I've finally made it back to the land of the free and the home of the brave. From Senegal, we traveled through Mauritania, hung out with cool RPCV Jacque, Then a lot of long bus rides through the mine field, into Western Sahara and to Morocco. Marrakesh was cool and eventually I caught the ferry from Tangier to Spain and visited Ana in Granada. Jack went his own way, Barcelona and then Portugal. I flew from Madrid to Dublin and spent a week visiting Sarah and her family, and this morning i flew back Dublin to O'Hare. I'll stay with Drew here in Chicago and see some friends before going up to Madison for Halloween weekend. Ultra brief summary, but it does the trick. ask me for the details, there are plenty.
I'm oh so happy to be back, jet-lagged and overwhelmed, confused and anxious to see what i've missed and who still remembers me here. I'll get home to my parents house in Point next week and then properly relax for a time before looking for the next step in my life. I'm still putting off decisions on that front for now.
I hope to see lots of friends in Madison this weekend and beyond. I don't have a phone yet, so fb or email me so we can get together. If you want me to come visit you where you are, let me know and i'll see what i can do. I still have some money and my freedom. Eventually i'll have to get a job, apartment, school, life, all that.... but not yet. not yet.
love,
-Toby
PS. eventually, maybe soon, I'll get around to putting up some pics from my last days in ghana and my travels afterwards. promise.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Back to the beach in Dakar
After a long dusty train ride and and an even longer bus ride we entered Senegal. We had trouble with the Mali immigration check point, who insisted that we buy the mali visa again because we didn't have our reciept from the first time. We had to walk a half hour in the hot hot sun and then back again to the police station to argue with them. During that time, our bus driver got tired of waiting for us and threw our luggage off the bus. We yelled and pleaded but there was nothing we could do and the bus left. Feeling dejected, i had to hitch back into town to the police and pay for the visas again. On the way back i stopped at the bus station and explained my sad plight to the friendly station master. I assumed that there was nothing they could do, but he sent a young guy out on a moto and he came back a few minutes later saying that there was a bus in the next town and that we should hurry up and go now. We rushed over and found that it was the same bus! Apparently, after leaving us behind, some of our nigerian friends on the bus convinced the driver to wait 2 and a half hours more until we made it. We thanked everyone profusely, borded the bus and proceeded with our 20 plus hour journey.
We finally arrived in Dakar at 5 am and slept in the bus station on our prayer mats. In the morning we began to explore Dakar, and it is really something. Dakar is like a bigger, nicer, frencher version of Accra. There are fancy hotels, highways along the beach, fancy restaurants, aggressive street venders, and a giant statue of some africans boldly pointing westward (built by the North Koreans, of course.) Jack and i hooked up with a big group of senegal pcvs who were all in Dakar for a sector summit and we stayed in their very nice regional house. Free lodging meant we had more CFA to spend on food and drinks. I also went to the beach, a fancy club with a swimming pool, and a cool Kewl Garul dance party. I also drank too much tequila. Overall, a great time in Dakar.
Now we are on the move again, going north now and heading for Europe. We are prepared and being cautious but we won't stay too long in Mauritania or Western Sahara; but push on for Morocco. I'm looking forward to some cooler weather, but i suppose i'll have to wait until after we cross the desert.
Take care all,
-Toby
We finally arrived in Dakar at 5 am and slept in the bus station on our prayer mats. In the morning we began to explore Dakar, and it is really something. Dakar is like a bigger, nicer, frencher version of Accra. There are fancy hotels, highways along the beach, fancy restaurants, aggressive street venders, and a giant statue of some africans boldly pointing westward (built by the North Koreans, of course.) Jack and i hooked up with a big group of senegal pcvs who were all in Dakar for a sector summit and we stayed in their very nice regional house. Free lodging meant we had more CFA to spend on food and drinks. I also went to the beach, a fancy club with a swimming pool, and a cool Kewl Garul dance party. I also drank too much tequila. Overall, a great time in Dakar.
Now we are on the move again, going north now and heading for Europe. We are prepared and being cautious but we won't stay too long in Mauritania or Western Sahara; but push on for Morocco. I'm looking forward to some cooler weather, but i suppose i'll have to wait until after we cross the desert.
Take care all,
-Toby
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Je ne parl pa
So far, all good things about francaphone africa.
Bobo is a very relaxed town and we had fun wandering the big market and chatting with people. food, they put everything in baggettes here and make a sandwich. In ghana, it's only the egg sandwich that is recognised as legitimate, but here you can throw what every you have into some long crusty bread and eat it that way. We also met a nice lady on the bus who wanted to introduce us to her daughters. We accepted of course, and ate with her one night, and the daughters drove us around on motos.
On a map, the trip from Bobo to Bamako doesn't look too bad, and the roads are all good, so it shouldn't take 14 hours, but it did. After crossing the Mali border, our bus was repeatedly stopped and made to wait at "security checkpoints" where the driver and conductor had to deal with officials who occasionally wanted to actually check the bus for something. The conductor took a collection on the bus to make up for all the bribes he was paying. Overall, almost half our time was spent waiting at a standstill for approval to continue. Eventually we got to Bamako.
