John's Next Step

Down and back.  Down and back.  Down and I’m back in Accra to get a check up on the fungal infection in my outer ear canals that has been causing so much trouble.  After taking ear drops for a month I’m down to see if it is gone.  Perhaps it is, but I don’t think so.  Fungal infections are hard to treat.  I’ll see on Monday. The temperature remains hot and it is hot down in Accra as well.  The rabbits are dealing with it as best they can.  I’m dealing with it as best I can.  Accra rest has air conditioning in the rooms – so one of the benefits to coming down.  I don’t know of any place with air conditioning in the Nandom area. Marching This is the time for the students to practice marching.  Something about Marching in March sounds like a Winnie the Pooh comment.  It is part of the March 6th independence celebrations – March 6, 1957 – from Great Britain.   Drumming section to maintain cadence - a broken jerry ...

The temperature was 101 in my place.   The temperature inside my house was 101 O F yesterday and maybe 104 in the shade outside.   I have a fan that has been repaired once and tends to overheat – so I don’t use it much – but I used it a little yesterday when the electricity was on – it was off more than on. I started drinking oral rehydration salts to help maintain fluids and salts.  The heat is part of the West African experience; part of the Peace Corps experience.  Not particularly pleasant but all part of the deal.  If I had wanted a comfortable life I would have stayed in Missouri.  OK, maybe moved to a nicer place …..  (Sorry friends / family in Missouri.) School interruptions We had a school mass this week on Tuesday.  The primary is a Catholic School, but the JHS is a government school (the government pays for both schools).  The mass was nice – but setting up, waiting for the Priest to come, the mass, and taking down – p...

This Wednesday was Ash Wednesday – the day that Catholics are reminded that we are dust and unto dust we shall return.  We had service under the tree with the school and the community.  In this part of Ghana during this dry season we receive dust in our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth every day so a little ash on our foreheads is like icing on an iced cake. School and community joined under the ebony tree for Ash Wednesday service Some of the small children from the primary at the service. Lent is traditionally a time of penance and sacrifice – giving up something.  Being a Peace Corps volunteer in the Upper West Region of Ghana I think I’ve got the whole “giving things up” covered.  I see the value of working to reject the material things in our lives – not everything – but certainly a lot of the extra baggage. Jesus gave multiple warnings about worldly possessions – possessing and being possessed by stuff.  I think that lesson is needed in both Gha...

We thought that the new female rabbit I recently got was pregnant.  Turns out she way and on Thursday she gave birth to three kits.  I think the proper term is she kindled three kits (kit short for kittens is the term used for some reason). She was not such a good mother as she had the three on the wire cage bottom rather than in the nest box with straw and sawdust.  She was not that great about building a nest – so I did that as well as I transferred them to the box.  She is supposed to pull her hair out from her stomach or I’m supposed to do it for her, but that does not seem to be working either.  Hopefully she can nurse them well. Oh well, this is such a learning experience.   Three kits moving to much to get a good picture with my phone Picture of the colony that I helped another farmer start.  He know has about 20 rabbits Getting the computers ready On Friday I spent some time working to get some of the computers ready to use...