Leaving training and going to site is both exciting and a bit scary. On one hand, we were tired of being unproductive and were itching to do something, anything. On the other hand, leaving behind our only supporting systems that are the other volunteers and heading to our sites on our own can be a bit daunting. Fortunately all trainees were given several days to visit our respective sites before swearing in so we did have some idea of what we were getting into. The ample amount of alcohol the night before departure did not hurt either.
So the school of thought is that regardless of their assignments, most volunteers fall in love with their assigned sites sooner or later. I have to admit I belong to that statistic already. I am tasked with teaching computers at Adukrom Secondary Technical School in a village called (you guessed it) Adukrom. The village sits towards the eastern part of the Eastern Region. Some may immediately think that I am close to our neighbor country Togo (who am I kidding, how many of my friends actually are familiar with Africa geography!), but the Eastern Region is actually west of the eastern most Volta Region. My site sits up in the mountains in this relatively flat country. It is easy to understand why my favorite hobby these days is just to look out to the horizon. The vegetation at the foot of the mountain is lush and undisturbed and it stretches out for miles, a sight rarely attainable in developed countries. But aside from the breathtaking views, the altitude provides a rare gem here in Ghana which is the cooler weather. There are even nights when it becomes a bit chilly, especially with that strong breeze coming through ever once in a while. Okay, let’s not get carried away, it is not fur coat cold but definitely long sleeve t-shirt/fleece sweater cold. Since I really dislike the heat (you wouldn’t have guessed it knowing that I have lived in Hong Kong, Houston, and San Antonio almost all my life), I cannot hope for a better site. The colder weather also means less mosquitoes and less chance of getting malaria, which is definitely a plus. Here is a view from my school:
It is no secret that I am a bit culinary challenged. I think I might have cooked less than 10 meals my whole life (I am proud to say that I am an expert in reheating food, it is however a skill less valued here as refrigerators are somewhat scarce). I was a bit worried before coming to Ghana that there is a good chance that I would be hungry for two full years. As it turns out I live in a sizable village where food is quite readily available. There is an egg sandwich lady who works all night. There is a kebab stand and a fried rice stand not too much further away. Decent quality bread is always available everywhere. There is a bar close by that serves good Ghanaian food. Moreover, while school is in session, the school kitchen cooks me breakfast and lunch on week days. The only days when I am hungry are when I am too lazy to leave my living quarters (which scarily happens more often than you think). Speaking of food, I am happy to announce that I have lost some weight. I am basing this on the fact that none of my pants are fitting me any more. As for exactly how many pounds I have lost I would not know until I have my mid-service medical where a scale is available. So at least this is one goal that I was able to accomplish right away!
So I knew that since I was going to be teaching computers that there would be electricity at my site. I am also lucky enough that there is a water faucet just 5 steps outside my door so I don’t have to fetch clean water from far away. It is a strange feeling when I visit some volunteers finding out that some are lacking many of the amenities that are available to me. What seems like an eternity ago when I was applying to become a volunteer, I certainly imagined that I would be roughing it living in some remote village inside a mud hut with thatch roof. So in some sense I feel that I was robbed of the real Peace Corps experience being given such “luxuries”. On the other hand, now I do appreciate so much more the extent of manual labor and time that is saved by running water, washing machine, microwave, refrigerator, and such technologies.