50 Ways You Know You Are a Peace Corps Ghana Volunteer Part 2
1. You're always chasing animals away from your door
2. There's always poop around so you've taken to staring at the ground when you walk
3. You're at the point where you buy monthly cans of Raid
4. You drink ORS packets almost every day
5. You've waited over an hour for a storekeeper to come back just to pay for something
6. You have a different sweat rag for every day of the week
7. Spiders and ants walking across your floor used to freak you out. Now you don't even flinch. Unless it's a camel spider of course...
8. Getting dark at 6pm + the electricity goes out = well I guess I'll go to bed at 7pm
9. You hear a new (American) song only to find out it's been out a couple months now
10. You've waited on a tro-tro for over 4 hours just to get to a place that's only an hour away
11. Every time you walk by a fabric shop, you have to hold yourself back before you buy a dozen yards of cool-looking fabric
12. You go to festivals to watch the dances and cultural festivities but somehow your friends always drag you to the pito (local alcoholic drink made from millet) stand
13. You relish the cool nights and mornings during Harmattan while your students shiver in puffy winter coats
14. You have so much time on your hands, you can list dozens of ways JK Rowling could have made HP better and can defend a thesis on each Marvel movie
15. You discover that colds can happen anywhere... not just where it's cold
16. You wonder: is washing your clothes even worth it? They get dusty as they're drying in the dry season and take days to dry during the humidity of the rainy season
17. You know every home remedy for killing bugs
18. Your feet are just always dirty...even when you wash them multiple times a day
19. You use paper at least three times before you throw it away: for art, to write notes, and then as tp
20. You realize the true extent of entropy: you are constantly cleaning just to keep your place somewhat presentable
21. You can quote dozens of bible passages on cheating, as that is what your family writes on your packages to keep officials from ripping them open
22. You don't know the true meaning of quiet (or loneliness) until your students leave for break
23. You have an eye for sticks big enough to knock delicious fruit off any fruit trees you pass by (and no one cares)
24. You know you're not supposed to have favorite students, but your faves are the ones that bring you mangoes without you even asking
25. Finding a female friend from your community is like an intense game of hide and seek-- you have to visit multiple times, and make the first move-- while finding male friends is like a game of whack a mole-- they come swarming and you have to fight them off just to get some alone time
26. You seriously consider shaving off your hair because it's BONE DRY
27. You shower 3-4x a day just to keep cool
28. In the same vein, you never would have guessed you'd appreciate the freezing cold water that comes out of your shower, but now you do
29. You thank God that you live in a peaceful country but are bummed the neighboring countries (those that would make for easy trips) are banned
30. You can't filter water as fast as you can drink it
31. You've read books in subject areas you never thought you'd read because that's all that's available to you (I'm now an "expert" in Michael Jackson after reading a 700-page biography and can reluctantly say that I've read every piece of trash Ken Follett has written)
32. You start collecting things that are WAY more expensive back in the states (major league sports jerseys, tailor-fitted clothes, shea butter, coconut oil)
33. You realize you've started spelling things the British way (e.g., colour, memorise)
34. You've removed the sleeves from all your shirts (why'd you even bring sleeved shirts anyway??)
35. If you're a replacement PCV, you enjoy trying to figure out the lives of all the previous PCVs at your site
36. You've made a big deal out of cooking American food for your Ghanaian friends, only to have them cook another whole meal because American food is "too small"
37. The day it turns from Harmattan to the dry season is truly a day of mourning, as you go from sweet cool mornings and evenings to sweating buckets 24/7
38. It's truly a victory when you know someone well enough that they call you by your real name and not "white person"
39. You've spent hours of your existence trying to explain to HCNs that, yes, black people DO exist in America (or, if you're a POC, trying to explain why it hurts to be called "white")
40. You love blowing local kids' minds with any and all technology (e.g., Kindles, phones, and laptops)
41. If someone offers you free food, wifi, or a place to stay, she is your new best friend
42. Conversations about America that start out innocent always end up being about American foreign intervention/wars, 9/11, police brutality, or Trump
43. If you're a woman, you've been approached by dozens of people trying to convince you to get your hair braided; if you're not African-American, you've struggled to find a way to explain why that's not an appropriate style for you
44. You're all excited when you whip out a new term in the local language but are emotionally crushed when locals take that to mean you're fluent and try to have an entire conversation but you have no idea what they're saying
45. You call/text the PC medical officer dozens of times to order a refill on malaria meds only to receive a duplicate order of something else you asked for months ago
46. You look 10 years older because you hate to wear sunscreen but the sun is RELENTLESS (unless you're like me and become a lobster if you stand outside for 10 minutes without sunscreen)
47. If you're a woman, you've confused seamstresses by asking for a dress that cuts off above the knee. "no no-- you can see your knee? that's a shirt!"
48. You've developed a new sense of what's normal: slow/no internet? Fine. Rice and beans all day every day? Okay. An everyday battle to keep bats from flying into your room? Doesn't everyone have this problem?
