Akwaaba

1 October 2004

I made it! I write to you from Techiman, Ghana after what has been two of the most amazing weeks of my life. I apologiz for not writing sooner but communication has been difficult to say the least. As with many aspects of life in Ghana, the phone system is more advanced than I had expected but still frustrating to 'obrunis' (foreigners) like myself. Many Ghanaians have cell phones but service is spotty. I may get one if there is service at my site, but I won't know that until late Nov. when I'm sworn in as an official volunteer (I'm just a trainee right now).

Fortunately, internet cafes are common and relatively cheap (~$1/hr) in larger cities like Techiman. I will try to write as often as I can but relax if you don't hear from me for a while. Life moves at a slower pace over here :)

I am currently living with a family about 3 miles outside Techiman in a community called Krobo. The family I live with is huge. There are 11 people. The mother, father, 5 boys (Paul - 30, Charles - 26, John - 18, Isaac - 15, and Simone - 12) and 4 girls (Jen - 26, Evanis - 20, Lydia - 23, Vivian - 2). Those are their English names. They also have Twi names based on what day of the week they were born plus the family name, Amponsah. For example, my homestay mother is called Akosua and my father Kwodwo -- akosua is the female name for sunday and kwodwo means monday. They call me Kwabena cuz I told them I was born on a Tuesday (mom could you confirm that?) btw- here's a fun fact I know you'll enjoy, Erik. Kofi is the male name for Friday. Which means the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who's from Ghana was born on a friday.

The family, like most Ghanaians I've met, are really wonderful people. They waive to me from the street, greet with a smile, and love to shake my hand. I walked through a primary school yard the other day (ages 6 - 12) and the kids were pummelling one another to shake my hand. I must have shook about 60 hands that day.

The first day I arrived in Krobo I went to two funerals -- there were four that weekend. Funerals here consist in a bunch of people clothed in red and black, listening to eulogies set to high life music (very reggae-like), and warm greetings with a handshake. I must have shook 100 hands that day. Unfortunately, hand washing is not as common a practice as hand shaking (enter us, health & hygiene volunteers). My solution so far has been to get as many people to "pound" -- close fist touching of the knuckles -- as possible. I tell them that is how we greet in America. My next goal: teach the people here Texas hold' em poker.

Overall, my impression of Ghana thus far has been bittersweet. The US dollar goes a long way here (unlike Britain). In fact, I am literally a multi-millionaire in the local currency [ $1 = 9,000 cedis ]. To give you an idea of the local cost of living, a loaf of bread is typically 5,000 cedis, a gallon of gas 20,000, a soft drink 3,000, and a bottle of Guinness goes for 7,000 cedis. And yes, beer is abundant over here so I doubt I will have any trouble 'integrating' into the community.

At the same time, the poverty here is unavoidable. Home plumbing is a luxury few here enjoy. I have gotten use to bucket baths and actually prefer them to cold showers -- what the hotels we stayed at offered. The toilet situation I have not gotten use to. The smell in the outhouse is enough to kill small mammals and used toilet paper is collected in baskets to be burned later. Open sewers running along the roads in town are common as well. Let's just say there's plenty of work to be done for a water sanitation volunteer.

But I don't want to paint too grim a picture of this place. It is much more developed than I had anticipated. For example, there are supermarkets in Accra that sell just about anything you could find at Safeway or Albertson's in the States. Malaria is all I heard about before coming here but mosquitos are rarely encountered. I have yet to see one and have only been bitten once (don't worry, mom, I'm still taking the weekly malaria pills).

I'd love to send pics but my digital camera was pickpocket'd on a crowded bus in Accra. Fortunately, one of my homestay brothers, Charles, was kind enough to lend me his 35mm until I get a new one. One more hill in the rollercoaster that has been my life these past two weeks.

I leave for Tamale in northern Ghana tomorrow. There myself and three other volunteers will visit a current PCV doing work on eradicating the Guinea worm -- a project I very well may be doing. I'll keep you posted as I learn more about what I exactly I am doing here. Confusion and disorientation have been a reccuring theme for me and everyone in our group -- 31 of us total, only one person has quit so far.

I'd love to hear from y'all. My address is:

Peace Corps Headquarters
PO Box 5796
Accra North, Ghana

and keep me posted on the election news. I heard Kerry won the first debate. I know he's behind in the polls but don't doubt the comeback kid has it in him to win in Nov. Mom and Dad, please send my absentee ballot for me if it comes to the house. And make sure Mikey is present to witness it cuz I don't trust you Bushees.

happy trails,
Kris