The Reality

Hi all,

Many of you may or may not know the struggles Rachel and I have been going through.  Being here is a great learning experience and is definitely the challenge I was hoping for but not in the way I was expecting it.  Life here is so different. That doesn't exactly explain a whole lot about what it's really like.  For the last few weeks Rachel and I have spent numerous hours trying to hash out our feelings and get to a place where we feel emotionally stable.  The schools are not what we are used to at all so that has been a struggle to try and figure out how we fit into the classroom.  My teachers are very welcoming and give me feedback when they see fit but it's still really difficult for a number of reasons.

So, we made a list of all of the realities of LIVING here in Ghana. (Realities of the school to come in a few days.)  We love the culture and our home, 100%.  We could not have asked for a better host mom and family that surround us every day when we come home.  As I have mentioned before there are two other families who life in the same compound and then a few other random people as well.  It's hard to explain but there are about 20 people living in our compound and we all get along really well.  The kids that live with us are really fun. There are two people a few years younger than us when we need some peer time and then there are the parents of those kids and of course auntie and daddy, our Ghanaian parents.  The first list was a list of things we think are funny because we don't ever have to worry about it at home:

1. No reliable electricity.  It feels like our power goes out every other day.  It makes it difficult to charge our phone to call home or to have access to the internet at the cafe, etc.  When the electricity goes out, it goes out  all over.  There are the bigger stores that have back up generators but the small shops like the internet cafes do not. It goes out and you just find something else to do. You move on.
2. No hot water.  This isn't that difficult because it's so hot here that the cooler water feels nice but the reality is, there is none unless you boil it or shower during the day when the water has been sitting in the reservoir in the hot sun all day.
3. People have a hard time sometimes understanding the American English.  We both speak English but it's still different.  It's similar to talking to someone from the south times 6 in difference.  Makes it tricky sometimes.  My students have finally gotten used to the way I talk, most of the time.
4. No easy access to internet.  We don't have internet access at our house. Yesterday was the first time in 3 weeks that I even turned on my computer.  And the internet cafes are either without electricity or the internet is down every couple of days so far.
5. We don't have a vehicle we can just hop in and go somewhere.  We have to take the trotro or the taxi everywhere, which costs money, upfront so you feel like you are constantly spending money.  We have started to tell Pati (grandson) that we prefer walking if possible.
6. Never being alone! some people may love this but I need my alone time to think and reflect.  It's great debriefing with Rachel but I need my time to reflect alone.  I sat out on the veranda the other day and some of the people stopped by and didn't want to see me sitting by myself. :) It was sweet of the time sit and talk with me but I don't have anywhere to escape if I need too.
7. No washer and dryer.  The small things we take for granted.  It's nice that she has help who does the wash for her and also does most of ours but we have some things we prefer to do ourselves and there are other times when we feel guilty for piling our clothes for someone else to do.  Doing our laundry can be a process.
8. It's always hot here! It's so nice that we have air conditioning if we so choose but we carry our hankies with us to wipe away the sweat.
9. I have heard this is normal here but our fridge has a metal frame around the time and there are times when it gives you a shock when you touch it.  That kind of freaked us out at first.
10. We sweep our rug with a weed broom.
11. Any water we drink has to be boiled or bottled.  You can't brush your teeth with the sink water. yOu have to brush your teeth with water from a water bottle.  It's not a huge deal but I challenge you to brush your teeth for 9 weeks without turning on the faucet.
12. I don't mind this that much but there is no texting, let alone unlimited texting.  We are lucky that we have a phone we can use and it is relatively inexpensive.
13. We have seen one public library but it is far down town.
14. No reliable postal service.  We heard that if we get packages we have to pay to pick them up.  And in order to send ANYTHING you have to go to the post office, by the stamps, and drop it in the box there.  There aren't drop off spots around town that you can drop them off at. And, everyone has to go to a post office box to get their mail.
15. Inability to buy anything on our own.  We stopped at one of the shack shops the other day and had a hard time communicating with the person who owned it.  We have to bring Pati or Najib with us so they can say what we want to say.  I find it frustrating I can't just do it myself. I am always relying on someone else.
16. There is no one stop shopping.  You have to go to a number of different places to get everything. Luckily we can often ask Auntie to pick up something for us if we need it.
17. I saw a picture of a cheese burger and pizza yesterday.  Miss iiitt!! And ice cream is so expensive here! It's so sad!
18. Things are just always dirty.  The streets are always dirty, the classroom always has dirt because it's so dry and things are just..always dirty.
19. Rice.  To much. For every meal. Especially at school.  The school lunch rotates between four meals.  Fried rice, fried yam with sauce, rice cooked in sauce, and regular rice with sauce.  And it's always chicken or fish with it.  To much rice.
20. We are always spending money.  You want to go to the beach? 4 cedi. You want to get home from the beach? 13 cedi.  You want to get into the beach? Between 9 and 15 cedi, depending on the day you go.  That's just the beach.  Everything costs sooo much when you pay up front!

A list of the realities of the school are to come later...