People fetching water @ the Croc Pond
CROCS! in Gwollu
Kids dancing on my porch
Burkina Faso Trip
Me @ Burkina Faso Shea Butter Factory
'Smores!
Me, Abiba, and Kardiri (getting happy birthday sung to us)
Me & Maria @ Luckapolooza
Snoop
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Long Overdue Update
Hey everyone. Haven't written for awhile I know, but everything is great in Ghana! The last month or so has been a busy and eventful one so here's the scoop:
- Burkina Trip: Last time I wrote I was up in Burkina Faso attending a shea butter trade show with 4 other Ghana volunteers and some from other West African countries. When the trade show ended we decided to stay an extra night to explore the city and have some fun before coming back and it was awesome! We went to a great concert in an outdoor amphitheatre at the French Cultural Centre at night (and to a nightclub after) and the next day we went to see a soccer match between the Burkina Faso national team and Guinea. On the way back to Ghana I also met my closest Peace Corps neighbor... in Burkina Faso! There is a guy volunteering in a community that is only about 14 km away from my village and we met up with him on our way back down. It will be great to have someone only a bike ride away.
- LUCKAPOLOOZA: The weekend after I got back to my site I threw a huge birthday party for myself and my counterpart in my courtyard. 17 other Peace Corps volunteers came up to my site for the weekend and it was a ton of fun. Some of the people even travelled about 18 hours to get there. We had music, food, drinks, and a live xylophone performance. One of my friends got graham crackers, hershey's bars, and marshmellows sent from home and brought them so we had a fire and made 'smores. The Chief of my village also presented my with a live sheep for my birthday! I had some guys across the street from my house kill and prepare it for us. We finished the whole fried sheep within like 20 minutes of putting it on the table.
- Ho Ho Ho Easter: This weekend I went down to the city of Ho, in the Volta region of Ghana, to spend Easter with 27 other volunteers. Our Easter dinner, prepared by some very talented volunteer cooks, consisted of marinated, bake chicken breasts, garlic mashed potatoes, salad, homemade macaroni and cheese, gravy, and brownies for dessert... it was amazing! It was the only time I have had food anything like that in the last 6 months!
- Accra: So now I am in Accra, Ghana's Capital city. I am at the Peace Corps office this morning and then from here I will go and meet with some people from the Ministry of Tourism and perhaps the Member of Parliament from my district to go over some things about my tourism work in Gwollu. I also need to go around and distribute some brochures and posters about Gwollu at some places in the city and meet with the Association of Tour Operators to try to get them to bring more tourists to the Upper West. I got into town last night and went to the Accra Mall... it seemed so American! It seems brand new, has really fancy shops, a food court, air conditioning, and a huge grocery store. Once again, these are all things that I never see any more so it was really weird. Best of all, we went to a movie theater! We paid about 10 bucks, which is like 2 days pay for me now, to see Slumdog Millionaire at the really nice theater in the mall and it was worth every penny!
I will start the 18-20 hour journey back to Gwollu tomorrow and although all this traveling has been a lot of fun (and a much needed break from my very remote site) it will be great to be back "home" again. Snoop is great and growing. I got him his rabies vaccination last week. He ate an entire fried rabbit head a couple weeks ago that I bought on the street for him. He loves eating and has now started growling at his food as he eats it sometimes. A bunch of my friends and coworkers at site are helping to take care of him this week and they have all called to say he is awesome. It's still really hot here, about 100 degrees or so most days (and still like 95 when I go to bed) but the rainy season is about to start so that should cool things down a bit.
I hope all is well at home for everyone. Shout outs to Zoooora for bugging me to make another post and to Mr. Hammond's class for always checking out the blog!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Dog / Burkina Faso
Bonjour! This week I am in Burkina Faso (the country directly north of Ghana... I live on the border) in the capital city of Ouagadougou helping out at a shea butter industry trade show. 5 of us from Ghana (who are working with shea women's groups) came along with our Associate Peace Corps Director. It has been a ton of fun to see another country in West Africa. The national language is French here (as it is in all of the countries bordering Ghana) and the culture/food is also very different. There are baguettes, croissants, cheese, wine, strawberries, and all sorts of other things that I never see in my rural, remote region of Ghana! The actual trade show is at an amazing hotel (we are staying at a budget place 15 mins away) with a pool, restaurant, air conditioning, DRAFT BEER, elevators, wireless internet (I am sitting in the lobby bar right now on my laptop) and all sorts of things that are exciting if you haven't seen them for months!
