Local School for Witchcraft and Wizardry

So here's a little parable about the spiritual conflicts of a society. During our term break, there was some motor oil spilled outside of the teacher's lounge and the headmaster's office at our school. My thought process = Hmm that's odd, but whatever. Local teachers' reaction = we will not teach until the perpetrator is found and brought to justice because the oil may be a sign of a curse.
Ok.
We just had a meeting about this situation at the school. Until we had this meeting, where it was revealed that the local church and church members came to pray to Jesus to counteract this lesser traditional belief, the staff members refused to enter either room. Since all of the log books and grade books were in the rooms, who went into the danger zone to collect them? Students. Thankfully, the belief that spirits exist are compatible with Christianity (according to the Bible, from locals vehemently protesting "it's true!") is widespread. It is the opinion that Jesus is, in a sense, the supreme spirit with power over all other minor spirits; therefore praying to Jesus gives power over minor spirits. Also, pouring libation in the form of local gin is the same as Jesus in driving out evil spirits.
From a historical perspective, Christianity was only introduced about 120 years ago. People had their traditional beliefs and deities before then, and when they converted to Christianity the easiest way for people to accept it (and convert) was simply to keep many traditional beliefs but put Jesus and God at the top of the Tower of ethereal Power.

Sad News: I got cut from a piece of glass and it started to become infected. While still oozing pus, I no longer have a fever.
Avg daytime high:84
Avg nighttime low:74

Term break!

Check it out: The past few weeks I've been traveling around Ghana enjoying a variety of activities. First, I went to a paragliding festival in Mpraeso, Eastern Region. Besides possessing cool weather (always a bonus!) I went paragliding for thirty minutes! Pretty cool stuff. Also the scenery is fantastic with rolling hills, forests, sheer rock faces. Next I took a ferry to see some friends in Donkorkrom, in the middle of Volta Lake. The Afram Plains area in which they live has some real pretty sights, more typical of what you would expect of 'Africa' – some open spaces, fairly flat, and very rural. From Donkorkrom, I went with a buddy across a different ferry and to Hohoe in Volta Region, and in the same day went to Wli waterfalls. Wli is an awesome (and supposidly largest) waterfall in West Africa, with an intense hike to the upper falls. The next day, I went with two friends to Amedzofe, about a two hour hike from the road to the top of the mountain with some spectacular views. A quick roundup of the rest of my trip includes ubiquitious dashes:
-Jasikan in northern Volta (used a computer!)
-Dzita on the beach in southern Volta (great getaway spot and played bunches of board games)
-Aflao near the Togo border (delicious baugettes with avocado filling!)
-Ho, my market town
At Ho we had an All-Volunteer Conference for all Peace Corps Volunteers in Ghana, with most of PC staff as well. We had a poker tournament with about 20 people, and I ended up splitting the pot for first place! Tons of fun. AllVols taught about PEPFAR funding (President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief), and hopefully with a little determination and effort, there is a plan for a plan for a workshop about educating teenage girls about HIV/AIDS and gender empowerment. I do have a little bit of a hangover from seeing so many Americans the past few weeks; its nice to be back at my site but also sad to be away from friends I've reconnected with. School resumes Monday!!


Return/Outlook

Small Differences

Because I seem to have an excess of disposable time, I'm trying to find things besides school (we are on term break) to do.
Exhibit A: I finally took some pictures of some people and places in the bush/farm, so you all can see the habitat. This is not the same brushland found on African safari shows, but its a low level jungle.
Exhibit B: Doing math problems from a GRE study book to keep my mind sharp.
Exhibit C: Finding pleasure in the mundane tasks of cleaning and washing. I know this may seem like an oxymoronic statement, but its the simple things that give us pleasure.
The average size of the Ghanaian is much smaller than the average American, and the little things in Ghanaian society, or should I say architecture, reflect this size paradigm. People in my village are about 5'8 at the most; consequently, architecture such as doorways, vendors' roofs, and hanging objects all hang much lower; ergo, I have to stoop when entering into most rooms and when I buy from the market (you only hit your head once, unless you've had some small small amount of the local gin, in which case behavioral learning is disabled). Walking in my regional capital/market town, Ho () can be hazardous because of low hanging tin roofs and also because of open sewers (not a wise idea to fall into).
Other byproducts of local stature and economics: legroom in trotros is severely lacking (to compensate, imagine riding sidesaddle all the way to your destination!); the backseats of taxis fit 4 people, "comfortably" (even the front seat can fit two people, should you be so inclined to try); personal space is an option on my Metrobus (charterbus) to the regional capital (but privelage is revoked when the number of people is more than twice the capacity of bus seats); even beds are, on average, too short for myself. Am I a giant? Perhaps.
Picture of the week: chickens, in a tree!


