Last Chance to Be…

No time AGAIN!

Only enough time to say I am happy and paste some notes from last week.

My phone number will be superceeded by a new one in a few days so if you text me and I haven’t replied I’m not ignoring you

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Saturday 9th December 2006

I was nervous before leaving to go to Akatsi market today. I had a few things to contend with and diarrhoea was the least of them.

I had to go on a Tro Tro for the first time, navigate my way to somewhere I had only been once before, deal with the heat and haggle.

Getting a Tro Tro was easy, but as I got on the lady in the front seat, next whom I had been placed, huffed something in Ewe, which ended in Javu. She didn’t seem too happy to have to sit next to one. I wasn’t feeling my best anyway and this didn’t
help. I was not in the mood for haggling.

Anyway, as it was I had a great time. I spent half a day wandering around Akatsi and didn’t see another white person. I also decided to approach all the stallholders who shouted ‘Javu’ rather than those who asked to be my best friend, and, surprisingly, had a really good laugh with all of them.

My interim haggling technique of just wandering off when I am given a price didn’t seem to be working until I managed to buy a Kerosene lamp for 17 000 Cedis which I considered a bargain. Tune in next week for the exiting adventures of me trying to find Kerosene to put in it.

I went to the 28K Internet Cafe again and had plenty of emails and comments on the site to read. Great stuff, thank you.I have started to play two games while I am here. The first one is, how many times will the Tro Tro driver sound his horn? The journey from Akatsi to Abor is about 10km. Can you guess?

The other game is the G Shock Sociability Game. My watch has a meter on it to show how much time I have been outside (i.e. how much charge does the solar panel get), low, medium or high. While I was showing off the features of this watch once, somebody asked me if I get out much, so I decided to prove that geeks have fun too. The idea of the game is to keep the watch at High. The more I go outside, the easier that should be. When you go outside here you can’t avoid being social.

On my way home today several people approached me on the mud road (I wonder if it has a name) asking to be my best friend. This happens all the time. I normally tell them that if I said ‘yes’ to everybody who asked to be my friend, I would have too
many friends, so for now I am saying neither yes or no. Some of them take offence to this and some don’t. I think some of them take this as a yes anyway.

In fact I am fairly sure some of them now think we are best friends and when they see me walking along the mud road make a special effort to come out and greet me. Unfortunately, having met about fifty people in this way in the last week, I can’t
remember any of them. It’s all a bit difficult.

Feeling triumphant with all this socialising this morning, I spent time this afternoon chatting with my students around the campus. They are awesome and curious about me but not intrusive, not like the mud road people. They laugh at my jokes, which is really cool. This could be because they haven’t heard them before. Let’s see if they are still laughing this time next year.

They are concerned about me sitting in my room being ill and generally really nice to me even though they hardly know me. Most of them also want to be my best friend, but because I am their teacher, they know this is unlikely.

Every Saturday night the students entertain themselves on the stage at the front of the school, with some kind of play. They have asked me to come up on stage and tell a funny story - which I politely refused as I am not good with large audiences. I have a feeling I won’t be able to get out of it so plan to take my camera with me and just ask them all to say cheese or something.

Oh, for those playing along, the Tro Tro driver sounded his horn an amazing 56 times on the way to Akatsi and a disappointing 43 on the way back.

Sunday 10th December

I seem to spend a lot of time washing clothes. This is mainly because they get covered in sweat within about five minutes of putting them on. Also during the Harmattan everything is covered in orange sand. Most of this morning was spent doing washing.

Father has intimated that he wants to get an internet connection at the school along with a server. This is excellent news. I am going to Accra on Wednesday so plan to investigate a possible option. There is a chance we may get an always on mobile/gsm type connection.

Despite my reticence, I have also drawn up a shopping list for when I go to Koala. Spit!