I got a dog! His name is Snoop and he is awesome. He is really easy going and he never leaves my side. He eats whatever I do and loves to chase toads, chew on my socks, or just relax in my courtyard. Since I am out of town this week my friend in Gwollu, Kardiri, is taking care of my house and Snoop.
Me and Snoop:
So much has happened since I last wrote but I have to get going... today is the last day of our conference and so there is about to be a cocktail party (with live music) by the hotel pool... can't miss that!
So much has happened since I last wrote but I have to get going... today is the last day of our conference and so there is about to be a cocktail party (with live music) by the hotel pool... can't miss that!
I will try to write some longer/more interesting posts soon and get them up... Love and miss you all!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Balu in Gwollu
Quick post because I am in Tumu for the afternoon so I have a few minutes with some really slow internet!
I got a name: The chief and his elders called a meeting last week and gave me the local name, Balu. They said the meaning of Balu is a shrine that sits in front of each compound and guards it against bad things and brings good fortune.
Bike, check. Fridge, check. Snoop Dawg, no dice. My bicycle arrived on top of the bus! After all day waiting for it the bus pulled up right where they said it would. Then, the guys unloading it tried to charge me an extra buck to bring it down. After I told them that I would climb up the bus and take it down myself before I gave them any more money (and started up the ladder) they laughed and carried it down for me. I have now gotten it repaired (a couple times) in Gwollu and it is currently working pretty well. I just got my fridge yesterday! My friend, "Captain," is a driver for the chief and so he picked it up in Tumu and brought it to my house for me. It works great and even has a little freezer compartment so I can make ice! No dog yet. I went to get the one that they said they would give me but then there was some confusion. The guy (who I don't even think was the actual owner of the dog) that I had talked to asked me to pay him the equivalent of about 20 dollars for the puppy. While that would be cheap in the U.S., it is absolutely ridiculous here, where a puppy is usually free or maybe 50 cents. I was angry that he was trying to cheat me (I even offered to pay 2 bucks!) so I will not be getting that particular dog. I will find another one soon enough.
Haircut! Yesterday I went to the barber shop in town and buzzed all my hair off again. It feels a lot cooler already. The guy finished with my hair, looked at my beard that was then way longer than my hair, and asked if he should also cut that off. It hadn't been my plan, but I said "go for it." So the beard is gone! I had it for like 8 months I think, so even I was surprised to see what was underneath.... I look like I am am 15! The barber (who actually was 15) shaved my beard with nothing but a razor blade that he held in his hand... no shaving cream or anything. It was quite an interesting experience, but it was one of the better haircuts and best looking shaves I have probably ever had, and it cost 70 cents!
Here comes the heat! It is starting to get a lot hotter here in the Upper West Region. For a few weeks the temperatures were (relatively) really low and there were strong winds, so it was nice. But, now the heat is on... The hottest time here is usually March and April and I am already beginning to feel it. People laugh when I say it is hot now and tell me they can't wait to see how I handle March/April. That should be fun.
Foreigners! So last time I travelled 4 white people came to my town to introduce themselves and visit me, but I was gone! They are also volunteers and they live in Tumu (where I am now for bank/internet) which is about 32 k away from me. There is a guy from Italy, two women and one man from the U.K., and a guy from California. They said they gather in Tumu on Friday nights (along with some other foreign volunteers) and so sometime I will come and meet/join them. They also said that if I have to stay in town they have a place for me to sleep. It will be really nice to meet them and have some other foreigners close to me to hang out with now and then because the closest PC volunteer is about 1.5 hours away in another small village.
That's all for now... gotta go sit under a tree and see if any cars passing will take me home! I will write again when I get the chance.
I got a name: The chief and his elders called a meeting last week and gave me the local name, Balu. They said the meaning of Balu is a shrine that sits in front of each compound and guards it against bad things and brings good fortune.
