From here I can go anywhere, almost!

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Ghana has an interesting and comprehensive ground transportation system that once you get on can take you almost anywhere in the country. After walking, bicycles and motorcycles the most common way to move around Ghana is by ground transportation. Volunteers do a lot of walking, some bike riding always with a helmet, but no moto's unless it is an emergency. Even being a passenger on a motorbike is the beginning of a fast trip back to USA. I walk a lot as I am restricted from riding a bike in the village since the only paved street is the heavily used highway and the Peace Corps has decided that is too dangerous, even with a helmet.

This is a picture of the taxi stand in the village where I live. The blue kiosk is a lady's hair dresser and the palm cover spot is a place to buy fast food, mostly rice dishes, while you are waiting on the taxi or just need something to eat. It is also a place to get out of the sun. The small cabs, mostly Japanese or Korean made, wait until a full load is on board before departing, usually four adults plus the driver. I have never waited more than 20 minutes for the ride into the market city, takes 15 minutes for about 50 cents. Similar taxis go up and down the road about every 20 seconds looking for passengers by blowing their horns and slowing down. An array of hand signals allows you to indicate number of passengers and how far you are going. For me living at the far end of the village, it is easy to walk 30 feet to the road and signal a taxi, but I was told the Village Chief has established this taxi stand and villagers are to go there to take a taxi in order to support the continuation of the local service. So I walk to the stand.

Once in the market city, you are dropped off at a large, busy taxi stand, where you engage the longer distance transportation vehicles. Everything from large, luxury buses to the most common means of Volunteer travel, the "Tro-tro," In almost all cases the Tro's are increased seating, mini-vans or larger vans all re-fitted for max passengers. They leave in all directions from multiple locations in the city and like the taxis wait until they have every seat filled with a person and all the stuff you are bringing. Get in, get settled because that is how you are going to stay for the trip. I have seen some of the larger Tro's with goats riding up in the baggage racks. So by asking questions or knowledgeable trip planning you are able to go from taxi to bus, back to taxi or another bus, and throw in some walking until you reach your destination. Coverage to destinations in Ghana is pretty complete and the system amazingly works in moving people if you discount waiting time, transfer difficulties, break downs and sometimes having a stranger sleeping on your shoulder. However, this type of transportation has risks with frequent overloads, vehicle maintenance concerns, road conditions and many times very aggressive drivers. Peace Corps staff does not want Volunteers traveling at night because of the increase in those risks.

Personal automobiles are rare in the village, most being light trucks or used as taxis. I am told no railways are currently operating in Ghana. And as I was writing, I realized I have not seen an aircraft of any kind since leaving Accra almost eight months ago. Big difference from the sky around Virginia Beach and its military presence.

I have not done a lot of personal traveling in Ghana yet, but will look forward to seeing more of the country during my next term break in late April. I am certain it will add to the adventure.

Passion in Ghana

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Saturday about 7:30 pm, on main street in the village where I live. These residents are not waiting to get into a club, but are watching football (soccer) at a small kiosk that sells small house hold items and has a TV. It is the Ghana National Team's second match in the first round of the African Cup. They defeated Botswana last weekend and are playing Mali this evening. The Ghana Black Stars are one of the favorites to win the Cup.

I have not seen or experienced anything else in Ghana that reaches even near the level of passion that football does. Any object that is even a little round quickly becomes the ball by the young children and the match is on. Work stops and a crowd gathers to watch the Primary and Junior High school teams compete.

The school where I teach has a team which is ranked in the upper quarter of the teams in the local Junior High School league. They practice and sometimes compete on a field that is uneven, half dirt and half grass, full of stones and goat droppings, the school porch sitting on one inbound line, and a old tree stump just to the left of one goal. The game is fast, straight ahead and physical. Players must strap everything on tight and bring their "black and blue" game in order to compete. They are "all in" and cannot wait to get the game going. Spectators are no less involved and disputed calls often result in a large number of fans on the pitch pointing fingers, yelling loudly, often not even involving the single referee attempting to control the match. I attended the soccer games my three children played, but they were not even close to this level of intensity.

I am rooting for the Black Stars and it would be a neat experience to celebrate winning the Cup with the Ghanians. The village just erupted in cheers as the Stars scored their second goal in the match.

I will also have the opportunity to be a witness to the election of a President of Ghana this coming December. Listening to the morning talk shows with the other teachers, it seems the campaign has begun and like the campaigns in the USA, will be competitive and full of passionate debate on the issues.

Interesting times in my village and in the country of Ghana.