Bamako is a very nice city and Mali just celebrated it's 50th birthday so everyone is happy and the place is all decorated. The only downsides are that it is really hot and beer is hard to find. Also, Jack is getting tired of bagettes and brochettes. But i'm not, and my antibiotics are making me feel powerful. Tomorrow we will take the train to Kayes and from there continue on to Dakar and the beach. I'm looking forward to the water.
All the best to all my bestest,
-Toby
Bobo is a very relaxed town and we had fun wandering the big market and chatting with people. food, they put everything in baggettes here and make a sandwich. In ghana, it's only the egg sandwich that is recognised as legitimate, but here you can throw what every you have into some long crusty bread and eat it that way. We also met a nice lady on the bus who wanted to introduce us to her daughters. We accepted of course, and ate with her one night, and the daughters drove us around on motos.
On a map, the trip from Bobo to Bamako doesn't look too bad, and the roads are all good, so it shouldn't take 14 hours, but it did. After crossing the Mali border, our bus was repeatedly stopped and made to wait at "security checkpoints" where the driver and conductor had to deal with officials who occasionally wanted to actually check the bus for something. The conductor took a collection on the bus to make up for all the bribes he was paying. Overall, almost half our time was spent waiting at a standstill for approval to continue. Eventually we got to Bamako.
Bamako is a very nice city and Mali just celebrated it's 50th birthday so everyone is happy and the place is all decorated. The only downsides are that it is really hot and beer is hard to find. Also, Jack is getting tired of bagettes and brochettes. But i'm not, and my antibiotics are making me feel powerful. Tomorrow we will take the train to Kayes and from there continue on to Dakar and the beach. I'm looking forward to the water.
All the best to all my bestest,
-Toby
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
COS travel plans
So, I officially ended my peace corps service on August 19. I got all my medical checks upped, signed all the forms, interviewed with the boss and wrote up my Description of service official report. I'm done, I'm free and i can do what ever i want. up to a point of course. RPCV!!!!!
Jack is from Berkley CA and he and i are both without detailed plans when we finally get back to the US, so we are traveling around West Africa before we leave and having fun. After COS, we traveled back up through Ghana and visited Sonya, Brenden, and the TSO before getting to Serena's site. We went to a yam festival with her and had a good time before we continued from there into Togo.
Serena's sight is right on the border of Ghana and Togo, so it wasn't too long of a trip. When we got the border, we tried to buy a visa there and the one lonely togolese immigration officer said we couldn't do that. After a wait, he simply stamped our passports and told us to go to the next Border town and get our visas. Our plans didn't include going to that town, so we didn't. We hung out in chill town called Sokode and then went down to Kpalime, which had mountains and waterfalls of which we saw a little on a short hike. Mostly, we took it easy, tried the local food and beer and tried to hit on the local women. Togo is a lot like Ghana and we felt right at home, but with French influence so they have better food. Both Jack and I speak passable french, and we get by alright. We traveled to Lome and looked for Togolese pcvs but only found one on our last day in togo. We were going to go to the beach near Lome, but decided to save it for Ghana because we know those beaches better. We tried to cross back into Ghana at Lome, and there encountered minor problems. The immigration guys were not so friendly and not amused that we didn't have visas. One guy told me he wanted to slap me, but he didn't do it. They sent us to another building to buy the visa we should have gotten upon entry, but on the way, the Ghanaian officials saw us and waved us over to start entry procedures. They always like us because we have residency permits. We thought we had gotten through without having to pay when a big Togolese official came looking for us. He made us go back to the Togo side where we got yelled at and then had to wait around for a while before they took us the the other place where we bought our visas and passed through. The ghanaians where confused as to why we had left and come back, but still happy to see us.
Back to Accra, we hung around and looked into what it would take to get a visa to Cote D'iviore. Eventually we turned in the paperwork to the cold-as-ice reception lady at the CI embassy. We met some other fellow travelers and hung out with them in Accra: Jimi the Nigerian and Hans the German, cool guys. It's too expensive in Accra, so we went to the beach to wait for the visas. A few days at the Hideout turned into a week and suddenly we realized that we would have to rush back to get to the embassy by friday, or stay the weekend, so we did. Stay that is. We didn't spend much because we ate in the village: Lobster and fufu. Also, the group of omnibus pcvs after us had their COS conference that week and afterwards a bunch of them came to the beach we were at, so we stayed and had fun with them. Eventually, after a total of 10 days at the Hideout, we came back to Accra to leave for real.
Back in the Peace Corps office people kept seeing us and saying "I thought you were gone!" I've said goodbye to some pcvs so many times that it's a little ridiculus. Jack and i got up nice and early and went to the Cote D'Iviore embassy to pick up our passports only to be told by cold-as-ice that we were rejected because we did not have a ligitimate hotel reservation in Abidjan. That was true, we didn't have one because all the hotels there were too expensive. So rejected by Cote D'iviore, means we don't have to worry about how expensive and maybe dangerous it is there. Instead we decided to go back to Burkina.
