for better or for worse

27 March 06

Friends & Family:

For better or for worse, the era of television has arrived in Agou. I figured it was coming sooner or later. And if
my TV commercial upbringing has taught me anything, it’s that one should never postpone for tomorrow what can be enjoyed today. Nike – just do it. Snickers – why wait? Campbell’s soup – mmm, mmm good.

How did it happen? With money from generous people at Trend Homes and consent from Agou’s village elders, I purchased a 21” TV, generator, and antenna for the chief’s palace. The chief’s palace was chosen because it is a public space built by the community for town meetings and such. Its no Taj Mahal but at least now it can showcase live soccer. The fact that Ghana will be playing America this June in the World Cup did factor into the decision, a little.





Beyond soccer, there are important reasons we got a TV. For one thing, the entertainment value is hard to equal. I lived for 5 years without eating meat. I seriously doubt I could go 5 years without watching the telly. Could you? For those who say they could, what if that included no movies either? To be sure we are ambivalent about tv. We criticize its effect on society and yet we own three and watch it 20 hrs/wk or more.

But more than entertainment, I feel TV has the power to improve understanding of other cultures. Let me explain. The Peace Corps has a three part mission:
A) To facilitate development through skills transfer and capacity building at a grassroots level
B) To promote a better understanding of America on the part of host country nationals
C) To promote a better understanding of the host country on the part of Americans

Most volunteers do a good job fulfilling the first part. David Branigan from Philadelphia started a youth drama club that
performs in and around Accra to educate people about HIV. Tonya Stephenson from Salt Lake City worked with her local tourism board to develop postcards of the scenery and shrines at her site. Postcard profits help finance the local museum and community sanitation projects. Brett Meyers from Chicago showed his farming community how to improve soil fertility through composting and crop rotation. And so on.

All volunteers carry out the third part to some extent. Every letter home, every picture of village life, and every American who visits a volunteer at site is improving America’s understanding of the world. And this is why I spam all y’all from time to time with my stories of life in Ghana. I write you not because I particularly like you but because it’s my job.

It is the second part of the mission that normally gets neglected. One of the great ironies of Ghana is how much the people here want to go to America and how little they know about the place. They know America is wealthy, guns are plentiful, and a lot of white Christians live there. Beyond that little more is known. You have no idea how many people thought I was returning to the States when I told them I was going to London. And good luck describing a New England blizzard to someone who shivers when the temperature drops to 65 F.

But Hollywood can help. It’s a far cry from reading the encyclopedia, but movies, sporting events, and network news DO
promote a better understanding of the world. I realize this is a strange concept. But it’s hard to deny what a powerful medium the motion picture is. Think of how many times you’ve cried when watching a movie or laughed so hard it hurt or been so scared you couldn’t watch.

Let’s be clear, I’m not saying TRL and Fear Factor are elevating the human race. What I’m saying is that the technology of
television has the ability to unite people across the globe through a common experience of emotional images. Just imagine what the global response to last year’s Indian tsunami would have been without TV. Every disaster relief organization knows how vital it is to get visual images of the disaster into people’s living room.

If you watch TV and don’t like it, fine. Your head won’t be blocking my view of the World Cup game.


---------------------------

Ok, that’s enough on the philosophical justification for our TV purchase. On to the fun part: people’s reactions to various video shows. The first movie we watched was *Wizard of Oz*. Their reactions were funny. They didn’t understand Dorothy’s strong affinity for Toto (Ghanaian: what is that thing? Me: it’s a dog. We love dogs in America). They were amazed by the Kansas farm, especially the pig pen and scarecrow. Hard to believe the farms in that old film would be more advanced than a
Ghanaian farm today. Some were frightened by the Munckins, yet the Wicked Witch of the West surprised nobody. Belief in witches is still very much prevalent in my village.

So far their favorite movie is Eddie Murphy’s *Coming to America* – for obvious reasons. Three scenes were noteworthy. The scene of poverty in Queens elicits surprise. Yes, I tell them, poverty exists in America. Believe it or not, during the barber shop scenes I am the only one laughing. They feel the barber is very rude to his customers. Moreover, the dialogue is ripe with American cultural references they don’t get. Then the church scene with Arsenio Hall as pastor in front of bikini models invariably draws moans and criticism. I suppose these scandalously dressed women in their most sacred institution is no laughing matter.



*Princess Bride* and *Finding Nemo* were popular. *Memento* and *Tommy Boy* were not. The big surprise has been *The
Graduate* with Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. A lot of dialogue and very little action usually = boredom for the mostly non-English speaking audience here. But the story of an older woman seducing a young man they intuitively understood and enjoyed.

-----------------------------------


Vote of Thanks

The generous people at Trend Homes have so fare made possible the construction of 45 household latrines, 50 mosquito bed nets for pregnant woman and infants, a hand pump borehole to increase clean water supply, cement and paint to renovate the chief’s palace, a village bike, and new uniforms for needy girls to encourage school attendance. In other words, much more than a TV has arrived. The people here thank you.

Also, I want to send a sincere thank you to Kevin Sullivan of the Mesa Soccer Club and Erik Johnson at DHL for the huge shipment of soccer goods. Last Tuesday, the village elders came to my house at 6:30 am with 42 yams and a bottle of local gin as a token of their appreciation for “the fooball disting.. boots, balls, jerseys.. Everything!” It was touching. You put a
smile on a lot of people’s faces.



Ok, I'm tired and don't feel like writing a top 10. Here's a couple top tens submitted by ?? can u guess who.


Top Tens Myths About Harvard Law School

10) Its a terrible place: Cambridge is a sweet area. great restaurants, great bars, and even though its cold as shit, snow and
seasons have their upsides as well

9) The professors don't care: The professors are ridiculously intelligent. Even if you disagree with them, you can't help but be impressed by their passion and endless knowledge on the subject.

8) The workload is ridiculous: Law School is still a lot better than having a real job. From what I have heard from my banking buddies, and for that matter all my friends with real jobs, I would say that any grad school, no matter how stressful, i better than a 9-5 or worse a 7-11.

7) The people are terrible: The people here are not all awesome, but when there are 1500 in total, its not hard to find some people who like to have a good time, and who also can carry a conversation and make you think about things differently. Particularly for me, I have found some people who are among the funniest and smartest that I have ever met in my life

6) The ladies are not so attractive: This one I can't totally disagree with, but there are a few. though I gotta say that Claire looks better and better each day with the background comparison here.

5) The socratic method is terrifying: Its not that bad at all. Unlike the movie depictions in The Paper Chase, professors here are all polite and never mock or antagonize a student who is struggling.

4) The housing is nice: I at least thought this, and it couldnt be further from the truth. My dorm is like a prison. Luckily mom came and saw it and decided to fix it up and now its pretty nice, but it remains the worse residence I have ever had.

3 )All you meet are rich white men: This isn't entirely false, but compare it to 50 years ago, the fact that classes are now 50% women, and greater and greater numbers of minority students, its not the same homogenous class it was back then.

2) Tuition is reasonable: I don't really think this is a myth, but man it is wrong and man it pisses me off. There is no reason why law schools need to charge so much, and especially no reason why Harvard needs to when it has billions of dollars (no joke). The worse part of it is that it forces students to take firm jobs to pay off their debts when many may otherwise pursue other jobs that pay considerably less. At the end of the day, they charge as much as they do because they can, but that doesnt make it right

1) Harvard Law is the toughest law school: I actually think that Harvard Law may be the easiest law school in the country, its just the toughest to get into. Besides the fact that the curve is set at B-average, we take one less class than most other schools, and no one has to worry about getting a job.




The top ten reasons why being in Peace Corp Ghana is better than medical school in Wisconsin:

10) No homework! No Finals, no classes!
9) Ghana heat doesn't sound too bad compared to the Wisconsin snow right about now
8) Plenty of time to read for pleasure. (The last books that I read were Biochemistry, Human Anatomy, and Embryology)
7) The smell of Ghana can't be much worse than a long night in the Anatomy Cadaver lab
6) No back to back all nighters
5) $5 a day to live on sounds great compared to shelling out 45K/yr for tuition
4) Spending the night in a hut doesn't sound so bad compared to spending the night in a study room
3) Nobody here follows me around treating me like a celebrity
2) Trying to memorize 700 pages of biochem notes for a comprehensive final is not all its cracked up to be
AND LASTLY:
1) I am sure you are helping a lot more people (and probably giving more medical advice) than I am...they wont let me
near a real patient for another 1.5 yrs

all the best,
nana kofi


...........................................................
If you are a racist, I will attack you with the North.
-Abraham Lincoln

