Day 2

September 29, 2008

Today began at the crack of dawn--5:15am. People yelling and children squealing and running all over the place. The roosters and goats were making noise too. We got up and brushed our teeth. We use just toothpaste and a toothbrush and spit into a bucket we found. We walked to the toilet which is in a sort of cement outhouse with a wooden door. There's no sink but there is a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling, giving off as much light as a small flashlight. There is no running water so a barrel sits in the corner with a bucket on top. You scoop the water and pour it into the toilet bowl after you're done, and that's your "flush." We emptied our toothbrushing spit at this time. :) On to the shower, a cement square enclosure about 6 feet high, with no roof, and a spicket in the wall for aesthetics only. ;) We saw our landlord with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. (every time I see him all he has on is that freaking towel!) A small boy saw us and brought over 2 buckets of water from the well. We recognized the black bucket from our room (we didn't realize its purpose until now) but wondered where the second gray bucket came from. I took the black bucket and Denise took the gray. I splashed myself, washed my face, and dunked my hair. I tried to splash the shampoo out but I don't think I did a very good job. :) For the rest of me, it was splash-soap, splash-soap, splash. Not bad! (I definitely felt very clean compared to the rest of the day with all the sunscreen, bug lotion, dirt and grime. I started to get some mosquito bites and after scratching one, my fingernails would be black.) When we finished, we asked the boy where we should return the gray bucket to. He took it and replied, "I will take it back to the toilet." Denise and I shot each other a look and just started laughing! Oh well! :) We got dressed and went to the roadside of the village to wait for the bus to Ho. The bus comes between 7:30 and 8am, just 1 bus a day, except for Market Day (every 5 days- this week it's on Wednesday) when the bus will come 3 times.

We stopped at every village along the way to pick up more people. Some villages we came to, the driver would get out and we'd have to wait for up to 20 minutes before he returned to drive us to the next village! The bus was extremely hot and humid. Everyone (except me and Denise) had handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat from their necks and faces. Good idea for the next bus ride! Some windows were open so when the bus began to move again, even ever so slowly, you caught a small, but very refreshing, breeze. Driving along, many people on the bus welcomed us. Children pointed from the road and people would call us "white ladies" or "bruni". Not sure how to spell that. The air smelled like corn, trees, and the strong scent of oranges came from a woman a few seats back who was taking a basket of them to sell at the Market in Ho.

Side note- Oranges here are not orange. They're green on the outside, and white on the inside. Just like oranges, only a little more bitter. They should be called Greenges. And no one eats the pulp-- they spit it out and look at you funny when you don't. :)

After 2 hours (remember it should only take 45 minutes), we arrived in Ho and walked to the 2nd KK House where other volunteers were sorting donated books to distribute to 18 area schools. Some were primary and others were junior (JSS) or senior (SSS) secondary schools. First we sorted by primary or junior level, then by subject. We had piles for each school and once the books were sorted, we tried to distribute each set evenly between the different school piles. Many boxes that were donated contained sets of textbooks but some books we received only had a set of 5 books. We left those for the end to decide which school had a greater need. After about 3 hours of sorting, it was lunch time. We walked with Bismark and Joy and the other volunteers to a small covered seating area. A man came out from behind a curtain carrying cokes! That was a nice treat. They were in skinny glass bottles and tasted a little different than they do back home. We were given rice and a chicken wing. The chicken was so tough it was difficult to pull apart, but the rice was good, as always. :)

We stopped in the Bridge Volta Office with Tony and Sema. They accompanied us to Ho and followed us around, I guess as any caretaker (or bodyguard) would do. :) Bismark said the orientation would have to wait until Thursday, and mentioned having us work on other initiatives with the JSS students, like encouraging higher education, and talking about the risk and danger of teenage pregnancy, the spread of AIDS, etc. After our meeting we went to an internet cafe below the office. Sema went to the market, where we met her an hour later.

Tony took us through mazes of thatched rooves and wooden stands where all kinds of goods were being sold. Walking on dirt paths between the vendors and brushing away hanging fabric of the brightest colors we tried to keep up with Tony. He introduced us to his mother who was selling candy and cigarettes. A small weaving again through the back side of the market led us to his sister who was selling vegetables. The produce smelled so fresh! The market was loud and bustling. We walked over to the taxis to wait for Sema. Children ran up, tugged on my shirt and asked in English, "How are you?" I said, "I'm fine, how are you?" but they just smiled and repeated the question. They wanted to shake hands, hold hands, high-five, the whole deal.

Over by the taxis we went into a bar where one man sat behind a counter and you could purchase shots. He gave us change for 1 cedi so we could buy a sack of water pouches. You have to get those in Ho-- they don't have water for sale in the villages. The road is, as I've described before, orange dirt. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way. A ditch runs along the side of the road for drainage. Storefronts are right over the ditch and since there is no sidewalk, you have to jump over the drainage ditch, but sometimes there are boards laying across you can step on. These drainage ditches are not like cute little streams, by the way. They're green, and littered with trash. Some parts of the city smell of trash and sewage, but most of Ho smells like the combination of Malta Guinness, sweet bread, and dirt. This is supplemented in the villages with the smell of goat meat. Sema appeared with 2 trays of fresh eggs and a large pink printed back full of something. We climbed into a taxi and headed home.

Taxis and busses honk more in one day than I do in an entire year back home. The roads are narrow, so coming around a bend, the honk warns people and animals to get out of the way. We did clip the leg of a baby goat on our way, and shortly thereafter hit another goat who just stood in awe as we headed straight for it, honking the horn. We hit that one harder than the first, but both goats seemed ok. I don't know... they hobbled off the road, so they weren't dead. Denise had a hard time with that.

When we drove up to the village, several children ran up to greet us. Denise practiced carrying the sack of water on her head, and the children helped head us back to our room. While Sema prepared our dinner (noodles with peppers and small pieces of fish), the children gathered on our front steps and in our room. A boy shined our flashlight at Jessica and she tried to blow it out. We practiced our Ewe and they practiced English. One boy brought over a book to show us. He began reading Denise's notebook while Jessica was enthralled with the flashlight (especially on the blinking red setting). Soon, I broke out the crayons I brought and ripped some paper from my notebook, and a bunch of them gathered on the floor with me to color. Sema shooed the children when she brought in our food, but they just waited patiently outside until we were finished and then came back in to play. A few small boys, about 4 years old, crawled under our curtain on the door to appease their curiosity. They really liked the crayons. Grace lay down on the floor and Jessica soon followed. After saying goodnight, I fell asleep at... about 8:30pm. :) I woke later to wash up and change and climb under my mosquito net. When I went outside to the toilet I saw Jessica (3), Grace (12), their brother Kosi (15) and Selom (6) sleeping with a blanket on a wooden platform. They had dragged a foam mattress outside since there more air flow. It was really hot that night. They looked really peaceful.

Returning to the room, I can hear something scurrying around on the roof. Denise suggested a lizard, but the sounds are too big to be a lizard. Maybe a chicken? They don't fly though... a rat? Then a large bump came from above us and I changed my mind. I think it's a goat. I don't know how he'd get up there but I'd rather think it's a goat than a chicken-sized rat! :) I'm watching a really big mosquito. He's trying extra hard to get in. Ha! Can't get me! I'm in my fancy net. :)