Originally, I did not want to pass through Burkina because i have already been there three times and the visa just increased to 10 times the previous price. Our grand plan is to travel across west africa to Dakar, Senegal and then up to Morroco and cross into Europe. Get out your atlas and you will see that there are a number of ways we could go from ghana to senegal passing different countries along the way. From Bobo-Dioulasa in Burkina, we will go to Bamako, Mali and then to Dakar. Long bus rides, but only if we get the burkina visa. which we did, in only a few hours and the consular was very nice and the receptionist was cute too. Burkina is now clearly superior in Embassy services to Cote D'Iviore, the only downside is that the visa we got cost 100 USD and is a 5 year multiple entry visa. So I'll be coming back. And yes, they required it to be paid in US dollars, although Burkina uses the CFA.
Tomorrow, we will start again and travel up through Ghana again to Wa. from there, leave and never come back, at least until next year. But we are really going this time, promise.
That's a summary of the travel so far and the tentative plans i've got. It will undoubtedly change, but such is life. Wait, we are going to a bunch of francaphone countries. Se la vie! If you live along the way, i'm coming to visit you, otherwise i plan to be back in WI by the end of October and in Madison for Halloween. oh yeah.
love and kisses,
-Toby
Jack is from Berkley CA and he and i are both without detailed plans when we finally get back to the US, so we are traveling around West Africa before we leave and having fun. After COS, we traveled back up through Ghana and visited Sonya, Brenden, and the TSO before getting to Serena's site. We went to a yam festival with her and had a good time before we continued from there into Togo.
Serena's sight is right on the border of Ghana and Togo, so it wasn't too long of a trip. When we got the border, we tried to buy a visa there and the one lonely togolese immigration officer said we couldn't do that. After a wait, he simply stamped our passports and told us to go to the next Border town and get our visas. Our plans didn't include going to that town, so we didn't. We hung out in chill town called Sokode and then went down to Kpalime, which had mountains and waterfalls of which we saw a little on a short hike. Mostly, we took it easy, tried the local food and beer and tried to hit on the local women. Togo is a lot like Ghana and we felt right at home, but with French influence so they have better food. Both Jack and I speak passable french, and we get by alright. We traveled to Lome and looked for Togolese pcvs but only found one on our last day in togo. We were going to go to the beach near Lome, but decided to save it for Ghana because we know those beaches better. We tried to cross back into Ghana at Lome, and there encountered minor problems. The immigration guys were not so friendly and not amused that we didn't have visas. One guy told me he wanted to slap me, but he didn't do it. They sent us to another building to buy the visa we should have gotten upon entry, but on the way, the Ghanaian officials saw us and waved us over to start entry procedures. They always like us because we have residency permits. We thought we had gotten through without having to pay when a big Togolese official came looking for us. He made us go back to the Togo side where we got yelled at and then had to wait around for a while before they took us the the other place where we bought our visas and passed through. The ghanaians where confused as to why we had left and come back, but still happy to see us.
Back to Accra, we hung around and looked into what it would take to get a visa to Cote D'iviore. Eventually we turned in the paperwork to the cold-as-ice reception lady at the CI embassy. We met some other fellow travelers and hung out with them in Accra: Jimi the Nigerian and Hans the German, cool guys. It's too expensive in Accra, so we went to the beach to wait for the visas. A few days at the Hideout turned into a week and suddenly we realized that we would have to rush back to get to the embassy by friday, or stay the weekend, so we did. Stay that is. We didn't spend much because we ate in the village: Lobster and fufu. Also, the group of omnibus pcvs after us had their COS conference that week and afterwards a bunch of them came to the beach we were at, so we stayed and had fun with them. Eventually, after a total of 10 days at the Hideout, we came back to Accra to leave for real.
Back in the Peace Corps office people kept seeing us and saying "I thought you were gone!" I've said goodbye to some pcvs so many times that it's a little ridiculus. Jack and i got up nice and early and went to the Cote D'Iviore embassy to pick up our passports only to be told by cold-as-ice that we were rejected because we did not have a ligitimate hotel reservation in Abidjan. That was true, we didn't have one because all the hotels there were too expensive. So rejected by Cote D'iviore, means we don't have to worry about how expensive and maybe dangerous it is there. Instead we decided to go back to Burkina.
Originally, I did not want to pass through Burkina because i have already been there three times and the visa just increased to 10 times the previous price. Our grand plan is to travel across west africa to Dakar, Senegal and then up to Morroco and cross into Europe. Get out your atlas and you will see that there are a number of ways we could go from ghana to senegal passing different countries along the way. From Bobo-Dioulasa in Burkina, we will go to Bamako, Mali and then to Dakar. Long bus rides, but only if we get the burkina visa. which we did, in only a few hours and the consular was very nice and the receptionist was cute too. Burkina is now clearly superior in Embassy services to Cote D'Iviore, the only downside is that the visa we got cost 100 USD and is a 5 year multiple entry visa. So I'll be coming back. And yes, they required it to be paid in US dollars, although Burkina uses the CFA.
Tomorrow, we will start again and travel up through Ghana again to Wa. from there, leave and never come back, at least until next year. But we are really going this time, promise.
