Perfect Rice Storm.

July 19^th

Hello again friends.  

I just finished with a week of delicious food and wonderful relaxation. I am in Mepe shadowing Pamela, a senior art high school teacher who has done more in her two years in Peace Corps than most people do in a lifetime. Did Peace Corps send me to her to get me motivated or make me feel inadequate?

In two years Pamela has built and furnished with awesome equipment 1 ½ science labs, started building an art building, got a ton of books donated to her school, helped raise countless dollars to fund school projects such as dorms and educational buildings, started an educational exchange with a school in Arizona, started and finished a gazillion other projects I can’t remember, and still had time to teach painting. She is extending for a third year to finish the art building and finish the last of the science labs (there’s going to be 3 all together).  Wow.

The good thing is I feel like, with enough motivation and patience, I can finish any project I start. The bad thing is I now have an idea of how much can be accomplished in a perfect storm and we don’t all get perfect storms. By perfect storm I mean all the elements, her drive and energy, her colleagues, the people she wrote for grants, her headmaster, the funds, the PTA, and everything else came together to help her achieve all of these major projects. At the same time I know Pamela faced a lot of obstacles and the road wasn’t always easy.  Ghanaian timing and American timing are very different. While Americans are very “go go go” Ghanaians will get to it whenever they get to it. There aren’t a lot of penalties for running behind schedule.  Patience is a must when trying to get anything finished.

So, here I am……. very motivated knowing what is possible, but also knowing all Pamela achieved isn’t the Peace Corps norm. Usually a volunteer focuses on one project (like the art building) and gets it done over two years. Pamela has raised the bar very high. I know I have all the skills to accomplish all types kinds of things while I am here, there are just so many unforeseen factors and obstacles I hope I don’t get discouraged if I can’t achieve everything I want.

You would like to know more about my week? Ok.

I arrived here Monday night after a very long drawn out day of tro riding. A tro is a van that is packed full of people and it travels from one city to another. The tro never leaves until it is full, so I spent the majority of my day waiting for the tro to fill up at each of my stops. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I walked around Mepe, met some really great people, ate the best tilapia I have ever had, watched a football match, enjoyed taking a legit shower in some really nice accommodations, and just plain old enjoyed myself. This week was such a nice vacation from the monotony of training and homestay. I ate mango every day and flushed the toilet just because I could. I think Peace Corps has either done a lot of research on when people start to get burnt out, or I am lucky this time fell right when I was starting to feel worn down by the daily grind. 

I leave tomorrow to go back to homestay till August 16^th and then I am finally free to enjoy my site. I have a feeling the grind is going to be worse when I get back because the next 3ish weeks will be filled with language and somehow there is more technical training left. I am looking forward to learning more Twi so I can communicate better, although sitting for hours on end is torture.

Here’s a funny little story that happened to me on Monday.

I was sitting in a tro in Accra, waiting for it to leave for Mepe. I was annoyed because it was getting late and it’s recommended not to travel at night (highway robberies and traffic accidents) and I felt like everyone and everything was running me late. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t seem to save any time. Everything was taking forever. The tro was a bazillion degrees and the windows were stuck up, the man taking the money wouldn’t stop asking for my number, and all I wanted to do was listen to my Ipod and drench myself in ice. I was staring out the window, being pissed and hungry, when the teenage girl beside me opened up her take-out box of rice, looked at me with the sweetest smile, and said “you are invited.” Basically she was offering to share her rice with this angry American. She was so sincere and nice that I considered taking her up on her offer (I was so hungry) but it was obviously a single serving, so I laughed and told her I had just finished eating and thanked her. That’s Ghana for you. Just when you get frustrated with the culture, a really nice lady offers you her rice and you kick yourself for being so easily flustered and remind yourself to chill the heck out.  Tros are sweltering, people run late, men don’t understand “I don’t own a phone.”, and then life goes on.  There’s no use in letting it get to you because just around the corner is a nice rice lady.