Good...Bad....Who Knows?

So this past week has been eventful and I could have started out saying, "I have good news and bad news". The good news would be about the first vacation days I have taken since coming to Ghana. Spent some relaxing time on the beach at Green Turtle Resort and Anamoba Beach Resort enjoying meditation while listening to the ocean play with the shore, good food, swinging in a beach hammock or laying on the sand reading a book, AND a real, hot shower! I also stopped at Kakum National Park and braved the Canopy Walk (pull it up on the net) where I was enthralled with the view and gripped by a bit more fear than I thought I would be while walking on 7 perfectly safe rope and planck bridges strung between platforms built WAY up high in the tallest trees. And I visited Cape Coast Castle in Cape Coast. That is one of the places where slaves were kept while waiting to be shipped to the Americas. Hearing about the horrible way these people were treated while actually standing in the place where it happened brings up emotions ranging from disgust to outrage, fear to deep sadness, disbelief to wonder at what the spirit can survive. I was surprised to feel the guilt of the white race each time I looked into the face of a black person after my tour. It gave me the opportunity to release a healing, loving, blessing into that area that has affected so many people over hundreds of years even into today.

The "bad news" would be that the day before Thanksgiving, I was robbed in Accra. While standing with a group of other Peace Corps Volunteers just 200 feet or so from our hotel, a car pulled up close to us, slowed down, and a man leaned out the passenger window and grabbed my backpack which was slung over my left shoulder. They then sped off and, unfortunately, the strap caught on my watch. Next thing I knew I was being dragged down the street at an increasing rate of speed. Fortunately, I managed to free my arm after 50 - 100 feet and escaped with only cuts, bruises, and abrasions along with a sore shoulder and side. One of the other Volunteers (thank you Joe) saw what was happening and grabbed my bag, trying to get it away from the thieves. For his trouble, he was also dragged part way down the street and did not manage to save the bag. Fortunately, he was not hurt seriously either.

One reason that I wasn't too upset about losing my backpack, digital camera, 2 pair of pants, phone charger, backgammon set (Hey - I thought some people here might like to learn the game!), 2 USB drives, and assorted other stuff is because of some GREAT advice I got from a PC Vol. who had been here awhile when I first got here. She told me that if I wanted to save myself a lot of angst, I should find peace right away with the fact that by the end of the 27 months, EVERYTHING that I came with would be lost, stolen, broken, or used up. I adopted that attitude and now when something goes, I just figure it was time for that object to join the list.

Anyway, I said above that I "could" start this posting out by saying "I have good news and bad news" but I won't. That's because I have discovered over the years that we never truly know what is "good" and what is "bad". Often what seems to be "bad" leads to something we consider "good" and vice versa so there is really no value in spending any time or energy in judging events to be good or bad. Just greet the events that Life brings you with openness to see the opportunities and give thanks for Life itself.

As a last note, I hope nobody takes this assault as a reason to avoid Peace Corps or traveling into other cultures. I certainly personally know a lot more people that have been assaulted, robbed, or otherwise attacked in Phoenix than I do in Ghana. I continue to believe that everywhere you go, 90%+ of all the people will be good, kind, decent people and there will always be a few who are otherwise. We can't let the small minority dictate to us how we live.

Love and Hugs from Ghana...........Larry

Impressions of Northern Ghana

A young girl running next to a bus in 100-degree heat to make sure someone gets there 15 pesewa (15 cents) change for the Pure Water sachet they bought through the window when the bus stopped at a traffic light.

A farmer with a dusty, torn open shirt coming down the dirt path from his farm after sundown – his broad chest glistening black with sweat, his ever present cutlass (machete) bound to the burlap bag of maize on the back of his bicycle with a rubber inner tube, and his bright, white teeth in a broad grin as he greets me.

Three market women pounding fufu together in a perfectly syncopated rhythm.

Children walking to school in their uniforms – blue for the Jr. Secondary School, brown for the primary school, and kind of Gingham for the pre-school.

Strong, graceful women walking back into town from the bush with a pile of firewood balanced seemingly effortlessly on their heads.

A baby suckling his mother's breast on a crowded bus while the stranger beside her holds her other baby.

A cargo truck filled so impossibly with people hanging off every side that you just know it will topple over when it hits one of the innumerable deep ruts in what is supposed to be a road. Sometimes, it does.

Fishermen sitting and patiently repairing their nets like a seamstress sewing a dress.

Incredibly beautiful and varied cloud formations morphing into brilliant textured canvas for the evening's sunset.

An outside wall bathed in fluorescent light so thickly covered with flying insects that you cannot tell what color the wall is.

Baby goats cavorting with each other just the day after they were born.

The Muslim call to prayer issuing from a dozen mosques' speakers at 4 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm and again at 7:30 pm.

Men napping under trees during the heat of the day.

Students standing and saying, in unison, "Good Morning Sir. How are you Sir?" when their teacher walks into the classroom.

Women in their brightly colored two-yards resembling a garden of beautiful flowers.

A gathering of chiefs in their traditional smocks and hats sitting at the feet of the Paramount Chief, heatedly discussing the case before them in their native tongue.

Magical Kapok and majestic Dawadawa trees.

Celebrations – weddings, passing outs (graduations), naming ceremonies, enskinments, festivals – happening at the Bode (town square) or at someone's family compound. And the seemingly daily funerals.

Ebunto (the riverside) – busy with women doing wash, women carrying water in huge basins on their heads, beggars, canoes with travelers, tourists, bicycles and motos, goats, sheep, and cattle, huge bags of maize, cassava, and groundnuts headed for the Tamale market, smaller canoes with fishermen, and people bathing or cooling off in the river.

The barrenness of the dry season being engulfed by the jungle-like greenery of the rainy season.

