Water: I am very happy to say that Sega does have a water station/pump in the village. This is where the people go to fetch "fresh" water to take to their families. The locals carry the water in buckets on their heads which is so difficult, I can't even carry my bags of water on my head. I'm looking forward to learning to carry the water in the coming weeks because I asked one of the boarding girls, Priscilla, if she can teach me and she said yes! This is very exciting because this is something everyone in the village does daily and since I am living in a house with running water I have not had the chance to do so! I also do not drink the local water instead we go to a particular house in the village and pay one Cedi for a bag of about 30 water, which is pretty good. It's a fun part of the day going to get your water because it's a chance to try and carry something on my head ha ha ha! I'm still working on the no hands thing but maybe it'll come soon.

Wash: Wash is also something I'm crazy not to mention. Wash is done manually here, yes, I said manually. Everything is done by hand and it is VERY difficult. It's pretty neat too. You get three buckets, the first you fill half full, the second is half full as well then the third is a half or quarter full, not too much. First you order your clothes lightest to darkest (you really don't realize how much dye/dirt comes out you clothes). Then you put the first few things in the first bucket and take the soap and scrub. When you scrub (for shirts hold the two sleeves scrub the armpits, the front, the elbows, for pants the butt, knees and waist)this is where it is the dirtiest, then you look for any other stains or dirt. You then can scrub in a general manner. When you scrub you hold a piece of the shirt in your hand and rub the hanging part up your holding arm. It's really hard to put into words but it's like your arm is the wash board and you rub up it, then you move your hand down the fabric further and repeat. After the first good scrub you put it into the second bucket this is where you can rinse and check that you get all the dirt. If you see you missed anything you can scrub it in this bucket. Then after you finish the second scrub your third bucket is for rinsing. You have to make sure you give it a good wish around so no soap is left on it then you ring it out and it's ready to hang. Also that reminds me, when you wash your clothes, you wash them inside right so you can see the dirty/stains and when you hang it to dry you hang it inside out, this is in case it falls and/or the sun fades it. Washing is very tiring but I kinda enjoy it, it is a nice little break. As for your clothes... I don't understand how we think washing machines really clean our clothes properly because here, a white sock is not clean if the sole is not white.

This brings me to the animals. I don't know if I mentioned the animals around here yet or not but there are goats, turkeys, ducks, chicken, guinea hens, lizards, cats, dogs, spiders and many more. The animals are a very active part of my life here. I wake up every morning to the crowing rooster, who might I say like to get up particularly early and go to sleep to a ridiculous goat that I am convinced something is wrong with. The animals are all "kept" in the backyard which is fortunately outside my window. I say kept loosely because they wander the village/yards close by. The turkeys are probably my least favourite. The man turkey likes to puff up his feather and makes this puff noise as if he's some big tough guy looking to get a girl. Oh on that note, it's really not unusual for a neighbour to bring his female turkey over and stick it under the male so he can mount her. This was a pretty disturbing thing to see on my fourth or fifth day here. Both turkeys were making awful noises, the man turkey cock-a-doodling and the female yelping for help. Anyways other then that the turkeys are really ugly, it's funny because we thought they were so gross now come to love them after our men disappeared for a few days and new one appeared. The guinea hens are definitely the most annoying. They run around making this awful noise all day and all night. There is one guinea hen in particular that just runs the fence all day, back and forth, back and forth as if he can't fly over it but he can. It's like he's the watch hen or something. Then there is the goats. The goats around here make pretty normal noises and don't bother me too much. Although the baby goat, they sounds like crying babies so we're often like, "is that the children or a goat again?" Finally I'll quickly mention the lizards, spiders and mice since my roomie and I have been lucky to have them as pets since our arrival. The lizards scale the top of our room all day and night. You also hear them during the day walking around on the tin roof which is a pretty creepy sound, yuck. The spiders here are all over the place. We had one that sat in our shower for first week but now has moved on to someone elses I'm sure. Also the mice, well we had a pretty funny experience with the mice around here. I hate to say it but two have been killed already, one one night and the other the next.

Bahahaha but I'm sure by now you're probably thinking I've lost my mind and I'll take this as a chance to close. I will finish the stories about the mice in my next write up. Hope you enjoyed, I promise next post will be more exciting.