Last week's math question: I am 24. When will be the next time my age is the sum of two prime numbers AND also a prime number? Answer: 31 (29+2=31 and 31 is prime)
Trivia: What is the only flag in the world that is not a geometric shape?

Life's Little Victories when traveling

Travel in Ghana typically happens via one of three vectors: tro-tro, taxi, or moto. Since Peace Corps bans me from motorcycles (which is dangerous anyway, because they dont wear helmets, go on dirt roads around blind corners through rain, and drivers usually dont have a license), I tend to stick with semi-reliable forms of transit and supposed safety.There are some typically Ghanaian/African aspects to relocating your body around the country: Some tro-tros will, in a row designed for three people, fit four, five even six bodies to make more money or because transit options are scarce (economics explain it all!). The roads may even be paved, but that doesn't make it a good road if there are multiple potholes per foot of asphalt – parts of the dirt road that goes to my town is better than the main highway to a city of around 10,000 people (the pothole per foot ratio is very important). Traveling at night is not recommended because of two things: sometimes the headlights on a car doesnt work (or the driver wants to save money so he doesn't turn them on) and the potential for armed robbers. Also, cars and tro-tros dont leave until every nook in filled with a limb; no one wants to go to my town? I wait. Finally, much like a bar or a club, the bigger you are the more right of way you have. A small taxi will almost always yield to a Metrobus (think charter bus) because hey, if theres an accident the metrobus driver will be out of a job, but the taxi driver may be dead, much like my bar example. With this being said, life does bring some little victories to travelling:
Life's Little Victories
Being the last person to board a tro-tro/taxi that immediately leaves (Yes!!)
Riding a Metrobus and other vehicles will part like the Red Sea (Score!! Suckers!!)
Knowing the road ahead has no potholes (Time for a nap!!)
Sitting in the backseat of a tro and pretending to be fat so only three people will be on a three-person seat (When the door closes I stretch out, bonanza!!)
Not seeing a large person boarding the taxi to my town (Then I can steal the front seat while the other four people cram into the back seat of a compact car!!)
Walking to the roadside of my town and seeing a vehicle (I think I will go to the city!!)
Riding my bike to a neighboring town to catch a vehicle, and no one passes me on the way there (Complex decision = justified!!)
Finding a wageshi (fried cheese) seller right outside my vehicle ( I'll take THREE!!)
Riding my bike home and seeing the 'local gin' seller / Primary school teacher in my neighboring town, who indicentially offers free shots to all teachers (I've had a long journey, might as well treat myself to something nice...)
Life's Little Victories is a cartoon in the Funny Times (for those that dont know, it is a monthly political cartoon and humor newspaper – highly recommended by yours truly!). Additional information for you digestion: my birthday is April 16th! And for those than can't remember how old I am, I will be 24! I am 23 now, which is a prime number.
TEST: When will be the next time my age is the sum of two prime numbers AND also a prime number?
Answer: TBA
I think this question comes from me doing oodles of GRE/GMAT math problems. I find doing them is fun and relaxing; my correct answer rate is about 95%, but time constraints during the actual test will make it harder. Also, I'm thinking about going back to school a year or two after I return to the US. Will ponder over it.