That's a summary of the travel so far and the tentative plans i've got. It will undoubtedly change, but such is life. Wait, we are going to a bunch of francaphone countries. Se la vie! If you live along the way, i'm coming to visit you, otherwise i plan to be back in WI by the end of October and in Madison for Halloween. oh yeah.
love and kisses,
-Toby
Friday, August 13, 2010
The end
Dear friends,
I haven't posted anything in a while, sorry about that. I suppose you all have gotten used to me not being around and don't miss me much anymore. Well too bad for you i'm coming back! Actually i won't be back for some time, but i'm getting to the end of an era here in Ghana.
July was very busy with the end of the school term, and preparing to finish my service and leave my site. I got through as much as I could with my classes, we finished Plant Reproduction and even looked at some real flowers and seeds in the classroom. It's such a challenge with no science lab and too many students to get in depth hands on study. I've been teaching all of the first year students, four classes and about 180 students and i try to meet with each group 2-3 times a week. We do the best we can with what we have. I set my exam questions and helped the secretaries type up some exams. Always impressive that i can type 50 words a minute. You forget how valuable/useful a skill like that is until you are in a situation where you are the only one with it. Like during a zombie attack and only one guy knows how to fly the helicopter, but he just got bit, oh shit!
I also took a bunch of photos of my students and me standing with my students. I wanted them to have a picture of me to remember me when i leave. I printed off a bunch of them and handed them out. Digital photos are expensive to print here, but it was worth it to see how happy they were to get them. I guess in the US you just email your photos to walgreens and get 'em for like 3 cents each, but here it takes a little more legwork, and ligiri (dinero). On the last days of school, I took a lot of pics of my school, students, and staff, and I arranged with some of the students who have film cameras to snap pictures of me and those who didn't get pictures before. It was really hard to say goodbye to so many good people that i spent so much time with. My students will miss me and I will miss them. so much.
Bismark and other staff planned an end of the year party to say goodbye to me and Headmaster (he's retiring, mandatory at age 60). We had light soup with goat and took one bottle each ( I took two Star). There was time for some speaches and they presented Head and me with smocks. It's my third smock and it is Packer colors, sort of, so I'll wear it to the next tailgate party I go to. Shauna et al. think it unlikely that i will every wear a smock in the US. They are right, but that won't stop me from treasuring them forever. It was great to sit with my coworkers and friends one more time. The week before we had a dog party, that was fun too.
I went to a goat roast at Shauna's and to the big Wa party and said goodbye to a bunch of the other volunteers. It doesn't seem so final or sad to say goodbyes to other PCVs, I know that in the future i will be able to keep in contact with them and see them if we want to. It's much sadder for me to goodbye my friends in the village and people here who i may very well never see again. I do want to come back. I promise I will come back, but I cannot be sure of seeing them again, and it can never be like this again.
After all that, I went back to site for a few last days to pack up all my stuff and say my last goodbyes. I gave away most of my small stuff lots of little things to my students and other crap to all my small girls and boys, but my big backpack is full and probably weighs 100 lbs. I have that plus my small backpack. I also sent some stuff back with Shauna and with Vicki, so i'm bringing plenty of crap home. There'll be something for each of you, my dear friends. Along with my stuff, I needed to pack up my PC water barrel and filter and bring it back to Tamale Sub Office, since i'm not being replaced (I hope they do send a volunteer to my school again in the future). It took some doing to lug all my stuff to Bolga, where I said more goodbyes and picked up more crap.
Now I've finally made it to Tamale and i can leave a bunch of it here. I have said goodbye to all the people and places that have been important to me for the last two years. I left Sirigu for the last time and Bolga for the last time. It was harder than I expected and I felt a really good sadness, so I knew that it is a good thing that is ending now. After a few failed attempts, I cried about it, but it didn't make me feel better, rather i felt more miserable. As Jake would say, it was ugly crying. I'm glad that i started my goodbyes plenty of time in advance and I think I did as good a job as I could getting to everyone and tying up loose ends. I know my village will miss me and I will miss everything here. so much so much.
The end. And also a beginning. I will go to Beth's wedding tomorrow and then to Accra where I'll have my interviews and etc. and then officially COS. Afterward I will not be affiliated with the US gov and then i can do WHAT EVER I WANT! Jack and I are still planning to travel, but we haven't decided what routes to take. more there later. The world is about to open up and i guess i have to dive back in. some traveling will be good before i'm forced to re-enter US culture, my "normal" life, and job/school or whatever. oh man, i'm not ready to think about what i'll do when i get back. let me know if you have ideas. and if you want me to come visit, i will. I don't even need a bed, i can sleep on the floor, i'm really good at it now.
Do good, be well.
-Toby
I haven't posted anything in a while, sorry about that. I suppose you all have gotten used to me not being around and don't miss me much anymore. Well too bad for you i'm coming back! Actually i won't be back for some time, but i'm getting to the end of an era here in Ghana.