ebullient poppycock

15.12.05
>
> Bon voyage!
>
> I leave Ghana in T minus 8 hours and counting. The excitement is compounded
> by every Ghanaian who asks me where I am going. I say "America!" and they
> invariably say, "and you take me?" and I invariably reply "Yes, if you can
> fit in my luggage." Ok lets go! they say. Damn, if I had a dollar for every
> time this dialogue took place I could have paid for the roundtrip flight by
> now.
>
> I'd like to write a detailed account of Jen's exciting 2wk visit, the
> swearing-in of new volunteers, what Christmas in Ghana looks like and so on
> but honestly my head is spinning at the moment. I can't wait to step on that
> plane with full confidence I will have an entire seat all to myself -- not
> to mention a/c, cold drinks, and maybe a movie or two. I can't wait to see a
> fat, well-fed dog that doesn't run away when I approach it. I can't wait to
> drive down a smooth, paved road that's not littered with trash. Ice! egg
> nog! NY Times! Oprah Winfrey! Land of the free, home of the brave, here I
> come!
>
> Hey, remember Lunchables. Those little bite-size, overpriced meals of
> processed meat and crackers. If you are anything like me you go straight for
> the chocolate mint as soon as you break the seal. Similarly, I'd like to
> skip the crackers and ham part of this email and go straight to dessert.
> Yeah, that's right: rock the top 10s like there's no tomorrow. I realize I
> kind of blue ball'd you by leaving it out of my last correspondence. sorry
> O. Hopefully, this deluge makes up for last month's drought.
>
> Ok, let's start with top 10 Ghana - America inverses. This blossom'd out of
> the many conversations I've had with Americans in Ghana where at some point
> someone said, "yeah, that's weird. its the complete opposite back home."
> Granted, some generalizations are made that are not universally true but all
> in all its striking how much of the following does hold true:
>
> Top 10 Ghana-America inverses
>
> 10. saying "please."
> Americans say it when requesting a favor, like 'would you please pass the
> stuffing.' Ghanaians say 'please' in just about every context BUT favor
> requests. seriously. You listen to the radio and you hear "please, how are
> you doing? please, I am fine. Please, what is your name? Please, my name is
> ..." Kuma likes to yell 'please' until he has my attention, then he will say
> something like "I am going to school now." But when Kuma wants some water to
> drink he'll bark out, "give me water." "Give me money. take me to America.
> bring me a TV back from America." It seems that whenever an actual sacrifice
> is involved, the word 'please' is not said.
>
> 9. tipping
> It's called "dashing" over here and strange enough, the seller dashes the
> buyer. Not the other way around. For example, I go to the market and buy
> 5,000 cedis worth of onions. It's customary for me, the consumer, to ask for
> a dash. Then the onion seller laughs (if I say it in twi) and gives me an
> extra onion or two. At a typical restaurant here you leave no tip. The taxi
> driver will haggle you for a high fare when you enter the cab, but he
> doesn't expect anything extra when you get out. This is not to say tipping
> the seller/service agent never happens. Its happily accepted by almost
> everyone if you do leave a little something extra. But for the most part
> asking for a tip after providing a service is akin to begging.
>
> 8. birthday celebrations
> If you wonder'd why funerals are "hot" and birthdays "not" its because
> hosting a funeral brings in money for the bereaved. Birthdays and weddings,
> on the other hand, are expensive. In Ghana the onus is on the birthday boy
> or girl to throw a party and buy gifts for friends and family. Thus, very
> few celebrate their birthday. Plus, birth records are not well kept so many
> people, esp. poor villagers aren't sure when their birthday is. Needless to
> say I'm stoked not to be in Ghana for my b-day this year :)
>
> 7. Females carrying luggage for males
> It was hard for me to adjust to this one and to be frank I'm still not
> entirely comfortable with it, but women here are expected to carry a man's
> luggage. Call it courtesy or friendliness but don't call it inappropriate,
> not in Ghana. Not only am I a man but I'm also a foreigner (and thus a
> guest) so its expected a woman -- any woman -- will help me with my luggage.
> My homestay mother during training is not even 5 ft tall but she insisted on
> carrying my big heavy bag to the taxi. It just feels wrong on so many levels
> but that's the tradition.
>
> 6. social atmosphere of eating
> Not always, but typically eating is a solitary activity here. My homestay
> family liked to bring my food into my room and leave me to eat in silence by
> myself. And so did every other homestay family with their American guest.
> Eating together and sharing food happens, don't get me wrong. But usually
> chopping a big ball of fufu with soup is a messy process so I can understand
> why you wouldn't want a bunch of people watching you as you eat.
>
> 5. teacher truancy
> In the states, students like to skip school. Here its the teachers that
> don't show up. I swear. You probably don't believe me but ask any Education
> volunteer and they'll tell you almost daily (depending on the school) a
> classroom full of students is without a teacher. Teachers look for any
> excuse not to show up. The day Jen and I showed up to help at Agou primary
> school, our noble headmaster informed us that we could do whatever we wanted
> cuz Joe, Richard, and he were "on strike." The day before their big strike
> they sat around and watched the kids play football all day. And the day
> after both Joe and the Headmaster traveled to Nkwanta for a "workshop." True
> teachers are paid crap, but they know that going into the profession. and
> its no different in America I always tell them.
>
> 4. attitude towards beer
> Sitting on a lawn chair, throwing back a six pack of Pabs blue ribbon is not
> exactly what we associate with lifestyles of the rich and famous. But beer
> is expensive here, relatively speaking. Your average bottle goes for 8000
> cedis, almost $1. For comparison, I can get a full meal of fufu, goat, and
> groundnut soup for 6000 cedis at most chop bars. I've been to classy French
> restaurants in Accra that serve a full array of common beer, in a glass and
> overpriced of course. Nevertheless, your typical villager can't afford a
> beer. He will settle for a tall shot of gin -- its only 1000 cedis.
>
> 3. attitude towards agriculture chemicals
> I may be out of touch with mainstream America after living in Berkeley for 5
> years but I feel like there's a strong movement away from chemical
> pesticides and fertilizers in supermarket produce and anything with an
> "organic" label is considered better, safer, and more natural. Not so in
> Ghana. Here the food grown is by default organic because chemicals are
> costly. But chemicals kill weeds and pests a lot quicker than walking around
> and hacking 2 acres of weeds with a machete. In fact, vegetables grown with
> chemical fertilizers and pesticides are called "agric" and people here will
> pay more for them.
>
> 2. calling someone "fat"
> and its not fat with a "ph." Ghanaians don't mean the opposite, but they
> describe people as fat much more freely than we do. eg 'Your friend came by
> to visit you. who? I ask. oh you know the fat one.' On a continent with the
> lowest caloric intake in the world, a fat person is seen as a wealthy person
> -- more so in villages than larger towns and cities. Like the fat kings and
> lords in feudal Europe, a sizable Ghanaian commands respect. So to call
> someone fat is, in many parts of Ghana, more of a compliment than an insult.
>
> 1. belly buttons
> Americans have innies. young Ghanaians have outies. simple as that. Well,
> not everyone. But if you go to the rural villages, you can't help but wonder
> why the small children have big, sometimes huge, protruding stumps on their
> belly. Jen and I decided to call them "belly logs" cuz button just doesn't
> capture the sheer magnitude of these things. This is one you really have to
> see to believe. We asked the nurse in my community about the cause of belly
> logs. She said its just nature. Did I ever mention the schools in Ghana
> aren't so great?
>
>
> Good stuff. Now I present to you the top 10 animals I've eaten in Ghana.
> This is meant to give you a glimpse into just how much I've changed since
> coming here. I was vegetarian for 5 years before landing in Accra. Now I eat
> just about anything that moves..
>
> Top 10 animals I've eaten in Ghana
>
> 10. antelope. smoky and dry both times I had it. not that good.
> 9. frog. very little meat and a lot of guts. bonus: quite easy to kill with
> a machete
> 8. tortoise. difficult to prepare, not that tender. ironically, this slow
> small tortoise we caught is the only animal my cat Snoop was ever terrified
> of. He would stand up to dogs and even big ass bulls that walked by my house
> but the tortoise sent him running for the hillls
> 7. squirrel = yummy. squirrel testes = not yummy
> 6. cat. sweet, tender, and juicy white meat. I don't want to say how it was
> killed but I had to try it once. honestly though i've come to believe its
> kind of strange that eating this animal is so taboo in America -- assuming
> it is not a domesticated house pet, of couse. I'm thinking more of all the
> cats killed at the pound and then dumped in a landfill. Wasteful if you ask
> me.
> 5. human. (j/k i'm not that savage.. yet)
> 4. goat. deelish. however the skin can be fatty and tough at times
> 3. grasscutter. this large rodent that lives in the bush is a succulent
> treat
> 2. kamono dragon/big big lizard. I'm really not sure what it is but its a
> large (~1m long) reptile in the shape of a lizard. I love it. It tastes like
> sausage when fried.
> 1. crocodile. like bacon but with tougher skin. i should say its not common
> to chop these guys :)
>
>
> One thing that's nice about life in the Peace Corps is you are afforded a
> generous amount of free time. With an abundance of time, I've been able to
> read a lot of books my professors assigned in college but I didn't get
> around to reading at the time. Here are my favorites.
>
> Top 10 books I read this year
>
> 10. The Tipping Point by M. Gladwell
> A riveting look at social trends, like NY crime decline in early 90s,
> smoking cigarettes, and the success of sesame street
>
> 9. Man's search for Meaning by V. Frankyl
> A powerful tale of life in the Holocaust and lessons learned from the
> harrowing experience
>
> 8. Catch-22 by J. Heller
> Funny. the madness of life in the military exposed and ridiculed
>
> 7. The Stranger by A. Camus
> A quick read but one you won't soon forget
>
> 6. On Writing Well by W. Zassner
> Read if you want to improve your writing ability a notch or two. happens to
> practice what he preaches and even the technical parts are a delight to read
>
> 5. Cat's Cradle by K. Vonnegut
> classic Konnegut. You should not be considered literate if you have not read
> any Vonnegut
>
> 4. The Future of Freedom by F. Zakaria
> A compelling argument that less, not more democracy is needed in the US and
> around the world
>
> 3. Freakonomics by S. Levitt
> A fun, scholarly analysis of random facts, such as why prostitutes on
> average make more than architects and the connection b/t legalized abortion
> and violent crime
>
> 2. Moby Dick by H. Melville
> The first 100 pages are as good as literature gets, then the narrative turns
> into an encyclopedia article on whaling. But the last 3 chapters are
> exciting
>
> 1. Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by D. Eggers
> Laugh out loud story of 20 something losing his two parents and raising his
> younger bro in the bay area
>
>
> Several people have expressed enjoyment of my top 10s but all too often they
> feel the need to compare me to David Letterman. Well I'm no Letterman,
> that's for sure. but I never pretended to be one either. I am a lonely bush
> boy living on $5/day eight degrees above the equator. To drive this point
> home I present:
>
> Top 10 reasons I'm no David Letterman
> 10.
> 9.
> 8.
> 7.
> 6.
> 5.
> 4. I don't have a staff of professional comedians writing my top tens
> 3.
> 2.
> 1.
>
>
> and finally I'll share with you a snapshot of Jen's exciting 2 week tour of
> Ghana
>
> Top 10 moments during Jen's visit
>
> 10. I call Jen a "quasia," meaning idiot in twi, on the bus after she can't
> figure out how to turn on my cd walkman. The whole bus erupts in laughter.
> I've never seen her face so red. I've also never seen someone learn twi as
> fast as she did after that incident.
>
> 9. Sunset walk along Cape Coast beach. beautiful, right? More like a stroll
> through the bottom of a latrine. we had to breath through our mouths and
> carefully watch every step so as not to step in crap, human crap! that was
> everywhere
>
> 8. I cut the head off my rooster and we watch his body run around like a
> maniac for half a minute. Jen was shocked. At least we know now where the
> saying comes from.
>
> 7. I tell a Konkomba man Jen is my wife. He claps and congratulates me. Then
> says, "Oh then you can give her to me." Probably the first time she was
> literally treated like chattel.
>
> 6. Snapping a photo of a beach shitter, then being chased and yelled at by
> his friend.
>
> 5. Our Muslim tro driver Mohammed swears he will convert to Christianity if
> Jen takes him to America
>
> 4. I tell the elders of Kabiti Jen is my wife. They erupt in cheers and
> applause, saying "you're married. now you are free!" Jen was like, no
> actually marriage is kind of the opposite of that.
>
> 3. Shopping at Kabiti market and watching in 90 degree F weather a man
> buying a wool facemask. I swear this is true. The dry season is approaching
> which means the weather will drop to a frigid 60 degrees F in the morning!!
>
> 2. Teachers go on strike the day Jen and I offer to help teach. We taught 60
> elementary kids red rover, red rover -- yes it got violent real quick. We
> gave a lesson on US v. Ghana, focusing especially on the difference in
> family size. America family = small, small. Ghana family = big, big. Then we
> do a 'will it float?' session with the kids. No I'm no Letterman but the
> kids have a slightly better understanding of buoyancy now.
>
> 1. A middle aged African-American woman at Elmina slave castle in tears
> after hearing 40 million blacks died at the place where we were standing.
> "We're still here," she muttered. It turns out she was a peace corps
> volunteer in Uraguay and married a local there. she said she brought a piece
> of Uraguay with her back home :)
>
>
> Ok, now its your turn. I have missed a full year of movies. Give me your top
> 10 list of best movies of 2005. or 10 best books or top 10 whatever. I am
> serious. If i don't get an email from you, don't expect any more from me.
>
> Hope to see y'all soon.
>
> happy holidays,
> kris

