Pre Service Training Begins!

I arrived safely in Accra after around 25 hours of travel from Philadelphia. We had a layover in Amsterdam, but we couldn't leave the airport, so no one got into any trouble. I have been very busy with training and getting adjusted here, so I'll just summarize what has happened so far:

Accra Phase
Our trainee group (33 of us) arrived in Accra on June 10. We went straight to a private university campus outside of the city called Valley View. There, we did some basic orientation and met many of the staff members who have been working with us to make this program work. We visited the Peace Corps Office in Accra, and met more staff, including the Country Director, Bob Golledge. Everyone was very welcoming and helpful. "Akwaaba" is Welcome in Twi (pronounced like "chewy, but one syllable). We also visited the Medical office, got some more vaccinations and got our malaria medication. I get to skip most of the shots because I already had them for when I lived in Ecuador. Most people are getting around 13 different shots, spread over the course of Pre Service Training (PST). During Accra Phase, we also got a chance to explore the city in small groups. We learned to use the transportation, the tro-tro and visited some important parts of the city. Mostly, we just got a chance to get out there and see what is is like. Ghanaians are very friendly people, and especially in Accra, almost everyone speaks some english. Many speak very well, although there is a certain accent that we call "ghanaian english" that takes some getting used to.

Vision Quest
I traveled from Accra by myself to the site of anther volunteer and stayed with him for 4 days. It was a very cool experience and I got to see what it is really like for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in the field. My host's name was Matt, and he taught math at a small secondary school and stayed in a tiny village in the Brong-Ahafo Region near Nkoranza. I got to watch some of his coworkers at the school teach and talk to the students about their school. So many things are so different than in the United states. I'll have to devote a separate post to that topic. Vision Quest made me excited about having my own site and got me thinking about how I would like to set up my house, and how I would interact with my community members and coworkers.

PST
I traveled from Matt's site with another Peace Corps Trainee(PCT) to our training site in Kukurantumi, a small town near Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. I arrived on June 18th, my 25th birthday! I got a pineapple for a present from one of the other PCTs. After a few more days of training and meetings and interviews, we were placed in homestay families in some of the surrounding communities. My family name is Yeboah and everyone here calls me Kwame, which means Saturday-born. It is common practice for Ghanaians to have a day-name as well as another christian name (the country is predominantly christian). I'm staying in Old Tafo. I have electricity (one outlet) and a nice pit toilet all to myself.

After three months of training, including 2 weeks of practicum teaching that begins tomorrow, I will go to my site in the Upper East Region. The village is called Sirigu, and the nearest larger town is Navrongo. I'll be replacing another volunteer who is teaching there now. I will teach integrated science, which is a combination of biology, chemistry and physics. It will be at a Secondary School, roughly equivalent to a high school in the US, but the students must apply to it after completing junior ss.

I got a cell phone here and there is pretty good reception most places I am now. Check facebook or email me if you want the number. It is free for me to receive calls and texts, but it might cost you a lot call or send 'em. I'm making fast friends with the people in my training group, but today there was a mail call and I didn't get any. I realize that this is because I haven't posted my address. You should send mail to the PC office at this address:

Toby Koy c/o
Peace Corps Ghana
PO Box 5796
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa

It seems to take as little as a week or two for letters to arrive, although one package that was recieved took over a month (he sent it before he left). The flat rate boxes are a better deal, I'm told.

That's all for now, sorry that there aren't more details. I'll write more later.

Love, Toby