End of October and I have money left over
Well, I made it to the end of October with 12.50 cedis remaining
out of the 325 monthly living allowance. So I lived within the budget given
to me by Peace Corps! It was close. I needed to save 4 cedis each way for the trip to Lawra on October 31 and have a little buffer for problems so I did not buy fruit or
vegetables in the last week to make sure I was stayed within budget. Actually, the trip to and from Lawra was kind of
interesting.
As you may know from previous posts I need to go to Lawra, about 20 miles away, to get money from my bank. I planned to go on Friday because I did not have classes to teach (I'm teaching during the strike that is still on) and because it was a Lawra market day. The theory was that on market day I would not have a problem getting a tro there or back. I was going to ride my bike down, but I had a teacher's staff meeting and funeral in the afternoon so I needed to leave Nandom early and get back as soon as possible. This was a little bit of a disappointment because a fellow volunteer could not get into town until after 2 pm, so I was not able to meet up with her.
Anyway, travel in Ghana. Note: this is not any sort of Peace Corps travel story beyond typical. I sat in a tro with other people for two hours waiting for it to fill. It didn't, but finally a bus came by that picked us up. So we all got out of the tro and into the bus. So much for an early start. It would have been quicker to ride my bike. I was able to get to the bank without much delay and I picked up a package for me and a few things for a fellow volunteer. Our mail system involves ferrying packages around to each other to augment the national postal system.
I had a quick chat with the volunteer who had the packages and two volunteer friends visiting her. The two were from the Netherlands. There are many European volunteers in Ghana. I've meet several from Germany and from the Netherlands. Most European volunteers seem to be in a program that lasts in country for 4 to 6 month service although some serve for a longer period of time. I hear there are also volunteers from Japan, but I've not seen any.
Afterward the chat it was back waiting for a tro. And waiting. A private vehicle came along and before I understand what was happening the people waiting with me were pilling in the pickup truck. I was the last one to get up and it looked like the truck was full, so I figured I would have to keep waiting. Either one person was not going, or gave up her seat so I could go. Not sure. I got back in time and the driver did not charge for the trip. The people in Ghana are friendly.
As I saved 4 cedis on the way back I splurged on a coke. 1.5 cedis for a small glass bottle. It was the first one I had in the month even though I wanted one several times in October when it was hot and I was tired. Most places sell the can which is 2.5 cedis and more that I want to spend. Finding a place the sells coke in a bottle is a plus – I'll go to that place again.
All this focus on money is a little annoying. I knew that I would need to budget – but the problem is that we are paid in local currency that is not adjusted for inflation. I have heard that other West African Peace Corps countries pay their volunteers in dollars that are converted each month to the local currency – so they will not have the problem that we have. In Ghana the 325 cedis at the start of the previous fiscal year was worth about $148. It is about $100 on October and November 1st – better than September when our living allowance was only worth about $85 due to a dramatic drop in the value of the local currency. Last month if we were paid like others countries we would have received about 154 cedis more and I would have been able to relax a little about my budget and focus more on my teaching and secondary projects. I could easily pull a little money from my U.S. account and have no worries, but I want to try to live with what I get for Peace Corps except for special purchases or such.
I'm not sure what is happening with the money budgeted (in U.S. dollars) that we volunteers are not getting each month or when we will be getting a raise, but I know that many volunteers have a lot of trouble living on the living allowance. We just have remain patient and hope the Peace Corps Ghana eventually does the right thing for the volunteers.
I'm still working on the pictures and the steps to prepare pito, but I did want to post a few pictures each time if I have the network bandwidth. Normally I work on these posts off and on on Saturday and then polish and upload on Sunday. This week I did not have much time on Saturday because I attended two funerals, needed to do some stuff with school, and had a meeting with a local businessman, Bruno. Bruno is an interesting man that will be in future posts.
So again, Ghana is fine and stable. The people are great and I'll let you know if problems arise.
I remain healthy and now that it is a new month I have the money to buy fruit and vegetables again. At the end of this month I have a week of training with meals provided, so bonus.
In the market there are tomatoes, okra, onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and dried fish that would be recognized by all. There are other things like yams, cassava, pumpkin leaves, and dawadawa (fermented locust beans) that I have to ask the purpose and how to prepare it. Living in Upper West – a culinary experience. I'll work on a post about local markets and food at some point in the future.
I remain healthy and happy while still missing family and friends.
Please forgive edit errors in this post - it was a little rushed .....
Love always,
John
As you may know from previous posts I need to go to Lawra, about 20 miles away, to get money from my bank. I planned to go on Friday because I did not have classes to teach (I'm teaching during the strike that is still on) and because it was a Lawra market day. The theory was that on market day I would not have a problem getting a tro there or back. I was going to ride my bike down, but I had a teacher's staff meeting and funeral in the afternoon so I needed to leave Nandom early and get back as soon as possible. This was a little bit of a disappointment because a fellow volunteer could not get into town until after 2 pm, so I was not able to meet up with her.