dinner with Jimmy

12 November 05

Friends & Family:

Who would have thought that moving to West Africa to do health education in a remote, rural village would result in meeting a former US president? I suppose its Providence’s way of rewarding those who suffer sweltering heat, mediocre beer, and countless requests to be taken to America. Kudos to the karma police.

It all started a month ago when I received a note from a Guinea worm colleague. It said, “Peace Corps called. They said Jimmy Carter is coming to Ghana and he wants to meet you.” Well I’ve always considered myself to be kind of an important person. I mean I’m the fricken development chief of Agou after all. Naturally, the note didn’t surprise me much.

I decided I could sacrifice a few hours of my busy life for Jimmy. So I traveled to Accra, but I didn’t expect much. Most likely I figured I would be just another face in a sea of people eager to hear him speak at some big function. Something like the time I saw Bill Clinton at a Berkeley bookstore promoting his autobiography. He showed up an hour late in an entourage of large SUVs. He smiled and waved to the crowd. We cheered and that was that. Really the only memorable part of the whole experience was a sign held by a resident that said, “blowjobs are better than bombs.”

My experience with Carter was quite different. There would be no sea of people. Carter wasn’t even giving a speech. He had gone to Liberia to monitor their presidential election. Apparently, his flight back to Atlanta involved a short layover in Ghana. During this time he wanted to visit the US Ambassador residence for a casual, low-key dinner. He wanted to hear from six people. I was one of them.

Why me, you ask. Like I said before, I am the fricken development chief of Agou. You probably don’t fully understand the clout that title carries but really smart people like Jimmy do. Plus, I’m a volunteer working on a disease eradication program sponsored by his charitable organization, the Carter Center. He invited our Peace Corps country director and wanted to hear from two PCVs working on Guinea worm eradication. He also invited the US Ambassador, the Deputy Chief of Missions (essentially, the assistant ambass.), and the American Economics officer for Ghana. Their spouses were allowed to come as well.

There ended up being a total of 14 people who sat down to eat with Carter because his wife Rosalynn was there along with his son, Chip, and his wife. Two women I didn’t meet also ate with us, one I later found out was his time manager. Imagine that, a person who’s full time job it is to manage your daily schedule. I am considering getting one myself. All interested parties please mail your resume to: Box 68, Nkwanta, V/R *note: compensation will be paid in yams.

Then I found out Carter wanted us to give a brief report on the present state of the Guinea worm eradication program. He didn’t want to hear statistics, just personal accounts of what’s happening in the program. Well I nearly Hershey squirt my pants when I heard about this briefing I was to give. Madaleine, the PC country director, offered to do the briefing for us but both Adam and I felt comfortable doing it. I took solace in the fact that I am a badass 24 year old chief and he was just a frail 81 year old has-been who can’t manage his own time. I was cool as a cucumber after that little epiphany.

When I first saw Jimmy on the evening of October 15, it felt surreal. He ran by us and apologized for being late (he was 20 minutes late which is early by Ghanaian standards). We all stood there dazed until someone remarked, “that was Jimmy Carter.” I couldn’t believe it. He was much smaller than I expected. There’s no way this great man could be only 5’7’’ (officially he’s said to be 5’9” but I think he’s lost an inch or two to old age).

What he lacks in height he makes up for in grace, wit, and charm. His firm handshake surprised me as it betrayed his gentle demeanor. He wore a tan blazer, light polo shirt, brown slacks, and loafers. He spoke like a professor, carefully choosing every word. And the Southern accent gave his words a cadence reminiscent of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Like a true gentlemen, he stills refers to his wife as “darling.”

We all sat down on couches and chairs in the Ambassador’s living room. Pamela Bridgewater, the US Ambass., began briefing Carter on the present status of Ghana in the world. She called Ghana a “model democracy” and a “major business hub of West Africa.” To which Carter chimed in, “You bet it is. This place (Accra) looks like New York City after spending a week in Monrovia (Liberian capital).” The Deputy Chief told Carter about the strained relationship between Rawlings & Kufour – the former and current presidents of Ghana, respectively. Madaleine then gave a quick overview of Peace Corps Ghana and our partnership with the Carter Center. She introduced Adam and me then the floor was ours.

Adam Weiss is a second year volunteer from Wisconsin. He had been working at the national level as Guinea worm coordinator for PC Ghana. His report was centered on the structural and institutional problems that hamper the eradication effort. It was largely critical so we decided beforehand my report would be more upbeat; we wanted to sound hopeful about the challenges ahead. Adam finished. Carter thanked him. Then all eyes were on me.

I took a deep breath and started telling him about my village. He asked where exactly Agou fie was. When I said Nkwanta district, he smiled and said he’d been there. I went on to describe some of the activities I’ve done with community groups to raise awareness about GW. For men I said soccer games have proven to be the best way to mobilize large audiences for the health message. For children the school is a great forum. I told him about GW Jeopardy we play. With the women it’s difficult because they are so busy doing housework all day. But they are most vital to eliminating the water-born disease because they fetch the family’s water. I told Carter I’ve found that women will show up to meetings when I offer to paint their nails. They especially get a kick out of painting my nails. I then showed him my white fingernails and purple toenails. He replied, “they look nice.” Everyone laughed.

I went on to point out that health education doesn’t mean a thing if it doesn’t translate into behavior change. I knew Carter had said he didn’t want to hear statistics, but there was one that I just couldn’t resist throwing out. I told him, “in 2004 there were 80 cases of GW in Agou fie. So far this year there have only been two!” Everyone in the room clapped. It was a glorious moment. I concluded by praising Carter’s program for laying the groundwork for future successful disease eradication programs. He jumped on that point and talked about Carter Center Nigeria’s present effort to eradicate river blindness, filariasis, and trachoma.

After I finished the mood in the room was noticeably elevated. In fact, the Econ. officer complained of having to follow the Peace Corps. When he finished Carter told us about the Liberian election. He said it was largely fair and peaceful. There was a very high voter turnout of approx. 75%. He said it was much closer than expected and would definitely go to a runoff vote (a businesswoman Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf ended up defeating soccer hero George Weah to become Africa’s first female head of state). But his optimism for the country’s future was cautious. No matter who wins faces huge, deep-seeded problems of corruption at every level of government, he explained.

For dinner we had steak, boiled potatos, tomato soup, and pomegranate ice cream for dessert. It was delicious. I sat far four people away from Jimmy so I couldn’t ask him the tough questions I really wanted to, like what the hell happened during the Iranian hostage crisis and why did those helicopters crash and what’s wrong with the Democrat party today. No, the mood was much too relaxed and casual to discuss anything like that. At one point he did give everyone a thorough, matter-of-fact update on the baseball playoffs.

My favorite moment at dinner came while we were eating the pomegranate ice cream. Someone asked if the pomegranate juice Pom is sold in Ghana. No one knew. Then Carter blurted out, “I have a lifetime supply of it.” Everyone turned their head with a collective ‘huh’? He went on to explain that during his ’80 presidential campaign the LA manufacturer of Pom was a Democrat and really wanted to defeat Reagan. He didn’t have a lot of cash so he promised Carter a lifetime supply of Pom. Carter says he always has crates of the juice in his garage “and they just keep bringing it.”