Children running barefoot moving a large wheel rim next to them with a stick – bringing to mind the time in America of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

People sleeping on the ground outside of their rooms because it is too hot to sleep inside.

The sky turned brown with the desert sand and high winds of the Harmattan (Dec / Jan).

1/2 built homes everywhere.

The beauty, mystery, and assurance of the Milky Way and Orion in beautiful night skies.

Chop bar "fast food".

Infants sleeping in impossible heat wrapped to their mother's back in a two-yard.

Barefoot girls of all ages playing / dancing Ampe.

Futbol (soccer) matches on dusty fields.

A small boy with doe's eyes leading a blind woman beggar to cars at a traffic light.

These are just some of the images that will be with me the rest of my life connecting me to Ghana. I cannot do them justice with these few words but I hope they bring you some feel of what my world is like.

I AM the Grinning Idiot!

You know the one I mean. He / she might be a German / Spanish / Italian / African / Russian / Japanese tourist or immigrant and they are asking you for directions or other information they need as they try to function in a foreign land without knowing much of the language. You are, somewhat, patiently trying to tell them what they need to know or maybe you’re just trying to figure out what it is they are asking. You repeat your statements / questions clearly and slowly but the only response you get is a big smile, lots of nodding, and maybe “yes – yes”. After a while, you realize that this person has absolutely no clue what you are saying and you think to yourself, “This person is just a grinning idiot.” THAT’S ME! I have become the grinning idiot! Try as I might (well – OK – I could do more to learn the language), I have just a rudimentary grasp of Gonja and to have any chance to understand what someone is saying, I have to keep saying, “Jande, langa malaga Boen boen” (“Please, say it again slower”). Then I stand there, grinning, trying my best to figure out what they are saying, nodding, and saying the Gonja equivalent of “yes, yes”. The usual outcome is that I walk away bemused, uninformed, feeling totally inept and recommitting myself to REALLY make an effort to learn this language.

After 27 months of this experience, I HOPE I will become much more patient and kind-hearted with others in the same boat when I return to the States. I implore you to do the same. It is no fun being the grinning idiot!

I am also going through another humbling experience; however, this is one I do have some history with. You know how it is when you are first learning a new job or hobby? Well, I have just begun learning how to weave. Figured I should get personally involved in the activity that Daboya is known for. Plus, this way I can weave gifts for my loved ones back home…..who may not love me quite as much when they see the quality of the gift they get!! And for any of you loved ones reading this, don’t consider this a promise. I may find weaving WAY too frustrating to ever get anything actually woven!

At this point, I am on step 1, which is simply walking back and forth with the thread, winding it around posts in a particular (simple) pattern to gather it in a specific configuration from which I will make the yarn. I have watched this process dozens of time. Seven-year old children do it without a second thought. I have already screwed up too many times to count! Even so, as I move on to the steps that take skill, dexterity, and intelligence, I’ll probably wish I was back on step 1. I’ll keep you informed as I progress.

We are transitioning from rainy season to dry season and, although we have still had some rain 3 out of the last 5 days, the clouds are getting much thinner and the heat is being turned up. So it will be getting hotter but the good news is that we're only maybe 5-6 weeks from the start of Harmattan season. The winds come down from the Sahara desert, the dust blots out the sun and it is the coldest time of the year (not to be confused with Minnesota!) and therefore my favorite.

Our temporary Visitors' Centre (they spell it the English way here) is ready and waiting for furniture. We had a successful fund-raising in town (but no bake sales, car washes, or yard sales), bought the necessary boards, nails, and plywood and the carpenter should be building the furniture this week. We're also having curtains, a drape, and a tablecloth woven out of fugu (the local weaving product) and a local signmaker will be doing our sign so we're keeping a lot of the money we raised right here in the community. When we get the sign up, I'll take pics and get at least one (it takes forever!) downloaded to this site.

Ok - that's it for now. Someone said something about baking cookies.............

"NCHU ABA GA"

For those wishing to learn Gonja, that means "The water is rising big time!" During rainy season, two things happen in this neck of the woods - it rains (DUH!!) and Burkina Faso (the country to the north of Ghana) releases water from their dams since they are also getting a bunch of rain. Combining those things is what caused the flooding in Daboya last year. This year, we have been lucky and it hasn't gotten quite as high but the river sure looks a LOT different than it does in dry season. Though no homes were destroyed this year, many farms were lost to the flood waters. The good news, however, is that the water level has now started to drop so we should be out of the woods (well....out of the water) now. I have been gone for a week at a conference in Kumasi (Great hotel, good food, a swimming pool, nice weather, and NO MOSQUITOS (Hallelujah!) so I had a wonderful time and the sessions (HIV / AIDS) were interesting and helpful) and will be here in Tamale for 2 days so I'll see for myself the level of the river on Monday when I return and take my canoe ride to Daboya. In dry season, that is a 5 minute ride. When I left for Kumasi, it took 30 minutes!

Good news: I bought another cell phone. For those who never erased my number, it stays the same. Together with the country code and everything, you dial 011 233 27 311 0018 to get me. Just remember there is a 4-5 hour time difference (dependent on daylight savings) between here and the East Coast. It is later here, so 9 pm East Coast time is at least 1 am here ...... bad time to call! I bought a case and a strap for this phone so I WILL NOT LOSE IT!

Bad news: I did not get chosen as part of the training team for the new PC trainees but I have found my peace with that and I'm sure I'm just where I need to be. I'll have two of the trainees with me at Daboya for a few days to get a feel for what this Peace Corps life is all about and I'm looking forward to spending the time with them.

