Leaving The Land of Point

Today is the last day in Training and with my family. I am moving. I also forgot to mention that the The Point play was a smash! It happened some weeks ago.

I thought we had an experimental play about the kids attempting to put on a play- like most of our practices had gone (of which there were 7) but the day of we took the kids out for a final practice before the supposed show and were pleasantly surprised. (At the practice before this half of the kids half rebelled against us because they wanted to play soccer. Then we said ok - go play soccer and they wouldn't.)

While we practiced the finishing touches on the set design were made including sharp points for all heads and a beautiful sign somehow tied in place by a ceiling beam and a bench welcoming the crowds in the front of the un-finished church.

Oh yes, the crowds- I felt like I was working on a film shoot again as I ran around the whole town before the play telling everyone and their mother to come because the school class that we had intended to invite had been let out earlier than we thought they would be. The audience wasn't as old as we were seeking but the benches were full.

The play was presented in the local language (except the songs) so that all the kids would get the point... translated by almost all the Ghanaian training staff so I am now known as the Volunteer of Point.

Yesterday I was in the Training Office checking to make sure I passed my language test (I did) as Little John told me I should (it was an unexpectedly difficult test) and we had to send someone away because he walked into the room and did not have A Point.

Puumaaya

is my new Dagbani name.

The elders thought about it for several days.
Definitions in the nice order I received them -

Happy stomach.
Happiness all around. A Happy feeling.
Another way for happiness.
A name that can be given if the first child dies.

Puumaaya
(poomaia)

bIG aFRICAN yELLOW bAT CAVE

November 10th-14th

babyC

(In this Peace Corps world of acronyms I created one for myself, as I told myself I would never do. I had to... )

My new home is alive and well. I cleaned it up but the bats are too smelly to be allowed to live with me. Don't worry, they are in the roof. I only notice it when I return home and after the first night I slept fine amidst their loud banter.

It is in the middle of a cornfield where the 'cowboys' roam with the cows. I have heard they play flutes. I have tasted their sweet milk and it is Fine. Fried cheese curds too (a gift from Tamale). Heavenly...

The elders greeted me with their sandals off and their smocks on. (that's for the jokers).

The moment I arrived to the community I was faced with a somewhat big decision - they were afraid that I would be attacked by bees if I lived in babyC. That's right, there are some bees too, though I have only seen three. At least it was an odd number- Barnes would be happy. I chose to be with the supposed bees, after all- the more yellow the better.

The other reason they didn't think I could live there is because there was no bathing room (A room with a hole for the water to go as you pour it over yourself.) We agreed that one could be made and it turned out better than I could have imagined. Within hours they had constructed a small hut from a few wooden branches and a thick straw that they arranged in a spiral- allowing entry and coverage. It's super cause I don't live in a round mud hut with straw roofing like everyone else so I get my babyC and hut too. Oh - but no roof - so free surround star viewing.

I have a lot of windows - front and back - east and west - so the round sun goes up and down in view. The sun down is different - it is misty because the harmaton winds are coming. That is what I bought that big purple sweater for (at the last moment) - we will see just how cold the mornings are. And everything should be covered with dust until Feb or March.

FANICE

I have never spoken of this favorite of mine! It is an iced delicacy in a small bag - (just like the pure water) - you chew off the corner of the bag and suck. My usual is fanchoco - the iced chocolate milk one. There is a Vanilla one that has the texture of ice cream but there is a weird artificial taste in that one. Then there is a Strawberry Yogurt one which is great for a snack. Oh - and Tapioca which is found in the North. Yum. They don't sell them in the village I am living in except today when there was a guy with a bike cooler (I guess he knew it was Halloween). But I get them on Thursdays and Fridays. The price just went up - 40 cents now.