The Market

Tuesday and Friday are market days in Sega. The village wakes up very early and the noise begins immediately. The roads are bustling, families walking carrying their goods often on their heads, people packing into taxis, taxis honking, all this to get to Kasseh or "Junction" as the locals call it.
My first trip to the market was on May 7th. It was very overwhelming. To begin the day we all packed into a taxi, and when I say we packed, there were nine of us in a very small car. About twenty minutes later we arrived in what some would describe as sheer craziness. There were stands everywhere, very little space in between. People calling out at you in Dangme(the language spoken here) sometimes even in English. Sometimes the items name was called out, sometimes the price," ONE CEDI! ONE CEDI!... FISH! PLANT IAN!...". You also hear what I like to call the noises of the market. People making phonening noises to get your attention, clicking of the lips and hissing(not in a cat like of rude manner, it's just the way the people grab your attention here). It was all so overwhelming.
The inside of the market, to me, was not as overwhelming as the outside. You have to picture the market as a large square. The center of the market is where you see the stands, table after table, all very close together. This is the area where things are "calmer". Here I feel I can relax a bit more. There are less people grabbing at you, demanding you buy, people inside the market I feel are more chill and laid back.
You then walk to the outside of the market, things are similar. You see all the stands and tables but the difference is the road. There are cars, taxis, trow trows and big bus like trucks that sit probably forty people or more that are also referred to as trow trows, all flying by. Here you have to follow the unwritten rules of the road, if you step in front of any vehicles, bicycles and/or trolleys you're pretty much down for the count or even worst...done ha ha. The outside of the market also extends quite far on the road side. It's definitely not in a square shape or a shape at all I can really describe. The best way I can think to describe the outside is thinking of the awkward roads that take you in every direction to each of the surrounding villages and the stands, tables and stores line the side of them. Here the people are much more grabby. "Bafoono! Bafoono! Buy this! Give me money..."(My spelling of Bafoono isn't correct right now but it's the work you hear most often where you go. It means white man. Children often chase you chanting BAFOONO! BAFOONO! BAFOONO! Wherever you are or whatever you are doing). This is also where you find most of the men. The men, to me, are very intimidating here. When I say this I am not referring to men in Ghana in general, just the pushy men of the market. There men are not afraid to come up to you and put their arm around you, grab your hand, ask you to marry them, say "I love you" and/or say repulsive comments to you. I think I struggle with this because the Canadian culture is much less forward. In a general sense, Ghanaian men are very respectful and caring towards women. It's actually kind of nice. The difference ultimately is Ghanaian men are much more forward and touchy then what I am use to. It's not a bad thing, I just struggle when the men are too forward and pop my comfort bubble I guess.
But back to the market...
Things are fairly cheap here. They are grown and sold locally. It's nice to be able to buy and know who you are giving your money to for a change. Though you know where your money is going you often don't know the price. Pricing here isn't just written on the product like it is at home. You have to learn to barter, which on a side note I am not very good at, to get the right price. It's funny because in preparation to come here our class watched a film called Cannibal Tours. It was talking about how the locals give a price and the white man often barters it down to get a special price, better than the locals. This really deterred me from bartering in the beginning but I realized quickly as I realized as a white man I was getting the special price, four Cedi for a loaf of bread rather then the actual price of one point five Cedi for a loaf.
After an afternoon at the market you're pretty tired. The last taxis leave around six so you always have to make sure you're there before then or your walking to the village. You go to your village's taxi station, a set area where all the taxis to your village sit and you piled back in to go home.
All in all, I've really come to have an appreciation for the market. Yes, it is overwhelming but it's different. It gives you a nice break in the week. It is a display of the hard work of each individual puts into their lifestyle and the community. It shows the production of the farmer's labour, the fisherman's catch, the people's selling abilities, the collection of food to support the family and so much more. All the little overwhelming things end up being ruled out by all the market's great things, it's really nice.
I hope I was able to give you a neat picture of a spot I've really come to appreciate and I look forward to updating you with more stories!

My village, my experience...

