Girl Goes Ghana

So my last version of this post was a huge hit with me, if even with no one else. Clearly a part two was required. So here we go: the toughest job I'll ever love (so they tell me) in the form of Disney songs. 1. Reflection (Mulan) A lot of people who are living in a country that is not their own feel a degree of alienation from their surroundings. Unfortunately, there are definitely days in Ghana when I look in the mirror and wonder who is looking back. Before coming to Ghana, I cut my hair. I wear glasses instead of contacts. I even go by a new name and speak a new language. Some days, I really feel that even my closest friends here won't get to know who I really am. There are no shortage of stories I can't share and values I keep to myself because it might cause people to lose respect for me. Then again, it's not all gloomy. There are plenty of days I'm full of laughter and happiness. And then--there are the Mulan days. 2. A Whole New World (Aladdin)...

Most of you probably know that I'm in Ghana as a health volunteer, but I don't think many are aware of the fact that officially, I am a Health/WATSAN volunteer. WATSAN means Water and Sanitation. When I first arrived in Ghana, I wasn't quite as excited about that part of my job as I was about the other parts. I was much more interested in educating people about malaria and HIV than I was about improving water and sanitation practices. However, the longer I am here, the more I recognize that issues with water and sanitation are a massive part of the health issues here in Ghana. For example, a lot of babies and children suffer from frequent diarrhea that could probably be prevented with regular hand washing. But if bringing water to the house entails walking five miles with a fifty pound bucket of water on your head, hand washing might not feel like such a priority. A lot of people are aware that burning trash at home is associated with respiratory issues, but if there is ...

So, a lot of you like to ask me what I'm doing here. Fair enough question; most people don't leave their homes and families for two years without the idea of accomplishing something. Well, buckle up, ladies and gentlemen, because almost eight months into my Peace Corps service, I finally have a good answer to anyone who asks me what I've accomplished here in Ghana. Me with some of the students at the camp.  Two weeks ago, a group of volunteers and I brought some of our best students to a GLOW/BRO camp in the Eastern Region of Ghana. GLOW/BRO stands for Girls Leading Our World and Boys Respecting Others. The program was started by Peace Corps volunteers in Romania back in 1995, and since then, it's spread across the world and become one of Peace Corps' most reliable and successful girl's empowerment programs. In our version, each PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) living in the Eastern and Volta Regions of Ghana sent between two and four students to camp, where t...

So I've been planning this post for a while. I have made a lot of people listen to me ramble on as I planned it. And maybe no one will find it quite as amusing as I do. Nonetheless, without further ado, here are the Disney songs that best encapsulate my life in the Peace Corps. 1. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) Basically everything that Belle says in this song are thoughts that go through my head on...pretty much a daily basis: "Little town, it's a quiet village. Every day like the one before." Maybe that doesn't describe Peace Corps life so much as rural life anywhere in the world, but it's definitely something I've had to get used to as a newly minted citizen of a town of 200. I also am a fan of Belle's favorite method of entertainment: reading. If I am otherwise unoccupied, you can usually find me sitting on my stoop outside of my room with my nose stuck in a book. Finally, and most importantly, much like Belle, the moment I leave my house e...

Before I got to Ghana, I was under the impression that chiefs were a bit of the thing of the past. I knew that Ghana was a democracy--one of the most stable democracies in Africa, with free and fair elections. Just like the United States, it has a President who is elected every four years. Under this system, where is there room for a chief? That's what I thought. But oh, how wrong I was. Every community has a hereditary Chief and Queen Mother. They are not related to each other, and they aren't married; rather, there is generally one family in town that produces Chiefs, and another which produces Queen Mothers. Here is me with the Queen Mother and Chief tying a bracelet to my wrist to welcome me to the community. Next to me is our community nurse, Emelia. The Chief generally controls just about everything in town. When I wanted to start teaching English lessons, I asked the Chief. When I wanted to form a committee to discuss sanitation projects in the community, I ...

Back in April, when I visited my community for the first time, the town hosted a welcoming ceremony. They sang and danced for me, I sang and danced for them. They thanked God for sending me to their town, and I tried to hide how incredibly intimidating I found that. All was going well. Then they asked my name. Now, I happen to like my name. And I've lived in a few different countries and never had any particular trouble with it. However, for whatever reason, despite the fact that all the sounds in my name are also present in Ewe, it seems to be impossible for people in my community to pronounce without significant coaching. They can get "Billy" or "Belly" just fine, but when I try to get them to say "Bailey" I might as well be trying to get them to imitate the sound of the vomiting cat. They seem to think it's a little uncouth, and probably not worth the effort. Thus, the very first night I spent in my new home, I was given a new name: Adzo. ...

When I was little (and not so little), my mom was fond of reciting a nursery rhyme to me: "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row." I don't know what a cockle shell is, but in all fairness, I do have a tendency to be contrary. I came to Ghana to be a volunteer in the Peace Corps health sector. Of all the Peace Corps sectors in Ghana (health, education, and agriculture), I would say that ours is the most loosely defined. At my site, I don't have any projects that I'm specifically assigned to work on. For the first three months, in fact, we are not encouraged to work at all. Instead, we are meant to spend time getting to know our new neighbors and friends and practicing the language. This is all well and good, but to be honest, there are only so many hours I can spend every day socializing and hanging out with people with whom I still don't share a common language. I have a ...