Great Big Thank Yous to Rob, Carol, Mike, Phyllis, and Weezy who, along with Kara, sent me VERY nice birthday CARE packages. UNLIKE Kara's, which got to me around my birthday in mid-July, all of these took two months to get here and then all came at the same time! So I went from no snacks in my house to being a veritable convenience store!! You want brownies, I got 'em. You want Oreos, Hershey's Almond Kisses, Peanut M&M's? I got 'em. How about Licorice AllSorts, Good and Plenty, Gummi Bears, or Marshmallow Candy? I got 'em. All in all - over 20 kinds of snacks and that doesn't include the REI style dinners and desserts and non-food items that now line my shelves. I am literally in Fat City!! So Thank You, Thank You, Thank You !!!!

As for Tourism - things are moving along. We have our whole 34 person Management Team put together, Constitution finalized, committees formed, and work started in many directions. Also putting together our budget right now. We may be needing some small financial assistance and Peace Corps has a vehicle to allow people to donate money to a specific project. Watch for details on this blog site when we are in position to launch our request. You could also let me know that you are interested in supporting this project by sending me your email address and I'll create a distribution list to notify when we are ready.

HEY - speaking of good news - I see that my Arizona Cardinals WON their season opener against the 49ers. Undefeated so far, baby!! The bad news is that we play the Dolphins tomorrow. That's my big brother's team and one of us is going to have to lose. I always have mixed emotions when we play the Dolphins or Giants (my niece Kara's team) or Green Bay (my buddy Mike's team) but I have to admit that I feel worse if the Cardinals lose than if their teams lose!!

Believe it or not, 6 days from now will be the one year anniversary of my arrival in Ghana! Amazing how fast the time goes by. It has been a good year with memorable experiences - most good, some not so good, but all will make good stories for when I get back to the U.S.

That's it for now. Keep those cards and letters coming.

"Kasa chau asau".........("Love is better than things")................Larry

ICE CREAM!! Real and otherwise

I have finally tried those freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches, courtesy of my sister Carol and my friend Phyllis, that I had seen for years at the REI stores. They are a little weird but not bad at all - especially when you are in Ghana and probably 3000 miles from the closest Haagen-dazs store! I tried putting mine in the freezer but that really didn't make much of a difference. Anyway, thanks Carol and Phyllis for sending them. I even held off eating either of them until my birthday so I could have it as a treat!

But tonight I hit the jackpot! I'm staying at the Peace Corps sub-office in Tamale. Another PCV from my group, Alicia, came over with a box of Vienetta Brownie ice cream! We have indeed seen this rare animal here in Ghana but it is outside the bounds of a Peace Corps budgetso it has always stayed on the other side of the glass. She was in a store this evening as the store managers were about to throw this treasure out due to the fact that it had long passed the expiration date. After much animated pleading, cajoling, and just plain begging, she convinced them to give it to her ..... FREE.... but with a stern warning that she would probably get sick since it had expired in March. She, of course, shared this warning with me but anyone who knows me knows that I never pay attention to expiration dates.....right, Kara??
Hell - March was less than 5 months ago. That's still this year! In light of the fact that the fridge is broken here, we decided we would just have to eat it all NOW. It was SO GOOD!!! If I get violently ill later tonight, it was still worth it!

But you probably didn't come here just to hear about my just desserts so what else can I tell you? Progress on the Tourism project is going slow primarily due to the fact that we are in rainy season. This slows things down for two reasons. First - this is the busiest time of year for farmers and just about everyone has some kind of farm here - at least enough to grow food for their own family. So that means you can only have effective meetings on Friday (since this is a Muslim community, nobody works on Friday). Secondly, Ghanaians don't come out in the rain. So, if you have a 4:00 meeting and there are ominous clouds at 3:00, nobody will come. No, really ....NOBODY will come!! That wouldn't be such a big deal except that THIS IS RAINY SEASON!!! It doesn't rain EVERY day but on any given day it's a pretty good bet that you will get some rain at some time. I just have to hope that it's not anywhere close to our meeting time. Given all of that, we are making some progress. At our next meeting, I'm hoping to form committees to begin work on the 7 projects that we have identified as those we can complete or get a good start on by the end of this year. They are: rounding out our Tourism Management Team by adding two representatives from each of the 13 areas of Daboya, completing our constitution, creating a visitor registration area, defining and pricing our tourism "products", identifying home stay and stand-alone guest accomodation sites for overnight visitors, implementing a sanitation plan to provide a clean, healthy, attractive environment, and providing a clean, decent toilet facility for visitors. If we can at least get a good jump on all of those by January, we'll be going in the right direction.

I'm also hoping to be chosen as one of the 2nd year PCV's (that's right folks - by the middle of next month I will have been in Ghana a year!!) to participate in the pre-service training for the new batch of PC trainees who will arrive in September. I found the contribution of the PCV's to my training class to be very valuable and would like the opportunity to pay that back. Plus, I think it would be a lot of fun ..... a lot of hard work, but a lot of fun. And since I spent 13 years as a trainer I think I have something to offer in that capacity.

OK - that's it from your roving reporter in Ghana. Sending you all my love and hoping everything is going well in the land of Ben and Jerry's and Baskin Robbins (I know Sherry, Haagen-dazs is the only REAL ice cream....but I'll take anything I can get!)

Love and Hugs..........Larry (Chief Quarterswura)

THE MARINES HAVE LANDED!!