July was very busy with the end of the school term, and preparing to finish my service and leave my site. I got through as much as I could with my classes, we finished Plant Reproduction and even looked at some real flowers and seeds in the classroom. It's such a challenge with no science lab and too many students to get in depth hands on study. I've been teaching all of the first year students, four classes and about 180 students and i try to meet with each group 2-3 times a week. We do the best we can with what we have. I set my exam questions and helped the secretaries type up some exams. Always impressive that i can type 50 words a minute. You forget how valuable/useful a skill like that is until you are in a situation where you are the only one with it. Like during a zombie attack and only one guy knows how to fly the helicopter, but he just got bit, oh shit!
I also took a bunch of photos of my students and me standing with my students. I wanted them to have a picture of me to remember me when i leave. I printed off a bunch of them and handed them out. Digital photos are expensive to print here, but it was worth it to see how happy they were to get them. I guess in the US you just email your photos to walgreens and get 'em for like 3 cents each, but here it takes a little more legwork, and ligiri (dinero). On the last days of school, I took a lot of pics of my school, students, and staff, and I arranged with some of the students who have film cameras to snap pictures of me and those who didn't get pictures before. It was really hard to say goodbye to so many good people that i spent so much time with. My students will miss me and I will miss them. so much.
Bismark and other staff planned an end of the year party to say goodbye to me and Headmaster (he's retiring, mandatory at age 60). We had light soup with goat and took one bottle each ( I took two Star). There was time for some speaches and they presented Head and me with smocks. It's my third smock and it is Packer colors, sort of, so I'll wear it to the next tailgate party I go to. Shauna et al. think it unlikely that i will every wear a smock in the US. They are right, but that won't stop me from treasuring them forever. It was great to sit with my coworkers and friends one more time. The week before we had a dog party, that was fun too.
I went to a goat roast at Shauna's and to the big Wa party and said goodbye to a bunch of the other volunteers. It doesn't seem so final or sad to say goodbyes to other PCVs, I know that in the future i will be able to keep in contact with them and see them if we want to. It's much sadder for me to goodbye my friends in the village and people here who i may very well never see again. I do want to come back. I promise I will come back, but I cannot be sure of seeing them again, and it can never be like this again.
After all that, I went back to site for a few last days to pack up all my stuff and say my last goodbyes. I gave away most of my small stuff lots of little things to my students and other crap to all my small girls and boys, but my big backpack is full and probably weighs 100 lbs. I have that plus my small backpack. I also sent some stuff back with Shauna and with Vicki, so i'm bringing plenty of crap home. There'll be something for each of you, my dear friends. Along with my stuff, I needed to pack up my PC water barrel and filter and bring it back to Tamale Sub Office, since i'm not being replaced (I hope they do send a volunteer to my school again in the future). It took some doing to lug all my stuff to Bolga, where I said more goodbyes and picked up more crap.
Now I've finally made it to Tamale and i can leave a bunch of it here. I have said goodbye to all the people and places that have been important to me for the last two years. I left Sirigu for the last time and Bolga for the last time. It was harder than I expected and I felt a really good sadness, so I knew that it is a good thing that is ending now. After a few failed attempts, I cried about it, but it didn't make me feel better, rather i felt more miserable. As Jake would say, it was ugly crying. I'm glad that i started my goodbyes plenty of time in advance and I think I did as good a job as I could getting to everyone and tying up loose ends. I know my village will miss me and I will miss everything here. so much so much.
The end. And also a beginning. I will go to Beth's wedding tomorrow and then to Accra where I'll have my interviews and etc. and then officially COS. Afterward I will not be affiliated with the US gov and then i can do WHAT EVER I WANT! Jack and I are still planning to travel, but we haven't decided what routes to take. more there later. The world is about to open up and i guess i have to dive back in. some traveling will be good before i'm forced to re-enter US culture, my "normal" life, and job/school or whatever. oh man, i'm not ready to think about what i'll do when i get back. let me know if you have ideas. and if you want me to come visit, i will. I don't even need a bed, i can sleep on the floor, i'm really good at it now.
Do good, be well.
-Toby
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy Fourf!
So,
Difficulties involved in aquiring the neccessary materials for a more traditional celebration of the birth of our nation (dinomite is not the same as fireworks) resulted in some brainstorming and Shauna came up with the excellent idea to build a trebuchet for 4th of July. Jake had a pretty big gathering and we had great food, including burgers, hotdogs, and a variety of cold salads that did not contain lettuce, so the mood was set.
The mention of siege engines inevitably brought out a few others who were into (or too into) that sort of thing, so we went to work. I was quite satisfied with our result, although we did not have the endurance to figure out the proper way to make the sling throw rocks in the right direction (not back in our faces or onto the roof). We settled for the basket-type catapult-treb-cross. As evening drew near on Independence day, and the William Tell Overture swelled in the background, we sent flaming projectiles far afield, to the delight of all. A coke bottle of petrol only costs a cedi. We got some cool videos that Beth promised to post eventually.
I can safely say it was the best 4th in a long time, plenty of oohing and ahhing. It is pretty cool how well a coffee can full of rocks and dried grass will burn when it is doused in gasoline. Also, I'm happy to report that there were no serious injuries incurred.
I hope everyone is well at home. I posted some random more photos on facebook, check 'em. That's all for now.
Do good and be well.
