Christmas here is celebrated by Christians in church but is otherwise quite low key. There are a few signs of a more commercialised, westernised sort of celebration creeping in but most people in the north of Ghana can’t afford to do parties, cards, presents etc. Not hearing Jingle Bells from Bonfire Night onwards has been really great! Just last week there started to be a few carols played at times on the TV when other Christian music would usually be played and on Monday Vodaphone were doing a promotion in the nearest big town and had someone dressed up as Santa on their float.
At the weekend volunteers in this area got together for an early Christmas dinner. 15of us gathered at one house in Bolgatanga and all contributed to the meal. Our Secret Santa limit was the equivalent of just over a pound and the gifts were a real mix of edible, practical and plain silly. The distribution and opening of them involved a story and the option of ‘stealing’ a present that you liked better than the one you had opened, resulting in much hilarity as some things were clearly favoured over others, especially anything chocolate! We then had a UK v the rest of the world quiz which the UK won by a whisker. Anthony who is in a band, Bolgatanga, then bought in his guitar and the band’s drums and we played and sang carols and Christmas songs. Then we noticed it was 1.30am so a good time had been had by all!
The Christmas break is now approaching. Schools finished on Friday (18th) for 3 weeks but the office doesn’t close til lunchtime on Christmas Eve. It will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day then open again until New Years Day which is also a holiday. Iona, who I share a house with, and I are taking some extra leave days and travelling via Kumasi to Koforidua in the south east to spend Christmas with some other volunteers. There should be about 15 of us. There is a big bead market in Koforidua that we plan to visit on Christmas Eve. On Boxing Day the plan is to visit some nearby waterfalls and do a bit of a hike.
After Christmas a smaller group of us are going to travel for a few days in Togo and Benin which should be a bit of an adventure to start off the New Year.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Mobile on a moto
A couple of weeks ago I went to Bolgatanga with some other VSO volunteers and completed a week of moto training/practice and lots of form filling and I now have a Ghanaian licence.
Driving here presents numerous challenges. The main road through Zebilla is tarmac but has lots of potholes in it, some of which are very deep and wide. All traffic therefore picks the best route round or over them almost regardless of which side it should really be on (the right).
All other routes are mainly red(dust) roads/tracks which are very uneven and rutted in places and may have loose stones or gravel on them or patches of quite deep sand.
On the roads there are lots of motos and bicycles, some cars, tro tros (minibuses used as shared taxis between major towns), coaches, lorries and donkey carts as well as people walking.
Wherever you are groups of cows, chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, sheep, goats or pigs may decide that they are going to cross infront of you without warning. There are some individuals wandering around too. They are all sure that they have right of way!
My moto was delivered to me soon after my training. It's a black Yamaha YBR 125cc. So far I've done the short journey from home to work and back several times and one longer ride.
The really hard bit is getting the moto in and out of the house. This involves placing a wooden ramp across the drain that surrounds the house. It's a bit of a slope and the moto is heavy so it's a difficult manoeuvre. It's getting easier with practice. I'm not sure if my technique is improving or my muscles growing!
Driving here presents numerous challenges. The main road through Zebilla is tarmac but has lots of potholes in it, some of which are very deep and wide. All traffic therefore picks the best route round or over them almost regardless of which side it should really be on (the right).
All other routes are mainly red(dust) roads/tracks which are very uneven and rutted in places and may have loose stones or gravel on them or patches of quite deep sand.
On the roads there are lots of motos and bicycles, some cars, tro tros (minibuses used as shared taxis between major towns), coaches, lorries and donkey carts as well as people walking.
Wherever you are groups of cows, chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, sheep, goats or pigs may decide that they are going to cross infront of you without warning. There are some individuals wandering around too. They are all sure that they have right of way!
My moto was delivered to me soon after my training. It's a black Yamaha YBR 125cc. So far I've done the short journey from home to work and back several times and one longer ride.