More exactly, the U.S. Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy have landed…in Daboya! No, this is not an invasion to take control of Daboya’s amazing smocks, although our guys in uniform did purchase some smocks, jackets, sack dresses, hats, wall-hangings, and even a hammock made from Daboya’s famous textile cloth to take back home with them. This was entirely a mission to help out Ghana and it was a huge success. It was a combined effort of the Marines 23rd regiment, 1st battalion, Alpha / Bravo / Charlie companies, Air Force 404th Medical battalion contingent, Navy field medical personnel, and a 5 man Army Med Cap Vet Tech team (apologies to the Army and Navy – I didn’t get their Regiment numbers). It consisted of a mix of reservists and active duty guys and gals under the joint command of Lt. Colonel Kindorf (reserve) and Lt. Colonel Leonard (active), both of whom represented their country and their outfits exceptionally well. Well………except for that attempt at cultural dancing by Lt. Col. Leonard!!! (Just kidding – he actually did pretty well) The word “Marines” conjures up thoughts of an elite fighting force and indeed they are that but they also do much more in the world that usually goes unnoticed. Since I have now noticed, I wanted to spread the word. Part of their mission here was to help train Ghanaian soldiers at the Ghanaian military training camp just outside of Daboya. But in addition to that, this was a humanitarian mission (I found out that they do a LOT of these around the world). The Air Force doctors who accompanied them set up shop for medical, dental, and optical care and saw hundreds of people from Daboya and the surrounding villages absolutely FREE OF CHARGE! This is the type of medical attention that these people would have absolutely no access to in any other way. But they did not stop there. By special arrangement with the Paramount Chief of Daboya, they brought over specialized veterinary equipment and treated a great many goats, sheep, and cattle while in the midst of a downpour! After all, the motto of the Marines is “Adapt and Overcome”. And to top off the medical aspect of their service here, they donated about $15 – 20,000 of left-over medical supplies to the Daboya Medical Clinic which serves about 45 villages. This included pre-natal vitamins, reading glasses, drugs, bandages, and many other items desperately needed in this area. This part of the mission also required Marines, working shoulder to shoulder with Daboyans, to be out in pouring rain racing against time so the cardboard boxes wouldn’t fall apart completely before they got delivered to the clinic. One Marine, Cpl. Jacob Pillion, was soaked to the bone as he taught Daboyans how to form a “bucket brigade” to get the supplies from the truck to the canoes (yep, we had to haul it all across the river in canoes!), the canoes to a tractor, and the tractor into the clinic. And he was not required to continue with us once the supplies were delivered across the river. He chose to stay with it and see the job completed. But you had to be here to see how much further this visit went toward creating understanding and friendship, which is the foundation for peace and the Peace Corps. mission. Many of the Marines and the Ghanaian soldiers have formed close friendships and the Marine, Navy, Army and Air Force personnel who got to visit Daboya and some of the other villages were enthralled with learning about another culture. You had to see the smiles as they watched the joy of the children RUNNING to have their pictures taken with U.S. military personnel. Or Marines carrying supplies on their heads like the Ghanaians do. And you CAN see Capt. Rico Reyes learning a new dance from the children (video attached)! The trip was wrapped up with futbol (read “soccer”) games between the U.S. military personnel vs. the Ghanaian military and then the Daboya Town Team vs a combined U.S. / Ghana military team. Speaking of soccer, one of the officers (Larry Cox of Pearland, Texas) is arranging through St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church to send 200 soccer balls to me to be distributed among the villages in our area. That will bring HUGE smiles to the faces of sooooooo many children (and adults!) in an area where “futbol” is second only to breathing as a requirement of life. Thank you for your generous heart. I could detail who won the war games and soccer games, but it really doesn’t matter. Everyone was a winner as a result of this interaction between U.S. military personnel and Ghanaian soldiers and villagers. Especially ME since I got to enjoy some American food (even if they were MRE’s) including chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies! A very special Thank You to Capt. “Bud” Colby who spent a LOT of time shepherding me and Musah around the camp making sure we met the right people, stayed fed and watered, and generally had a ball while also making it possible for us to make the right connections to help our Daboyan friends. I got to meet a bunch of men and women (including Col. Rick Hirsch of my home town of Phoenix!) that I am proud to say serve my country. Thanks guys and gals. A big salute goes out to all of you.

What does it mean when they say.....

Well - here we are in June. In Arizona, I would be resigning myself to 4 long hot months. Here in Daboya, this is when the rains come and cool things off .... relatively speaking. It never actually gets "cool" here but it is a LOT cooler than March and April!

I met a most interesting woman in Tamale. Her name is Madame Hajara and she owns a hair salon. Her husband died when her 3 children were young and it made her very aware of how difficult it can be for children with just one parent, not to mention orphans. She decided there was something she could do and began taking in orphaned girls to train them how to be hair dressers so they would always be able to care for themselves. She has 13 apprentices right now and there are hair dressers all over Ghana who have been trained by Madame Hajara. You can see the joy in her face when she opens her photo albums and shows you pictures of "her girls". Anywhere you go in the world, you can meet wonderful people and it's fun to share their stories.

A few terms you should know if you visit Ghana:

What They Say//What It Means

It's just there.//It's anywhere from 100 feet to 100 miles in that direction

I'll come after 3:00 prayers //I'll come sometime between 4:00 today and 4:00 next Tuesday

The bus leaves at 4:00// The bus leaves sometime between 4:30 and 8

He took her books.//He took her books. OR He took his books. ORShe took her books. OR She took his books. There is no pronoun gender differentiation.

I'm coming (always said as they're going the other way//I'll be back....some time.

I will do that, by God's grace//I will do that........or I won't.

Yes, I understand //Yes, I understand....or I don't

Yes (When you have asked, "Would you like this or that?".)// They didn't understand the question

His fadda and my mudda had one fadda, one mudda.//I'll get back to you on this one if I ever figure it out!

There are lots more of these but it's late and I haven't had much sleep the past two days so I can't think of anymore. Maybe next month.

Have I mentioned how beautiful the night skies are here? Even if I have, it's worth mentioning again. Actually, they remind me of the night skies on the Navajo reservation in northern Arizona - far from the lights of the city. Sometimes I just put my mat outside and lay on my back and watch the stars. I recommend it for everyone.