Pictures! (go to site for better slideshow without effects)

My Private Shoebox

Halloween/ Day of the Dead

I dressed as a Ghanaian Seventh Day Adventist School Girl (borrowing my sister's school uniform dress & shoes) with a small lunch canteen and a Big Knife (like a Macheti - because students will sometimes weed the grass around the school). The village thought this was absolutely the funniest thing. They wanted me to display my grass cutting skills, which made them double over in hysteric laughter- they could hardly speak they were laughing so hard... I loved carrying the large "weapon" around because it added a horror element to me but was "normal" to people here. I told them I was dressing up for the American Holiday and they seemed to understand that very well. I went to the big town and got a lot of double takes. They were so confused! Some people would ask where I was a student, others were speechless and some would make noises of disbelief. One told me that if I am wearing that I need to go to school. I think I have done well. I am glad I decided on it instead of the group Latrine, Guinea Fowl or Mosquito Net Dress idea.

Another good costume was a girl who dressed as Diarrhea. She made a foam hat butt and stuck a brown sheet in it that draped over the back of her head like a veil.

A Side Note - The other day my sister was carrying an ax on her head to farm. It was hanging down in such a way that any sudden move would send it shooting into the back of her neck.

Another Side Note - 'That Is Fine' and 'You have Done Well' are common phrases I hear on a daily basis, especially when I sweep.

Magical Juju Show

There was a man who danced into my home area with a troop of clapping kids. He wore red shorts and funny knee high running socks. His face was painted with white streaks. He said there would be a magic show in the evening that will go late. He said he knew Magic. He pranced away and I was so happy because it was halloween! I started to arrange going when my father said no no - it is JuJu - you cannot go, it is dangerous. How sad I was!

To cheer me up my mother brought me Cream Savers that Alicia #1 had given them which reminded me of the fine Tolberone Chocolate I had purchased in Germany as a gift for them on the way here. So we ate it all and told stories by lantern while the electricity went on and off. There was one strange story my sisters couldn't stop laughing about for some reason. A man was walking in the dark (all the lights had gone out) and a small boy climbed a tree and threw rocks at the man, causing him to bleed. They agreed it was also a sad story but the element of surprise seemed hilarious I guess? I think there was more to the story.

The Feast Show

We had a feast today that felt like the show Top Chef. For some reason we had a cooking afternoon where we were all in 3 person teams with 3 to one site. Two judges watched the whole time to monitor our progress and then 5 Taste testers came for the final tasting.

My team went with the local favorite and made fried yam and kentumari (coco yam leaf) with stew (ground up aketewe which is some kind of seed that is delicious, tomato, onion, ginger, pepper, egg). At the last moment I decided it would be a great pasta sauce and boiled up some spaghetti. Popcorn was made after that.

Another team made a fajita concoction and tortillas which was quite tasty. The last team in our area made a tuna melt with a fruit salad and ice cream a la mode which was a very challenging choice but a slam dunk. I drank the leftovers from the fruit salad and people thought it was strange which I thought was strange which in turn was strange they said.

Ghana Tummy

October 24-28

Finally I got it. It isn't nice. There are a couple versions. I got the gaseous gurgly one. I seem to be better today but will keep eating rice and bread until I know for sure. Oh - I did cave in and had a piece of Laughing Cow cheese. I forgot about that for a moment. It was great.

My Future Home

I found out some stuff on the Trip - I actually saw a picture. It is Yellow. I have a rare deal - It is a government house not built for living in but they don't use it. There are two rooms for me. Then there is a big huge room that is not mine but is not used so I will probably be able to use it. Exciting. There is a nice veranda that connects all the rooms. There are fans that don't work because there is no electricity. The biggest dam in the region and a river is nearby. Will find out more next week.

Field Trip, The North

October 20-24

The North feels good. We may have been making it all up but as our Tro went further North we felt the sun get better and the people nicer. The huts are round and pointy, people ride nice looking bicycles, it is more relaxed and less congested than the south, the land is flatter, still green at the moment but more like the plateau you might imagine here. It's Muslim but the women barley cover their heads and wear the most beautiful looking head scarves. Some of the most fashionable looking people... When we went to greet the chiefs everybody squats and claps while saying greetings. Tamale has sidewalks for bicycles too.

