October 11, 2006 (August & September update)

Check out my pics from August and September.

My apologies for skipping last month's update. I was away from my site nearly the entire month of September, which left me little time to write. I have posted pictures for both August and September, though. Check 'em out when you get a chance.

My youth event in August (8/12) to celebrate International Youth Day was a success. I had 37 children (20 boys & 17 girls, all in Jr. Secondary school) and 8 young adults who I recruited to be "team coaches". While it was fun to see the kids having fun and get excited about a new bandanna, I was more excited to see my coaches be leaders and role models for the youth. They did a lot of the planning and preparation and really made the day special for the youth.

I mentioned in my last update that my cat was pregnant. Well, she did in fact deliver two kittens on Aug. 20th. They are 8 weeks old tomorrow and doing very well. One has actually already gone to it's new home and the other will soon. Cats are not sold for money here. The tradition is to give a fowl in exchange for a kitten. I, of course, picked people who I knew would take care of them (i.e. feed them every day).

If you remember, I came to Ghana one year ago last month (Sept. 23rd). Hard to believe I've been gone for a year already. Some days it feels like time has flown by and some days I feel like I've been here ages. Well, a new group of 49 volunteers arrived a few weeks ago and are going to be in Techiman for 10 weeks of training (just like I did last year). My Peace Corps supervisor in Accra asked me to be a trainer for the new group. So, I was in Accra the first two weeks of September for a ToT (Training of Trainers). And over the course of the next two months, I will go to Techiman 2 or 3 times to be a trainer for the newbies. While I don't like traveling that much or being away from my site, I do like going to Techiman. It feels like home in a way since my host family is there and that is first place I lived and learned this culture. I will have to re-learn my Twi (the language spoken there), but I'll also help the Kusaal language trainer. There are a few volunteers being posted to my region - yeah!!

This year marks the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps. The program was started in 1961 by President Kennedy, and Ghana was actually the first country to get volunteers. To celebrate the occasion, the U.S. Ambassador hosted a reception at her house in Accra. All of the PC volunteers, staff, and other Americans working in Ghana were invited. The president of Ghana (Pres. Kufour) was our keynote speaker. He also shook a few hands and took a group picture with all of us. There were about 80 volunteers plus the new group of trainees in attendance, so it was really fun for us see each other and it gave us a reason to get all dressed up. We enjoyed the good finger food, open bar, and live music!! Peace Corps got some special funding for the event so we were also put up for two nights at one of the beach resorts. I guess I can thank you tax payers in the U.S. for that treat!! :)

I recently harvested my groundnuts. For two days, I had more than 10 people helping me harvest and then pluck. I filled half a bag. If I were to sell it in the market (which I won't), I could get 70,000 cedis which is equal to US $7.80. My maize did not work out so well. I did everything right (weeding, fertilizer, etc...), but the ground just wasn't fertile enough. I ended up with about one bowl. I'll grind it and then give to someone to make a dish for me. I'm wondering if I could make creamed corn. Wishful thinking I think. My garden did very well. I've been eating (but mostly giving away) green peppers, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, and hot red peppers. People get excited when I give them things from my garden.

School has resumed, although with my traveling schedule being so hectic the couple months, I'm not going to teach regular classes as planned. I'm planning to do special projects with the business classes and/or evening classes with the students preparing for their "end of SSS" exam.

I'm sad to report that the rainy season is coming to an end. Until a couple weeks ago, it was raining nearly every day and I was loving every minute. It's only raining about once a week now and it's really hot and sunny during the day. The farmers are happy. The heat and sun is good for the crops. Now we're waiting for cool nights and Harmaton winds.

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