Hello from Ghana!
After a month of living and working here I thought I would send out an update of my life and general Ghanaian observations. Especially since I've done such a wonderful job at neglecting my blog www.GhanaGetchaGood.blogspot.com. It's not even worth clicking on the link – I haven't posted since before I left Timmins, which I apologize for.
Life in Ghana:
Life is GOOD. I feel like I've been here a lot longer than a month, and I mean that in a good way. I feel settled in and in charge of my environment, which is a big deal… Those of you who've lived and worked in a foreign country can agree that the initial independence-destroying helplessness that tends to accompany life in an unpredictable environment can be very unnerving. I have every reason to thank Benjamin and his wife Pearl for the ease of transition. Benjamin, a school buddy from Dalhousie, Pearl and her nephew Moses and I have lived together since I arrived. I think my last message told about me looking for a place to live, but we've decided that living with them is the best idea, which I agree! There's nothing better than coming home to friends to share the details of my day with – and I think they get a kick out of all the situations I get into partly because I'm white and partly because I'm still pretty ignorant about how things work around here. But they have taken me under their Ghanaian wings and showed me the intricacies of their country. I've learned their crazy bus or tro tro system which gets me to work after an hour ride for $0.35. I know how to get a cab and which prices are too much and how to bargain without being rude. And most importantly, Benjamin introduced me to his tailor who's been great at making Phil-sized office pants for wicked cheap.
I'm slowly learning how to cook typical dishes here and my stomach has recovered weeks ago from the change in fare. There's something about living in foreign countries that makes me excited about hard stools. My own I mean… But the food is excellent – spicy and flavourful. I eat rice and plantain and yams a lot along with fish and chicken, mutton and goat. But fish is the most common meat. My breakfast consists of oatmeal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or eggs, which serves nicely as comfort food. There is also a category of food that is similar to a raw dough ball, but less stringy, that we eat with supper - tearing off little bits of the ball and dunking it in okra soup or some other stew-like dish is a local favourite. They tend not to be so popular among foreigners but I don't see what the big deal is. With that said, I should say that my favourite snacks here have been gizzard kebabs and sucking out the eyeballs from fried fish heads! It's what they do here! The street food here is tasty, cheap and relatively clean. They sell mini meat pies and kebabs mostly, along with freshly squeezed orange and sugar cane juice. I should say mostly clean since last night, the guy cooking my kebabs was basting them with a brush made out of plastic bag bits which looked half melted… yum! Plastic! The BBQer was a nice guy though. He spoke a dialect called Pigeon, which I liken to the accent found in Newfoundland. Ghanaians already have an accent that I have a tough time with, so this guy with the accent on top of the accent made my right eye twitch trying to figure out what he said. He said something like "Ay a bye bo kebabs a bobo dee taste good" to which I twitchingly agreed.
It's also great that I have a cell phone which is a great security blanket – no matter where I am I know there are a bunch of people to come to my rescue if needed. Of course, it's also great for getting support from Mom and Dad at home and my new wonderful girlfriend (Hi Erin!) in Hamilton… I'm extremely lucky to have these people in my life. Without them, the experience would be trying instead of enjoyable.
Work
Working on migrant health in Ghana has been fascinating so far. Because of Ghana's developed infrastructure and more-or-less organized government, many West Africans come through Accra before heading off to Europe or North America as refugees or temporary labour. So we work with a lot of people from Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo and more recently Liberia what with the political upheaval there. Our organization, funded mainly through American and European migration establishments, aims to coordinate the movement of these people while ensuring the receiving countries' policies for entry. For example, people from West Africa wanting to go do short-term work in the UK are required to have TB testing before they go and our office provides the clinic.
When I first arrived, a lot of my work was based around project fundraising which I did by writing up proposals and concept papers around different projects the Migrant Health Department could carry out. It was fun and I know how important proficiency in proposal writing is. But when, over the course of a 20 minute conversation with my boss that effectively promoted me from lowly-intern-who-writes-up-proposals to lowly-intern-who-manages-HIV-prevention-projects, I wasn't disappointed. I guess he liked my work. Coordinating people and moving projects forward is exciting and challenging to say the least. I mean, I have a rough enough time trying to find my way to work in this highly unpredictable, chaotic city, so coordinating the spreading HIV prevention information to thousands of people should be cinch...
One of the potential projects I'd be running has to do with the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament. It's like the World Cup, but for Africa alone, and it's being hosted in Ghana – we're expecting thousands of visitors to the country during the three weeks in January. IOM wants me to advertise HIV prevention information at the games, which are being played in four separate corners of the country, by using pamphlets, posters, banners, billboards and radio and TV commercials. It'll be a great opportunity to share this knowledge to a huge group with a variety of understandings of the disease. I'm just wondering how the heck to put up a billboard in Ghana! I'm learning lots, that's for sure.
The hospitality that Ghanaians are famous for has been welcomed and I'm fortunate to be their guest for the next 5 months. It's great to have a place that I can call home for the next little while. But it'll be even better to travel the 8711 km back.
Take care,
Phil
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