-Toby
Difficulties involved in aquiring the neccessary materials for a more traditional celebration of the birth of our nation (dinomite is not the same as fireworks) resulted in some brainstorming and Shauna came up with the excellent idea to build a trebuchet for 4th of July. Jake had a pretty big gathering and we had great food, including burgers, hotdogs, and a variety of cold salads that did not contain lettuce, so the mood was set.
The mention of siege engines inevitably brought out a few others who were into (or too into) that sort of thing, so we went to work. I was quite satisfied with our result, although we did not have the endurance to figure out the proper way to make the sling throw rocks in the right direction (not back in our faces or onto the roof). We settled for the basket-type catapult-treb-cross. As evening drew near on Independence day, and the William Tell Overture swelled in the background, we sent flaming projectiles far afield, to the delight of all. A coke bottle of petrol only costs a cedi. We got some cool videos that Beth promised to post eventually.
I can safely say it was the best 4th in a long time, plenty of oohing and ahhing. It is pretty cool how well a coffee can full of rocks and dried grass will burn when it is doused in gasoline. Also, I'm happy to report that there were no serious injuries incurred.
I hope everyone is well at home. I posted some random more photos on facebook, check 'em. That's all for now.
Do good and be well.
-Toby
Friday, June 11, 2010
The home stretch
Hey all.
This font i'm using is called trebuchet, which is a great name and i was actually just looking up trebuchets on wikipedia before this. everyone should have a trebuchet or two.
My last term of teaching is in progress. I've got about 3 months to go until i'm done with my pc service and on to other exciting things. I'm excited to be almost done. I love it here, but i'm looking forward so much to getting back to all my loved ones and places. I'm feeling a sort of senioritis here, but i can make it the last bit. I've come this far afterall. I've got enough to do here, with saying goodbye to everyone and packing up and giving away all my stuff, making sure i've tied up all loose ends. It will be over so fast.
World cup weekend and my birthday next week! the world accelerates as i experience it.
love, toby
This font i'm using is called trebuchet, which is a great name and i was actually just looking up trebuchets on wikipedia before this. everyone should have a trebuchet or two.
My last term of teaching is in progress. I've got about 3 months to go until i'm done with my pc service and on to other exciting things. I'm excited to be almost done. I love it here, but i'm looking forward so much to getting back to all my loved ones and places. I'm feeling a sort of senioritis here, but i can make it the last bit. I've come this far afterall. I've got enough to do here, with saying goodbye to everyone and packing up and giving away all my stuff, making sure i've tied up all loose ends. It will be over so fast.
World cup weekend and my birthday next week! the world accelerates as i experience it.
love, toby
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Way too much vacation
Okay, an update:
I was super busy all of april vacationing and generally having too much fun. Now I'm tired and ready to get back to normal boring life at site, teaching science. Right after classes ended, Corey Serena Meghan and I went up to Ouagadougou and met Lauren, then we all travled into Mali and hiked Dogon Country for 6 days. Fun francaphone times, great scenery, and so amazing to see my friend again. Afterwards, traveled back down to Ghana, hung out at my house and then Lauren and I went to Robert's wedding. Fun fancy dress, ghana church times! Then Lauren and I went to Tenzug, Paga and finally back to Ouaga where she flew back to the us, despite ash clouds and such. I went home for one day and then set off for Ho, in southern Volta region of Ghana for the All Volunteer Conference at a very fancy hotel. After allvols, we had cos conf so basically i was there for 2 weeks. Finally, working my way back up to Sirigu and I will be back at it this week. I am happy and tired and getting excited about finishing my pc service. More on what i'll do next in another post. for now, look at facebook for pics of all these adventures etc.
Love to all,
-Toby
I was super busy all of april vacationing and generally having too much fun. Now I'm tired and ready to get back to normal boring life at site, teaching science. Right after classes ended, Corey Serena Meghan and I went up to Ouagadougou and met Lauren, then we all travled into Mali and hiked Dogon Country for 6 days. Fun francaphone times, great scenery, and so amazing to see my friend again. Afterwards, traveled back down to Ghana, hung out at my house and then Lauren and I went to Robert's wedding. Fun fancy dress, ghana church times! Then Lauren and I went to Tenzug, Paga and finally back to Ouaga where she flew back to the us, despite ash clouds and such. I went home for one day and then set off for Ho, in southern Volta region of Ghana for the All Volunteer Conference at a very fancy hotel. After allvols, we had cos conf so basically i was there for 2 weeks. Finally, working my way back up to Sirigu and I will be back at it this week. I am happy and tired and getting excited about finishing my pc service. More on what i'll do next in another post. for now, look at facebook for pics of all these adventures etc.
Love to all,
-Toby
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dusty day
Yesterday and today it has been so dusty that it seems like we are in a fog that covers everything. Even at noon, the sun seems like a hazy glow and doesn't give the normal scorching heat that i'm used to. Don't get me wrong, it's still way hot, like 100 degrees or more every day, but with the sun obscured, it doesn't all get through. I know the UVs will still get through so i'll still get burned if i sit outside to long.
