Home Leave

July 25th, the carpenters finished the roof of our new ICT center;
 the day that i left Sanfo for Accra to catch a flight home.

Jul 24, goodbye lunch with "granddaughters"
Penni, Kakra and Freda. 

I left town early on Thursday morning, July 25, the last day of the school year. I spent two days with a friend who works for the US Treasury in Accra and my flight to the US began late Saturday night on the 27th. There was a 6 and a half hour flight to London followed by a 7 hour flight to Washington DC.

Glenn joined us and we took two cars and two days to drive to
Ft. Madison Iowa, just across the Mississippi from Nauvoo, IL.

In Cincinnati, Glenn and I stayed with Sharon's Nephew; Matt's
family stayed at a Historic Hotel in Mariemont. We all had
breakfast there.

Cosette's Birthday: We all gathered in the Hotel room Jacuzzi tub for a family picture. 

Dan and Chantell played a young Bro & Sister
Orson Pratt in the chorus. Note the temple.

Zoe, Isabel and Evan were their children. Cosette, who saw it the
day before, told me where to look to see everyone.

My plan was to be back in Sanfo today after a family reunion in Illinois and some time on the east coast staying with Matt’s family in Maryland.  Like so many plans, I should have planned to be surprised.  My left leg, which had bothered me, during the bus ride to Accra, and the flight to Washington DC, not to mention the 17 hr drive to Nauvoo from Maryland, gave out completely on our third day in Nauvoo.  I took a shortcut through some woods to the Pageant, took a hard step over a tree root or gopher hole and a sharp pain shot through my left leg and I could not take a step on it.  Mike and Glenn helped me to the first aid station, and then to the ER at the Ft Madison Hospital.  X-rays and Ultrasound ruled out an embolism, and the doctor said he needed an MRI to confirm it but suspected a torn meniscus.  He finished me at 2:30 am and sent me home to the Comfort Inn with crutches and a leg splint. 

Sorry about the ugly picture.
 The nurse made me chew 8
baby aspirin (ugh!) with
no water.

The Denver Rays: Rayleigh, Jack and Erin help me leave the
hotel at Ft Madison IO.

On the way home we bed down at Zanesville, Ohio, arise early and take breakfast in Morgantown West Virginia. Lexi has a thing for the University of West Virginia and wanted to check it out.

Addie said "this is just like Disneyland!"

I worked on the Morgantown PRT at Boeing 35 years ago.
It was great to show it to Matt's family, still running strong.

Back in Maryland, Matt and Michelle are friends with and orthopedic surgeon in their LDS Ward.  We arranged with his clinic for and examination and the MRI.  Everything seems to take forever, but today (Aug 20) they will do orthoscopic surgery on my left knee to repair a torn meniscus. Doc says the operation is quick and relatively safe.  I should be full function in a week, but I am on a medical hold with the Peace Corps until I am cleared.  My post op visit is scheduled  for Aug 25 and I hope that will clear me to return to my village. Even without surgery I have been able to walk and do stairs without crutches, but I can tell things are not right when I walk down hill.  I called Esther, my neighbor, and Mr Bruce, Headmaster, to tell them about my new “itinerary”. They said school begins Sept 10 and I will have Form 2 math and science–same kids for next year. I want to be there when it starts.

but Matt and Laynie like the guns at Ft.Washington

Michelle and her friend are into Lighthouses...

A year in Sanfo Aduam

Main Street Sanfo looking out toward the Cape Coast Road. Almost
every house has a small shop. The shop on the right serves cold
beverages.

I made my first visit to Sanfo-Aduam exactly one year ago around July 15th 2012. I was only here for 4 days, but I met my counterpart, headmaster, my neighbor's James & Esther, and the Owusu's who have since become my best friends in the village.

Starting with the Owusu's it's about time to give a picture tour of my site.

Jeremia Owusu, a tailor, also operates a small general
store, and two or three farms along with his family.
The chemist (pharmacist)'s store behind is a gathering
place for games and conversation.

Uncle Kwame and his son Yaw. Kwame helped me
with the language when I struggled to pass the
Peace Corps Proficiency test.

Maame Dorcas and tall son Elvis pound fufu at their
compound in Sanfo

Attaa Penni and Kakra prepare wraps for the Spring rolls that they
sell at the school.  The two are beautiful girls who sing and dance and
who need to be in school. Penni wants to become a policewoman and
Kakra want to be a Nurse.

Attaa (all twins are named Attaa) dress up for
a picture with their younger Sister Terria at a
 wedding of one of their cousins in Bekwai. All
three call me 'grampa' (tee-hee)

More frequent than weddings funerals seem to occur every week.
This person was the sister of the owner of the house where i live.  She had
been living in England, but they returned her to her home town.

I buy bread each morning from Afua, who brings it
in fresh from Bekwai

Other times i shop at elizabeth's store in Aduam. Pure water in 500ml
satchels can be purchased for 10p almost anywhere.  If you want to save
money you can by a bag containing 30 satchels for 110p.

The roof of our school was replaced in June. The construction
on the right is our new ICT center.

They are almost ready to begin putting the roof frame up.

 It's been too long since the
Maytag man (Jeremia) has had to fix one.

Palm oil extraction in Aduam.

Extraction as well as grinding maize for banku runs off
this wonderful old one-cylinder diesel.

I give Phillp a lot of business in Bekwai repairing my bicycle. It is in
his shop there today.  One reason i have time to update my blog
today.

