John's Next Step

Packages I got two packages this week – one from relatives in New Jersey and one from relatives in Virginia. Thanks to all. Wow, it is so nice to get a package and to get two in one week is very nice. One was mailed on the December 12 th and another on the 16 th . So about 5 weeks for delivery. A package also mailed on December 12 th came more a week ago - so go figure. I don't even begin to wonder about a package until six weeks. In these two packages I got things for the kitchen, for my hair, my head, my mind, and my stomach. Everything touched my heart with the thoughtfulness. With the newly added food chopper, cutting boards, pepper mill, seasonings, and such my kitchen is now nicely supplied. I can't think of anything else I need.  (Although when I get to hot season and I still don't have a refrigerator I may need to rethink what I need.) I'm going to get some clay planting pots made to use the herb seeds I received. I also got hair cutting sci...

Ghana Archery Roger and I were walking to see a man in the community early last week and he happened across an arrow head. It was a long thin metal piece that would be attached to then end of a shaft. That got Roger talking about archery and got me thinking about another blog post. He explained how the arrow worked while we walked and promised to show me a bow and arrow when we got back to his house. He talked about the old times when they made poison. The process involved collecting plants and such things and placing them in a pot which is buried for a year. The poison was used on animals and people in the ancient times. That got me thinking about the information that has been and is being lost in the community from the older generation. Yesterday, I was sitting talking with some of the older men and they were talking about how the grandfathers could dig up the roots and such to make medicine for a variety of illnesses. They told me that the knowledge and practice of m...

Ebony Trees in fruit I think I'm figuring out a rainy and dry season rather than spring, summer, winter, and fall. I'm use to the fall weather and leaves on most trees changing to a nice shade of red, yellow, or orange – all falling to the ground leaving a bare tree. As Ghana is very close to the equator I knew that we don't have spring, summer, winter, and fall like we have in North America. Still, I had thought that all the trees would go through something like fall near the start of the dry season. I was expecting everything to be dry and dead during this season. This is true for the grasses and some trees like the teak trees outside my house. The teak tree leaves turn brown and drop over time and I'm told they will become dormant until the rains come. At this time a few of the younger teak trees have lost most of their leaves while other teak trees have almost all their leaves still green. However, for the vast majority of native trees in the area the...

New Year came and went as did Christmas. There was mass in the community and new greetings in Dagaree that I tried to learn and maybe some extra food around, but otherwise another day like every other. We did get clouds on New Year day and into the next day. These are the first clouds I've seen since the end of November. No, my memory is not nearly that good and yes I'm keeping a simple log of temperature, humidity, and cloud/precipitation. I don't have a rain gauge or barometer – but I figure the hydrometer is enough “over the top” for a volunteer trying to live a simple life. House. I've been cleaning house so I took some pictures to remind people of my living arrangement. I live in one of four “bungalows” in the teacher's block next to the current junior high school. The elementary school and new junior high school (construction paused because the contractor has not been paid) are a short distance up the hill behind my house. The one next to me is a...