Prices of Cheap, Cheap items

Hello! As you may know, Ghana is a country in Africa that is currently listed as 'underdevolped', but within the next 5 years it should be upgraded to 'developing'. Let's examine some of the advantages associated where the cost of living is consequently low from lack of capital. The prices of items can be extremely cheap compared to the US, but on average I would say they are about 1/5 of US prices.
• A pineapple the size of your head can be bought for about 1 dollar
• The cost of going from Ho, my regional capital to Accra, the national capital costs as little as 5 dollars for a 3 hour ride (compare THAT to Greyhound)
• I bought a knife for 50 cents. Granted, I have someone sharpen it quite often.
• Three tomatoes in the US can go for a dollar, but here its about thirty tomatoes/dollar
• The third-worlds' favorite snack, Obama Biscuits, sells for 15 cents a pack (comes complete with Obama's face on every wrapper!)
• For a mere 7 dollars, a meal can be prepared to feed 6 people handsomely.
With clearout prices like these, its easy to spend next to nothing while here! Especially for you all coming to visit me, prepare to spend more on a plane ticket than you would in a month here! I'm in the village, and essentially the African bush for food perspectives: My rasta-friend brings me avocados gifts every other day or so (usually about 5, but this past time I now have 10 avocados to eat before they all go bad... hello calories!). Speaking of calories, people in my village make some comments like "Kofi! You are becoming large, Africa is good for you!" and "Yevuga" (translation = big white person): understandably, the lack of organized sports (except soccer with 12 year olds) has taken its intended victim, Me. To counteract this balance of power, I purloined some P90X workout videos from a friend to stay in shape. Updates on whether this will have an discernable effect will follow in the future.
I just had a wonderful day the other day: The day after school finished for the term, I went out to the bush at 6am with my rasta-friend. After collecting (and partaking in) some palm-wine, we ate some banku, and later some fufu. Being the middle of nowhere in the bush was incredibly relaxing (minus the bugs). Then we went and collected some avocadoes from an avocado tree, checked a trap for some grasscutter (alas, meat is in short supply sometimes), took a long nap, and finally helped smoke palm trees ("set fire to" means to blow with a small tube to create a sweet palm wine and give it flavor). Coming back, some students were in school when they espied my body removing itself from the bushpath. "Sir! Sir! You've come from the bush!", and they started cheering for me. Good Times. All in all, it was the best day I've had in a long time; I spent exactly zero Ghana cedis and had a fulfilling day.

US as viewed from Ghana

Good Morning! Or Good Afternoon, or Good evening... these are the structured greetings in place all around Ghana. In your daily lives, think of a time when you said the wrong response to someone's What's Up or How are You. Maybe they said 'How are you' and you reply 'Not Much'. Embarrassing. That doesn't really happen here because its always
A: Good ______, How are you?
B: I'm fine.
The exception is What's Up (people respond "cool" which isn't really addressing the substance of the greeting – I dont know why either). To add some variety I change my intonation to mimic a boxing announcer with a nice GOOOOOOOOD MOOORRRRNINNNG!! Also, if I'm asked how I am, the monotony of 'fine' is too much, so I inject some personality into responses. Let's see:
How are you? I'm beautiful
How are you?
Also, this is the only place where "Yeah" and a wave of the hand is accepted as saying hello.
Today's post is about the US from the Ghanaian perspective. Much like when I was in Europe, many people only have movies and TV shows to tell them about daily life in the US. Except here in the village, where the US only occasionally shows up on the news. Also of note, the US is not the US; its either USA or America. I don't particularly like 'America' because it assumes the US is all of the Americas. Anyway, I was asked a bit ago about what my first language was. I tried to explain that it was English, but the person seemed to think that, much like Ghana, there is a tribal/local language and the national language.
Strange questions or other amusing things include:
*Ghanaian thought process: You have come to Ghana, so you can invite me to the US! The only real way to bring someone back personally [marraige] is not widely believed.
*Have I ever driven a car? (Yes, but people here rarely have a license to drive)
*I owned a car. (G: you mean you had a family car? M: My personal car. G: Why on Earth did you vanquish your family car??)
*What traditional beliefs are there in America? Witches, spirits ancestors? (All 3 are big beliefs here, coexisting with Christian beliefs in the same person; also of note is they read somewhere in print that someone believes in witches in the US, so everyone must believe in witches in the US)
*Where do you get your akpoteshi from? (apoteshi = moonshine)
*Does everyone own a gun? (people react with shock when I tell them I've fired a gun... then they ask 'Have you shot anyone?')
*How do you pound your fufu? (Widespread disbelief when I tell people my country does not have a lot of cassava, yams, plantains, palm trees, or cocoa; fufu is a local food where, contrary to all learned behaviors and Western expectation, you swallow unchewed food) Bonus fact: Instead of using a pizza to teach fractions to my students (dividing it into sections), I used a ball of fufu as an example.
*Do you have a farm in America?
I will say Accra, the capital, is quite different than the villages – akin to comparing NYC and small mountain town of 500 people.
There are a distinct class of locals that think money grows on trees in the US. I try to ask probing questions about who will provide them with funds to start a goat raising operation, and they respond 'The money is there; there are so many donors willing to donate freely'... IMO I dont think its true.
Unfortunately, there is about .5% of the population that either doesn't like foreigners and/or think every white person has a personal printing press of Ghana cedis (local currency) stored in their pockets. These are the people that try and help you for free, then demand 5 cedis after they help you... perhaps they assume that in your civic pride you will feel guilty for not giving them money. I just walk away.
Favorite tidbit from wikipedia on the Coliseum:
Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.

