October 8, 2011
In exactly two months from today, I'll be on my way home to the United States! It's crazy to think that my trip is at the halfway point, or very close to it. Currently I am traveling on a small and cramped bus to Tamale, in the Northern region of Ghana. Tamale is pretty urban, and the people do not speak Twi. There are some different languages but apparently, many people do speak English. Tamale is much hotter than the Southern parts of Ghana where we have primarily been and not part of the forest region. Tamale is much more Muslim than Southern parts of Ghana, so we have to dress much more conservatively. While we are there we will be going to Mole National Park, and have a chance to see elephants! We also will be taking a trip to the first mosque in West Africa. The majority of our time is exploring Tamale and attending a few lectures as a group. We are split into two different groups, and will stay in two different hotels. A week from today is when we depart Tamale and head back to Kumasi for one night. After that, we head out on our educational tour of Ghana for about 15 days. And then back to Accra! I have a feeling that the next two months are going to go really quickly, and I'll be home before I know it!
Our group left the village region, Bekwai, yesterday and arrived in Kumasi for the evening at Lizzie's Hotel. The village was an incredible, intense experience. Each village had seven people with their own staff. My village group got along really well, and it's a little sad to not be with just the nice small group. Our staff was really hardworking too. Auntie Afresh was our main staff member who was in her thirties. She had a daughter named Viola who was five months old and adorable! It was really fun having a baby around to play with and entertain. Sylvia and Simon were our other staff members, both in their early twenties. It was nice to have a little younger staff to hang out with and help us with our interviews. Patience was our "caterer", and literally made the best food I've had yet in Ghana! We had such a wide variety, and no fish was included! She was trained in Kumasi, and uses a lot less oil than a lot of the cooking we had previously been eating, so the food was a little easier on our digestive system. I’m definitely going to miss her cooking.
While we were in our village, Morontoo, we saw and learned so much. I was able to visit both the Primary and Junior High Schools of the village. I ended up doing my mini-independent study project on the education system in Morontoo. The villagers were so helpful and willing to speak with me. I interviewed teachers, students, parents, and elders, including the chief of the village. I am planning on doing my major-independent study project on a comparison of the education system between village life and urban life. Hopefully I'll be able to stay in a village for some time, and then head to Accra. I also have a month to fully decide, so my plans may change.
The village of Morontoo had about 600 villagers. My family was extremely nice, as was everyone in the village. I lived with the oldest man in the village and his family. Absolutely no one in my family spoke English, which made interacting pretty difficult. But I really appreciated having a nice home to sleep in. When I left, we each presented a gift to our families. I gave my family some bread, Milo, soap, and candy. My host sister was so grateful for bread because she had asked me to pick some up at the market, and was so excited that I actually did! However, living in the village had its' difficulties, as well. All of the villagers wanted to speak with us, whenever we walked by. Especially in the village culture, it is rude to not greet anyone you run into on the street. Greeting people usually made everything take longer, and everyone constantly asked us where we were going and what were our names. It was nice to go to Kumasi yesterday, and not have to greet everyone on the street. The villagers also constantly asked for our help, and for material items. Our group was extremely willing to help out. We ended up paying the hospital bill for a 13-year old boy named Bernard, who cut off part of his finger cutting cocoa beans with a machete. He had the accident a month ago, and was unable to afford any medical attention. After seeing his finger, we paid for him to go to Bekwai and receive medical help. This was really rewarding to be able to help a child, and his mother came to thank us multiple times. As a gift to the entire village, our group paid for 10 desk and chair sets for the school, because one classroom in the Junior High does not have any furniture. The village elders thanked us, and we shared some gin shots with them as a celebration on our last night.
Despite helping in any way we could, we all felt a little guilty for not being able to help more. The villagers automatically assume that we have unlimited funds, and though we are much better off than many people here, it was difficult to realize that we were unable to help everyone. This struggle was felt by our entire group, and was definitely stressful to deal with. I think our whole group wants to help out the village once we are back in the states. They love to receive clothing, school supplies, and general help.