Bike, check. Fridge, check. Snoop Dawg, no dice. My bicycle arrived on top of the bus! After all day waiting for it the bus pulled up right where they said it would. Then, the guys unloading it tried to charge me an extra buck to bring it down. After I told them that I would climb up the bus and take it down myself before I gave them any more money (and started up the ladder) they laughed and carried it down for me. I have now gotten it repaired (a couple times) in Gwollu and it is currently working pretty well. I just got my fridge yesterday! My friend, "Captain," is a driver for the chief and so he picked it up in Tumu and brought it to my house for me. It works great and even has a little freezer compartment so I can make ice! No dog yet. I went to get the one that they said they would give me but then there was some confusion. The guy (who I don't even think was the actual owner of the dog) that I had talked to asked me to pay him the equivalent of about 20 dollars for the puppy. While that would be cheap in the U.S., it is absolutely ridiculous here, where a puppy is usually free or maybe 50 cents. I was angry that he was trying to cheat me (I even offered to pay 2 bucks!) so I will not be getting that particular dog. I will find another one soon enough.
Haircut! Yesterday I went to the barber shop in town and buzzed all my hair off again. It feels a lot cooler already. The guy finished with my hair, looked at my beard that was then way longer than my hair, and asked if he should also cut that off. It hadn't been my plan, but I said "go for it." So the beard is gone! I had it for like 8 months I think, so even I was surprised to see what was underneath.... I look like I am am 15! The barber (who actually was 15) shaved my beard with nothing but a razor blade that he held in his hand... no shaving cream or anything. It was quite an interesting experience, but it was one of the better haircuts and best looking shaves I have probably ever had, and it cost 70 cents!
Here comes the heat! It is starting to get a lot hotter here in the Upper West Region. For a few weeks the temperatures were (relatively) really low and there were strong winds, so it was nice. But, now the heat is on... The hottest time here is usually March and April and I am already beginning to feel it. People laugh when I say it is hot now and tell me they can't wait to see how I handle March/April. That should be fun.
Foreigners! So last time I travelled 4 white people came to my town to introduce themselves and visit me, but I was gone! They are also volunteers and they live in Tumu (where I am now for bank/internet) which is about 32 k away from me. There is a guy from Italy, two women and one man from the U.K., and a guy from California. They said they gather in Tumu on Friday nights (along with some other foreign volunteers) and so sometime I will come and meet/join them. They also said that if I have to stay in town they have a place for me to sleep. It will be really nice to meet them and have some other foreigners close to me to hang out with now and then because the closest PC volunteer is about 1.5 hours away in another small village.
That's all for now... gotta go sit under a tree and see if any cars passing will take me home! I will write again when I get the chance.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Update (Finally!)
It has been so long since I have been able to use the internet! I have been living in Gwollu for about a month now, so here's what I've been up to (breifly):
-My place is awesome... I got some covers made for my furniture (kind of looks like leopard print, very nice!) and I put down some linoleum flooring (called "carpet" here) in my main room so my place is very comfortable.
-I have been named "Speaker of Parliament..." Different groups of men frequently sit (during the dry season when they are not farming) in the same place together somewhere in town and they call their groups "Parliament." So one of my first days in town some guys called me over to sit and talk with them in front of a hardware store. Ever since I have stopped by almost every day and so they (half jokingly) have dubbed me the speaker of their parliament. It's awesome.
-I got a bike... and a fridge... I hope. I am just returning from Tamale where I got a bicycle. The bike was "new" and seemed pretty nice but already (in 1 day) the chain has broken twice and the front tire has popped twice. That was just from me "trying it out" after the guy (who I paid) "fixed" it. Argg... it was a very frustrating purchase. AND continues to be... this morning I travelled from Tamale to Wa on a very overcrowded bus and they refused to take my bicycle on board anywhere. SO, I had to SPRINT about 1k down the road (and then back, to catch the bus as it was pulling away) to put my bike (and pay someone) on top of a different bus which I was TOLD will arrive across the street from this very internet cafe "sometime today." Don't worry, I've got the internet cafe guy on the lookout for me. We'll see if this bus/bike arrives and what type of condition it is in! Oh and the fridge... I gave a fridge repair guy $100 to go and get me a fridge in Kumasi... But I do kind of know the guy... so I am pretty sure he will return (with a fridge) later this week, as he promised!
-I just used a seriously GROSS public latrine in Wa. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Thankfully I was smart enough to at least travel with my own toilet paper so that I didn't have to use the one small piece of newspaper they offered me. There were tons of little worms and bugs all over... I think I have said enough on this subject.
-Cowboy Hat! My friend and I both bought Indiana Jones style cowboy hats in Tamale for $2 this weekend. They are awesome.