It has been hot and dusty for a while now. some nights it is really not pleasant at all. Lying in bed all sweaty (not from exertion) and no place is cooler. ok, I could sleep outside, that gets a little cooler, but where i live, i would have to deal with all my students showing up and wanting to clean and fetch water at 5am. That's not the way i usually like to wake up. No lights, no fan so i just sit and pretend i'm in a sauna and i like the hot and really sweaty food.
Air is so hot, even at night and even inside. The other night I was trying to light a candle and the candle bent over while i was holding it. The wax was so pliable that i could bend it into the letter S and it wouldn't break, so i made it stand up and lit it that way. The best is when you are sweating so much that it drips into your food while you're eating, then you don't have to add as much salt as usual. I wish i could say that it is getting to the end or that it is almost over, but i'm pretty sure it is going to be like this all through April. By the end of april, hopefully we will start getting rains and the heat will reduce some. Until then, i deal.
School, we are in final exams for term two. That means i have a week to go, then 200 test papers to mark, and then vacation. After vacay, one more school term and that's it. I'm getting close to the end and i'm excited.
I'm also excited for vacation. Lauren is coming and we are going to hike in Dogon Country with some other PCVs. It is going to be great to see her, and the travel should be super cool, too. I'll take lots of pictures. After that, it's All Volunteer Conference, and that will be a blast as well. It certainly was last year. After that, COS conference. I'm super busy all the month of april so i hope i can fit everything in that i want to do. Robert's wedding is in there too!
Love etc,
-Toby
It has been hot and dusty for a while now. some nights it is really not pleasant at all. Lying in bed all sweaty (not from exertion) and no place is cooler. ok, I could sleep outside, that gets a little cooler, but where i live, i would have to deal with all my students showing up and wanting to clean and fetch water at 5am. That's not the way i usually like to wake up. No lights, no fan so i just sit and pretend i'm in a sauna and i like the hot and really sweaty food.
Air is so hot, even at night and even inside. The other night I was trying to light a candle and the candle bent over while i was holding it. The wax was so pliable that i could bend it into the letter S and it wouldn't break, so i made it stand up and lit it that way. The best is when you are sweating so much that it drips into your food while you're eating, then you don't have to add as much salt as usual. I wish i could say that it is getting to the end or that it is almost over, but i'm pretty sure it is going to be like this all through April. By the end of april, hopefully we will start getting rains and the heat will reduce some. Until then, i deal.
School, we are in final exams for term two. That means i have a week to go, then 200 test papers to mark, and then vacation. After vacay, one more school term and that's it. I'm getting close to the end and i'm excited.
I'm also excited for vacation. Lauren is coming and we are going to hike in Dogon Country with some other PCVs. It is going to be great to see her, and the travel should be super cool, too. I'll take lots of pictures. After that, it's All Volunteer Conference, and that will be a blast as well. It certainly was last year. After that, COS conference. I'm super busy all the month of april so i hope i can fit everything in that i want to do. Robert's wedding is in there too!
Love etc,
-Toby
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Funeral Season
So around here, dry season is the time for funerals and Ghanaians celebrate funerals in a bigger way way than almost anything else. Important people that died this year, (and everyone is important to somebody) get celebrated in a three day event that draws huge crowds from far and wide. Sometimes, families wait for quite a while before having a funeral for their relative, even several years. These days, there isn't so much to do, so funerals are all the time. Every weekend there is a funeral somewhere, drumming and dancing and drinking and eating is going on, usually within earshot of my house, almost constantly.
I went to visit my good friend and housemate Robert and attend the funeral of his fiance's mother. Women's funerals and men's funerals are different, mainly in the types of dancing. Men's funerals may have a War Dance, but there wasn't one of those when i went to this funeral. There are plenty of variations, I'll describe the one i went to recently.
Funerals are put on at the family house of the deceased and family and friends from all over the country come to them. Preparations start 3 days before by brewing pito, which takes three days to ferment. On the third day, the funeral starts and everyone arrives. Visitors bring gifts for the family of the deceased, often alcohol or other beverages. They also bring animals like fowls, guinea fowls, goats and sheep. The animals are food, of course. and are usually slaughtered and fed to the masses. You have to give the animal alive, though. Giving someone a dead animal is strange and suspisious.
Groups of drummers and dancers arrive and perform for tips, people eat and drink a lot, hang out and offer condolences. The atmosphere is not normally sorrowful, it's rather like a carnival. People come from the surrounding communities and there are people selling all sorts of things, plenty of snacks and drinks. Let me stress: lots of drinking. There are sad people, of course. The funeral will have people designated as "chief morners" whose job is to be sad while everyone else has a good time and works hard. The dancing and masses of people are exciting. Sometimes there are fireworks too.
At the end of the first day, lots of tired, full, drunk people sleep all over the place and where ever they can find space. The next day, many say goodby and go back to wherever they came from. They get parting gifts of food and drink. The second day is more for family and they spend the time relaxing in the home, preparing food, cleaning up from the night before, and dancing. The woman's family arrives in the evening and there is more dancing and celebration. Since in a traditional Ghanaian marraige, the woman goes and lives with the man's family, the wife's family is separate and not the same as the rest of the family and guests.
