day at the beach

Welcome again to my blog!
I want to begin by saying that I am so extremely grateful to all of you for your support. The calls, emails and just knowing that I have people at home that support me is a wonderful feeling!
My work here is currently stalled because I still have not received most of my supplies from Accra, the capital of Ghana. This is really becoming a bit issue for me. The supplies have been in Accra for over three weeks! The shipping company is waiting for EPA (Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency) approval because of the chemicals contained in the shipment. I try to keep in mind that things move slowly here, but my time is getting short and I want to make sure I am doing my job.
I have gotten the university here involved in hopes of speeding up the process, but with another long holiday coming up, Easter is celebrated from Thursday through Monday, I am not expecting much to happen. Anyway, you all don’t want to hear about this stuff, so let’s move on to happier news!
Thursday, March 6th was Ghana Independence Day and a day off work.

Victoria, Don Juan, Henry and I went to the beach near Takoradi, an hour’s drive south of Tarkwa. We went to a beach resort, actually, through some means of under-the-table payment to the security guard. The weather was lovely and it was so nice to dip my toes into the cool ocean. Since we were at a resort, there was a restaurant and live music, so we proceeded to have a few drinks, some semi-American food and dance. I have attached some pictures of us on the beach. Here, Henry is in utter amazement of my dancing moves! Yes, white girls can dance…sort of.


Vic and Don Juan also took advantage of the sun, surf and music!

here are some other neat photos:

I mentioned the semi-American food and I would like to elaborate on what exactly that means. We had a late lunch and I asked the waiter about the cuisine. I have been so hungry for American food (or really any food that does not contain fish) and was truly hoping to get a hamburger and FF. Unfortunately, no beef on the menu, but the waiter assured me that the club sandwich with fries was excellent. Ok, so I had the club sandwich, while my counterparts had some traditional Ghanaian yams with tomato sauce and some goat skewers. As you may guess, the sandwich was less than satisfactory, containing tons of mayo and, wouldn’t you know, fish. That being said, the fries were great. I know, I know I should have asked the contents of the sandwich…but oh well. For a place that puts ketchup and mayo on green salads it wasn’t bad.

We returned to Tarkwa around 8 pm and Friday was back to work!

On Saturday, I went over to Victoria’s house to try another traditional Ghanaian dish called gari. Earlier in the week she introduced my to something called banku with chicken soup. Both of these dishes use the same basic ingredients: cassava, plantain and/or fermented corn. These items are ground into a powder, sometimes coarse and sometimes fine, depending on the tribe and culture of the area. Victoria is an Ewe (I think that is the spelling), coming from the northern Volta region. Her husband, Don Juan, is Ashanti. This just means that Victoria has her own tribe’s recipes for creating basic dishes. Most often the ground plants are added to water and made into a paste or dough, sort of like fufu, and then served with a soup or stew. Typically, this stew or soup is made with fish, but since I asked for something a little different, Victoria created a chicken soup for the banku and a fish stew for the gari. Both of these dishes were wonderful! I enjoyed them much more than the fufu!
After consuming a large quantity of gari on Saturday, Victoria and I sat around her house and watched several episodes of 24, yes the US show with Kiefer Sutherland. This is her favorite show and she can purchase Chinese produced DVDs in town. I never really enjoyed the show when I lived in the US, but it was sure nice to hear all the American slang and see American landmarks. Henry came by later in the day, Don Juan was traveling for work, and we just hung-out chatting and watching a little TV.
Sunday I did not attend church, but went over to the Gordon’s house for lunch. I was told the menu for the day was beans and rice. Of course, that meant beans, rice and a whole fish (including head)! Although serving the fish this way is typical, today I just couldn’t handle it. I covered up the head with beans and rice and ate around the fish. Joe Gordon asked me about this and I felt that I just had to tell him the truth about my fear of the fish staring at me while I ate. He and his wife found this completely hilarious! They said the next time they would remove the head for me, thank goodness.
Last week was pretty boring, just work and waiting for my supplies to arrive. On Thursday, March 13th, Victoria, Don Juan, Henry and I went out to the Club house for a couple drinks and relaxation. We decided to travel again to Monica’s for a little US music and a little dancing. Another very fun night with my very good Ghanaian friends! I stayed in over the weekend for a little R&R, but went out again with the above mentioned group on Sunday afternoon to watch football (soccer).
At the Club House, we normally get goat skewers to munch on while we chat. I mentioned before that they cook all of the meat extremely well done, so it is sometimes difficult to figure out what type of meat you are eating. The skewers we had were definitely distinct, so I asked Victoria what we were eating and she told me she requested liver. Why LIVER? Turns out she has the same medical condition I do: chronic anemia. In this type of anemia, your body does not produce enough red blood cells so I get fatigued easily and have to take vitamins to make sure the red blood cells I do have run at full capacity. It is also suggested to eat red meat and green vegetables, two things that are not always accessible here in Tarkwa. Victoria’s doctor recommended she eat liver when she can because it is a good source of iron. So I ate some liver and I must admit I am feeling better than I did last week. Not that I was feeling bad, just tired and edgy. Maybe this week I will request some liver skewers!
Yesterday, I went to the doctor to get a refill on my anti-malarial drugs. I was thinking about discontinuing taking the drugs, because they mess with my sleeping, but I decided to keep taking them at least a little while longer. Malaria, spread by mosquitoes, is common here in Ghana and most people get it several times in their lifetime. If I would get malaria, it would not be fatal and may not even be very serious. I have access to medicine to treat malaria and its symptoms (so mom, please don’t worry). However, I don’t really want to deal with that if I don’t have to. I sleep under a mosquito net, rub DEET containing bug lotion all over my body if I am going out in the evenings and take these huge anti-malarial pills everyday.
Well, I guess I should try to post this blog and pictures. Since our connection is so slow this can take up to an hour!