-SNOOOOOP DAWG. I am getting a puppy tomorrow. There were a few across the street from me and so they are saving me a male for when I get back tomorrow. He will be named Snoop.
-Election Results: After some relatively minor disputes/revotes/allegations the Ghana Presidential Election is finished. Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the National Democratic Congress Candidate, has been sworn in as President. The NDC has not been in power in Ghana for 8 years (the NPP has), so this move will be sure to change some things up. I watched the swearing in event on TV with some friends in Gwollu... it was really cool.
-No Local Name Yet... My community has still yet to officially give me a local name (I think it has been due to a combination of procrastination and election stuff, other events, funerals in town, etc.) but I think this week we are having some sort of event/ceremony. People in town have been suggesting names to the Chief and my counterpart so some areas of town are already calling me various Sissala names. What they will ultimately decide I don't know, but the debate has been pretty heated as I hear certain people lobby in support/opposition of specific suggestions. Mostly though, I am known as "Mister Adams." The kids, and my night watchman, also just call me "master" which is a little awkward/funny. In Ghana (and perhaps other places) "Adams" is a Muslim name. Since almost everyone in my town is Muslim, they seem to be very excited/confused when they learn my name is "Adams" (they always add the "s" even if I don't, so I just go with it). So I am ALWAYS being asked if I am a Muslim and I have to politely explain that I am not and that "Adam" is considered a name of no particular religion in the U.S.
-CROCS! I mentioned in an earlier post that my town has sacred crocodile ponds... I checked them out and they are awesome! 100+ crocs live happily right down the street from my house. Since it is the dry season, their pond is getting low and so many of them come out frequently to just lay/play in the sun. There are some nice trees to sit under next to the ponds so sometimes I just go to watch the crocodiles. You can get really close to them and they don't bother people at all. All sorts of people go in the water to fetch barrels full of it in the very same pond where all the crocs are. Some of the kids even know that one of the biggest ones will allow you to grab its tail (and they do it!).
Alright, my time here at the internet cafe is running out so I will go. Still no bus/bike (yikes!). Oh well, it will all work out... always does! I likely will not be making it to a reliable/functional internet connection very often so I appologize in advance for not responding to emails or posting frequently. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season... to all those in the snow, if I could send you this 100 degree heat I would!
-My place is awesome... I got some covers made for my furniture (kind of looks like leopard print, very nice!) and I put down some linoleum flooring (called "carpet" here) in my main room so my place is very comfortable.
-I have been named "Speaker of Parliament..." Different groups of men frequently sit (during the dry season when they are not farming) in the same place together somewhere in town and they call their groups "Parliament." So one of my first days in town some guys called me over to sit and talk with them in front of a hardware store. Ever since I have stopped by almost every day and so they (half jokingly) have dubbed me the speaker of their parliament. It's awesome.
-I got a bike... and a fridge... I hope. I am just returning from Tamale where I got a bicycle. The bike was "new" and seemed pretty nice but already (in 1 day) the chain has broken twice and the front tire has popped twice. That was just from me "trying it out" after the guy (who I paid) "fixed" it. Argg... it was a very frustrating purchase. AND continues to be... this morning I travelled from Tamale to Wa on a very overcrowded bus and they refused to take my bicycle on board anywhere. SO, I had to SPRINT about 1k down the road (and then back, to catch the bus as it was pulling away) to put my bike (and pay someone) on top of a different bus which I was TOLD will arrive across the street from this very internet cafe "sometime today." Don't worry, I've got the internet cafe guy on the lookout for me. We'll see if this bus/bike arrives and what type of condition it is in! Oh and the fridge... I gave a fridge repair guy $100 to go and get me a fridge in Kumasi... But I do kind of know the guy... so I am pretty sure he will return (with a fridge) later this week, as he promised!
-I just used a seriously GROSS public latrine in Wa. When you gotta go, you gotta go. Thankfully I was smart enough to at least travel with my own toilet paper so that I didn't have to use the one small piece of newspaper they offered me. There were tons of little worms and bugs all over... I think I have said enough on this subject.
-Cowboy Hat! My friend and I both bought Indiana Jones style cowboy hats in Tamale for $2 this weekend. They are awesome.
-SNOOOOOP DAWG. I am getting a puppy tomorrow. There were a few across the street from me and so they are saving me a male for when I get back tomorrow. He will be named Snoop.
