Help. Fix. or Serve.

Hello!

The summer is coming to an end and I cannot believe it! Since I wake up so early here, I feel like the days are so long because so much can be done. 

Health

I was not feeling well for a while and a number of other participants got typhoid and malaria, so I wanted to make sure that my sickness was not either of those.  I went to the doctors to get checked for both because it is only 12 cedis. First walking in saying I want those tests, the nurse looked at me as I was put into the lab room for a blood sample. After some time the nurse that was taking my blood came in and spilled a little sanitizer on the table. He then cleaned the whole desk before he looked to take my blood. Yet, he could not find my vain, looked at me and said, “Lydia, you have too much skin.” I had to burst out laughing and as he stared he took the blood from the top of my hand. After an hour sitting outside, at dusk with the mosquitos, another nurse came to me and said that I had malaria and suggested that I talked to the doctor. After I read the sheet she gave me I began to stand up as she walked back over to me saying that I do not have anything. Confused and relieved I went to the doctor to see if he had any suggestions on what to do about me not feeling well. He stated that in psychology if your friends are sick you could feel sick and you should go to someone that can handle that issue. I decided to leave after being called fat and crazy. From that day on I found a running partner and I go on runs every evening, which is on a really beautiful path with a lot of trees and not a lot of noise.

FOOD

I created a movie sharing the special of the day for Max and Emily’s, a local sandwich shop.  At this restaurant I had to have the sandwich out before 12 minutes after the order was taken. Yet, here I have been to restaurants where it takes 3 hours, after pre-ordering. These are the stories to tell because as we were waiting the toilet flooded the entire restaurant and lights went out. I will never complain about my food being “a little too….anything!”

Also, I have learned how to cook a traditional porridge. My sister and I were on the porch with the coal burning little frying pan for many hours. We then cooked groundnuts, corn, and a few other types of nuts. I could only think of the song “chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” It took about three hours to cook them and then it was time to take of the skin of the groundnuts. After three and a half hours of cooking, I carried the finished product on my head to the corn mill with Joyce, my roommate, and sister. The walk to the corn mill was a lot longer with the heavy bucket on my head. The finished product after being put through the mill 5 times tasted a little like Cheerios. Yet, the next morning the porridge did not taste like Cheerios.

WORK

For the last week with Emily and Lashae we went on inspections with the Assembly Members and did a few inspections with them to teach them the procedure. This was easy because we typed out a checklist of all of the requirements that the new bye-law presents. It was interesting to do this because all of the Assembly Members wanted to welcome me their home and tell me all about their lives.  The pride in their voices was really inspiring. 

One thing that is awesome about my boss, Amofa, is that if I have a passion to do something he will help me make it possible. A passion of mine is educating others on issues of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. My involvement as a SAPA, Sexual Aggression Peer Advocate, allows me to be involved at school. Yet, this week I was able to do a presentation on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to a group of individuals from both genders with a wide range of ages. The questions afterwards made me realize that these individuals did not know of a place where they could ask questions and openly talk about their experiences. This was particular hard due to the fact that many individuals believe that the man of the house still has all of the power. Empowering individuals is such a huge service that needs to be done in Ghana.

I had the opportunity to go to Aboom, which is a school for individuals with special needs. This smaller school was inside of another larger Methodist school. There was a program going on that day to try to get the school to be more aware of individuals with all types of different needs. I was sent there to do a report on the program and was very pleased. Yet, it did make me so angry how the other kids treated the students on the way into the program. The individuals at the school were full of energy and smiles; I can definitely say that I got my dance lessons in.

I received my passport in case anyone else was worried about that! On Thursday night in ProWorld GCI class I learned about more service learning.  Many definitions of service learning were given such as service is proactive versus reactive and a way of life. We discussed the differences in helving vs. serving vs. fixing. As we want to ensure the action and mindset of the correct one to help the community, not necessarily the word itself. Collectively we agreed that fixing had a form of judgment, as something needed to be fixed and the way it is being done is incorrect. That helping someone, it can be perceived as they are weak and need the help because they cannot do it on their own.  Whereas serving someone, would be seeing a person as a whole individual, one that we can service, as we are profoundly connected to and willing to trust. This was a great way to end the Thursday discussions.    

Queen

Queen Mother!  My close friend, Mackenzie, was dubbed Nana hemma (Queen Mother) of Asemanso, a village that she visits a few times a week. This is a process that is somewhat similar to a weeding, where I was like her maid of honor.  Everyone that came to the village was first welcomed and greeted as we exited the TroTro by the whole community. Then we split into group to do Life Straws, which is 40 cedi ($20) tube with a filter on the top that is hung from the ceiling for the families clean drinking, bathing, cooking, and washing water. This sounds great as they are but they are small and if the filter is used for all of those needs and if used incorrectly, which is easy to do, the dirty water can come out. Once many families received the Life Straws it was time to start the ceremony.

To start Mackenzie and I went to meet the chief and get her into her coordination outfit, along with 10 other women dressing her. She had 5 pieces of clothe wrapped around her, to make her fat. And then one over top of them tied like a toga with many gold rings, necklaces, anklets, bracelets, sandals and even a crown with gold on it. After the huge parade into the ceremony where she was fanned, Mackenzie vowed that this would always be her village and the schnapps was poured onto the ground. Many tribal dances, songs, and traditions were done before the Queen had to do an outfit switch. The ten women and I all went back to the room to dress Mackenzie in the kentay clothes that the village was giving her to keep. This was a really rewarding experience and I am very thankful that I was able to be involved in it.

Weekends

Saturday the 20th was our day to continue the Impact Project! The project is building the clinic and it was a lot of fun. I could defiantly see a lot of improvement made on the last experience. There were trenches that we dug, after we carried the water on our heads for the miles, and built the cement blocks.

On Sunday the 21st I was just living the life of a Ghanaian woman. I went to church, like I do about every weekend and it was 4 1/2 a half hours. It was nice as the pastor was having everything translated. After church I did my laundry and taught my new roommate, Joyce, to do hers. It was weird to think that I was teaching someone to do laundry by hand.  Then it was time to cook, which I love learning to do. It was FuFu night so I pounded the Fufu and made the light soup.

On the 27^th I went to a beach cleanup early in the morning. A group of about ten of us went to a local beach at 6 am to clean up the trash. This is something that truly needs to be done. After the cleanup I went around visiting all of the individuals that have made my experience, as Mackenzie went to say goodbye to them. At dusk about five of us girls went to a radio station to see how it was managed here in Ghana. At the station, Cape 93.3, we were put in front of microphones and had a blast. There may or may not have been a “that’s what she said joke” on Ghana’s air. Yet, putting 5 giggly American girls on live air what can be expected. The thought of it being culturally unacceptable was taken into consideration, but as sarcasm or any jokes like that are not used here we were assured that it was good and will be laughed at by those who understand. At night we said Goodbye to each other with another rooftop hangout that looks over the main part of town, on top of one of the homestay family’s homes.

This weekend, and especially the 28^th, was a really tough because it was all the participants that I came in with last weekend in Ghana.  As I said see you soon to all of them I thought of what huge impacts that they made on the individuals and communities in Ghana and on me.

I am not thinking about that next week is my last week because it will just seem unreal. I have forgotten what it is like in America and have been told I am officially a Ghanaian.

Until next week,

Aba Lydia