Tarkwa, Ghana, 4MAR08

Hello again from West Africa!
I have been a pretty busy girl over here, finally starting my research work. I went on my first sampling trip to rural Ghana on February 26th, traveling about two hours north of Tarkwa to Asankrangwa sampling the water of small villages along the way. The roads are in very poor condition, so traveling can become treacherous. I have been eager to get out into the field and begin work, unfortunately because of shipping problems I haven’t received any of my work supplies as of yet. However, I did find a pH probe and conductivity meter to use for the trip, so off we went. At least we could collect some samples and store them for testing once I receive my supplies.
As many of you know, I am a very punctual person and don’t have a tremendous amount of patience. My time here in Ghana has been a test of my ability to relax and not be so concerned with time. I was traveling with a Master’s student who has sampled in these areas before and rented a car and a driver from town. I asked if we could be ready to go by 8 am, which in Ghana time means sometime in the morning preferably before lunch. So I am waiting and fidgeting for people to get themselves and the car ready to go. Once we started our trip (at 10 am), I was told that we would probably be back in town by 5 pm but by this time I knew better!
The sampling trip was a great success and I am beginning to feel like I can truly do this research project. As you may know, I struggle with my fear of failing in this project. I don’t worry so much about getting sick or having trouble adjusting to the culture, but I fear not having a successful research project. With the shipping problems I been having, my fear was beginning to get the best of me. So, send good thoughts my way that the Ghanaian EPA will ship my parcels from Accra to Tarkwa in a timely manner..ok?
As I said, the sampling trip was wonderful. We collected nine samples from various borehole sites in the villages. Some of the villages we traveled to do not have electricity and many of the families live in mud huts with thatched roofs. Usually, there is one borehole well to serve the entire community, so people line up nearly all day to get their turn at the hand pump. Quite often, the people fetching the water are women or young girls and they may have to travel quite far to get to the well.