A weather report from Ghana

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

It is usually difficult for an amateur to capture the brilliance of a sunrise or sunset. This was my amateur shot taken this morning, just past 6:30 AM as I am walking to school for my 7 o'clock class. It is unexpectedly cool and you can see the two school girls in uniform ahead of me have added a jacket. The farming region of Brong Ahafo is almost two months into the dry season with no rain expected until late March, early April. Most vegetation is brown and very dry, except the large trees. Many wild fires springing up. The picture captures a little bit of the conditions of this season as a consequence of a phenomenon in this part of the world, the Harmattan winds off the Sahara far to the north east. Although it may look like smoke or fog, the reduced visibility and covering of the rising sun is the dust and grit in the air that has come with the dry season winds and will last until the rains begin again. Some spectacular sunsets, but also dust and grit settling everywhere, causing me respiratory coughing during the night and some serious "ring around the collar" during the day. One of the interesting aspects is that the mornings are now comparatively cool. Not sure why, but it may have to do with less daylight as a result of the overcast sky. I sleep under two sheets with socks on and many of the Ghanians are in long sleeves, sweaters, and coats early in the morning, but by mid morning it is what I expect of a day near the equator in Africa. I am told it will get much warmer and in the northern regions easily top 115 degrees F.

School has begun again and the days and weeks are full and pass quickly. The "book" says I should be experiencing "over zealousness, homesickness, uncertainties about adapting, and intolerance of the host culture." So far so good in coping with those circumstances. Much of that I credit to you and your continuing interest in my new job and what I am doing with my time. My health is excellent and I am grateful for a supportive family and group of friends.

First Term School Break

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Today is the end of the first week of the school term break and New Year's eve. I have used most of this week to work on some projects in the house where I live. We Americans just seem to have this urge to improve things or at least make more convenient or comfortable. For me that has meant getting my kitchen up off the floor and fully functioning. That project was put on hold while I concentrated on the challenges of the school term, academic and administrative.

The house owners brother who lives in the village has given me permission to use a third room in the house as a storage and work room. As you see in the picture, I am repairing an interior door that appeared to have the lock set force ably yanked out and that part of the door broken. I have installed a new lock set on the exterior door and replaced the torn mosquito screens and once the interior door is rehung, the room will be a more secure place to store things, including my hand tools.

The pieces of furniture are from the school. On the first day of school, I discovered that the students must provide their own desk and chair. One of the expectations for classroom conduct that I shared that first day was, "Do not leave any of your things in the classroom at the end of the day" by which I meant no trash/notebooks/other personal items. At the end of the school day I noticed students carrying out desks and chairs and asked one of the teachers what was going on. Of course the answer was, "You told them not to leave their stuff!" Once I got that misunderstanding corrected, I found there were abandoned pieces of furniture in much disrepair left in the classrooms, some used by prior students unable to afford their own. When I suggested repair to the Headmaster, like a good leader he said, "fine you are welcome to give it a try." When he asked if I knew what I was doing, I could only reply "Well I don't think I can make them any worse." So, this will be my project in the new year. I hope to find a student that may like to learn furniture repair, but I'll try that after I learn. If you know of a book on Furniture Repair 101, let me know. Repaired furniture will be used by students without the finances to buy their own.

Best I could tell from my village and the much larger market city close by, the Christmas season in Ghana is not close to what we hear, see, and experience in America. No lights, Christmas trees, wreathes, decorations, music, and all the commercial part of the celebration. Their celebration was on Boxing Day, I believe originating in Britain and celebrated the day after Christmas day. Lots of food and all the young children dressed in their finest to pay a visit to the Village Chief and receive some gifts from him. There was a noticeable decline in the population of free range goats and chickens in the village. That evening everyone dressed up and strolled through the village, visiting and talking to each other. That included the only white person in the village. I was invited to the local "Jam", but I believe wisely declined.

Term break continues for another week. I look forward to another challenging term with great anticipation and with renewed care in how I give instructions to my students.

All the best to you and your families in 2012.

End of Junior High School Term 1

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

This week will be the completion of the 15 weeks of the first term at the Junior High School where I teach. Because the classrooms are crowded, the students gather under the large mango tree in front of the school for their end of term exams. The Form 1 class (7th grade) finished the term with 69 students and the Form 2 (8th grade) with 51 students. Fortunately the tree is large enough so everyone can be in the shade and the dry season has arrived, so little chance of rain. This weekend I will be grading, calculating and posting grades for maths and computer tech. I am as anxious as the students to see the outcome as it will give me a chance to measure my teaching success and see if I should make adjustments as Term 2 begins the second week in January. I am pleased that I am doing just what I volunteered to do and enjoying the daily challenge of working to inspire my students to get an education. They are still at the beginning of that process and my classroom includes the full range of student interests, from the "not interested" to the "Mr Ernest, help me with this problem." Most have more obstacles to overcome than I can imagine; no electricity in the home, no books, parents that need them to help with the farming or in the home, few role models to encourage getting an education, lack of opportunity in the workplace, and others.