So Sega it is. When the sun rose my first day here it was very exciting. We were nine volunteers in one household in a village called Sega, which I'm very happy to say is my home for the next 3 months. The children were very excited, children were everywhere! Games were being played outside, football and cards mostly. Music was loud in the village, we found out later there was an engagement party across the way and engagements are a huge thing here. I'll admit by the end of day one I was tired but the good news was the culture shock was fading.

My Village...
Sega is a beautiful spot. The land is difficult to describe in words, red soil like PEI but sand, shells, pom trees and "lion king trees" also scattered throughout. There are little roads that go throughtout the village. These roads don't really seem planned out like our roads but rather convenient. There are also many paths through the village. I find theses paths say a lot about the movement of the village because they show you to each spot your looking to go(I hope that makes sense). The village is also scattered with animals, turkeys, goats, chickens and ducks being the most popular. These animals are very domesticated, the people often not even noticing they are walking right along side of you. The lizards are probably my favourite part. You see them scaling the houses, scurrying about. I even have one inside of my room which I've come to actually think is quite cute!
The people of Sega are also quite beautiful. Each person in passing acknowledging the fact that you exist, "Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening..." Others asking how you are, how was school, congratulating you on a hard days work, it's all quite nice. I am finding the children quite helpful as well, asking you if you'd like to see the village, teaching you small bits of the language and helping you understand what the elders are saying. This is very nice and helpful since I choose to live at the Head Masters house rather than with a host family within the village.
Living at the Head Masters house has made me take on different challenges. It has forced me to make the extra effort to get out there and meet the people, do the things the villagers do and challenge myself to learning the language and lifestyle of the village. As I said this is a challenge but one I am trying to take a hold of. The language is VERY different from english, different letters, different sounds and different tones. The lifestyle is also very different as well. Ghanaians are very laid back. When I say laid back I don't mean lazy because in this village they are NOT lazy. The people I have met are some of the most hard working people I have ever seen. The work here many not be structured intensely or punctual, starting at 8am ending at 4pm, but the days are long. The work begins for some at 4am and does not end until after 8pm at night. One lady I'd really like to mention is Bwalky (the spelling may not be correct right now and I apologize if so) she works in the kitchen at our household. Her day starts so early, I don't even know exactly what time because I have yet to have a day where I am up before her. She does all the cooking and cleaning for this house and when I say this house I mean for us, the volunteers, and the children at the boarding house as well. She is constantly working, constantly. If she's not cooking she is cleaning, shopping for food at the market, gardening, washing, getting the young boys ready, getting the children fed and even one day I seen her helping the children with their homework. It's really quite amazing, she is a beautiful person. But I kind of wandered off topic but the people here are so hard working. The laid back lifestyle I talked about is just how the village is, slow, never very rushed but things always get done, it's really nice.

But I have many stories to tell, some really funny actually but I've been writing for a while now and have to make it to the market before it's over. I hope you enjoyed the catch up!

"... Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you, they are unique manifestations of the human spirit." - Wade Davis

I've arrived and am settled in Ghana. I apologize to those of you who have been checking religiously to see if I've arrived safely and hope you received word from my family and friends that I've arrived. The flight was a bit crazy, the doctor had to get called over to me because my heart was racing, I could not catch my breath and couldn't feel my hands or lips. They gave me a little blue pill that knocked me out for two or three hours and I'm happy to say I was fine after that. We assumed it had something to do with my Malrone and the Gravol, I had taken before my flight left, therefore Gravol is not to be seen taken by me in the near future.
After my arrival in Ghana we stayed in Sega for a few days to get use to the culture and way of life. I definitely experienced my first challenge with culture shock upon arrival. The city was huge, the lights were endless. It was something you would see if you flew into Toronto and there were four of them side by side I feel. It's very spread out and like I said endless in both directions. We then piled 13 people and all of our bags(three months worth for everyone)into the trow trow. It was crazy and the driving was crazy. Honking and honking everywhere vehicles pulling up on each side of you with vendors running up to your car between movement. At this point it was late night here, 8 oclock-ish, the roads were dark and our driver was flying. It was really freeing to be honest. When we arrived in Sega we could not see much. The village was black and it was not until the morning we could really see and experience the village.
I would love to write more right now but we are currently sharing the Internet between four people. Keep your eyes open for my next update, it will be soon.