What were you thinking when you first ... ?

Someone asked me the other day what I was thinking the first time I came to Binaba. This question comes up a lot actually. What was I thinking the first time I ... asked a tro-tro driver to pull over so I could urinate on the side of the road, ate with my hands, listened to a hard rain pounding on zinc roof, took a cold bucket bath, heard a geiko chirping in my room, washed my own clothes, sat in church for 5 hours or at a funeral for 7 hours?

But the first time to Binaba??? Everything is normal until you turn off the main, paved road (with the occasional cow crossing - see left) and proceed to drive 20 km (45 minutes) down a very bumpy, pot hole filled, dirt road (see below). My first time was actually at night and I didn't see much except bush fires off in the distance. I thought they were quite beautiful actually ... and then I learned how bad they are for the environment. I was also sharing the front seat of a small taxi with Alfred, who would later become one of my good buddies in Binaba. That's a bonding experience for anyone.

The second time, however, was during the day and I saw very well that we were driving to the middle of nowhere and it was taking a very long time. Welcome to your new home!

But I've adjusted and come to love Binaba. I don't necessarily love the transportation to and from. There are days when I can't get a car in or out of the village (this is frustrating). I don't even mind the 45 minute bumpy ride in a overloaded tro-tro. I like listening to the different conversations people have - most of the time talking about where they went and why or gossiping about other people in the village. If it's been a long day, I put my headphones on, relax, and enjoy the window breeze. Or I listen to the local music and the rest of the car singing along.

I was reminded recently of how much I've adjusted to life here. My homestay sister, Cynthia, came to stay with me for a few weeks last month. This was her first time traveling north of Techiman (which is basically the border for "south-north" when speaking of Ghana geography). I met her in Tamale and traveled the rest of the way with her. Besides nearly suffocating in our brutal hot season heat, I think she enjoyed her stay and she made a couple new friends. Her first question as we were driving on that very same bumpy, dirt road from Zebilla to Binaba was "why are your houses round?" It hadn't dawned on me that she would have never seen round houses before. That's just how they build them in the north! And because they put grass roofs on round rooms. Several days later, we were walking through the market when she noticed the huge baobab tree where women sit and sell goods. Cynthia literally stopped walking, looked up in awe, and asked "what is that?". I was so shocked! The baobab tree is like - the symbol of Africa! But they don't have them in the south. Baobabs like very hot, dry weather. There were multiple instances like this while she was here. It was neat for me to share my home in Ghana with my Ghanaian sister.

So, this got me thinking about where I live. Funny how things work out. During my interview, I asked to be in a medium size city near the middle of the country. I wanted a house with running water and electricity. If I wasn't in a city, I wanted to be close to a major city. What did I get? Binaba. The completely opposite of what I asked for. And I could not be happier! I love living in the north. I could write pages and pages on the differences, but it's definitely one of those times that I thanked God for unanswered prayers.