Would like to say more but I'm tuckered and going to call it a night.

Love and Hugs to you all.

THINGS I HAVE LEARNED

1. Ice Cream in Daboya is literally cream over ice – kind of like a snow cone.
It’s really pretty good….but Baskin and Robbins will still be one of my first
stops when I get home!
2. Closest thing to actual ice cream in Ghana is Fan Ice which is kind of a cross
between ice cream and cake frosting. Not too bad. Fan Choco is a chocolate
version. I like Fan Yogo best which is frozen strawberry yogurt. In the big
cities you can find “Abruni” stores (stores for westerners) that have real ice
cream.
3. Whether at Yankee Stadium or a dusty futbol field in Daboya, there are always
food vendors at athletic events….it’s just that the food is very different!
4. HUGE appreciation for water!! And it’s only 4 cents per barrel!
o You do NOT know how good cold water is until you live in a hot, dusty
country with no ice cubes and you haven’t had cold water for months.
o A cool bucket bath on a hot day
o A hot bucket bath on a cold morning during Harmattan
o A cool river to swim in
o Schisotomiosis is a good reason NOT to swim in that river
o Glorious rain to cool things off when you haven’t had any for 3 months
o Pure water to make ice (I LOVE my fridge!) so I can have iced tea
5. Rural villages cancel school for a whole week to have school track meets
o The students all run barefoot
o The “track” is not nicely groomed sand or cinders
o No matter where you live, people love a winner and forget who came in second
o There are some wonderfully naturally gifted young people in rural areas who
will never have the opportunity to develop their athletic skills
6. People get just as obsessed with their cell phones in Daboya as they do in Phoenix
7. If you live in a Muslim community, ALL meetings must be planned to start after
prayer times and end before the next prayer time. This gets tricky for afternoon
meetings since prayer times are at 1:00, 3:00, 6:00, and 7:30. It wouldn’t be
too bad except for “Ghana time”. I had my first Community Meeting on Friday.
Forty people were invited and it was scheduled for 3:30. Eleven came and they
showed up at 5:15. Sooooo…my 90 minute meeting became 45 minutes.
8. Goats cough ....and climb trees.
9. Arizona evaporative cooling techniques work in Daboya (thank God!). During the
hot season, it doesn’t get cool enough inside to sleep until about midnight or
later. However, using what I learned in Phoenix, I can drape myself with a cold,
wet sheet or towel and, since the ceiling fan is directly above my bed (by
design!), I can go to bed earlier and have nice evaporative cooling.
10. Playful flirting between men and women is easily identifiable even if you don’t
understand the language
11. Change your living context and what you thought of as deep rooted absolutes may
change. I’ve seen strict vegetarians eat meat daily here. I’ve seen pet lovers
eat cat and dog and love it (don’t worry Kara – your Uncle Larry hasn’t eaten
either!). I’ve seen people who have been warned since birth about bones eat
chicken bones, fish bones, and pretty much any bones that came with food they
eat. I have personally brushed an army of ants off of my bread, knowing that I
probably didn’t get them all, and then eat it. I’ve seen people who were very
clean and sanitary back home eat stew out of a communal bowl with several other
people with everyone eating with their fingers. And I don’t even want to talk
about the toilets…..
12. Cashew nuts grow out of a fruit on trees. The people in Daboya eat the fruit
but not the nuts. Those they sell to processors – mostly for export.
13. No matter where you are, most people are nice, some people are jerks, and some
people are just plain bad. Though you have to be cautious, you can’t live your
life watching out for the bad ones.
14. When you accept early on that you will probably lose everything you brought (a
lesson I got from a Peace Corps Volunteer who has been here a year), it makes it
much easier when things are lost, stolen, broken, water damaged, or just plain
used up. Not a bad lesson to take back to the States. Your possessions aren’t
that important ….REALLY!
15. Bright white smiles in beautiful black faces will ALWAYS make you smile!
16. Everybody loves Independence Day – whether it happens to be 7/4 or 3/6 – and 3/6
is just as hot in Daboya as 7/4 is in Arizona! I couldn’t believe that those
kids stood and then marched in a parade for hours in that heat!
17. There are no nubile, topless women dancers during dance festivals – at least not
in Daboya. Those old movies LIED!!

OK – I think that’s enough for now. I’m enjoying communicating with you and reading your responses. I hope it’s fun for you too!

ENSKINNED!!

WOW – I never even thought I would meet an African village Chief and now I are one!! My “enskinning” date was April 4, 2008 and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with them removing any of my skin! It is called that because Chiefs sit on animal skins when they meet. In southern Ghana, they sit on stools and it is called being enstooled. Hey – I’m not making this up!!

Anyway – I want to send my deepest appreciation and my most heart-felt apology to Cheri, Dahria, and Alicia who saw my original announcement with the date set at 3/31 and really went the extra mile (actually, a LOT more than one mile!) to come and be with me during the special day. They even brought gifts (no gold, frankincense, and myrrh though) and put up with one of the hottest days of the year. You guys are terrific and I am very glad you got to see my site but sooooo sorry that it was the wrong day. I know there were many others who would have loved to have come but it’s not like jumping in the car in the States and heading cross town! I still felt your support. And Cheri was amazing….she spent her last Ghana cedi to come BACK on Thursday so she could be there for the ceremony. Seeing her there really made me feel like I was seeing not only my other PCV friends but also folks from back home so an extra special THANK YOU to Cheri. It was so nice to share that day with you.