I do not plan much travel for the holiday season as I still have a number of things to complete at my living area that have been put on hold during classes. I will get my kitchen up off the floor by completing the building of counters and setting up the place to cook. I will also start trying to rebuild some of the broken down furniture from the school. Students must provide their own desk and chair and over time a substantial number of unusable pieces have collected at the school. If I can repair, students with financial need can use them. Never done anything like that, but I have enjoyed working with my hands so looking forward to that opportunity.

I continue to be healthy although level of activity, exercise, temperature and diet have caused some weight lose. Thank you for your continued interest in my new job.

Farmers Day in Ghana

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Tomorrow, December 2, is a national holiday in Ghana, Farmers Day. The country honors its citizens who produce the food and honors one as the Farmer of the Year. I am told the presentation is on national television and the winner is recognized with a commendation from the Government and many gifts.

I live in a village made up almost entirely of farming families in one of the most productive farming region in Ghana. Farming is not heavily mechanized, but made up of many small farms tended with care, mostly by hand. A wide variety of crops are raised just in my area; cassavas, corn, plantains, cashews, mangoes, pineapples, yams, beans, okra, oranges, peanuts, tomatoes, green and red hot peppers, cocoa, carrots, and more. Many of the children in my classes, if not in school are helping their parents on the farm. Like most farmers I have met, they are industrious, hard working, and are grateful for the crops they tend. This is the end of a shorter, second growing season, as the rains have recently stopped and we are entering the dry season that I am told lasts until March. It has turned hot during the middle of the day and the wind from the northeast, called the Hamattan, bringing dust from the Sahara has begun.
A fifteen minute car ride from the village where I live is the largest outdoor food market in all of Ghana. Thursday is the main market day and it is filled with vendors of all types of foods, cloth, clothing, hardware, household items, and almost any item you can imagine. If you like to browse and bargain, this is the place for you. It can be hot and dusty, with no AC, wide aisles to push a cart, or check out stations. It is all I imagined of an African market.
The picture above is the beginning of my garden. Not in the running for the Farmer of the Year this year. The dead leaves you see, tucked into a large plastic bag full of dirt is Vetiver Grass. This grass has been used extensively in certain parts of the world to slow down soil erosion and the Peace Corps supplied me with the grass. The school where I teach has already experienced some damage to the foundation due to erosion and the Headmaster has allowed me to plant a test patch on my back porch to decide if he will approve some planting at the beginning of the rainy season, March. My crop is on the porch to hopefully keep the free range goats and sheep from eating it. I have to remember to water during the dry season, but I am told the grass is very hardy, will grow in almost any soil, and can withstand a dry season. My neighbors think I am a "crazy man" growing some thing you cannot eat. However, the caretaker of the house is interested in joining with me to grow some tomatoes, peppers, and pineapples in this manner. Farmer of the Year??

Living in the Village

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

I am beginning to feel more like a resident of the village and getting to know more about it. Many of the folks live in these type homes. I am told built 60-100 years ago from the same type earth it is standing on. That soil is a granular clay that is hard as rock when sun baked, but can turn to red talcum powder by wheeled and tracked vehicles, and into red soup of various thicknesses when wet. The walls are 8-10 inches thick and built up layer by layer with no type of reinforcing in the mud. The right consistency was provided by placing the soil in a shallow pit, adding the proper amount of water and working it with the feet until ready to be put in place. Originally these building had thatched roofs which made them much cooler than today's corrugated tin. However you can see the erosion at the bottom of the building and the cracking so many are in need of repair. Available material, cooler inside and reasonably durable accounts for the many I see as I walk through the village. I have seen none under construction. The house I live in is newer and built using concrete blocks made at the work site. The outside of the house looks a little like a Florida ranch style, but the inside is just partially finished. I could easily have sufficient material to build one of the earthen homes from the soil in the front yard. Fortunately farms up in the hills that surround the village have dark, fertile soil in most places.

The rainy season is over. The storms just stopped, and although the mornings and evenings are still cool, the mid day is hot, hot. Many Ghanians just get inside. I am told it gets hotter and the soon the Hamattan winds will start blowing off the Sahara to the north. The Sahara is a good distance away, so not sure what to expect. Rainy season begins in March-April.

I look forward to the days ahead.