I have now been home for... a week and three days. Steve tells me I still speak as if I am still in Ghana, but on Saturday I did unpack all my things and tidy up my room finally! Currently I am sorting through my pictures to put into an album. I have calculated that with three photos per page the photo album I have will allow 144 photos. I have shortlisted 286... I think I will buy another one!
I was told that on coming back to England I would experience some "re-entry shocks". Most of these actually were involved in water so that for most of my first day home I was running around the house exclaiming at the taps and machines and yelling about this and that, even making my parents stand over the washing machine and think about handwashing. Towels and sheets were a nightmare!
I can not describe the joy when I ran the tap in the kitchen and was able to DRINK this water. It suddenly came over me that I would not only be able to drink this but that the water would run every day, all day, and never again would I seriously have to think about the quantity and availability of water. I no longer have to consider the tubs and decide how much there is until the pipes are opened again, and therefore whether I can wash my clothes, or even wash my hair. All I need to do is press a button and I will have hot, hot water and my clothes or dishes can wash themselves whilst I occupy myself with something far more pleasant. Furthermore, I don't have to venture outside to buy drinking water and stumble back carrying all those very heavy water bags!
On returning to England I went to the butchers and Sainsburys and bought a vast quanitity of food that I had missed the most in Ghana. Cheese, salami, sliced bread, fruit, carrots, sausages, yogurt, crisps, biscuits and milk. I also got more eggs than I ever would have done! I turned on the TV. I ran around with my dogs. I lay on my comfy, big bed (although I missed Anna and nearly got suffocated by the duvet when I slept!) and went out and enjoyed the lovely, green English countryside.
I miss my children. I can look at the pictures and think about how cute they are! I went to Alton Towers on Friday and I could really imagine taking some of the older ones (Maabena, Kofi, Kojo, Eddie or Abraham) around on all the little rides.
So now Ghana Sal is gone, as my nice tan will be too. But I hope to go back one time in the future!
Today is my last day in Ghana. How has six months gone so fast?! I remember all those funny beginning feelings (thank goodness I don't have to go through them again!) and can't believe I am here now. Six months is looooooong...
So, I leave Ghana in one whole week... I don't think I can sum six months up into one blog without forming a book... so here is a list of the things I have learnt during my time here! Some things are pointless and a lot of things are stupid, but hey, here they are!
I have learnt that water is precious and running water is a joy. Two yards of fabric can be used as a sheet, wrap, scarf, dress, towel and baby carrier. White is a stupid colour and underwear and jeans are horrible to hand-wash. Cockroaches are resilient little buggers. I have learnt that vehicles that only look suitable for the scrapheap are capable of fitting 17 people inside, driving for 5 hours on the worst possible roads and only occasionally need to be pushed to start! It is also possible to buy everything you may possibly need through the windows of these vehicles. Whilst on these journeys I have learnt that Ghanaians can sleep everywhere, personal space doesn’t exist and it is perfectly normal to spend 5 hours squashed next to your neighbour and their child with their big bag of plantains/yams/bread under your legs! Loud music is expected and unquestioned, as are bad Nigerian movies on buses.
When it rains it rains hard and long and the rain is used as a perfectly reasonable excuse for staying home. This is most likely a wise decision, because although the majority of tro tros do have windscreen wipers drivers often prefer to peer through the rain splattered glass for a ridiculously long period of time before engaging them. Oh, and if you do decide to brave this most tros will have leaks…
Despite any weather variations it is nearly almost sweaty. For this reason, I have learnt to carry a hankerchief. Hand sanitiser is also extremely important.
I have learnt what it is like to be different and stand out wherever I go. I have learnt to wave vaguely in the direction of obruni calls but to keep on walking. People are friendly to the point of annoyance and it is sometimes to my advantage to have a failure in hearing. Being rude is never the best option, but sometimes it is the only way!
I have learnt that Ghana is possibly the noisiest place I have ever been and I have never woken up with more sounds before: banging, horns, rubbish bins, planes and sweeping (oh god the sweeping!). I have learnt a car horn may mean many things: turning, stopping, pass me, move outta my way or trying to get the obruni to get into your taxi. And whilst I’m talking of taxi drivers I have learnt to always half their original price and if that doesn’t work walking away normally does the trick. Then they mutter “get in” in a grumpy manner clearly furious that they have not managed to cheat this obruni!
To talk about food I have learnt to eat rice every day and enjoy it; to accept vast quantities of oil and to eat the sweet (fried plantain) with the savory (bean stew). I have earned to eat with my fingers! I have eaten large quantities of eggs, avoided most meat and always regretted finding myself in the fish part of the markets. I have learnt that bread and egg is the best thing in the world and that meat pies don’t necessarily have meat in them... A mango a day keeps the doctor away. Or even two. Most of all, I have learnt the very best places to get certain food and fruits so much that each vendor knows who I am and my exact order.
I have learnt that time is flexible and if there is a way to arrive somewhere as a precise time I am yet to find it. Even the best and most expensive coach can quite likely have you waiting at the station for four hours. And what’s more – no one seems to object to this waiting business. Travelling someplace popular on a weekend and especially a holiday is a stupid idea because everyone wants to travel to their village and most likely want to take numerous large, heavy things with them! Ghanaians are not afraid of fighting their way in order to get a seat and I still not have learnt to use my elbows.
On less popular days a tro tro will wait to fill up before leaving and so it is always important to add a couple of hours onto a journey time to account for this. This relaxed attitude extends to all parts of life – Ghanaians walk impossibly slowly and people sleep pretty much all the time on their bench in front of their stall. In fact, the only people perpetually on the move are taxi drivers or fan men who travel endlessly around their neighbourhood tooting their horns.
Although in my time here I have learnt to go with the flow I still walk fast and get frustrated if I wait for too long. I have, on the other hand, learnt never to trust a Ghanaian’s sense of time and never to believe the phrase “another tro is coming” because this could mean five minutes or five hours!
I have learnt all my children’s names, and they have learnt mine. I love them!
The following 5 are pictures taken on 5th August for my last eevvverrr photo shoot with my kiddies
I am in Ghana for six months
volunteering for the charity ICYE (Inter-Cultral Youth Exchange) between February and August 2010. I am working in Accra at OSU Children's Home, teaching in the school and also helping with basic care at the orphanage primarily in House 3 for ages 2-6.
I chose ICYE because it isn't an ordinary gap year organisation. For a start, ICYE-UK is part of a world wide federation, and every country volunteers go to has its own ICYE office; in my case ICYE-Ghana. ICYE also sends volunteers all around the world from loads of different countries!
I hope that you will follow my journey through this blog!