I also have to mention the HUGE appreciation I have for my counterpart and friend Musah, even though he has no access to internet and will probably never read this. Talk about going out of your way! He not only educated me on what to expect and my responsibilities, his family did all of the cooking (I was responsible to feed what seemed like the whole village!), he opened his family compound for the celebration following the ceremony since my place is too small and too far from the Chief’s Palace, he arranged for all the gifts to be delivered to the 35 or so Sub-Chiefs that are due gifts, he helped me shop for all of the food, he wove my smock and hat (see pics if I can figure out how to post any!), and he was an absolute rock of support even though there was a lot going on in his life at the same time. Seriously do not know how I would have done it without him.

So, what was the day like? I was at the Chief Warrior’s house at 6:30 am just to receive any Chiefs that might want to greet me early. The drums called me out to start the ceremony around 9:30. The same way that you can’t recall a lot of details about your own wedding, I’m not sure I remember much of the ceremony but I do have video for those who I see when I get home! I know there was drumming and ceremony including donning my new smock, hat, and walking stick and at the end, they picked me up, put me on the shoulders of a horse of a young man (who is in my English class so he daren’t drop me or he’d flunk for the year!) and then carried me in the midst of a screaming throng to Musah’s compound. I remember the ride clearly enough because, although I smiled all the way, I was scared to death! They don’t just “carry” you, they bounce you like a trotting horse! Put that together with the uneven, unpaved ground and the milling throng and I smelled the recipe for disaster. Visions of my epitaph crossed my mind: “Here lies Larry Pearlman – killed by a fall from the shoulders of a crowd honoring him”.

Of course no such fall happened, I was ceremoniously ushered into the compound and seated on a big cushion with young girls fanning me to keep me cool. I was VERY happy to have Cheri close by to talk to as my Gonja still does not lend itself to prolonged conversations! I sat there most of the afternoon as people came by to greet me, eat, and generally enjoy themselves. Late in the afternoon, the drummers came back and the girls from Musah’s school did the Tora dance for me. What a kick! Kind of a cross between the Bump (if you remember that, then you’re well over 40!) and Bumper Cars. Great fun to watch but I’m betting that several of those girls needed ice packs on their hips that night!

So now I am known as QuartersWura, which means Chief of the Quarters, referring to the hostel in which I live and the Teacher’s Quarters that are in the same area. Anything that relates to those places comes under my “jurisdiction” so I’m hoping no conflicts come up in the next 2 years!! I also have to wear my hat and carry my walking stick everywhere I go or I can be fined by the Paramount Chief! And EVERYWHERE I go, people greet me with shouts of “Garba” which means Chief. I’m sure the novelty will wear off after a while but it’s fun now.

Speaking of that, it IS fun but I also realize that it is a huge honor and I appreciate that. My Peace Corps supervisor, who has been in Africa for 5 years, told me that he has never heard of any Peace Corps Volunteer being enskinned (or enstooled) in such a short time so it is a responsibility and privilege that I take seriously.

Well – that’s the big news from my end of the pond for now. I’ll be in touch again soon.

Oh - And I am getting my cell phone back tomorrow! So for those who have been trying to or wanting to call me, you can, starting Sunday afternoon, 4/6.

Love you All …………QuartersWura

A Day in the Life...

Hi all! Last time I promised to give you a picture of my day-to-day activities and so I shall. But first.....THE BIG NEWS: There is Phone Service in Daboya (Trumpets blaring!)!!! Unfortunately, I lost my phone on a trip to Kumasi; however, someone found it and I'm hoping to have it back in a few weeks (hey - nothing happens FAST here!)so anyone who wants to will be able to reach me at 011 233 27 311 0018...probably by the end of this month.

Also - a word to the two friends who replied to my last posting. Ed and Alice: Yes, I got your wonderful package and enjoyed everything in it! I wrote you about it but I'm never sure if my letters will get there in 2 weeks or 2 months so I thought I'd also thank you here. Susie Q - Thanks for filling me in on all that is happening Stateside. I hope your Avalanche make a playoff run! And yes, I would love it if you would send me the new contact info for Serah in Cameroon. Never know when I might get down there. If you don't mind, I'll reply to your questions in this public format since it fits in with the theme of "what do I do all day?". I'll answer your questions first and then add details.

I THOUGHT I was acclimatized to the heat here but then along came March 1 and the REAL heat! It's kind of like when people from back East think it is hot in Phoenix in May and then comes June!! I realize now that I am going to HAVE to start sleeping outside. The cement walls and tin roof of my house just soak up the heat and then radiate it inwards all night. Even the ceiling fan doesn't really help much. Fortunately, I was warned when still in Phoenix and I went down to REI (shameless plug!) and bought a "Bug Hut". Hey ... I'm not making this up...that's what they call it! It's a very small tent made of mosquito netting that's designed to let you sleep outside free of bugs. I will try it starting tomorrow night.
Yes, the kids (of all ages) play a lot of futbol (that's soccor to you Americans!) in Daboya but no, I do not play with them. Hey - I think I'm in reasonable shape for 60 but I'm not going to try and outrun 12 year olds, much less 20 year olds! I'm not Jack LaLaine you know! My Gonja is coming along bre bre (that's small small)but a goodly number of people here speak English anyway. Since the official language of Ghana is English, all school classes are taught in English. Sure helps me get through the English class I teach!

As for my biking, I don't do any. Never bought a bike. I walk all around the village and there really aren't too many places outside of the village that I would bike to. At some point I may get one just so I can get around faster. It takes about 8-10 minutes to walk to "downtown" from my house and about 15 minutes to get to my counterpart's house or the river or the Chief's Palace.

As to supplies I could use (outside of goodies), I'm thinking that the vacuum packed camping meals they sell at REI and other outdoor places might be something even I can cook so those would be helpful and easy to ship.