The humility of the man really shined after dinner. He requested all the cooks and servers to come out so he could personally thank them for a delicious meal. He even had his picture taken with them. I didn’t get an individual pic with him and I regret not asking for one. We did take a group photo with him – all the Peace Corps folk and the Prez. I’m still waiting for Madaleine to forward me the digital pic (one of the reasons why this email took so long to get out). Stay tuned. I’ll pass it on as soon as I get it.

Other than that life has been pretty mundane for the dev. Chief. Nana Lucas is still going strong. He’s complaining of a hernia now and says he can only sleeps a few hours at night. On a brighter note, I’m jazzed to see my friend Jennifer Wipf, who's visiting Ghana for 2 weeks. She wants to help teach at my school and get jiggy with the drummers.

I’m meeting her at the airport soon so the top ten will have to wait for another time. Next up: top 10 Ghana-American inverses

peace,
kris

meet the smalls

12 September 05

Friends & Family:

The good times keep rollin in Ghana. The rains have arrived and the yam harvest is bountiful. Ghana defeated Uganda 2-0, making it virtually inevitable at this point they will play in their first ever World Cup finals. I am presently in Accra preparing for the arrival of 50 Peace Corps volunteers on Sept 23.
I can't wait to see all their anxious faces at the Accra airport. And most of all, I can't wait to hear all the latest celebrity gossip, like what's up with Brad and Angelina. I hear she's moving into his Malibu bachelor pad. How could he do this to Jen so soon after their breakup?!

September also marks my one year anniversary overseas. Believe it or not, yours truly is no longer the newbie asking questions but the bushman answering them (or at the very least looking cool and pretending to know what I'm talking about). I have mixed feelings about the year remaining. At times I feel like I'm serving a prison sentence, shackled by poverty and deprivation. I go to bed dreaming of snowboarding and Monday Night Football and caramel frappacinos and Arby's curly fries. Other times I feel like I'm living in a tropical paradise. I wake up when I feel like it. I nap when I feel like it. I set my own work schedule. I don't have a professor telling me what to read and part of my "job" is simply hanging out with the locals -- lately I've been teaching several how to play texas hold'em poker. I guess you take the good with bad and just remember the grass on the other side isn't always as green as it seems.

To everyone I terrified about the vicious blood-sucking black flies, I'd like to set the record straight. A while back I wrote in my top 10 things I dislike about Ghana that the small biting flies can transmit a disease known as river blindness. I raised this concern with one of our Peace Corps doctors because I was getting bitten by these bastards a lot lately. She told me I have nothing to worry about because river blindness is not like malaria: one bite does not cause an infection. It takes many bites over a long period of time before one experiences the degenerative eye disease. It's more like the connection between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. One cigarette won't kill you, but smoking a pack a day for 20 years might. Bottom line: it's really only a problem for permanent residents, not visitors.

I'm happy to report all is well in Agou fie. The Agou-Kabiti soccer tournament is in full swing. Games are being played every Sunday, either against a nearby village team or between two groups in our village. Like a couple weeks ago, the Christians played the Traditionalists to a 1-1 draw. Married vs. unmarried players is also a fun one to watch. Scott, your village Potripor was supposed to have played Agou fie yesterday. To the winner I promised a new soccer ball. I wish I was there for that one. The games for prizes are intense (ie constantly on the verge of an all out brawl).

So what else has the newly enstooled development chief been doing besides organizing soccer games and playing Texas hold'em? Well, the bread oven construction has begun. We've found a friendly mason to show us how to make the dome-shaped mud oven. I've also found a few people in Nkwanta willing to share with us their bread making expertise after the oven is built. Producing the bread on a profitable basis is the main challenge left.

The community decided to purchase a sphygmometer for the health clinic. A sphygmometer is an instrument used to measure blood pressure, aka upper arm squeezer thingy. High blood pressure is probably not the biggest health problem in Agou but both the nurse and our stool father Nana Lucas argued that it is an essential component of an effective health clinic.

Secretly, I fear that the 77 year old Nana Lucas doesn't have many days left on this planet and the nurse wants to keep a close eye on his heart condition. He's lost a lot of weight and coughs incessantly. I wanted to take a picture of him before I left for Accra. He refused saying he didn't look good. Then everyone else within earshot was like, "well you can take a picture of us." So I got my camera and the people got in place. Just before I snapped it I noticed Nana Lucas stand up and sneak into the corner of the group. It was so moving I wanted to cry. Like a little kid, he just couldn't resist the excitement of getting his picture taken. I promise to say more about this remarkable man in the future.

Mostly, what I've been doing this time of year is spending time with my smalls. Smalls is what volunteers here call their small boys and/or girls who gladly help around the house with tedious chores. In return for fetching my water, clearing weeds, and doing the dishes, they get to eat with me, play American games, listen to my music, and their favorite past time: private tutoring or "do school" as they like to call it. I spend most of my time with three kids in particular: Kuma, Yema, and Mansa.

I did not choose my smalls so much as they choose me. When I first got to site I detested the idea of some kid half my age doing my housework. It reeked of child labor, like the tales of young children working in dangerous mine shafts you read about in history books. I wanted no part in what seemed a shameful aspect of African culture. I took pride in hand-washing all my clothes and fetching my own water -- both taboo for adult men to do.

But the smalls just kept showing up at my house. There would usually be a dozen or so. They don't have TV or Nintendo so watching the white man was somehow entertaining. This is a common experience for Peace Corps volunteers. Its known as the fish bowl phenomenon. You feel like you are Truman in "The Truman show." Unfortunately, the language barrier is particularly hard to overcome with smalls. Most have had little exposure to English and only occasionally speak it in the classroom.

Then Kuma came along. He is a 7 yr old second grader who understands more English than most Ghanaian adults. Initially, I overestimated his comprehension ability because he just said "Yes" and smiled a lot even when he didn't have a clue what I was saying (actually you probably do this too when you don't understand people). I had a special affinity for Kuma though because, like me in middle school, he was the hapless lil runt picked on by bullies. I would constantly hear "Kofi, Kofi, they are beating me. Sack them. The boys, they are beating me." I would allow him exclusive access to my porch as a safe haven from the bullies. He would just sit there quietly and smile as I did whatever. When I asked Kuma who he would kill if he had to kill somebody (I thought it would be funny to ask him because he's the happiest, most friendly kid I've ever met), Kuma smiled and said, "Mansa.” Really, why Mansa? “Because she do me the thing no good." Translation: she beats him.

Mansa is a smart, tall, giggly third grader. She was the first kid I tutored in Agou fie. I made a deal to teach her Math & English if she helped me with laundry (self-reliance is overrated). I'll never forget our first session together. I asked her to write her name at the top. She wrote, "My name is bad." I'm like no, no, no you're not bad. Then she goes, "well that's what my parents always call me." Later I realized her family name is Badu. She was just misspelling it.

Kuma has a half brother they call Yema (long e as in Yee-mah). I didn't like Yema at all at first. He is a skinny, tough little third grader who was usually one of the kids beating up Kuma. On top of that he's bossy and barks orders at others all the time. I understand why he's so bossy one day when I visited his house and met his mother. She was yelling at everybody to do this or that, barely cracking a smile to say hello to me. She also subscribes to the old school style of parenting with a stick. Once she was going to fetch water and she yelled something to me in Challa from 50m away. I had no idea what she said but her tone terrified me. I asked Yema to translate. He was sitting above me in a mango tree. Yema sheepishly muttered, "My mother says you should beat me for removing unripe mangos." I didn't know what to say to that. Never before had I met a mother who took joy in other people hitting her child.

But Yema is my boy now. Mostly because he understands my English better than anyone in Agou but also because this 11 year old is a damn hard worker. For almost every major project around my house Yema is my right hand man, my apprentice, and my homeboy. His favorite songs are Elton John "don't go breaking my heart," 50 Cent "in da club," Franz Ferdinand "40oz," and absolutely loves Lil John & Eastside boys "get low." And his bossy nature works well with my laid back demeanor cuz I'm not as good at yelling when kids misbehave. We're a good team. I lay down the law and he enforces it.

There's much more I could tell you about this trio of troublemakers but I'll wait until I have some photos to show you. For now just promise not to report me to UNICEF. I swear I never coerce these kids to do anything nor even to come to my house. Quite the opposite, it’s very tough to get them to stay away and give me privacy. These smalls are my friends and the relationship I have with them is probably the most meaningful aspect of my peace corps service thus far.

At the one year mark I really can't brag about much. My farm has been destroyed by hungry cows and goats. My partnership with the District Assembly has materialized nothing more than a long list of broken promises -- electricity is coming, another borehole well is on its way, household latrines will happen soon. Most of my students still don't know what 7 x 8 is. And the dramatic reduction of Guinea Worm cases is largely due to my predecessor, Steven. He's this guy from Ohio who worked for an American NGO that gives field workers motorcycles and money to actually put development projects into motion. But if I can touch the lives of a few little guys while I'm here, maybe help one or two of them come closer to realizing their full potential, then I'll return home happy because all was not in vain.

btw- I am coming home December 17 to celebrate Christmas and New Year's with the fam. Then back to the bush Jan 3.