A Hot Cold

The weather is getting hotter and we are all getting colds. I've been feeling ship shape, especially compared to others, but today my throats a bit itchy and my head a float. Language class was under a Cashew Tree today, my favorite, they have sticks to hold the branches up. I learned today that there is no word for purple in Dagbani! Wula?

The Point

Right now the most exciting thing going is that my group of 3 is planning a play. We are adapting The Point, by Harry Nilsson. It is a story about a boy named Oblio who lives in The Land of Point. Everything and everyone has a point except Oblio - his head is round. In our story he also has HIV/AIDS.

He gets banished from the town because it is The Law of the Land that everything must have a point. In our town everyone always washes their hands and their sources of water are not too close to where they poo.

Oblio is sent to the Pointless Forest where he meets the Pointless Man who actually has lots of points. He also meets the Rock Man (Medicine Man) who explains that you see what you want to see.

Then he falls down a hole - The Point of No Return - if there is time we will do this song cause it is about being Lonely.

Back on his way (the Health Path) he meets the 3 Fat Sisters who laugh and are merry, the Leaf Man (teaches about Safe Sex), and then he is swooped up by a Prehistoric Terikdacdile. The bird takes him to his nest where Oblio falls asleep.

After waking he ends up back in the Land of Point and everyone is very happy to see him again. Oblio explains to them that the Pointless Forest isn't Pointless! Someone yells out that "he's got a point there." All the points melt and Oblio grows one.

We introduced the concept to the kids today and tomorrow we will start rehearsal. We made a poster too.

Dagbani

First we had class under the tree down the long road which was nice and now we are meeting right next to my room, in an unfinished part of the house. That first day of class under the tree was full of laughter. Now we are Three to a teacher and it's getting intense. Luckily we have tea and biscuits my Dadi bought "to be supportive."

Let me share what we have learned in the fun Culture section of the class. In the land of the Dagbonas greetings are long. Everyone you pass you greet and you don't just ask how they are doing, you ask how their whole family is doing, one person at a time. They do not give gifts of food in odd numbers because they would not be able to share equally since they are bad at fractions - and like to share.

Everywhere in Ghana - Do Not Smell Food. Kind of like you can't use your left hand for anything other than "filthy" things. That is hard to get used to, can't imagine if I was actually left-handed.

WATer/SANitation

I am starting to figure out what it is... we have some manuals that tonight and yesterday I finally started to read (pretty gross stuff). We have been doing field work in the village - walking around in an organized way with family member translators asking people about the way they live and making maps of water sources/ latrines (they appear to be next to each other but tomorrow we will be looking at them). We figured out what people do with their time and how they make money (farming). When asked about their problems people say money but most seem happy and most seem to eat (yam & Kassava).

Yesterday we split up and visited a bunch of offices in the government to see what is going on. We all found interesting stuff which we shared today. It was hard to focus. We presented an edited audio clip from our interview of a guy who works for the Ghana Aids Commission. He spoke about how people in Ghana with HIV/Aids are basically shunned by society because of the association between the disease and filth/ Prostitution. Sex is very hidden, couples do not hold hands or kiss in public. I figured out why my parents here are so against me going to the spot (the bar). Because it is associated with finding sexual partners, not entertainment. (They also don't believe in drinking.) I will try to post the audio.

We are doing little projects - me and my partner are going to try to do a play/ musical/possibly and adaptation of "the point" -harry nilsson- with middle school aged kids we decided today.

Also doing another project - I am doing an audio show of other peoples projects - making soap, herbal medicine/ traditional healer, the deaf & mentally ill. We'll see what happens.

What We Are Doing Now

We are busy. I wake around 6:30am. I eat Hot Oats with Sugar. Sometimes an Orange too. I sometimes take my bucket bath, usually with hot water heated from the fire mixed with other water (from Rain off Zinc Roof or nearby Borehole which they turn on occasionally and everyone argues over the water). Then I sweep my room (everyone sweeps all the time - even the dirt on the ground). I go meet my 2 neighbors to walk to where we need to go.

