TAKE NOTE OF THE NEW ADDRESS!

I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. I passed language, security,
medical, and technical knowledge tests to be able to go out "on my
own." These first three months at site on your own are known to be
the hardest. It is in these first three months that I will have to
define my role in my communities, over and over again to each new
person I meet.

My work will be focused in two small neighboring farming communities
located in the Upper East Region of Ghana. I live between these two
communities in a compound with an uncertain number of people. I don't
have electricity, but I do have running water if we pump it into the
holding tanks and pressurize them a little. My room is small but
getting more homey as I settle in. I'm having a wardrobe and
bookshelf made by a local carpenter, which in itself is quite the
feat. Ghanaians don't have furniture to speak of and definitely do not
own books. Imagine me using the little bit of the FraFra language I
know, simple English, and gestures trying to describe and draw
pictures of what I want. Incredibly amusing. A day was spent at the
market first buying materials for the carpenter, then trying to get a
trotro to take the things to my village for a reasonable price.
Another few hours were spent with the carpenter showing him where to
cut the wood so there would be enough for both pieces of furniture.
About half way through this process, the carpenter found complete
understanding and finished on his own. All through my time at the
carpenter's an old man was trying to get me to marry him. It went
something like this: "cut here... you are an old man, I do not want to
marry an old man... yes 4x1... oh well how many cows will you send to
my father in America?... cut there and there... only 3! a man in Bolga
offered 5 cows yesterday and he was not old!... n ka boti doors (I
dont want doors)... I don't even want to marry you and you are talking
about the children you want me to give you! (specifically he wanted
twins)" haha and so on. So maybe tomorrow the polish will be dry and
I will have a more organized room.
My "job" here is to work with two women's groups in partnership
with GHACOE Women's Ministry to help them find new sources of income.
Sometimes I have to stretch to see how this relates to my being an
environment volunteer. But my women are super incredible and loving
and just generally nice. They have named me Iieem Poka, which means
god woman, and gave me a traditional strip woven smock. I've never
seen a woman wear one because they are so expensive, and I am truly
touched that the women came together to purchase me one.

There is lots to do yet nothing to do so I best get to it! TAKE NOTE
OF THE NEW ADDRESS!