Everything is photogenic here, but I have yet to start snapping. The kids have nothing here and I feel bad enough using my mobile phone in front of them. A few of them have mobiles, but mostly they are broken or have no credits. I will try to take some before I come to Accra and ….. broadband! My watch is also causing a problem. I am going to have to put the G Shock game on hold as most kids just stare at my watch all the time. I am going to pretend to lose it this week.

After washing, I spent the whole day chatting with various folk around the school. I am starting to feel more healthy and less itchy. I also finally got some work to do as I have found out some of the topics I will be covering next term so will be able to do some preparation, finally.

I have been trying to buy a bicycle over the last week. I found one for sale in Abor last week and was told it would cost me 350 000 Cedis. Rather than haggle, I told the guy I would be back next week to see if the price had changed. So today I asked him how much again. This time he said 1 million Cedis. I guess the technique doesn’t always work.

Deep joy, I am going back to the bank tomorrow.

I am starting to develop a tolerance to insects. Last night at dinner I had a procession of ants walking across the table and managed to ignore them almost completely for at least five minutes.

Monday 11th December 2006

Highs and lows are normal. The lows are worsened by illness. Perception of a problem changes from one day to the next. Now that I am no longer ill I am no longer bothered by the gap under the door. Strange.

A larger lizard has moved into the bathroom, but I don’t think it counts as a Gecko.

So, to the bank, armed with photocopies, photos and a utility bill. I considered taking something completely random like a tin of tuna fish and giving it to the manager, when questioned, I would reply, ‘just in case.’ I thought better of it.

So anyway, when finally the accounts Manager cant ask for any more things, he finally started to process my account. I think I then started to understand why there had been a problem before.

Despite there being several computers in the bank, with which one could create a new account, only one of them seems to ever be used. This is the same one they also use to process withdrawals and deposits. On the previous days when I have tried to open an account there has been a long queue.

When they open an account it takes quite a while. This is mainly because nobody quite knows how to do it or use the computer properly. They can’t get away with hogging the computer for so long when there is already such a long queue. I deduced this from watching the staff crowd around the computer randomly pushing buttons until all the errors went away as they tried to create my account. A further clue was
provided when the manager asked me to give him private computer lessons. Polite refusal is becoming a habit.

I was a little less polite when refusing to pay the school fees of one of my ‘best friends’ on the mud road. It was really sad to have to do so. The boy who asked has met me about three times and doesn’t say very much apart from the fact that he likes me and would like to visit me. I tried to explain that I was a volunteer and that I had much to give but it was mainly skills and time. Nobody believes me when I say I have no money. This is not helped by my watch which I am going to ‘lose’ in Accra this week. What is worse is the fact that I bought my watch for the equivalent price as one year of school fees.

After having walked with me for about four trips down the mud road and promising to ‘visit me’ a lot, he cycled away shortly after I said no to the request for money. The belief that Javu or white men have money is a big problem here. It seems fairly well
accepted that all you have to do is befriend a white man and your life will change somehow.

I have tried to find out if the mud road has a name to no avail. I shall have to think of a name for it myself. I met a lady selling plantain crisps on it today - they were awesome and only 2000 Cedis. Better than crisps!

By the time you read this I will be in Accra, for a VSO meeting. With any luck I will meet a friendly Volunteer who wants a visitor for Xmas, if not there is a chance I might go off travelling for a week or so up into the rain forest.

I went outside today and took some pictures. Because of the Harmattan the sky is dull. I didn’t feel up for getting my camera out in front of the students yet so I took these while they were in class.

That’s all for now apart from something I just heard on BBC World Service about a Michael Essien wonder goal? What was that about then? There is only one TV Station here and it sucks, so I won’t get the chance to see it.

EDIT

Due to a request I have included a picture of me on the right is my bed with mosquito net and fan (crucial). Me and my Robert’s radio in are the middle. The one with the inane grin is me. Behind that is my Ray Mears style filing trays made from cardboard. Those curtains were hand made just for me.

PS I am writing this under the light of a kerosene lamp to power rationing - cool

PPS In the picture called School Building, my house is about halfway down on the right.