So - what's my daily routine like? Well, I'll tell you how it has been but I think that is about to change. I get up around 6:30 and do my morning exercises and bathroom things and then decide what I want for breakfast. As you retired folks can probably attest to, it is amazing how much of your day gets eaten up by just simply living: making, eating, and cleaning up after 3 meals, laundry, fetching water (there's no running water here), cleaning (you HAVE to sweep every day or the dust will swallow you!), cleaning the water filter, and so forth. Then there is reading (which includes a TON of Peace Corps materials as well as spiritual and just plain fun things I like to read), maintaining written correspondence with many of you, journaling, and doing various games and puzzles just for entertainment (along with listening to CD's and the BBC on shortwave). And THEN there is what I am here for...interacting with the people of Daboya!! That includes the English class I teach to 15-18 year olds, shopping in the market, learning about Daboya by hanging out with weavers, dyers, sewers, farmers, fishermen, the market women, my good friend Musah and anyone else I come across in my wanderings, sitting in on the chiefs' meetings on Friday mornings, interacting with my tailor (had to have all my pants taken in from size 38 to 36, make curtains, and have some shorts made), my carpenter (built a wooden toilet, screen door, and support system for my room-divider drape), other teachers, religious leaders, and the postmaster (I now officially pick up all Daboya mail on my trips to Tamale). And that brings me to my travels. I have already been to Tamale many times, Mole National Park a few times, Damango, Bole, Sola, Kumasi, Kumasa, Sonya, Larabanga, Lingbinsi, Techiman, and Magnori. All of these trips are to see other tourism sites, meet with NGO's that will be assisting the project in Daboya, meet with government agencies, research possible resources, and, of course, shop for stuff I can't get in Daboya!

So ... why is that going to change now? Well, I think it is finally time to get this project off the ground. I met with the chiefs last week outlining a tentative 3 year tourism plan. Next week we will set up our first community meeting to open this up for feedback and input from the community. So now, part of my days will be working with the people in Daboya on all of the details of creating a first-class tourism experience: everything from basic sanitation to life jackets in the canoes, a visitor center to public toilets, marketing to providing cold drinks. There is a lot of work to do and I'm looking forward to it. Maybe some of you will visit Daboya some day as tourists and I certainly want you to have a great experience!!

I think that's enough for now. Smells to me like dinner is ready!

Love and Hugs from Daboya...............Larry

Daboya

It occurs to me that I’ve never told you all what Daboya is like. It’s a relatively quiet (I’ll get back to that “relatively” part in a minute) village of about 5000 adults and 4 billion children. The village has electricity but no running water. Fortunately, there is a well-developed clean water supply system in place so not a big risk here of the nasty things carried in water available from lakes, rivers, etc. Having been scared silly by the Peace Corps, however, I still boil and filter my water before drinking it.

There is almost no traffic here because the village sits on the west bank of the White Volta River…which has no bridge across it. Therefore, everything coming from the east has to get to Daboya by canoe once you get to the end of the road. It is amazing to me what they put on those canoes, but they haven’t yet figured out how to get a car across (I should start a ferry service!). You can get to Daboya from the west and north by car or truck (preferably 4WD) but only in the dry season and then you better bring an extra pair of shocks! As a result, there are virtually no cars in Daboya. We have bikes, motorbikes (they DO put those on a canoe!), and a few tractors.

There is an active market in Daboya so, unlike a lot of my fellow PCV’s (that’s Peace Corps Volunteers for the uninitiated), I don’t have to bike or hike for miles to buy any food. I can get yams, eggs, tomatos, onions, in-season fruit, and store-type items brought in from Tamale like spaghetti, tomato paste, sugar, salt, soap, toilet paper, Coke / Fanta, margarine, powdered or condensed milk, crackers, and several other items at our local market. There is also a wide (well – OK – “wide” is stretching it a bit!) variety of fish, poultry, and meat available but, being the kind of city boy who always thought that chicken just comes in shrink-wrapped, neatly cut pieces, I’m not ready to watch mine being killed and handed to me for butchering!! I’ll likely be pretty close to a vegetarian for the next two years! I also go to Tamale about twice/month and there I get a wider variety of vegetables and groceries.

Daboya is 99% Muslim so it has 2 VERY small Christian churches and about 1000 mosques. Now let’s get back to that “relatively quiet” phrase. Since there is almost no traffic and the teens keep their “Friday night colossal record dances” down to a reasonable roar, things are quiet here……..except for the 5 times/day of required Muslim prayer. Each one of those 1000 (OK, I’m exaggerating a tad) mosques has paging horns on top and it would be easy to hear the call to prayers from any one of them all over the village. Get them all going and I’m surprised my brother and sister don’t hear it in Florida! It especially gets my attention at the first prayer time…. 4 am! I must admit that I’m getting used to it. I didn’t even wake up this morning. Maybe the power was off………….

I am more (or less?) fortunate than PCV’s (remember that acronym?) in many countries because the official language of Ghana is English but don’t let that fool you. There are something like 70 regional languages in Ghana. In the big cities, most people speak English but not necessarily so in the villages. Still, enough people speak English here that I can get by with my limited Gonja. I’m also fortunate because 90% of the Daboya people speak Gonja unlike many villages where you may have to become familiar with 2-3 languages, or more, to converse with the locals.

Weather here is hot and dry (like Phoenix) with “seasons” that are basically hot and really hot (like Phoenix) and it only rains during one time of the year (like Phoenix except that the rainy season here is 6 months instead of 6 weeks). Feb – April is the dry season when it gets nasty hot (and unlike Phoenix, there is no A/C here!). May to Nov is the rainy season when it cools a bit. Dec / Jan is Harmattan season when the strong winds blow cool air and tons of dust (from the Sahara Desert). So far, I have only been here during Harmattan and I love it. The locals think I am crazy because I walk around in shorts and a T-shirt. They are freezing and I get asked every day why I’m not cold. Well – I figure (no thermometers or radio weathermen here) it’s about 70 degrees in the evening and maybe 50 on the coldest very early mornings. It’s considerably colder than that even in Phoenix during the winter!

