Site Visit

Greetings from Western Region! I spent the last few days visiting my future home for the next two years. Needless to say, this past week was packed.

While in Kumasi, we finally got to meet our primary contacts who were selected by their communities that will receive each of us as an official PC volunteer at the end of December. The ceremony was pretty cool – we all stood on the big hand-drawn map of Ghana and shook hands with our contacts. My contact person turned out to be Mr. Okra – a cocoa farmer, a beekeeper (!), and a respected person in the community. He told me a little bit about the community: there are several farming groups there already, and everyone is excited to meet me. He was a great companion during our 2-hour  journey from Kumasi to Bibiani (the district capital), and then all the way to my new peaceful abode in the African bush.

I admit that I’ve had low expectations about my site, accommodations etc.: I tried not to get too excited when senior volunteers dropped hints here and there. So, when I saw a cozy bungalow nestled among plantain and palm trees, I almost had tears in my eyes. I don’t like to brag, but I just have to say it: it felt like home right away. It had a shelf full of books (a library!), hand-made quilts, chill neighbors (all are teachers of the nearby school), potted plants and a kitchen full of useful stuff left from previous two volunteers. Oh, and, as it wasn't enough, a yoga mat and a frisbee!! Life is good (will post pics when my connection is better):

Here are some highlights from the site visit:

1)      The coolest thing was to meet a local chief. I first met him by accident when I stopped by at the village school to say hello to teachers. Apparently, the village chief is also a teacher! Later that day, Mr. Okra took me to the chief’s house for an official visit, which was pretty casual considering the fact that the chief wore a t-shirt and Charlie Watsies. Very American, if you ask me ;).

2)      While walking through the market in Bibiani (where you can buy pretty much anything – from groundnuts to coffins), I also met an agriculture advisor from Burkina Faso, who not only lived in Canada, but also studied in Russia (Krasnodar, where my mom is from). So, speaking Russian with a fellow African about my mom’s homeland was also pretty cool.

3)      On the way from the market both me and Mr. Okra discovered that our phones disappeared and then miraculously reappeared on the taxi’s floor. Apparently a thief had a change of heart when we also discovered that our money was gone, so we couldn’t get out of the taxi and pay (fyi – I only had 2 cds stolen, hopefully it’s my biggest loss while in Ghana).

4)      Everyone is impressed with my Twi-speaking skills (although I feel that they are regressing). However, I’m in a Seshwi region, which is a different language. Oh, well – back to square one.

5)      In two days I visited two different churches (as I was told, churches is where the main community-bonding action happens!). So far the record service (after Presby’s in Anyinasin: 3 hours) belongs to 7^th Day Adventists: 3.5 hours (although they were broken down by a Bible study session). The Methodist Church had a modest 2-hour service.

6)      There are no goats and sheep in this village! Apparently, there was a meeting one day to decide to prohibit these animals because they roam around and destroy the crops. I like baby goats, so I felt a bit at loss when I didn’t see them, but then when I saw big tomato bushes, okra plants and watermelons growing everywhere, I understood the rationale. The ‘No-goats’ rule rules.

7)      Most importantly, everyone here is super-cool! Maybe it’s because nobody called me ‘obroni’, or maybe it’s because I’m still a newbie in Africa, and everything seems great before a wave of blues crashes a bubble of isolated bliss.

We shall wait and see. So far, I’m happy to be chosen to live and work where I was chosen to live and work.