When we arrived at the villages, many people would gather to get a look at the Broni (white woman)! The kids were exceptionally curious gathering around and giggling when I smiled at them and said hello. Although it was a weekday, many of the kids were not in school, which I found interesting. Some were dressed in school uniforms, so maybe they were taking time out of their day to see some little white girl? In other instances, it was clear that the kids just didn’t go to school. Many of the town elders also came to ask me what I was doing and where I was from. Luckily, I had Patrick (Master’s student) with me to speak to them in the local language and assure them that we were only there to help. At a few of the sites, the elders would tell me of the water problems that they were having. Usually, the problems were either diarrhea or lack of water, since these can be detected immediately, unlike metal poisoning. Unfortunately, I didn’t have sterilized bottles for bacteria testing, but I assured them I would be back to test for other things at a later date.
The kids were totally adorable! They followed me around like little sheep and always wanted their picture taken. I would then show them the photo on my digital camera and they would scream with joy and run around waving their hands. I truly wanted to scoop them up to take them home with me! I hope to get the photos printed somewhere and take them back to the villages to show the kids. Maybe they can post them in the school or something. I have posted some of the pictures of the borehole wells and of the cute kids. In the one picture, you can’t even see the well because everyone wanted to be in the picture!
Lunch was interesting, as many meals here in Ghana. I opted for plain rice and tomato sauce since we were out on the road, but my traveling companions had traditional fufu with bushmeat. See last blog about fufu. Anyway, I was curious about bushmeat, but decided to try it before asking and Patrick gave me a couple pieces. It was really quite disgusting, in my opinion, but the Ghanaians seem to love it. It was very gamey and chewy and tasted like nothing I have ever tasted before. Anyway, after giving it a good try, I inquired about the origin of the meat. Here it is called grass cutter, but lots of things eat grass, like good old American cows, so I needed more information. Turns out, a grass cutter is a small four-legged animal similar to a porcupine. Well, at least, now I know!
We arrived back in Tarkwa around 7:30 pm (not 5) and unloaded our gear and headed to the local watering hole for a well deserved Star Beer.
We have been having strong storms here in the afternoons, which is typical of the beginning of the rainy season. Quite often the electricity and internet will go out around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. The rain will last about an hour and then stop. Post-rain time is really the best time of the day for me because the temperature drops to an acceptable number and the air is clear. On Thursday, February 28th, the storm was very strong so Victoria and I decided to call it an early workday and head to town for a late lunch. She really wanted to take me to one of her favorite restaurants for soup and rice. Everyday, she asks me what I’ve eaten and how much then tells me I am too skinny! I have to admit, the meal I had at this restaurant was the best food I have had since I arrived in Ghana. It was a light and very spicy soup with goat meat and a side of rice. Victoria was very pleased because I ate everything on my plate!

Her husband and his friend came by the restaurant to meet us. Victoria’s husband’s nickname is Don Juan and I have taken to calling him that. He is truly a charmer. We all left for the Clubhouse for drinks. Unfortunately, Victoria had a church meeting and left early, but would meet up with us later.
Don Juan wanted to take me to this place called Monica’s because it had an American atmosphere. It was a very nice taste of home in rural Ghana! I got a bit tipsy and had tons of fun. I have finally begun to feel at home and get a sense of how things work and where things are. I have to admit, Friday I was a bit tired for work and was not very productive. It didn’t help that there was no running water at my house when I returned home on Thursday. Lack of water is a problem, even in the rainy season. I would say I have no running water about 2 days a week, so the local kids come to my door not only for cookies, but to bring me a couple buckets of water. I now have a couple barrels to store water for times when there is none for showers or toilet flushes, but in this instance I didn’t have water for four days. It finally came on yesterday, Monday, and I enjoyed a very nice shower last night.
On Saturday, I further explored my town of Tarkwa. I needed some things, since I haven’t received any shipments from the US of personal goods. I found a maze of vendors behind some buildings downtown where you could honestly get lost for days. It is very cramped and crowded and dark, but you can buy lots of things there if you are willing to negotiate a fair price. Since I am an American, I will first be quoted a ridiculously high price, maybe four times higher than what I should pay. I am not a good negotiator, but I tried very hard to come to a fair price for a couple of towels and a steam iron. I suppose I still paid a high price, but it is a learning process and hopefully I will become better with time.
All my best to everyone in the US and abroad and know I miss you all greatly!