The really hard bit is getting the moto in and out of the house. This involves placing a wooden ramp across the drain that surrounds the house. It's a bit of a slope and the moto is heavy so it's a difficult manoeuvre. It's getting easier with practice. I'm not sure if my technique is improving or my muscles growing!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Early days
Each day brings new sights, experiences, friends and quite a bit of culture shock along the way. I am sharing a house with two VSO volunteers who have been here for some time so they are easing me in to local life. Everyone is very welcoming both at work and in the local area. I have had a couple of lessons in Kusaal, the local language, but for now I’m limited to basic greetings so it is helpful that most people speak at least some English.
I have started work in the District Education Office but it is very much a case of meeting people and trying to find things out at the moment rather than actually doing very much. I hope to be able to go out to visit some schools soon but it will be about 6 weeks before I get my moto and I am independently mobile. In the meantime lots of local children call at the house to talk to us and play games.
The market is every fourth day and a real assault on the senses, sometimes pleasant and sometimes not so nice. There are definitely some foodstuffs there that I will not be trying!
There are some lovely fabrics and skilled seamstresses as it is quite usual to have clothes custom made.
Our house is comparatively well appointed with tiled floors in all the rooms, running water supplied from an outside tank that is mostly regularly filled and electricity. There are a couple of other similar houses nearby but all around us are more traditionally built homes, often with small compounds and some with thatched roofs. Some of the local houses are very basic. Many people have no electricity and have to fetch their water from a borehole or use a manual pump.
I wake at about 6am as people start moving around as soon as it’s light. Breakfast is usually fruit or bread with something spread on it. It’s hot even before 8am on the walk or ride to work. Walking or riding a bicycle, I am greeted with calls of ’nassara, nassara’ (white person) from friendly children along the way.
Lunch involves a short walk to nearby food stalls and sitting in the shade with a cool drink. By the time I get home after work I’m quite tired and very damp. I am getting used to the feeling of sweat trickling down my back. However, I am assured that the temperature now is nothing to what it will be in April/May. Lights out is usually around 10.30pm with the previous hour spent relaxing with a book or crossword.
Tro tros are the main form of public transport to get from one town to the next. You go to the bus station and it goes when its full. And I mean full. Thankfully the goats seem to travel on the roof!
We have to go to our nearest big town, Bolga, to get a wider variety of vegetables and other goods than we can get locally. This involves nearly an hour on the tro tro along a pretty straight but very poor road - probably as much pot hole as tarmac.
I'll try and put some photos on here soon!
I have started work in the District Education Office but it is very much a case of meeting people and trying to find things out at the moment rather than actually doing very much. I hope to be able to go out to visit some schools soon but it will be about 6 weeks before I get my moto and I am independently mobile. In the meantime lots of local children call at the house to talk to us and play games.
The market is every fourth day and a real assault on the senses, sometimes pleasant and sometimes not so nice. There are definitely some foodstuffs there that I will not be trying!
There are some lovely fabrics and skilled seamstresses as it is quite usual to have clothes custom made.
Our house is comparatively well appointed with tiled floors in all the rooms, running water supplied from an outside tank that is mostly regularly filled and electricity. There are a couple of other similar houses nearby but all around us are more traditionally built homes, often with small compounds and some with thatched roofs. Some of the local houses are very basic. Many people have no electricity and have to fetch their water from a borehole or use a manual pump.
I wake at about 6am as people start moving around as soon as it’s light. Breakfast is usually fruit or bread with something spread on it. It’s hot even before 8am on the walk or ride to work. Walking or riding a bicycle, I am greeted with calls of ’nassara, nassara’ (white person) from friendly children along the way.
Lunch involves a short walk to nearby food stalls and sitting in the shade with a cool drink. By the time I get home after work I’m quite tired and very damp. I am getting used to the feeling of sweat trickling down my back. However, I am assured that the temperature now is nothing to what it will be in April/May. Lights out is usually around 10.30pm with the previous hour spent relaxing with a book or crossword.
Tro tros are the main form of public transport to get from one town to the next. You go to the bus station and it goes when its full. And I mean full. Thankfully the goats seem to travel on the roof!
We have to go to our nearest big town, Bolga, to get a wider variety of vegetables and other goods than we can get locally. This involves nearly an hour on the tro tro along a pretty straight but very poor road - probably as much pot hole as tarmac.
I'll try and put some photos on here soon!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
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