Equinox, Spring 2013

Well,  I didn't exactly make the date.  Actually I have allowed too much time to pass since I updated my blog, and  I temporarily forgot how to do it. And way too much has happened for one entry, but I will try to outline the last month or two.  

Storm

On Wednesday night (March 20–Equinox, 2013) a terrific storm blew in while we were watching the last half of “Star Wars” at my “granddaughter’s” home. We moved inside and the roof rattled in the wind and for a while we couldn’t hear the movie for the din.  It didn’t last long and we were able to hear the crew briefings watch the death star explode.  All lights were out, but with the torch on my phone and the guidance of one of my “granddaughters” who sees well in the dark, I arrive at my flat with almost no mud on my sandals.  In the morning after my bike ride to Bogyawe (pronounced bojari), I was met by one of my students who said “the roof of the school blew away!”.  I rode over to it and sure enough, the roof was gone over the Form 3 Class room and the Teacher’s room and most of the Headmaster’s room too.  The student teachers and I had been teaching during a national teacher’s strike, but that will be suspended until Monday at the earliest when we will move to an abandoned school a short way from Sanfo.

Thursday Morning, March 21. We are so close to the end of the term and i was
banking on scabbing the absent teacher's periods to catch up on math lessons.

Mr Bruce, the Headmaster, lost the roof of his office too so they moved all the  papers and
supplies from his office and the teachers work room into the Form 1 (Grade 7) classroom.
Our room was the only one entirely intact. 

A Sad Event

Anaaba at the District Football/Volley ball match, on the day before he
died.

On Friday, March 15, a funeral was held for Anaaba, one of our two boy’s prefects, who was struck by a taxi after a football game in Bogyawe in February.  His family is Muslim so he was buried soon after he died, but the school held a more formal ceremony for him a month later, last week.

Anaaba's empty chair as his Form 3 classmates file by.

Independence Day, Ghana

JHS girls about to salute the Chiefs. Both schools and the Adventist's Brass Band
marched through the main streets of Aduam and Sanfo and then groups from
every school marched passed the reviewing stand.

Masula is not quite sure what
 to make of it all.

Independence Day, March 6^th, celebrates the day in 1957 that Ghana became the first African country to achieve independence from the United Kingdom.  In 1961, Ghana, also became the first country in the world to invite US Peace Corps Volunteers to serve.  We have been there continuously since that time.  I am fortunate to be serving in the Junior High School between the  towns of Sanfo and Aduam in the Ashanti region of Ghana.  Practices for the band and the marching took a lot of the school time earlier in the week. Then the children from the JHS, the Primary school and a Pre-school in town marched in groups past the two town chiefs.  The whole thing took more than three hours and my junior “granddaughter” played the snare continuously while my senior "granddaughter" lead the way.

Attaa Kakra played the snare drum.

Attaa Penni leading the way

2013 How about that

A truly wicked mouse trap. (probably good for removing
small fingers too.)

My roommate died yesterday.  When I first met him three weeks ago I thought he might be lizard.  He skittered out of a cardboard box that I use to keep my suitcases so fast I couldn’t really know.  Lizards I don’t mind because they eat insects, but mice are another story. But I would hear him at night and I could see clearly this was the mouse. I don’t know why this mouse stayed, because I don't keep food in my room.  I asked Esther, my neighbor, about mouse traps and she suggested poison bait.  I’m not fond of poison because often the first sign that it worked is the smell. (If I were poisoned I would definitely hide under my bed because I would be impossible to find.  My revenge would be sweet.)  New Years Eve I went to every hardware stall in taxi market and finally found one.  It's probably the cruelest mousetrap that I’ve ever seen-all sheet metal with jagged edges where the trap springs closed.

"Please scratch a little close to me ears, and I'll tell you what
I eat for dinner, honey"
The hotel keeps these crocs in their pond,
but they charge an extra 3 G to take your picture beside
one.  I didn't pay because this is not me.

New Years Eve I set that trap with a small bit of porridge on the spring.  In the morning the porridge was gone, and the trap was still set.  I reserved a crust of my egg sandwich and adjusted the trap so that it barely held in place.  My roommate actually climbed on my desk to watch me assemble this work of darkness, seeming to ask for a sample of the crust in advance.  It was almost like he wanted to make a deal and become a partner.   But fearful that he might want to include his extended family (extended families tend to be huge here in Ghana), I carefully slid the trap behind a box where my neighbor’s two year old would not discover it. I scattered a few crumbs around it and rode my bicycle to Bogware. When I returned the crumbs were gone and so was the mouse–for good.  

One of seven suspensions about 30 or 40 meters above the ground
with one quick exit after the 3rd bridge for any bothered by the
height.  You don't see much wildlife from here because of all us
noisy patrons.  Park rangers offer ground tours where you actually
 have a chance of seeing some wildlife.

Such is life during the term break.  I did travel for the first time since I started teaching in the Ashanti district, by riding to Cape Coast in the Central district  on the day after Christmas where I petted a crocodile and took the canopy walk in Kakum Park. 2013 seems to have arrived as has the Harmattan. The sky is cloudless and the haze from a 1000 smoking taxis, 1000 trash fire accumulates and stings the eyes.  The nights are cold enough to require a cover and a jacket if you happen to go out in it.  I’m looking at the start of Term 2 with that kind of nervous excitement and a hundred ideas how I might improve things and a hope that at least some of them work.