John's Next Step

I've been wanting to write this post about home remodeling and building in the Upper West for some time but I've been waiting for the story to finish. Most of the homes, latrines, walls, and outbuilding in the area are made of mud bricks. Which seems crazy because the place has torrential driving rains during part of the year.  How do they stand? The building season is during the dry season; around December to around May. Men are responsible for building so it is mainly the work of men and boys. Although women and girls do bring some of the water to make the mud. Roger's primary building project was a make-over so I'm risking copyright infringement but it does fit my post. He wanted to make bedrooms for the two older children still at home and a storage room. He needed to break down a wall that was in the way of the addition to start. Breaking down walls made from mud bricks gives you the raw material for new mud walls, just add water. Actually is it a lit...

Man – I need to get on another topic soon, but I still would like to share a few more thought on this subject. This has turned more into a development and economic post, but I'll go with it. As previously mentioned these thoughts are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Peace Corps or the United States government. They are only my simple and incomplete understanding. However, I hope they bring at least some small insight between the two countries. Please see previous posts for background. Women involvement is key Women tend to work hard and invest in the children and the family.  Men also work had and invest in children and families but they tend to have other things of higher priority.  (One cannot make blanket statement, but the statement may also be true in America and around the world.) Everyone from professional development to individual locals working their own small development projects share the belief that women are the key to economic growth. ...

This is the third part of my thoughts on Ghanaian and American culture.  As previously mentioned I'm writing this for the second and third goals of the Peace Corps – to share American culture with the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian culture with the people of America. These thoughts are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Peace Corps or the United States government.  They are only my simple and incomplete understanding.  However, I hope they bring at least some small insight between the two countries. Please see previous posts for background. Cultural comparison summary. I don't think either America or Ghana (and to a greater extent Africa) is perfect. I don't think one should try to mimic the other, but I think that we can learn from each other.  (I'm not African but I'm going to use “we” in both cases otherwise I get a “we” verses “they” tone that I don't like  (besides I am officially a member of a local clan.) I think A...

The mother eagle and the nest I talked with a local man who has been involved in development projects for years. He has worked for an NGO but now works independently with his local community while maintaining a full time job at a local hospital. When I asked for his thoughts on African development he told me the story of the mother eagle and the nest. He said the story originated in Africa, but it is wide spread and I could not find a good reference for the origin. His story is a metaphor for African development needing initial external help, but not forever. As this is mother's day – I decided to delay my post on development.  It is coming - I promise.  Ask my daughter about my promises if you don't trust me. Note: I lived in the land of the bald eagle (they overwinter on the Missouri and Mississippi river near St. Louis) so I know eagles partner for life and both parents rear their young. Both parents incubate the eggs and while the mother spends more time feeding...

This is the second part of my thoughts on Ghanaian and American culture. As previously mentioned I'm writing this for the second and third goals of the Peace Corps – to share American culture with the people of Ghana and the Ghanaian culture with the people of America. These thoughts are my own and do not represent the opinion of the Peace Corps or the United States government. They are only my simple and incomplete understanding. However, I hope they bring at least some small insight between the two countries. The idea for this post started about three months ago with a conversation while waiting for a tro. I was sitting with four other men, all from Ghana and all roughly my age.  I started a conversation and when one man heard that I was a Peace Corps volunteer he wanted to talk about Ghana. He said that he thought that women in Ghana worked hard, but that the men do not. He said the men were lazy. I started to argue but the other men all agreed with the statement that...

The posts on cultural differences between America and Ghana will be delayed a week.  First, I would like to get a little more information and compare my thoughts with other volunteers and the locals. Second, I've been in Accra to get my ears checked out for the week and will not be leaving until Monday.  My ears are better than I expected.  It was not a burst ear drum – just a nasty fungal and bacterial ear canal infection.  I will not bore you with more details.... I left Nandom on Monday afternoon and arrived Tuesday morning.  About 16 hours on a bus.  I was able to give a math review on Monday before I left but otherwise missed the last week of class (exams) at my school, a staff meeting, two funerals, and other functions.  It is not until I leave that I sometimes realize how busy I get at my site.  I did bring the ICT exams to grade.  I had about 120 or so to grade and got through them all by Thursday.  I'll have math exam...

The mission of the Peace Corps is to promote world peace and friendship. We have three goals (paraphrased): Provide skilled volunteers to train and support the host country nationals Provide an understanding of America and its culture to host country nationals Provide an understanding of the host country and its culture to Americans This blog is part of the way that I fulfill the third Peace Goal and some of the second goal. Recently, my conversations with locals have focused on life and culture in Ghana and in America. Certainly, I've barely begun to know and understand the culture in Ghana even with the persistent questions I have been asking. Similarly, my understanding of American culture is filtered by my narrow experiences and does not represent some great universal truth or judgment, but just my opinions at the moment. My opinions of myself, Ghana, the United States, and the world change over time. And, of course, none of this is the o...