I want to try a new format for the fun portion. Instead of another top 10, I present to you a "What’s hot, what's not in Ghana" list. Check it out and let me know what you think. I can elaborate on any you don't understand but for the sake of time I'm gonna leave that out right now.

hot: going topless
not: going bottomless

hot: Celine Dion & 50 Cent
not: Radiohead & Mozart

hot: Football (soccer)
not: Football (aka real football, sometimes erroneously called American football)

hot: national lottery
not: poker (outside Agou fie, of course)

hot: Jesus
not: Buddha

hot: holding hands with the same sex
not: holding hands with the opposite sex

hot: littering
not: trash cans

hot: your right hand
not: your left hand

hot: gin & schnapps
not: vodka & tequila

hot: carrying things on your head
not: backpacks

hot: flip flops
not: socks

hot: pito (millet beer)
not: Budweiser

hot: funerals
not: birthday parties


My condolences to the victims of the Katrina catastrophe. I think the disaster has made two things crystal clear: (1) the richest, most powerful nation is still no match for Mother Nature; and (2) America is still a developing country with many problems of its own, like say responding to a crisis the day it happens or maybe the next day. Maybe one of you can explain to me the slow response and utter incompetence of our elected leaders cuz I'm at a loss when I try to explain it to Ghanaians.

toodles,
kristopher

ghana hot, london not

26 July 05

Friends & Family:

I write to you after a glorious two week binge on the finer things in life. Yes, the Huston family arrived in Accra July 1st, reuniting with their long lost African son. Forgive me if it seems I'm gloating, but I'd like to relive the good times of this eventful month for you.

Highlights:
* Family survives ambush at Accra airport by drunken "do-gooders."
* Lunch with Ghanaian teacher who explains his theory that Americans are from outer space.
* My village Agou fie welcomes the Huston family in a grand and magnificent manner.
* Kofi Dateri (me) becomes Nana Kofi Dateri after being enstooled as development chief of Agou.
* Ma & Pa Huston donate large sum of money to the village, thereby dramatically increasing new dev. chief's capacity to develp Agou.
* My bro Ben scores game winning goal in soccer match played with locals.
* My bros Patrick & Michael brave a night in the bush at my bungalow. Mike meets Nana Lucas.
* Huston family survives 7/7 London bombings
* Ben and I visit every pub we can find and drink to our hearts' delight so as not to let the terrorists win.
* Patrick and I watch a new Star Wars movie that (finally) doesn't suck
* Phantom of the Opera performed at Her Majesty theatre breaks my 5 show streak of falling asleep during theatre plays & musicals
* Ben spends his last day in London watching the Tour de France on the telly in our hotel room, inadvertantly letting the terrorists win.

Now the news in more detail. The ecstasy of our family reunion was interrupted by a large group of "friendly" Ghanaian men who offered to push our luggage carts to our cars. The helpful men suddenly became shameless beggars when we got to our cars. Patrick did his part in eradicating African poverty by giving one man $10, a huge sum of money in Ghana. Fortunately, my ability to speak the local language helped us avoid a potentially ugly situation.

On our way to my village, we had lunch in Ho with two middle-aged Ghanaian friends of mine, a high school science teacher and a fridge repairman. The teacher Mr. Hawkay eloquently articulated his theory of why Americans are so much more technologically advanced and different from Africans: we are from outer space. This is why, he believes, Americans are so eager to explore and travel in space. My father helped refine Mr. Hawkay's theory by explaining how men are from Mars and women from Venus. Only time will tell, right?

My mother made a keen observation on the long drive to Nkwanta. She noticed just how many men (never women) were standing aimlessly by the roadside. They stood alone, without any conversation partner or any other discernible purpose/destination in mind. Sad but true. The only rationale I had for her was the high unemployment rate (15-20%) and the strong patriarchal nature of Ghanaian society. In sharp contrast I couldn't help but notice how few idle bums there were in the streets of London.

I think everyone would agree the most memorable and exciting day of the trip was the day we spent in my remote village. The people really rolled out the red carpet for us. Over 100 people attended the ceremony dressed in their finest attire, including numerous chiefs and headsmen from around the area. The Challa, Konkomba, and Bassary tribes all performed traditional drumming and dancing for us.

The chief of Agou Nana Nyarko gave his opening remarks. In essence, he assured my mom and dad their son was in good hands. He went on to highlight Agou's three major problems: education, health, and poverty. My parents generously decided to donate one million cedis ($110) to the primary school, one million to the local health clinic, and one million to help generate income, e.g. bread oven co-op. I'll keep you posted on how the money is spent.

The next item on the program was a surprise to me. They told me to take off my shirt, shoes, and glasses and come forward. The chief then asked permission from my parents to make a chief. My parents said it was ok. The details of the ritual get hazy from here on since yours truly was virtually blind after removing my glasses. What I recall is our stool father Nana Lucas pouring libations & praying, a live goat being slaughtered in front of everybody, me dipping my right foot in the goat's blood three times, a white cloth being wrapped around my waist, and sitting on a wooden stool three times. Then I recited an oath promising to fulfill the duties of a development chief. I don't think my mother has ever been so horrified and proud at the same time.

Then it was Ben, Patrick, and Mike's turn to represent America on the soccer/football field. There must have been 200+ people watching the game. My favorite part was just after Ben scored a goal, hella people rushed the field and congratulated him. They tried to lift Big Ben on their shoulders like a hero but their efforts were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, Ben's team won 1-0.

Later that evening Michael went with me to greet our stool father, Nana Lucas. Nana recounted one of the great Challa war stories for us. According to him, one hundred years ago the Challa people were attacked by the Ashanti. As natives, the Challas knew the land better so they fled to the highlands and gathered large stones in preparation for an invasion. When the Ashanti raiders came, the Challa rolled a number of large stones down the hill, killing Ashantis by the hundreds. The Ashanti left in defeat and the Challa became owners of the land now known as Agou. Whether its true or not, i don't know, but it was as entertaining listening to the story as anything you're likely to find on the boob tube.

Then off to London. We arrived early on the morning of July the 7th. Londoners were jubilant after just winning the right to host the 2012 Olympics. The mood quickly turned somber as four bombs rocked central London. At the time my family and I were waiting for a taxi only a few blocks away at Paddington station. What can I say? Islamic extremists tried to kill us. Better luck next time, bin Laden.


For purely selfish reasons I submit my newest top 10:

Top 10 reasons you should visit Ghana before London

10. Safety. London is a prime target of terrorism, like NY. Yet most terrorists don't even know where Ghana is.

9. Friendlier. At Accra's Cultural center I made countless friends trying to sell me crap. At Harrod's in London, not one person spoke to me for the whole hour I was there.

8. Less traffic. Ghana roads are full of goats and chickens. London roads are clogged with Masseratis & Mercedez Benz.

7. Beers are bigger. For 1/6 the price you get twice as much beer in Ghana.

6. Ghanaians love foreigners, British are arrogant assholes. Go visit Oxford if you don't believe me.

5. Time travel. London is like any other major US city; Ghana is like any other major US city 100 years ago.

4. When you say you went to London and didn't get malaria it doesn't sound as impressive.

3. The Ghana handshake. The only way to learn the symbiotic snap is by coming here.

2. Will anyone in London sacrifice a goat upon your arrival? Probably not.

1. London will put you in the poor house real fast. In Ghana, the purchasing power of the dollar will make you feel like a King/Queen.

Before my internet time expires let me express my gratitude to big Jon G for his package of soccer balls and LA times. Thanks bro! If anyone else gets their hands on 12 old soccer jerseys and sends them my way i'm pretty sure the people of Agou fie would erect a statue in your honor.

Seasons greetings to all, and to all a good night.
-kris

man no be god

5 June 2005

Friends and Family:

Today I spam you after a short trip to the charming town of Takoradi, a coastal metropolis in Western Ghana. Ostensibly, we were there for a five-day workshop sponsored by Peace Corps on how to improve our efficacy as health educators. Really though its more like a high school reunion as I have not seen many fellow volunteers since November. An orgy of gossip quickly ensues at these kind of functions as we find out who’s dating who, who suffered the most insidious illness, who lost/gained the most weight and so on.

I’m thinking of formulating a new West African weight loss plan. Sadly, it only seems to apply to men (sorry ladies). All the guys in our Water and Sanitation sector have lost weight. My buddy Nick looks great after losing 30 lbs. I too have dropped 10 lbs since January so thankfully I am no longer as morbidly obese as I was when I arrived. Calorie rich foods like meat and dairy are hard to come by in Agou. My diet consists mostly of what local farmers grow: starchy foods like cassava, corn, bread, and yams.

For all you Dr. Atkins disciples who blame weight gain on sinister carbohydrates, I say come to rural West Africa. The people of Agou fie live on carbs and they are some of the fittest people I’ve ever met (albeit many of the children are malnourished). Admittedly, they also live a much more active lifestyle than most Americans since sedentary luxuries like TV and automobiles are certainly not as commonplace.

Good news on the Guinea worm front: only one case in my community of 985 so far this year. Indeed, all of Nkwanta district has seen a dramatic reduction of Guinea worm cases in 2005. Last year in the month of January alone, Nkwanata district reported over 500 cases. This year only 26. Soon there will be fewer children suffering Guinea worm than sleeping in Michael Jackson’s bed.

No, Ghana has more serious problems than Guinea worm. According to the Nkwanta Director of Health, Ghana has one of the highest maternal delivery death rates in the world. Dr. Awooner claims six out of every 100 live births results in either the death of the infant, the mother, or both. I believe him. Just last week a woman in Agou who I had been helping apply to be a teacher lost her baby during delivery. Back in February a friend in nearby Potripor named Baba suffered the loss of both his step-mom and her unborn baby when a home birth went bad.

Fortunately, the Ghana government is doing something about it. Starting May 1st, all infant deliveries will be free of charge. The government hopes that removing the economic barrier to lifesaving hospital services will ameliorate this tragedy. The room of Assembly members burst into applause when the doctor announced this new policy.

The dispute between our elected Assembly member, Yahesu Raphael, and nine chiefs was resolved last month. As I said back in January, Raphael faced 11 charges of corruption and misuse of power by Nana Lucas of Agou fie and eight other local chiefs. Both parties agreed to avoid a costly court drama and allow the paramount chief of the Challa people, Nana Addo, to arbitrate the case. Nana Addo invited four neutral friends to help (I’m proud to say I stepped in when the Muslim man went to pray). He listened to both sides, allowed questions and testimonies from the audience, then deliberated in privacy with the four panelists and me over cold beer. We unanimously decided Raphael was guilty of all but two of the charges, which could not be determined on the amount of evidence presented.