Oh - and that elusive phone service is still not live in Daboya! Hopefully by the end of February!

Well – perhaps that’s enough for now. Let me know by reply to this comment if you have specific questions and I’ll answer them next month. Maybe I can also give you an idea of my daily routine at that time.

Ebore Ebuganya! (That’s Gonja for “May God see you safely through the night” and DON’T check the spelling!)

WOW - THANKS!!

The bible says, "Ask, and you shall receive". That really works! Thanks to those who sent Care Packages: Rob, Carol, Kara, Mark, Gail, Sharon, Kathy, and anyone who may have sent one that I haven't received yet. I am already REALLY enjoying the goodies, books, goodies, batteries, goodies, local newspaper articles, goodies, and, let's see........seems like I'm forgetting something........oh, yeah...THE GOODIES!! Made me very popular here at the Peace Corps sub-office in Tamale since this is where the packages come to and I'm a sharing kind of guy. Although you can be sure I hoarded plenty to take back to Daboya with me!!

Also thanks to those of you who have written comments to this site. I probably won't get an opportunity to respond directly but, believe me, I really appreciate reading your comments and knowing that there are those of you out there who enjoy reading this site.

CORRECTION: I gave an incorrect address for where to send letters, although if you use that address, they will get to me anyway but it would be better to use the correct address, which is: Larry Pearlman Box 30 Daboya-Tamale, N/R Ghana, West Africa. The address I gave for packages was accurate. I hope you wrote it down! I can't tell you how much fun it was to come to the sub-office and find those packages waiting for me!!

So......here's an update on Daboya:
Going through Xmas week in a small village where there is not a single sign of Christmas as we know it in the States is an experience. I mean, after 30 years in Phoenix, I’m finally used to no chance of a white Xmas but no lights, trees, tinsel, Santas, carols, or ads for toys? No pumpkin pie, turkey and ham, stringbean casserole, mashed potatos, and Alka Seltzer? No Christmas music in the streets, on elevators (oops – we don’t have elevators), or on the radio (oh wait – don’t have radio either!)? It was very different and, if it weren’t for the calendar, I would not have known it was Christmas. But I did have a wonderful Christmas morning. Mussah, Farouk, and I took a canoe and paddled down to the salt mine, which is actually just a very large beachy-type area where salt comes to the surface due to underground water. It’s a beautiful, secluded area and we walked quite a ways on the beach and then settled in on a comfy sand dune for biscuits and tea. After a bit of relaxation in the sand, we set off to explore a wooded area with wonderfully Dr. Suess-like trees (if I can figure out how to download pics, I’ll show you) and shady glens. I plan to revisit the area a few times during my stay in Daboya. Care to join me??

Been here about 6 weeks now and I can’t say I’m doing much on my primary assignment but I always do what I’m told and Peace Corps made it very clear that the first 3 months, and maybe more, are about integrating into the community and not “getting your assignment done”. So I go out almost every day and continue to draw a map of Daboya. This is taking a while because I’m really bad at it, but it’s coming along. While meandering, I meet all kinds of different people who wonder what I’m doing so it gives me an opportunity to let them know and meet folks. So far, it works best with those who speak English since my Gonja runs out quickly after “Hi, how are you? I’m fine. I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer and will live here for 2 years. Where can I buy a cheeseburger?”. To be fair, I have been meeting some of the people and organizations inside and outside the village that I’ll need to coordinate with so things are moving along even if it doesn’t seem like it.

Two companies, TIGO and MTN, were racing to see who would be the first to have a cell tower up and running first. Both predicted confidently that theirs would be ready by 12/15. Hmmmm….that would have been over a month ago and no phones yet. I’d hate to see how they do if they weren’t competing! Come to think of it, neither said anything about 2007………. Seriously, TIGO says they should be complete by the end of next week. You should be able to call me at 001 233 311 0018 or just by drop by for milk and Graham Crackers!

I miss my fellow PC Volunteers (Hi to any of you guys who actually find time on the internet to check out blog sites!). I have gone to the sub-office in Tamale twice since moving to Daboya and run into a few compadres but it’s rare so I enjoy it when it happens. Got in some great Scrabble games with Mike and two volunteers from other classes (Hey – I’m not done with you yet Kim!) last time in Tamale.

Lately I’ve been going out at night, laying on my camping mat, and just enjoying the night sky. With minimal lights here in Daboya, it’s clear and beautiful and my favorite, Orion, is always right above me.

I have a “small girl” (that’s what they call any girl from 5 – 20 years old, even if she’s 6’2”!) that will come over and cook for me 2 nights/week and I’m working out my own menu for the rest of the time – which actually is only 3 nights/week because Nashibatu always cooks enough for me and 10 other people to have for at least 2 nights! I’m working with her on portion size. I think she’s trying to fatten me up. Under that black skin beats the heart of a true Jewish mother! So my cooking for those 3 nights + lunches is, so far, spaghetti, fruit salad (right now I can get pineapple, watermelon, oranges, bananas, papaya and I throw in some peanuts, called “ground nuts” here. Pineapple season is over and watermelon is coming to a close but mangos and avacados will be available soon), tuna, Pearlman scrambled eggs (sadly without cheese), powdered soup mixes, canned veggies, beans and rice, fresh veggies (when I go to Tamale) stir fried over rice, and I’m about to try a sweet potato and Spam concoction that another PC Volunteer showed me. I’m already down one waist size and should be a 26” waist by the time I get back to the States!

OK – That’s it for now. Keep those cards and letters flowing!!

Love from Ghana…..Larry