The celebration and more random things

First off, today is my brother’s birthday (so wish him a happy birthday if you haven’t already)! Happy Birthday Jeff!

The 50 year celebration was interesting. The big celebrations were in the capitol but in Ho they had some activities at a park/stadium area. The day’s events…marching! It was a competition between the schools in the area to see who had the best marching skills, and then there was also some marching by some police and army officials. Tons of people turned out to watch. Uh, the only I can say is I like fireworks better!

Things are becoming so normal and everyday to me now that I am forgetting the things that seemed so strange and different when I first arrived, but I’m going to try. So here are some more random things about Ghana!

Trash: I don’t think I put this info on here yet. There is no real trash system in place, everyone just throws there trash on the street or into the open sewers that line the roads. They have ‘street cleaners’ (people) who come around and clean up the main streets every once in a while. So surprisingly the streets really don’t get that gross. The trash that is actually collected in some bin or in a waste pile by a stream is burned! Gross, the smell of burning trash is something I won’t miss! I have gotten around the ‘littering’ dilemma by carrying all my trash in my bag and bringing it home at night. The trash collected at our house is taken to one of the few town dumpsters I’ve seen.

Drinking water: I only tried drinking the water here once (a weird, didn't want to offend the village chief scenario) and didn’t have any major problems, but I’m not chancing it. So I drink ‘pure water,' water that has been filtered and treated. They have bottled water, but the water used the most often (because it is the most common to find and really cheap) is in a bag! It is a little plastic bag that holds 500mL (see the pic below), I’ve heard these are common in Mexico too. It helps cut down on the volume of litter, but the empty bags are everywhere! One pure water costs pennies.

African clothes: Many people (especially women) still wear clothes made with the traditional African cloth and style. The women’s clothes are quite beautiful, I’ll have to get more pictures of these types of outfits. The men wear anything usually but some wear shirts made from the cloth and occasionally I’ll see a man (usually older) with just the cloth wrapped around him…kind of like a toga. Even if women don’t wear the traditional clothes they usually wear skirts or dresses, though I have seen a number of pants. Every once in a while I’ll see a group of young girls that dress very western, but to the extreme, like they’ve seen one too many Jay Z videos! They really stand out here among all the other women.

White people image: So this is the part I really dislike, many of the people I have encountered assume all white people are rich! Relatively speaking, anyone from a developed country is rich compared to a number of people here, but not to the level they are assuming. It is like all white people are Bill Gates or own five cars. I feel the impression intensifies when I tell people where I’m from…which honestly I only do if asked. As a volunteer this really bothers me because no one really gets the fact that I have no income, just expenses for three months and that maybe I really don’t have a lot of money. I feel guilty not being able to give people money when they ask.

USA: I’m sure many people have an opinion or an idea of the US. Here, it is usually that it is a paradise country where all your dreams come true. I guess this has been a thought that has been true throughout recent history and I’m sure that is what my own ancestors thought……aaaahhh, the American Dream. We have a great country, with amazing opportunities for everyone, don’t get me wrong but the hard work and struggles that take place to achieve those dreams don’t seem as obvious to folks here. For example, people seem shocked to hear that the US has poor people or even worse homeless people! I don’t really see any homeless people in Ho; everyone just kind of helps each other even though no one really has a lot of anything.

Also I’ve never traveled abroad so this experience, interacting with Ghanaians and the other volunteers from Europe mainly, is really teaching me about the US. I had no idea how closely other countries follow our politics, watch our movies, or listen to our music….it is really weird!

Oh yeah, the other thing they have: West African Idol! Okay, globalization has gone too far!

Pure water.

This is just one of the businesses run by carrying it on your head. This lady walks around town offering convenient pedicures and manicures wherever, whenever!

And of course, I couldn't get through a post, without a wonderful picture of the beautiful kids at the orphanage. They just got done having a little party for the 50 year celebration. The other yevu in the pic is Emily, one of the Danish volunteers with my group. She came by to hang out with the kids while she was in town.