We were able to learn a lot about farming in the village, as well. Most people and families in the village farm or have farming in their family. We visited a couple of farms. I learned a lot about the palm nut tree, which is actually much different than the tree we call a palm tree. The villagers use every single part of the tree. The leaves are used to fan kings and elders in ceremonies and festivals. The bark is ripped off to make small brooms. The palm nuts are bright red, boiled, and used to make palm oil. The little hairs on the palm nuts are dried to be used as fire starter. And inside them palm nut tree is palm wine! We got to try palm wine directly from the tree, and watch the palm wine man tap into the tree. Palm wine is very fresh, and tastes like coconut fruit juice. It is clear but somewhat frothy. The wine is somewhat alcoholic and goes bad very quickly. Palm wine is used later to make abateshe. This is fermented and distilled, to make a really alcoholic drink that tastes like a mixture of gin and vodka. It is very cheap and pretty easily found in the village by the bottles. According to legend, a man was really thirsty one day and saw an elephant drinking out of a palm nut tree. The man went over and drank some of the liquid inside. After drinking his fill, he realized that he was actually feeling intoxicated, and thus, palm wine was born. On the farms we were also able to see cassava, yams, cocoa yams, and plantain trees.
From our village we were able to see the lake, where 27 villages reside by. One day we walked down to the lake, a steep but insanely beautiful trek. We swam and waded in the lake because it was just so hot. The lake was beautiful and large. The villages depend on the lake for fish, water, and other food. The walk from the lake was pretty intense, especially due to the pouring rain. The water situation in the village was really interesting, and a girl in our group did her mini-ISP on the topic. In the past the village went to two small rivers, connected to the lake, for all drinking, cooking, and cleaning water. The water is believed to have a spirit, and must be greatly respected. Sometimes the water would dry up, and the villagers would have to wait. On Wednesdays, no one is allowed to go near the rivers because of respect for the spirit. Some even believe that they can ask the spirit for things and its' power to help infertility. About 8 years ago, the village received a two large water tanks that are connected to a deep hole in the ground. The village currently receives water from the tanks, as long as the water is available. The water is really clean, and if desired, we could have even drunk some. The tanks do cost money, as the village has had some trouble with mechanical issues. A bucket of water is about 15 to 20 cents in American currency. Yet, many families are unable to afford to buy the tank water and still use the water from the rivers. We fetched water a couple of times and learned how to carry the buckets on our heads! Everyone in Ghana carries amazing amounts of things on their heads, and honestly, carrying the water bucket this way was much easier than with one's arm! The village also sells sachet water, water in small plastic bags that has been purified elsewhere. SIT has informed us of certain safe sachets to buy, and generally the sachets are extremely inexpensive. For example, a large bag of 30 sachets is about 60 cents in American currency, as one sachet is about 2 cents. The idea of sachet water has helped children stay in school because they do not have to run home to drink water, and has attracted more quality teachers because of the ease of technology like this.
This past Wednesday, our group took a tro-tro to the Bekwai market. It was nice to see a large urban area once again. We had an American dinner night, where we cooked for ourselves and the staff, in an attempt to make American food. We bought tons of sweet bread, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, pasta, and crackers. I was in charge of making the salsa, and we made garlic bread with garlic pasta. As I was making the salsa, I cut up the peppers, not knowing much about them. Annie, a girl in my group, also de-seeded the peppers. About ten minutes later, her mouth was burning on the outside, around her mouth because she had incidentally put her hands on her mouth. About five minutes after that, my hands were on fire. They felt as though I had burns from a stove or fire. We had a staff member rub tomatoes on us, then cold water, aloe, and lotion. I literally do not think I have ever been in that much pain. Annie and I both cried, but our pain subsided eventually. We had our hands and faces washed with soap and then shea butter. The wine and American food also cheered us up a lot. Apparently, Ghanaians do not ever touch the peppers but mash them or use the juice in the cooking. The peppers only topically burn one's skin. We unfortunately learned the hard way. On the bright side, the salsa was amazing, and had just the right amount of spice!
No comments:
Post a Comment