49. You know all the places where the kids harass you for "50 pesewas" and strictly avoid those areas
50. you've built up a bit of arm muscle by helping to pound fufu every weekend (biceps for days)
2. There's always poop around so you've taken to staring at the ground when you walk
3. You're at the point where you buy monthly cans of Raid
4. You drink ORS packets almost every day
5. You've waited over an hour for a storekeeper to come back just to pay for something
6. You have a different sweat rag for every day of the week
7. Spiders and ants walking across your floor used to freak you out. Now you don't even flinch. Unless it's a camel spider of course...
8. Getting dark at 6pm + the electricity goes out = well I guess I'll go to bed at 7pm
9. You hear a new (American) song only to find out it's been out a couple months now
10. You've waited on a tro-tro for over 4 hours just to get to a place that's only an hour away
11. Every time you walk by a fabric shop, you have to hold yourself back before you buy a dozen yards of cool-looking fabric
12. You go to festivals to watch the dances and cultural festivities but somehow your friends always drag you to the pito (local alcoholic drink made from millet) stand
13. You relish the cool nights and mornings during Harmattan while your students shiver in puffy winter coats
14. You have so much time on your hands, you can list dozens of ways JK Rowling could have made HP better and can defend a thesis on each Marvel movie
15. You discover that colds can happen anywhere... not just where it's cold
16. You wonder: is washing your clothes even worth it? They get dusty as they're drying in the dry season and take days to dry during the humidity of the rainy season
17. You know every home remedy for killing bugs
18. Your feet are just always dirty...even when you wash them multiple times a day
19. You use paper at least three times before you throw it away: for art, to write notes, and then as tp
20. You realize the true extent of entropy: you are constantly cleaning just to keep your place somewhat presentable
21. You can quote dozens of bible passages on cheating, as that is what your family writes on your packages to keep officials from ripping them open
22. You don't know the true meaning of quiet (or loneliness) until your students leave for break
23. You have an eye for sticks big enough to knock delicious fruit off any fruit trees you pass by (and no one cares)
24. You know you're not supposed to have favorite students, but your faves are the ones that bring you mangoes without you even asking
25. Finding a female friend from your community is like an intense game of hide and seek-- you have to visit multiple times, and make the first move-- while finding male friends is like a game of whack a mole-- they come swarming and you have to fight them off just to get some alone time
26. You seriously consider shaving off your hair because it's BONE DRY
27. You shower 3-4x a day just to keep cool
28. In the same vein, you never would have guessed you'd appreciate the freezing cold water that comes out of your shower, but now you do
29. You thank God that you live in a peaceful country but are bummed the neighboring countries (those that would make for easy trips) are banned
30. You can't filter water as fast as you can drink it
31. You've read books in subject areas you never thought you'd read because that's all that's available to you (I'm now an "expert" in Michael Jackson after reading a 700-page biography and can reluctantly say that I've read every piece of trash Ken Follett has written)
32. You start collecting things that are WAY more expensive back in the states (major league sports jerseys, tailor-fitted clothes, shea butter, coconut oil)
33. You realize you've started spelling things the British way (e.g., colour, memorise)
34. You've removed the sleeves from all your shirts (why'd you even bring sleeved shirts anyway??)
35. If you're a replacement PCV, you enjoy trying to figure out the lives of all the previous PCVs at your site
36. You've made a big deal out of cooking American food for your Ghanaian friends, only to have them cook another whole meal because American food is "too small"
37. The day it turns from Harmattan to the dry season is truly a day of mourning, as you go from sweet cool mornings and evenings to sweating buckets 24/7
38. It's truly a victory when you know someone well enough that they call you by your real name and not "white person"
39. You've spent hours of your existence trying to explain to HCNs that, yes, black people DO exist in America (or, if you're a POC, trying to explain why it hurts to be called "white")
40. You love blowing local kids' minds with any and all technology (e.g., Kindles, phones, and laptops)
41. If someone offers you free food, wifi, or a place to stay, she is your new best friend
42. Conversations about America that start out innocent always end up being about American foreign intervention/wars, 9/11, police brutality, or Trump
43. If you're a woman, you've been approached by dozens of people trying to convince you to get your hair braided; if you're not African-American, you've struggled to find a way to explain why that's not an appropriate style for you
44. You're all excited when you whip out a new term in the local language but are emotionally crushed when locals take that to mean you're fluent and try to have an entire conversation but you have no idea what they're saying
45. You call/text the PC medical officer dozens of times to order a refill on malaria meds only to receive a duplicate order of something else you asked for months ago
46. You look 10 years older because you hate to wear sunscreen but the sun is RELENTLESS (unless you're like me and become a lobster if you stand outside for 10 minutes without sunscreen)
47. If you're a woman, you've confused seamstresses by asking for a dress that cuts off above the knee. "no no-- you can see your knee? that's a shirt!"
48. You've developed a new sense of what's normal: slow/no internet? Fine. Rice and beans all day every day? Okay. An everyday battle to keep bats from flying into your room? Doesn't everyone have this problem?
49. You know all the places where the kids harass you for "50 pesewas" and strictly avoid those areas
50. you've built up a bit of arm muscle by helping to pound fufu every weekend (biceps for days)
Comments
Post a Comment