The only matter of debate was restitution. Nana Addo felt that 2 rams, 2 bottles of Schnapps, and 1.2 million cedis was just. My favorite part is that he awarded himself 4 bottles of Schnapps and 6 beers for arbitrating the case. It was definitely an ‘only in Africa’ moment.

Before this puppy gets too big I present to you my latest top 10. A peculiar sight in Ghana that most newcomers comment on is the plethora of religious/funny/nonsensical storefront slogans. You see a lot of “God is Great,” “Jesus is Lord,” “Peace and Love” on chemical stores, barber salons , and drinking spots. Just about every taxi and passenger bus has a phrase or saying on it as well, like the one I usually take from Nkwanta to Agou, “the Lord.” The only place I’ve ever seen this practice in America is at a lake/ocean marina, where boat owners love to name their boat. Dad, have you inscribed “The cat’s meow” on ours yet? So here it is:

Top 10 Ghanaian storefront slogans

10. Don’t mind your wife chop bar (Kabiti restaurant)
9. Sweet Jesus Communications (Techiman)
8. No Hurry in Life spare parts (Nkwanta repair shop)
7. Thy will be done barbering salon (Cape Coast)
6. 1+1=3. Why? Provision store (Nkwanta)
5. still Expensive Jack & Tire Service (Ho town)
4. Uncle Bob I have a chance! (back of bus in Accra)
3. Kill Me (front of lg. cargo truck in Techiman)
2. No weapon fighting against me (you would understand why if you saw this public toilet in Accra)
1. Man No Be God Tourists’ Bar (Nkwanta)

I want to thank everyone who replied to my last correspondence. You have no idea how much it boosts my morale to hear from you.

Also, I want to inform you of my fledgling attempt to post these emails on the web at: www.ghanawormguy.blogspot.com

More posts to come, I promise.
-Kris

...........................................................
"I do believe that where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." --Mahatma Gandhi

curses and crocodiles

20 April 2005

Friends & Family:

Greetings from Ghana. I am fine. I hope you are too.

I am excited about the new pope Benedict XVI. Perhaps he will be more sensitive to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS on this continent and reverse the church's ban on condom usage. Its hard talking to sexually active teens and young adults about AIDS prevention and condom use when they are told every Sunday not to "discourage the creation of life" with such contraceptives.

btw- I know some of you are interested in ameliorating AIDS suffering. I have a friend named Simran Mahal who is training to run the San Francisco AIDS marathon in July. You can help her and those millions afflicted with this devastating disease by visiting aidsmarathon.com and clicking on the 'sponsor a runner' link. Her runner number is 0084. Any size donations helps.
The men in our group were told in training that if we wanted to avoid becoming HIV+ we have to stay away from prostitutes, simple as that. One trainer claimed there's a 60 - 70% chance Ghanaian prostitutes have the disease (and probably don't know it). I'm not sure of the scientific validity of this claim but I know I won't be touching any street worker over here with a ten foot pole.

So I've survived 7 months in the developing world. By the grace of God I'll be here another 19. I'm happy to report the mice population in my house has been eliminated by an adorable kitten named Snoop dogg (named so cuz he's a serial killer). He hasn't figured out how to catch the occasional bat that likes to fly around my bedroom, but its really funny watching his head follow the bat's every move. When I bought him, he was a tiny two month old. The driver of the lorry I take from Nkwanta to my village wanted to know why "my people" -- Americans I suppose -- like to keep these animals as pets. He said the meat was really good. I asked him if he would eat a friend if they tasted really good. He claimed Islam does not allow cannibalism. I think he missed my point.

Speaking of religion, I participated in a program called Worm week where you spend five days in a Guinea Worm endemic community and educate them on how to eradicate this disease. I went with a young Ghanaian guy named Latif to stay in a small rural village near the Volta lake called Ngawoe. Our host was a chain-smoking fetish priest with two wives and seven children. His name was Kweku (born on Wednesday) and he was one of maybe three people who spoke English in this community of approx 500. Everybody else spoke Twi, Konkomba, and/or Bassary.

We did some activies like a health talk at the haftime of a football game. We had the Konkombas play the Bassary for a prize of 2 ft stick of soap. I played with the Konkomba team the first half with the agreement I would play for the Bassary the second half (that way handicapping each team equally). After the first half, the Bassary said that didn't want me on their time. They were already losing 1-0 and couldn't afford my clumsiness. it ended up tied 1-1.

But what I found fascinating were the beliefs of these people with very little outside contact (most of Ghana has been transformed by missionaries). Kweku showed us the source of Guinea worm. It was a small, muddy pond where crocodiles live. Latif and I did the 2.5 km hike and saw a little 5 ft croc chilling in it. Kweku assured us the crocodile would not harm us as it was one of the gods of Ngawoe. He claimed, and he was serious, that if it had not rained it quite some time, they would kill a goat and feed it to the crocodiles. Before you could make it back to your house it would be raining. He had antelope horns hanging from his mango tree as did many others. They said it drives away the bad spirits (ie children) who steal the fruit before its ripe. He also said -- and surprisingly my counterpart Latif agreed with this one -- he could summon lightning to strike a person that has stolen something from him through a curse. Latif agreed wholeheartedly that lightning only strikes bad people guilty of some crime.

The saddest part was visiting their school. It was a mud brick hut with a straw roof, two chalkboards, no desks and no teacher. The teacher had apparently woken up early one day, harvest'd for himself a bunch of the farmers' yams and they've never seen him since. I wonder if he's been hit by lightning yet. Anyways, on the chalkboard was written: "January 8th, 2004" and below that "A B C D E F G H I N M Q O R P." We laughed but really this degree of ignorance is what keeps so many Ghanaians impoverished their whole life.. and its not funny.

This is why I continue to focus on primary education in Agou fie. Its really hard though. One day I felt I needed to be more authoritative and I saw a bunch of kids with shirts untucked and unbuttoned. Well, I like to wear my shirt untucked so I let that slide but I told everyone they must button up their shirt before entering the classroom. I looked at the one most conspicuous violator Kpadal Lasam and he gave me a pathetic "forgive me I'm poor" look, showing me his shirt had no buttons. I don't like being strict anyways.

Without further ado, I present to you my newest top 10. Last time it was what I liked about Ghana. This time its what I don't like about Ghana.

Top 10 things I don't like about Ghana

10. being poor.
Most people here live on less than a dollar a day. I live on a little more than $5/day (we recently got a raise) so I'm relatively well off but i still feel dirt poor. For example, I can't afford Corn flakes cereal cuz the box is a full day's pay. I would love to buy a soccer ball for the neighboring village of 1500, Dawa akura. But a good durable ball is 100,000 cedis (~$11) over here, too much for a pauper like me. I've realized I need to make unpleasant sacrifices to make ends meet like no pizza when I'm in Accra or Tamale if I want to internet for an extended period of time. It sucks but I'm learning to be frugal which is a skill I didn't have when I got here.

9. black flies.
These nasty little critters come out when the wet season gets into full swing - June to October. They're very small, but they take a big bite out of your flesh; so much so that without even noticing I'll look down at my feet and there's blood where the black flies landed. On top of that some species of black flies cause river blindness. The victim doesn't usually become blind but eyesight deteriorates to the point of someone's vision like me without my glasses. But glasses cannot remedy this disease. The chief of Agou fie, Nana Lucas, got river blindness back in '84. He likes me because I am the only person in Agou he can recognize before they speak. I'm white, everyone else is black.

8. affectionless couples.
Don't get me wrong, I don't like the couple necking in front of me just as much as the next guy. But you almost never see any physical affection between Ghanaian husbands and wives. No kissing, no holding hands, not even hugging. I'm not saying it doesn't happen and obviously they're getting it on cuz every family has 5+ children. I'm just not accustomed to such apparent indifference to a loved one.

7. inescapable heat.
I grew up in the Phoenix valley. I know how to manage the heat: get out of it. Find shade, A/C, or a nice big pool. The challenge here is when it gets hot its hard to escape the heat, at least in a place without electricity. Honestly, from 11a - 2p its too hot (95+ F) for me to do anything but rest under a tree. I usually break from school between 11-12 and head home for the day. The worst is when its nighttime and its so hot I'm laying in a pool of sweat in bed trying desperately not to think about the heat. Its ok, sleep always triumphs eventually.

6. being called "obruni" by the locals.
They say it means white person and they don't mean to be insulting, but its gets really annoying after the 500th time a chorus of kids chant it at you. Its rude and disrespectful, which violates two core principles of Ghanaian culture. (1) respect your elders and (2) be kind to foreigners. By and large, Ghanaians are the friendliest, most generous and hospitable people you'll meet. But this is one exception and its just something you have to learn to live with.

5. public transportation.
its slow. You have to wait until cars are packed to twice their capacity. Then you sit crammed next to a mom with a child on her lap for hours on a long, bumpy bad road. To make matters worse, the cars are typically old and just on verge of breaking down completely. I am no longer shocked when I sit in a tro (bedford van that sits 16-20 but only has 12 seats) or taxi that has nothing that works on the dashboard. No odometer, no radio, no A/C, not even a gas gauge. The drivers just have to know & remember how much they put in and how far that will take them. This is one aspect of Ghana that some Americans understandably would not tolerate (don't worry, mom, no tro rides when you visit).

