I've Somewhat Lost Track of the Days, but Here's and Update!

I am taking advantage of the fact that I have electricity and internet access (and running water, but that is not pertinent here) at the same time, to give a little update of the many activities taking place in Ghana at the moment. It is a bit hard to keep track of what has happened when, so, once again, I'll split events into categories!

First up, school: I think I love it more with every class I have :) The girls are still super attentive and interested in my lessons (which may have a small bit to do with the color of the skin and my age, but I will take what I can get). I have finished food and nutrition with one of my classes and moved on to heredity. Due to the cancelling of Friday classes on the past 3 Fridays--every Friday I've been teaching--I'm a bit further behind in my other class, something that my obsessive organizational character is having a bit of a hard time managing ;) This Friday, the teachers of the ZSN Jr. HS played the teachers of the primary school in a football (soccer) match. I joined the girls in cheering on the teachers, after turning down many an offer to join in the (all male) soccer match! I thoroughly enjoyed watching the match with the girls, though, and I was never at a loss for company or entertainment during the 45 minutes I spent there ;) They are all very fond of my hair....and skin, and clothes, and way of pronouncing things, and all else. One of the other science teachers told me this week that when he was teaching the girls during extra classes one day he asked me what they thought of my lessons and they all said they REALLY enjoyed my lessons and liked me as a teacher. After verifying that he was not just telling me what I wanted to hear :), I felt really good about myself! He said they all said they really, reallly don't want me to leave!

This week I also finalized my plans to start some public health work (after a little pushing and prodding..the necessary protocol for getting things rolling in Ghana). Starting Monday, I will be visiting three different health facilities to observe their disease control centers and hopefully learn a thing or two about what I plan to do in my future!!! I'm really excited about this. I may also get some time to observe some classes or activities at the medical school with the help of some of Wyatt's friends :) I'm anxious to get these things started because my busy-bodied self is having a hard time adjusting to the slow-paced movement of Ghanaian Days :)

Food: I tried Banku the other night at a restaurant in town. It is a sort of dumpling made from fermented maize that is eaten with a sort of soup. My choice was banku with ground nut sauce and chicken. Technically, this is supposed to be eaten with your hands (even more technically, your right hand), however, to avoid causing a scene and a huge mess, I requested a fork and knife :) Adnan, Chief's secretary who took me to dinner, proved very efficient at consuming the meal with only his right hand however, and I was very impressed. I would give the banku three and half to four stars out of five. Honestly, anything with that much starch would have to be pretty terrible to rank below a three in my book, but I actually really enjoyed the taste too :))

Visits to Chiefs: This week, I went with Chief and her entourage to visit the Choggu Naa at his palace. The Choggu Naa is actually the co-chair of SCT from what I gather, so it was nice to meet him. This reception was a bit more fun than the previous two because I believe Chief and the Choggu Naa are a bit closer and he also seemed a bit more laid back or something. Also, one of his elders was quite the jokster and he had the whole group rolling quite a few times (I didn't really follow, but I did enjoy his dancing at one point). The most interesting part was when the Choggu Naa offered Chief a welcoming gift of about 10 yams and 2 guinea fowl. The guinea fowl were handed to Bro Zee who handed them to Adnan who was right next to me. I could have sworn that one of them blinked when Bro Zee handed them off, but I figured I was just imagining things. Then, as Adnan was standing there holding them both upside down by their feet, I saw (much to my horror) one of them strut their neck just a bit and realized (much to my horror, again) that they were both still alive and most likely just in extreme shock...same as me, only I was right side up!!!! I'm not sure exactly what they all went through when we returned to the palace, but I do know that one of them ended up on the table (in a much altered state) last night at dinner. I can now tell you what my least favorite meal has been during my trip ;) Though as was raised in what could be termed a farm town, I am most definitely NOT a farm girl as you can see!

Electricity and Appliances: Now here's a funny story. A few nights back (the night Adnan took me into town for dinner) I returned to the Palace and decided to take a shower before going to bed. During my shower, all of the power went out in this entire part of Tamale. Fortunately, I know my way around my room well enough and I am always certain to know where my headlamp is that no injuries were suffered while I was left in complete darkness for a few minutes. Then, the power stayed off for another two days or so!! After two nights in a stifling a hot room with no A/C or fan and two days of not being able to charge any electronics, Chief decided it best that we move to a hotel across town (in a part with power) until the power was fixed here. We left around 6 and ate dinner at the restaurant. Just as we were finishing, we got a call from someone at the palace informing us that the power had been turned back on! How convenient! We decided we would rather just stay at the hotel and return to a nice cool, lighted palace in the morning :) At the moment, I am sitting in my room, with electricity (although no A/C bc my unit seems to be malfunctioning, but at least I have a fan) and internet access (still with the help of Chief's modem, but internet nonetheless) and a supply of water!!! This is a very rare occurrence!!

One other thing that falls into a category of its own, which may be named "My Crazier Moments": I woke up at 5:30 to go for a run this morning, because according to the people here, that is when locals work out, especially on Saturdays. I believe I saw approximately four other people doing any sort of physical activity, but it was nice to get some exercise, and it was still a bearable temperature to do so in! I imagine that I will be needing a nap this afternoon at some point, though.

Today Chief's schedule is pretty open, which means I may have access to a vehicle or a tour guide, and so hopefully I will be able to get a little tour of Tamale and possibly even do a bit of shopping. I know there are more than a few people who will be expecting gifts when I arrive back home...as if I'm not a gift enough myself ;)!!