-Election Results: After some relatively minor disputes/revotes/allegations the Ghana Presidential Election is finished. Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the National Democratic Congress Candidate, has been sworn in as President. The NDC has not been in power in Ghana for 8 years (the NPP has), so this move will be sure to change some things up. I watched the swearing in event on TV with some friends in Gwollu... it was really cool.
-No Local Name Yet... My community has still yet to officially give me a local name (I think it has been due to a combination of procrastination and election stuff, other events, funerals in town, etc.) but I think this week we are having some sort of event/ceremony. People in town have been suggesting names to the Chief and my counterpart so some areas of town are already calling me various Sissala names. What they will ultimately decide I don't know, but the debate has been pretty heated as I hear certain people lobby in support/opposition of specific suggestions. Mostly though, I am known as "Mister Adams." The kids, and my night watchman, also just call me "master" which is a little awkward/funny. In Ghana (and perhaps other places) "Adams" is a Muslim name. Since almost everyone in my town is Muslim, they seem to be very excited/confused when they learn my name is "Adams" (they always add the "s" even if I don't, so I just go with it). So I am ALWAYS being asked if I am a Muslim and I have to politely explain that I am not and that "Adam" is considered a name of no particular religion in the U.S.
-CROCS! I mentioned in an earlier post that my town has sacred crocodile ponds... I checked them out and they are awesome! 100+ crocs live happily right down the street from my house. Since it is the dry season, their pond is getting low and so many of them come out frequently to just lay/play in the sun. There are some nice trees to sit under next to the ponds so sometimes I just go to watch the crocodiles. You can get really close to them and they don't bother people at all. All sorts of people go in the water to fetch barrels full of it in the very same pond where all the crocs are. Some of the kids even know that one of the biggest ones will allow you to grab its tail (and they do it!).
Alright, my time here at the internet cafe is running out so I will go. Still no bus/bike (yikes!). Oh well, it will all work out... always does! I likely will not be making it to a reliable/functional internet connection very often so I appologize in advance for not responding to emails or posting frequently. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season... to all those in the snow, if I could send you this 100 degree heat I would!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Headed to Site / Runoff Election
Yo!
Yesterday we had our swearing in ceremony to mark the end of Peace Corps Training. The event was really cool... the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana was there and the trainees did a dancing and drumming performance. So now I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer. We all went out one last time in Kukurantumi last night and now we are all headed to our individual sites. I am at the PC sub-office in Kumasi with a bunch of people for the night and tomorrow we will visit a monkey sanctuary on our way to the Upper West Region. I am excited to see the monkeys.
The elections took place last Sunday with relatively few problems and the results were released Tuesday. No candidate received a plurality (the top 2 had like 49.4% and 47.8% or something) so there will be a runoff election on December 28th between the NDC and NPP candidates. As a preventative measure, all PC volunteers will have to remain in their communities between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. So that means, unfortunately, none of us will be together for Christmas or New Years. But, it should be fun to move into my house and get settled and have the excitement of the holidays and the election going on.
Ok, it's getting late so I think that is all for now. Keep the emails coming.
Yesterday we had our swearing in ceremony to mark the end of Peace Corps Training. The event was really cool... the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana was there and the trainees did a dancing and drumming performance. So now I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer. We all went out one last time in Kukurantumi last night and now we are all headed to our individual sites. I am at the PC sub-office in Kumasi with a bunch of people for the night and tomorrow we will visit a monkey sanctuary on our way to the Upper West Region. I am excited to see the monkeys.
The elections took place last Sunday with relatively few problems and the results were released Tuesday. No candidate received a plurality (the top 2 had like 49.4% and 47.8% or something) so there will be a runoff election on December 28th between the NDC and NPP candidates. As a preventative measure, all PC volunteers will have to remain in their communities between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. So that means, unfortunately, none of us will be together for Christmas or New Years. But, it should be fun to move into my house and get settled and have the excitement of the holidays and the election going on.
Ok, it's getting late so I think that is all for now. Keep the emails coming.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
New Address
Here is the address where I can receive mail when I am in Gwollu:
Adam Luck, PCV
C/O Gwollu Tourism Committee
P.O. Box 99
Gwollu, U.W.R.
Ghana, West Africa
Adam Luck, PCV
C/O Gwollu Tourism Committee
P.O. Box 99
Gwollu, U.W.R.
Ghana, West Africa
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