4. woman workload.
they work from sunrise to sundown. They sweep the compound, cook meals, walk a mile to fetch water with their infant strapped to their back, then wash clothes, then pound fufu.. and so on. They're always busy doing something while the men get off easy. They go to farm in the morning, do some weeding then relax under a tree until their food is prepared for them. Men often tell me I need a wife, not for sex or love but for their labor (though they won't say this explicity). Its a very patriachal society here and you have to be sensitive to it, but you can also work to change it small small.

3. police barriers/security checkpoints.
they don't really exist in America so again I'm not accustom'd to it. But they rarely do more than collect money (not for the gov't but for themselves) from overpacked tros and cars with safety hazards. You dash the officer and you go on your merry way. Once we had to clear out of a big bus and they searched through everyone's bags because this police officer with a AK-47 was drunk off power. Its also cuz I've read too many bad things happening at security checkpoints in Israel and Iraq, but thankfully Ghana is not a war zone.

2. litter and pollution.
Its everywere. Public outdoor trash cans don't exist here. I think I have seen three. The roads here are lined with empty water satchets, food wrappers, plastic bags, etc. And cars are not subject to the same strict pollution controls as American cars so once in a while you'll get behind a car that just smothers you in black smoke. Its a serious public sanitation problem and one of the reasons why the Peace Corps is here.

1. child labor.
this is a sensitive issue so I have to be careful how I describe it. We, Americans, look at child labor with disdain and disgust. Children should be in school or playing with their friends, not selling water at a tro station or clearing weeds with their father. But I've been here long enough to recognize that its not from ill will but from necessity that children must work. A family living in extreme poverty relies on the productivity of each of its members. There's no social security check coming in the mail when you reach a certain age in Ghana. Social security is called having kids. The more you have, the more help you have around the house and on the farm. Its a luxury that children don't work in America and its a sad reality that it happens here. I'll have to leave it at that for now.

Okay, I know I probably just made Ghana sound like hell on earth. I want to say that Ghana has many, many redeeming qualities that far outweigh the negatives. Violent crime is almost non-existant here. The people here love to share food, help you in any way they can, welcome you into their home and treat you like family. No where in America can you find strangers gladly willing to carry your luggage for free. At least I've never encountered this in the US.

So don't get a negative impression of Ghana from the above list. Its a great place to live and I'm happy here, I really am. But it has its problems just like anywhere else in the world. You know our country tends to kill a lot of innocent civilians in countries that never attacked us. That, in my mind, is far worse than black flies or being called 'obruni'.

A big thank you to everyone who sent me packages and letters. I promise to write back but be patient. The mail system is extremely slow (that's number 11 on the list of dislikes :)

Take care. I miss y'all muchisimo.
yours truly,
Kris

ps. for packages mail to:
Peace Corps HQ
PO Box 5796
Accra North
Ghana, W. Africa

for letters mail to:
PO Box 68
Nkwanta, V/R
Ghana, W. Africa

...........................................................
I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.
-Henry David Thoreau, "Walden"

beating the gongong

28 February 2005

Friends and family:

I hope this message finds all of you in good
health and high spirits. I'm in Tamale for a
Gunea worm meeting so I have a brief opportunity
to reconnect with the outside world. I just
found out "Million Dollar Baby" swept the
Oscars and Morgan Freeman won for best
supporting actor. Its about time that
guy gets some long overdue recognition for his
acting. But c'mon, "Napolean
Dynamite" didn't win anything. I swear justice
on earth exists only in name.

As I reflect upon another month living in west
Africa, I'm finding that this
place feels less and less exotic and more and
more like home. The confusion
and novelty of the transition is wearing off
and the stress of being a
stranger is subsiding. Community integration is
coming along steadily as I
find my place in scheme of things. For the most
part, the locals are
realizing I'm not an outsider with a lot of
cash to solve their problems
like most foreign aid workers that visit. I'm
just a poor dude like them
with an interest in their culture and some
ideas on how to improve their
quality of life.

Lately, I've been focusing my energy mostly on
improving the education
system of Agou. But to say  "education system"
is a bit deceiving as it
would imply something like that exists in the
community. Well, technically
there is a 3 classroom school building funded
by World Vision. There's a
beautiful new 8 seater latrine just finished
for the school (funded mostly
by the Danish gov't). There's even a full time
teacher paid a decent salary
by the district Ministry of Education. And yet,
every weekday I would pass a
completely empty school. It was mind boggling.
I could not understand why.

The chief, Nana Lucas, blames the teacher. He
claims Jacob is "a wicked man"
who either refuses or is too lazy to do the job
he's being paid to do. Jacob
claims the parents are to blame because they
send the children off to farm
rather than to school. According to him, the
misguided parents prefer the
short term benefit of farm labor (ie food) over
the long term benefit of
education. Its sad but true that children here
do a lot of work to help
their parents get by (both household and field
work) but the longer I lived
in Agou, the more I agreed with the chief.
Jacob, I think, is weasling his
way out of work by blaming the parents and the
district for not providing
enough teachers.

Its true that one person cannot be expected to
educate 100-150 primary
school children. But what about two or three
dedicated individuals? That's
the question I sought to answer last week when
I said I'm entering the
classroom. It was this question and a few
incidents that lead me to want to
teach. Two weeks ago there was a 3-day funeral
ceremony for this 30 yr old
man that died suddenly from an unknown cause.
Then just last tuesday, an 18
month old girl died after showing severe
flu-like symptoms. Tests are being
conducted to determine the cause of her death,
but the mother already thinks
she knows. She claims a "juju man" stole the
cloth her child was wearing at
the funeral and performed "juju"  (black magic)
on it. The girl was healthy
before the funeral, lost the cloth, then fell
ill shortly after Yaw
Okumasi's funeral.

This kind of ignorance is rampant in my
community. I have the chief's son
telling me if I eat too much cassava I'll go
blind. Now I always check the
change I'm given by market vendors because
often its incorrect. And they
told me not to worry when a fat 2ft ft snake
entered the roof of my house
because "green snakes are harmless; only worry
about the brown and black
ones." I read some snake literature and found
out, no, it very well could've
been a green mamba or a green bush viper, both
poisonous and prevalent in
Ghana. (btw- mom, there aren't any black mambas
in Ghana. they are only
found in southern & central africa) I didn't
get bit or anything but I did
get fed up with the lack of education in my
community.

So last Sunday, I told Nana Lucas to bang the
gongong drum and tell everyone
school is starting Monday, feb. 21. I didn't
see or hear the gongong drum
banging but I did see throngs of students show
up monday morning. The
message reached them somehow. I've never seen
Jacob so stressed out.
Suddenly, attendance mushrooms from eight to
eighty students at his school.
I had been talking to Jacob for a while about
my decision to teach primary
school so it wasn't a complete surprise. We
agreed that I would have to
teach upper primary (grades 4-6) because the
younger grades would understand
very little of my English. In theory, English
is the official language here
and thus is supposed to be the only language
spoken in class. In practice,
however, and esp. in remote rural villages,
english is rarely spoken in the
classroom.

I carried a stick to class the first day but I
did not intend on using it in
the way Jacob does. I use it as a pointer. He
uses it to smack disobedient
kids on the head. I cannot bring myself to hit
this cute little guys. I love
seeing them line up in the morning and sing
songs like "the devil is a liar"
in unison. They sing the national anthem and
say the Lord's prayer everyday
before class begins. Then they do this marching
song and march into the
classroom, swinging their arms in single file
lines. They keep asking me to
teach them songs, but I really don't know many
folksy tunes for them. All I
could think of was "America, the Beautiful"
which they liked a lot. I just
looked up the lyrics to "La cucaracha" and
can't wait to teach them that lil
jewel. If any of you have any suggestions,
please send them my way.

So I prepare a simple Math, English, and
Science lesson for 15-20 students
each day. There's 40 total in grades 4-6 and
every day attendence improves.
We're learning multiplication tables, parts of
a sentence, and nutrition
when I return. I also spend an hour or so just
reading lil books like
"Chichi and the Termites" or "Mustafa's
beautiful daughters." Discipline is
a challenge because I'm not a very
authoritative person and keeping their
interest is hard cuz they understand very
little of what I say (imagine
taking a physics class in Mexico, that's what
it seems like sometimes). Its
challenging but its I enjoy it. As long as G.
worm is not much of a problem
and my role as assembly member is on hiatus
(there's only 4 district
meetings a year), I will continue to teach, and
more importantly, recruit
more teachers.

As promised though, here's another Top 10 list.
Last time I listed 10 things
I miss most about America. Well now here's 10
things I love about Ghana.

10. ubiquitous breastfeeding women. Not that I
love seeing bare breasts --
which I do -- but I really like to see this
healthy behavior is practiced so
much and so frequently without any shame or
embarassment. There's nothing
more nutritious for an infant and yet so many
mothers in the US opt for baby
formula. Also, the mothers here carry babies on
their back using a cloth
wrap wherever they go -- cooking, sweeping,
fetching water, and so on. The
infant has a lot of intimate contact with the
mother, a very good thing I
vaguely remember from psych class.

9. Wood chewing sticks. For a long time I
wondered why the hell all these
people had wads of wood in their mouth in the
morning. it turns out the
sticks, made of some kind of soft wood and cut
into small rectangles, can be
chewed and then used as a toothbrush. I forget
to brush my teeth all too
often but now if I don't have time or forget, I
grab a wood stick from my
bag and chew it. hey, its better than nothing.

8. Communal care for one another. This is more
true in smaller rural
settings than the city (and probably similar in
the states) but in Agou, the
village is like one big family. When I hurt my
hand and wrapped it up,
everybody wanted to know what was wrong. It can
feel obsequious and annoying
to a Westerner like me at times, but when I
need something, like water or my
clothes washed, its not hard to find someone to
help.

7. Ghana time. No rush, no hurry. Everything
happens at a snail's pace over
here so you rarely have to hurry to get
somewhere or rush to finish
something. I am a slow person and I like this
pace of life very much. It can
be frustrating when setting up meetings though.

