festival today

hey yo. so i don't have too much time to write since i need to get back for language class soon. today there is a large festival in my village to ask the ancestors to bless the land. there should be some fun festivities going on tonight, as well as african dancing. apparently the other volunteers and i might have to dance in front of the chief. not sure if that will be a blessing since we all pretty much look like robots. ha.

so every night, some of the other volunteers and i have been learning to drum and dance. it is not really a lesson as so much a community gathering for 100 kids with big eyes staring at the white people making fools of ourselves. we have a good time together and all of the other health volunteers like to have a good time. i must admit, though, that i tried to master the cowbell and after ten attempts to get the beat, a youngster took over and i sank back into my seat. i was able to play the drums and dance. something about actually being able to feel the beat in my body....

yesterday, our assignment was to do a census of the community we are staying in for now. my group did a census of villager's opinions and knowledge of family planning. it was quite interesting. i love learning about people's ideas and perceptions about reproductive health and family planning. we found that the majority of the women do know about family planning since they found out about options from a doctor in accra or tamale. a few of the women do not want more children but do not use any form of family planning. um yea...
also, another disconnect was the fact someyoung girls get pregnant here at the age of 15. family planning is not an option for them until they have their first child and after that, they are sent to the clinic to get birth control. there is no orientation around prevention. and young girls must be accompanied by parents to get birth control. thus, the probability of becoming a young mother is high. we spoke to men and it seems the majority of them use condoms, though they do not see this as a family planning method. it seems that they see the use of condoms as only prevention against stis.

we also completed a community map on sites that women in the community identify as important to them. they identified these as the farm (yams, cassava, plantains, cocoa), church, the market, and the clinic. the women do the majority of the labor in the day. the men's work is very strenous, but it gives them a bit more free time and this has been identified as a reason for the prevalence of stis within some areas of africa. i am not sure of this village yet since people seems to deny that there are people with hiv/aids living in the village. when another group attempted to ask questions relating to hiv/aids, the women just giggled.

another interesting experience was last night when my host father, with 40 children staring at me, told me that the children told him that they want to have white skin and go to america. i could not believe what he was saying and that these children actually said these things. i then promptly told him to tell them that all skin colors are equal and all are equal. hmm...beyond that, a young man grabbed my arm and told me to take him to america. crazy. i told him no and walked away. all of us are having similar experiences. one of the my fellow volunteers wants to tattoo a dollar sign on her head since people always ask her for money. ha. it is a given with life here.

oh yes, and my site in the volta region does not have electricity. i don't mind. it is interesting how candles cost 2.5 cedis each and a month of electricity only costs 5 cedis a month. hmmm....
thus, if you send anything(parentals!) make sure it has a solar charger.

other ideas:
copies of Ms. magazine, NY Times, Time, Oregonian, National Geographic, etc.
candles
mix cds (Chrissy!, Michael! haha)
stationary with envelopes
incense
matches

of course, thank you for following my blog and sending something is not necessary at all. i just think of things and it is also a way for me to keep track of things i should pick up when i am in europe or south africa. ;D

tata
linds

update!

so sorry communication has been so sporadic. two weeks have felt like a month or so. so i went on vision quest in the northern region of ghana. it took about 18 hours to get there. in ghana, the mode of transportation from city to city is called a tro-tro and they somewhat resemble cargo vans. they pack about 18 people in them, five bikes and a few goats on top, and in one of ours, there was a chicken running around on the floor. so for all of you wanting to come visit, this your warning. ha.

that said, i found out my fate for the next two years and i have been placed in a village in the volta region. the volta region is near the border of togo. these means that i hope to hop the border occassionally to get baguettes and real coffee. from what people have told me, my site placement is one of the most beautiful in all of ghana. i am located at the base of a moutain and the volta region is quite lush. i am so grateful for this placement. i told the peace corps health volunteer director that one of my coping mechanisms is to be surrounded the natural beauty. it never hurts to be direct.

i am also excited about my placement because the volunteer that i am replacing is very committed to her projects and is focused on sustainability. thus, she strongly advocated for a replacement volunteer (not all sites are replaced]. i have large shoes to fill, but i am looking forward to getting started and setting up my home. the three months after swearing in are reserved just for setting up your household, getting your bearings, and getting to know the community. i am pleased that this is the orientation of the peace corps. my assigment will be diesease preventions, HIV/AIDS education, and child/maternal health.

i am staying right now with a host family in the southern region of ghana. all volunteers receive language training, sector training, and culture traning for ten weeks then we swear in. i am staying with a family who live in a compound setting. i do have my own room and that is such a luxury. last night was my first night with them and apparently i am comic relief because everything i say they think is hilarious. they asked where my parents were and i told them that they live in america and that i left them for now and they could not stop laughing. the woman asked me why i did not have children. i am not sure if she really understands the peace corps. i could def not come here with both children and my parents. it is interesting....
last night, 40 children sat around and watched me as i drank tea. i will look forward to living alone once again!

a few interesting points...on vision quest, i stayed with a woman in the north of ghana, which is the muslim part of the country. i actually enjoyed it up there. i liked seeing how their religion affects their beliefs and lives and understanding that there is only a small percentage of muslims are the kinds that are villified and stereotyped in the media. the majority just work to provide for their families, keep their children healthy, and love to meet new people. we went to a baby weighing day, a naming ceremony, and numerous other health events. at the naming ceremony, the baby received his tribal scar on his cheek and was circumcised.

so a few things. i think this is the easiest way to ask questions.

mom-did you send the package with my prescription sunglasses?
katie-thanks for all the letters and the drawings. i will use them as wall art when i move!
i will get a phone as soon as i can and text people. i cancelled hotmail and so remember my email is lindseyinghana@gmail.com.
michael-could you have brian email me? i want to try to connect with him and i am sure he has better luck at using the internet than me. could you ask him to tell me how long he is here for, if he can/is willing tp travel within ghana, and what is the best way to reach him?

i wish i had packed a bit differently, as does everyone here!

a few ideas if you are going to send a package-
a shortwave radio
a solar powered battery
a solar charger [sold at rei] for my camera, phone, and ipod- will not have electricity and do not want to have to throw out batteries all the time
a yoga mat-i know! perhaps i will wait till vaca to get one
ginger candies, luna bars, black licorice, nuts, dried fruit, coffee, tea, other stuff that will not melt
a french press
pictures from calendars, artwork that i could put in my house
stuff for my future puppy!
the most recent edition of Our Bodies, Our Selves.


i found out that i have approx 48 days of vacation for my two years and that many people go out of the continent for their vaca. whoop whoop. so i am thinking morocco, france, italy, perhaps germany?, south africa. not sure...let me know if there are any takers.

hope all is well and just know that communicating here is a bit difficult.
thanks and love you!
linds

on a vision quest

hey party people! so it seems like i have been here for three weeks or so but i has only been a week. the sun slows life down and that is fine with me. speaking of, we were able to witness a harvest red moon for three days while in accra. it was magnificent and a good sign in my book.

so i am going on a vision quest in the northern region of ghana. i am going there to stay with a current health volunteer.

bye ! gotta catch the bus.

love
lindsey