Maintaining a sense of home while serving abroad

When you are packing for two years in the Peace Corps you should include reminders of home – pictures and items that connect you to family and friends.

I had those with me in Ghana and in Dominica – until Maria took the roof off my bedroom. The family who owns the house in Dominica worked very hard to save as much of my stuff as possible but still most of my memories, well the physical stuff of memories were ruined under the deluge. I am grateful that most of my things were salvaged – without their quick work I would have likely lost most everything.

Since I was home for a time before returning to service I  brought a few things and I loaded more family pictures on my computer. But I will confess that I wanted a bit more of a connection with my life in America. I was not missing my Prius, house, or air conditioning (well not much). I was missing really good fried okra (a lot).

I think that is why I made a rather strange purchase with some of my settling in allowance. The Peace Corps was nice enough to give us new settling in allowances to help with the loss from Maria. It is about $1,000 EC – and most people get things like a fan, blender, other kitchen stuff, set up cable and internet, and such.

I have a pretty good kitchen, not much by way of electric gadgets – but plates, bowls, silverware, and cooking utensils. My fan in Ghana wasn’t used that much – a lot if times during the hot season we had lights out – so I learned to live without it. It gets a little hot in the house, particularly during the day, but then I can sit outside. I’m not as high up as in Tete Morne, but I still get enough of a cool breeze – most evenings anyway.

No, I don’t need a fan. The thing is I like my okra seared fast on the outside and cooked just enough to be a little tender without being soft. A lightweight nonstick pan cools off when adding the okra to the hot oil and so tends to be a bit too soft on the inside. (I’m also not a fan of cooking on Teflon.) I much prefer an older sort of nonstick skillets. Ones that will last a very long time with just a little care.

Required for true southern cooking

And so I went on a search for a cast iron skillet. I would have liked to have brought mine, but they are a bit heavy. I couldn’t find them in Ghana, but there is an amazing store in Grenville with an amazing lady, Mrs. Ali. And she called another store and I had, for just about the same price as a fan – a good size deep cast iron skillet.

Store front in Grenville.  A great store when most places sell low cost imported stuff

There are a variety of products that are worth the price if within the budget

Virtually always people in the store with wide aisle and room to look

Her store is amazing – she sells good stuff, rather than the cheap things. I needed an iron for my clothes and the skillet. Her irons were high quality and cost about $160. Way more than I wanted to spend so I found a cheap on at another place for $50 that should be sufficient for my limited ironing. However, I was willing to spend $140 for one skillet. I would have spent more.

The cast iron skillet, beside a great lifelong investment that works well in the kitchen or the campsite – also reminds me of home. A connection, a part of America. Literally, as Lodge has been making cookware in America since 1896. I will be using it for most of my frying. And I know southern cooking is not supposed to be the most healthy, but since I’m getting a good amount of exercise and I’m not eating processed food I don’t mind the oil and the sugar that I use.

I also bought some garden tools. The big purchase was a reasonably priced spading fork, my favorite tool for turning the soil (as it is easier on earthworms) and harvesting root crops.

How I spent about a third of my settling in allowance.

I started a crude compost pile my first day here, but it needed some improvements. I also want a little garden for food and to demonstrate the advantage of adding organic material to the soil. I’m the type of gardener who works to improve the soil – putting as much organic material into the soil as possible – compost, char, manures, mulch, whatever. Thus the spading fork. I also needed a cutlass, had one in Ghana and they are pretty ubiquitous around here as well. 

The soil around my place is a red clay so it should be a good start. I’ve already cut some of the grass around and buried it in a trench I turned. But more about the garden later…

So with the cast iron skillet, spading fork, and the pictures on my computer I’m pretty well settled in for now. Communication with home is good for volunteers. I still don’t have wifi at home and will likely continue to get a data plan on my phone so I can communicate easily with family when I’m traveling or out and about.  I can use the school wifi and save a little money after my spending spree.

It’s a new year and next week I should have a posting about school which has already started back up.

Love always,
Johh