6. Castle Milk stout. you can't beat this cold,
rich, creamy beer. Its not
served cold in Agou cuz there's no electricity
but whenever I travel to
Nkwanta, you bet your balls I'm drinking a
castle.

5. Farm animals roam free. I eat meat here. I
don't have a problem with the
way they are treated   here before people eat
them because they are free to
go wherever they want. Cows do their cow thing.
A chicken can be a chicken.
The goats butt heads all morning and sheep cry
for their mother when they
get separated. They search for food during the
day and return to their
owners house at night. Then we kill and eat the
animals when we're hungry or
there's a special occasion. Its the circle of
life. hakuna matata

4. drumming and dancing. I'm not much of a
dancer but its hard not to dance
when everyone else is and there's a damn good
beat. At church, on holidays,
even funerals you find they bust out big drums
and dance the day away.
Learning to drum is one of my goals while I'm
here. I'm not too musically
inclined so we'll see how that goes.

3. The fruit. I've never tasted juicier, more
succulent pineapple, papaya,
and mangos than the ones over here. The oranges
have a lot of seeds and
bananas aren't that much better but the
pineapples alone justify the cost of
a trans-atlantic flight to this country.

2. People are very resourceful. You have to be
when you don't have much.
Coke bottles are not given to consumers. You
drink the liquid then return
the bottle to the seller. Old bikes tires are
cut up and used in innumerable
ways as elastic bands. Food containers are
constantly re-used, eg the jam
jar becomes the sugar storage jar after its
finished. My roommate Max would
be very impressed.

1. Respect for elders. It actually exists here
and it is a beautiful thing.


My internet time is almost up but before I go I
want to make sure y'all have
my new mailing address:

Kris Huston
PO Box 68
Nkwanta, V/R
Ghana, W. Africa

I visit Nkwanta weekly so I will be much
quicker in replying to your snail
mail now.

godspeed,
Kris

honorable Kofi daTeri

27 January 2005

Friends and Family:

I am now in Tamale in route back to my site, Agou fie.
I have one last chance to send out an email before I leave
civilization and return to the bush tomorrow morning.
I wrote a lengthy mass email in Accra last night only to
lose the entire thing due to a late night power outage.

It was entitled 'death and discombobulation' and it was about the
overwhelming exposure to death I've experienced lately -- mostly plant &
animal death, but plenty of human death as well. My heart goes out to the
family of Sarah McNeil, a close friend of my brother Ben and a genuine
sweetheart to everyone, who died last month in a car crash in northern
Arizona. I also expounded upon the existential crisis and confusion
resulting from such loss of life, but it was a somber and morose message and
perhaps someone upstairs didn't like the negative tone. Thus, I promise to
make this a happy one and focus on the good that's happening in my new life.

So I am feeling 100% better as I write this email. I had been in Accra for
several days at the request of our Peace Corps Medical Officer. Last week I
had a fever, sore throat, and acute pain when swallowing. All were symptoms
of a painful, pussy blister on the joint of my right thumb that had become
severely infected. The blister was initially a second degree burn I got from
a hot coal that landed on my hand as I fanned my coal pot -- its a little
square grill you fill with charcoal that I use to heat water and cook my
meals.

The burn was no big deal, but then I bought a big 20" machete (cutlass they
call it here) and decided on Xmas eve I needed a more direct route to my
source of water, a hand pump borehole well. So I set out to clear 300 ft of
2m tall grass. I was successful in killing the grass and clearing a path
Indiana Jones style, but I also managed to kill my hands. I was having so
much fun whacking the weeds I was completely oblivious to the blisters
forming on my fingers and the ruptured bloody blister from the burn. The
problem came when I tried keeping the thumb blister covered and clean. It
was in a bad spot and the region of Ghana I now inhabit is particularly
dusty and dirty this time of year. Long story short, antibiotics saved the
day and now I can return to my work in Agou.

What is my work? Well, everything but Guinea Worm eradication it turns out.
Guinea worm is the least of their problems in my community. It *was* a big
problem but an NGO called the Carter center has drilled several dozen
boreholes in the Nkwanta district and people are by and large using them.
Borehole water comes from groundwater below and is naturally filter'd by the
soil and sand, producing a remarkably clean drinking source. It is also
completely free of Guinea worm since there is no way infected people can
contaminate the water below ground.

Agou fie has two boreholes. They are both much more convenient than fetching
from the Bonakye river, ie potentially contaminated water. but one was not
working when I arrived. I met a borehole technician in the nearby town on
Nkwanta (pop. approx 20,000) the first week I arrived -- along with about
500 hundred other people... remembering names has been a constant challenge.
But my community could not afford the repair. Unfortunately, I found this
out after I had him come out and repair it. It was like $60 for parts,
labor, and transportation but 500,000 cedis is a lot to ask from poor ass
peasant farmers.

So my holiday season consisted of going door to door with the chief's son,
greeting the people of Agou fie, and then asking them to fork out 2,000
cedis. We were successful and even collected more than enough to start
saving for the next project -- a 10 seater public pit latrine. Right now I
watch in horror as people pretty much shit wherever they feel like it -- of
course, not too close to main paths or anyone's house but not always.

Moreover, they elected me to be the treasurer of their WatSan committee. The
beauty of moving to a new place is you can re-invent yourself. Back home, I
was horrible at managing money. I was constantly selling books/cds and
borrowing from friends to pay for groceries. But they don't know that and
now I'm actually much better at managing my finances. I have to be. I only
get $30/week to live on... which makes me obscenely wealthy compared to my
fellow villagers.

So good news: last year this time -- in dec of '03 and jan. of '04 -- there
were 120 documented cases of GW. This year we had one case in december and
none that I'm aware of yet this month. So I can focus on more pressing needs
like the primary school that one teacher for 200 students and the teacher is
in Cape Coast more than he's in Agou. A disease called Bilharzia is ravaging
the nearby river community of 2,000 named Kabiti. Bilharzia is a parasite
that causes painful urinations and even blood in the urine and sometimes
stools for 6-12 weeks. You get it by swimming or bathing in the water and
its spread by people urinating/defecating in the river. For this reason, the
PC tells volunteers we are not to swim in any of the fresh water bodies of
Ghana, which is might tempting during this hot, dry season with
temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees F everyday.

I was also able to branch out and visit ten communities surrounding Agou fie
to address their development needs. The opportunity came as I found out our
District Assembly member, Raphael Yahesu, is suing nine chiefs for a letter
they all signed expressing a Vote of No Confidence in the man. The lawsuit
claims defamation based on false allegations, but I happen to think he's
full of shit and a corrupt politician. Either these nine chiefs are
fabricating 11 allegations of corruption, ranging from stealing money from
school projects to selling land that did not belong to him to settling
police disputes without contacting authorities OR this one man of less than
forty is lying. The very fact that he has the money to hire a lawyer and sue
nine chiefs leads me to believe that at least some of the corruption
allegations are probably true.

Being an exotic American white man, I was invited to the end of the year
District Assembly by the paramount chief of Agou. The meeting is strictly
meant for elected officials but surprise, surprise our man is no where to be
seen. So I'm filling in for him. The assembly members are called 'honorable'
and my new Ghana name is Kofi da Teri because I arrived on Friday (Kofi is
the male Twi word for Friday as you recall) and "da Teri" is Challa and
means "for everybody." Hence, a running joke in Agou that I am the new
assembly member. Don't worry, mom and dad, there's no party affiliations --
its akin to a local city councilmember.

So I've being doing what Raphael should have been doing. I just finished a
10 page development project proposal for the Agou / Kabiti area (pop.
approx. 6000) based on my discussions with the chief, elders, and community
leaders of nine communities. I have a rad translator named David Bakapo that
fluently speaks eight languages and understands 15. He's 42 and has two
wives and three children. His English is excellent as he was raised by
Catholic missionaries from America in the northern region of Ghana. He also
like hard alcohol a lot. He likes to start the morning with a shot of
ampeteshie - an 80+ proof alcoholic drink made from distilled palm wine
which comes from palm trees. Needless to say, we bonded immediately.

All is well in Agou. I can't wait to get back but I want to apologize for
not communicating sooner. Its very hard to find internet anywhere nearby. No
mobile phone service for any time soon. and the roads are horrific. But
keeping writing letters. I received many encouraging letters when I visited
the Accra office and soon I'll have a PO Box in Nkwanta I can check weekly.

As promised, I want this email to be fun and happy so in honor of my fav.
late night comedian, Letterman, here is a top 10 list.

Top 10 things I miss most in America
10. my Ipod (music soothes the soul. luckily my mom sent a package full of
cds and I just bought a cd player so I can remain sane)
9. Movie theaters (I found movie rentals and vcrs/tv but no surround sound
auditoriums)
8. cheese. Real cheese, not the crap they sell in the local market called
'Laughing Cow'
7. Anonymity. Here I am a public figure. I get noticed and watched
everywhere I go simply because I am a novelty. In at least fifteen years,
there has not been one PC volunteer to live in this godforsaken district.
6. Jack in the Box. La Burrita in Berkeley is a close second. I've yet to
find any Mexican food restaurants in this country.
5. flush toilets and sinks. a rare sighting in poor areas, ie where I live
4. Ice - scotch just isn't as enjoyable at room temp, nor beer for that
matter
3. Internet accesss. Its hard to find and difficult to quit, much like crack
cocaine... not that I know anything firsthand but from what I hear its
like..
2. Pizza. hot, cheesy NY style is available but extremely rare and only in
big cities
1. New York Times. this is self-explanatory for anyone who knows me well.

Next time, look forward to Top 10 things I love about Ghana and Top 10
things I hate/dislike/ don't understand or am not accustomed to ( so as not
to sound ethnocentric).

take care and carpe diem cuz you never know when your day will come.

happy trails,
Kris