Parting Remarks: Sorry about not posting in a while, I've just been enjoying my town quite a bit. Some friends recently uprooted several palm trees (eg. Palm Wine) specifically for me!! I am pumped, especially because my birthday will be coming up soon. To celebrate, we will dine with a certain animal's meat; it may or may not have been a pet at one time.

Response to an anti-Ghana article

I am a Peace Corps Volunteer, and one of our goals is to educate Americans about our local culture. I want to address an issue my mother raised with me a few days ago. It seems an article was published in my hometown newspaper about how two men came to Ghana and rescued some children from slavery in Lake Volta, Ghana.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/02/18/2074161/rescued-from-slavery.html

While I do not dispute their facts, it is impossible to say that this is representative of all of Ghana. I have a student who was living in a fishing village, similar to those boys rescued, but at the age of 10 or so realized education was important. What did he do? He stopped fishing and left the lake. I have never heard of slavery in Ghana outside of this article. Ghanaian and Ghanaian culture have been fantastic to learn about, and while children are required to help around the house, farm, and fish, it is a neccessity in some areas: if the mother is doing chores all day, raising small kids, and the father is out at the farm making money, who will fetch the water? Who will go to the market to buy food? And, most importantly, when the family is spending all its money on food, clothes and shelter, who will pay for school books, pens, and pencils? If there is a choice between food and paper, children here will go and work to make money to purchase a notebook.

As for voodoo here in Ghana, most people I meet are Christian. In fact, I have never met or been involved in a conversation about how traditional beliefs trump monotheism. Muslims in the North (not on Lake Volta) and Christians in the South alike may believe in a small amount, but as a Ghanaian told me, its best not to discount any religion or traditional belief because: it just may be true. Better to play it safe.

The article describes a Ghana that I have never seen, heard, or even knew existed. It is easy for us Westerners to come in and decry "Aha! Kids are doing work! Child Slavery!" and be done with it. To gain a deeper understanding and obtain true meaning, you have to dig below the surface to distinguish simple poverty from slavery. I was extremely distraught to see this article was 'Liked' by many people, and comments were Ameri-centric with disparaging remarks about Africa, Ghana, and the character of people here. If I find a certain part of the US that is involved in sex trafficking, do I decry all Americans, North Americans, and Westerners as enslaving innocent young people for sex? Absolutely not, as there is an overwhelming majority that have decent, moral values and uninvolved in the trade. Ghanaians are similar: a simple, kind people that have a reverance for God (regardless of religion) and enjoy foreigners. I've been extremely happy and welcomed in my time so far here, and look forward to the future in my village. I think the lesson to take away from this article is that there are always two sides to a story, a people, a country, and a continent.Please do some research before making snap judgements about a culture based on a single source.

But let me move onto another topic: March 6th is Independence day for Ghana, and to practice for the parade all the students are doing marching drills for an hour each morning. An hour during school time, which coincidentally, is the entirety of my time teaching mathematics. I scrambled like eggs to get my classes taught and students learned, but for two and a half weeks there is marching. Why not do this marching outside of school? Perhaps I'm not experienced enough in Ghanaian culture to understand the answer, but as a teacher I've been conscripted to join the celebration.
I've been decoding some student names, and having a grand time with it. "God knows I will love him", "God loves", "He loves", "He touches me". He, of course, is God.
Alright, I'm going back to the bush tomorrow, but I do NOT want to see a cobra like last week! Also, as I was typing this my Rasta-man Mensah just came over and gave me two pineapples and three bunches of bananas. Great hospitality.
Also, I wrote a brief expose about the rest of the funeral that happened last month, and it should be just below this post.