I go to either language or Water/Sanitation. One is from 8-12 and the other from 2-5. Break for lunch. Thursdays and Fridays are different though - we meet everyone those days and do other stuff including market and expensive internet. Saturday we have language again and soccer practice. Sunday we do something fun - we climbed rocks last sunday and this sunday we will go to some bat caves.

Lunch is always my big meal - I have tried some yummy stuff - and have watched how to make some of it too. It all involves grinding. One of my Favorites is Boiled Yam that you dip into a stew that has almonds, tomato, onion, and pepper - all ground up. There is something called Red Red which is fried Plantains that you dip into a Beany Concoction. It is tasty but made me very tired. I tried a Dagbani specialty one morning - milled corn that has ginger and some other ingredients in it. mmmmm.

Dinner I have requested small small - usually a boiled egg and maybe a banana and some bread with tea. Recently though they made me some pasta shells which of course I put the Laughing Cow cheese on and I had such a big smile on my face my Mami said she was going to make it everyday but I told her please not to.

There is a beautiful sunset or a thunderstorm around 6pm and then I usually sit around with my family and talk while they pound fufu and sew, visit others, try to study language, write, edit audio, draw, read... I retire to my room around 9 or so and then go to bed between that time and usually 11.

About 4 more weeks here and 2 weeks on field trips.

Kangaroo

The other day I got a wonderful surprise in the mail! My very own Kangaroo from Australia (thanks Naomi). He is a pen and can punch too. I showed him around the place. He wanted to use the Latrine, Do some Laundry, and Eat my Rice ball with Peanut Soup. Then he Slept all day long. It's okay- he had a long journey... now he hangs out with the flower on the window sill most of the time catching an occasional breeze.

JuJu Story

I came home late one night. Everyone was in bed. I walked into my room and saw a huge spider in the middle of the floor. I stared awhile. It was a harmless wall spider, but he wasn't on the wall... I decided I had to use the latrine. I went outside and started walking toward it. I saw something move in the distance, like a small animal. I stopped and thought about whether I really had to go. Then I heard drumming.... coming from the Latrine area... so I turned around and went back inside deciding that indeed I was probably just scared of that spider. Speaking of - he had moved. I wondered why he had moved, and if it was because he knew I had left the room... and then I looked at my window shutter and noticed some herb stuck inside of it. I thought that was just too strange and leapt into my bed through the mosquito net. I started to read and then a huge moth started flying above my net making lots of noise. I turned out the light and concluded it was bedtime. I slept fine.

In the morning the spider had almost gotten out the door until my sister tried to sweep him out the door and he ran back inside. I told my language class the funny story and then it was told at a staff meeting and someone took it very seriously and sent someone to check it out to make sure I was safe! (I asked my family about the drums - it's just a guy not quite right in the mind who lives nearby, don't worry, he practices drumming every night.) According to the Peace Corps people we aren't supposed to be telling stories like this or when we join the 'I Pooped My Pants Club' because you guys might worry about us but I think it's too funny and you're made of tougher stuff, right?

My Future Home (November 27th, 2007)

Voggu, Tolon Kumbungu, Northern Region

Today was the big day when we found out where we will be stationed the next two years.

I am happy with my site. It is an hour outside of Tamale, a big central city, but I am in a small village of 1,619 people. I will not have electricity or running water but I will have my own house. It is a new site near other new sites to focus on Guinea Worm eradication. My primary focus will be creative Health Education in the community of farmers. I will be encouraged to develop novel health education tools and programs. The national Guinea Worm Eradication Program (GWEP) may be able to support programs with a written budget. Yea.

I will be fairly close to 6 others doing similar things. We are a good group. There is also a Volunteer who has been there a year who will be close by and is apparently very good and serious about photography. He does nice slide shows I hear. Also, there is a Deaf Art School PCV teacher pretty close. Repeat Yea.