Anyway, travel in Ghana. Note: this is not any sort of Peace Corps travel story beyond typical. I sat in a tro with other people for two hours waiting for it to fill. It didn't, but finally a bus came by that picked us up. So we all got out of the tro and into the bus. So much for an early start. It would have been quicker to ride my bike. I was able to get to the bank without much delay and I picked up a package for me and a few things for a fellow volunteer. Our mail system involves ferrying packages around to each other to augment the national postal system.
I had a quick chat with the volunteer who had the packages and two volunteer friends visiting her. The two were from the Netherlands. There are many European volunteers in Ghana. I've meet several from Germany and from the Netherlands. Most European volunteers seem to be in a program that lasts in country for 4 to 6 month service although some serve for a longer period of time. I hear there are also volunteers from Japan, but I've not seen any.
Afterward the chat it was back waiting for a tro. And waiting. A private vehicle came along and before I understand what was happening the people waiting with me were pilling in the pickup truck. I was the last one to get up and it looked like the truck was full, so I figured I would have to keep waiting. Either one person was not going, or gave up her seat so I could go. Not sure. I got back in time and the driver did not charge for the trip. The people in Ghana are friendly.
As I saved 4 cedis on the way back I splurged on a coke. 1.5 cedis for a small glass bottle. It was the first one I had in the month even though I wanted one several times in October when it was hot and I was tired. Most places sell the can which is 2.5 cedis and more that I want to spend. Finding a place the sells coke in a bottle is a plus – I'll go to that place again.
All this focus on money is a little annoying. I knew that I would need to budget – but the problem is that we are paid in local currency that is not adjusted for inflation. I have heard that other West African Peace Corps countries pay their volunteers in dollars that are converted each month to the local currency – so they will not have the problem that we have. In Ghana the 325 cedis at the start of the previous fiscal year was worth about $148. It is about $100 on October and November 1st – better than September when our living allowance was only worth about $85 due to a dramatic drop in the value of the local currency. Last month if we were paid like others countries we would have received about 154 cedis more and I would have been able to relax a little about my budget and focus more on my teaching and secondary projects. I could easily pull a little money from my U.S. account and have no worries, but I want to try to live with what I get for Peace Corps except for special purchases or such.
I'm not sure what is happening with the money budgeted (in U.S. dollars) that we volunteers are not getting each month or when we will be getting a raise, but I know that many volunteers have a lot of trouble living on the living allowance. We just have remain patient and hope the Peace Corps Ghana eventually does the right thing for the volunteers.
Pictures from Ghana.
I'm still working on the pictures and the steps to prepare pito, but I did want to post a few pictures each time if I have the network bandwidth. Normally I work on these posts off and on on Saturday and then polish and upload on Sunday. This week I did not have much time on Saturday because I attended two funerals, needed to do some stuff with school, and had a meeting with a local businessman, Bruno. Bruno is an interesting man that will be in future posts.
 |
| Smocks are traditional in Upper West. John with Roger and Bruno at a funeral |
 |
| Theresa and daughter. Theresa runs a local pito place |
 |
| Theresa's son |
Today, Sunday, I rode up to Hamile and back. Hamile is a border town with Burkena Faso. It is
about 10 miles away from Nandom and so I'm working to get this posted out
before it gets to late in Ghana.
 |
| On the road to Hamile. These market women are likely walking 10 miles to sell in Hamile. |
 |
| A picture of the market women in Hamile. More market pictures in a future post. |
Burkena Faso
You may or may not have heard of issues with the leader of Burkena Faso attempting to change the constitution so he could run for office again and the huge backlash from students and the general population. I'm not sure how bad events are in the country about 10 miles north, but Peace Corps has not provided any updates (which they would do if there was a safety issue for me). I'm getting my news from the BBC and locals.So again, Ghana is fine and stable. The people are great and I'll let you know if problems arise.
Problems arise.
OK, so there are some minor problems at my site. As we enter dry season the evenings will be cooler and so snakes and other creepy crawlies will head to concrete and the heat maintained in the evening. I killed a snake on my patio that was between me and my bathroom. It was poisonous. I also killed a small scorpion in my house. I think I have the first snake kill in the group. But I'm like 6 behind the leading scorpion killer. She is also currently the leading camel spider killer – but now she leaves those alone. Her name is Kristen and she was the person I would have liked to see in Lawra if I could have stayed in the afternoon. I want more details about why she leaves the camel spiders alone. |
| Snake killed on my patio. It was maybe two feet long. |
I remain healthy and now that it is a new month I have the money to buy fruit and vegetables again. At the end of this month I have a week of training with meals provided, so bonus.
In the market there are tomatoes, okra, onions, cabbage, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and dried fish that would be recognized by all. There are other things like yams, cassava, pumpkin leaves, and dawadawa (fermented locust beans) that I have to ask the purpose and how to prepare it. Living in Upper West – a culinary experience. I'll work on a post about local markets and food at some point in the future.
I remain healthy and happy while still missing family and friends.
Please forgive edit errors in this post - it was a little rushed .....
Love always,
John
Comments
Post a Comment