On the third day, the woman's family travel back to their place, and they take the spirit of the woman and the funeral back with them. Before they go, they dance and go around to the neighboring houses to say goodbye to them. They carry gifts and a few belongings of the deceased woman. The neighbor houses also give gifts, food and drink mainly. Animals(food) are common gifts.
After the family leaves, the funeral festival is over and people can go back to their regular work. next week, there will be a funeral at someone elses house and you can go have a good time there.
I had fun at Cynthia's mother's funeral and I enjoy going to funerals occasionally in Sirigu, but there are so many that i don't go all the time. I also attract alot of attention and at a big funeral there are lots of people from out of town and they don't know me so they tend to get bothersome or annoying. Drunk strangers want to talk to/harrass white people, especially white women (which i'm not). But it's not so bad and certainly interesting. Next time you come to visit me, I hope we can go to a funeral so you can check it out.
I posted some pictures from the funeral and other pics on facebook
Love,
-Toby
I went to visit my good friend and housemate Robert and attend the funeral of his fiance's mother. Women's funerals and men's funerals are different, mainly in the types of dancing. Men's funerals may have a War Dance, but there wasn't one of those when i went to this funeral. There are plenty of variations, I'll describe the one i went to recently.
Funerals are put on at the family house of the deceased and family and friends from all over the country come to them. Preparations start 3 days before by brewing pito, which takes three days to ferment. On the third day, the funeral starts and everyone arrives. Visitors bring gifts for the family of the deceased, often alcohol or other beverages. They also bring animals like fowls, guinea fowls, goats and sheep. The animals are food, of course. and are usually slaughtered and fed to the masses. You have to give the animal alive, though. Giving someone a dead animal is strange and suspisious.
Groups of drummers and dancers arrive and perform for tips, people eat and drink a lot, hang out and offer condolences. The atmosphere is not normally sorrowful, it's rather like a carnival. People come from the surrounding communities and there are people selling all sorts of things, plenty of snacks and drinks. Let me stress: lots of drinking. There are sad people, of course. The funeral will have people designated as "chief morners" whose job is to be sad while everyone else has a good time and works hard. The dancing and masses of people are exciting. Sometimes there are fireworks too.
At the end of the first day, lots of tired, full, drunk people sleep all over the place and where ever they can find space. The next day, many say goodby and go back to wherever they came from. They get parting gifts of food and drink. The second day is more for family and they spend the time relaxing in the home, preparing food, cleaning up from the night before, and dancing. The woman's family arrives in the evening and there is more dancing and celebration. Since in a traditional Ghanaian marraige, the woman goes and lives with the man's family, the wife's family is separate and not the same as the rest of the family and guests.
On the third day, the woman's family travel back to their place, and they take the spirit of the woman and the funeral back with them. Before they go, they dance and go around to the neighboring houses to say goodbye to them. They carry gifts and a few belongings of the deceased woman. The neighbor houses also give gifts, food and drink mainly. Animals(food) are common gifts.
After the family leaves, the funeral festival is over and people can go back to their regular work. next week, there will be a funeral at someone elses house and you can go have a good time there.
I had fun at Cynthia's mother's funeral and I enjoy going to funerals occasionally in Sirigu, but there are so many that i don't go all the time. I also attract alot of attention and at a big funeral there are lots of people from out of town and they don't know me so they tend to get bothersome or annoying. Drunk strangers want to talk to/harrass white people, especially white women (which i'm not). But it's not so bad and certainly interesting. Next time you come to visit me, I hope we can go to a funeral so you can check it out.
I posted some pictures from the funeral and other pics on facebook
Love,
-Toby
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Vacation Pics on Superbowl Sunday!
I posted new pictures on Facebook from vacation with the family.
Today is superbowl sunday, but i won't watch because it comes on at 11 pm tonight and i have classes to teach tomorrow. I hear the Who are the half time show, you'll have to tell me all about it another time.
I'm back to the teaching and it's going well. Also painting the world map on my school, that's fun. My time here is winding down, feels like i only have a little to go, its acutally about 7 months. oh man. when i come back, we should hang out.
love, Toby
Today is superbowl sunday, but i won't watch because it comes on at 11 pm tonight and i have classes to teach tomorrow. I hear the Who are the half time show, you'll have to tell me all about it another time.
I'm back to the teaching and it's going well. Also painting the world map on my school, that's fun. My time here is winding down, feels like i only have a little to go, its acutally about 7 months. oh man. when i come back, we should hang out.
love, Toby
Monday, January 18, 2010
Long Vacation
I guess I'm not technically on vacation anymore, but I'm still away from site and it feels like so long since I've taught any kids anything at school. My family visit ended and all have gone back to the mighty us, overall it went amazingly well and we did a lot of cool stuff. It was so wonderful to see my family.
We took our time traveling south from Sirigu, spending a day in Bolga to go to the craft village and market and getting clothing made by Rashid. He made a cute skirt for my mom and a very colorful shirt for my dad, Jamie got some nice stuff made too. We went down to Tamale and spent some time in the market there. Mom made some people mad by taking their picture without permission, but that happens. We went out for excellent chinese and invited my ...friend Mercy and some other pcv teachers who were around to join us. It was nice to see them and my parents enjoyed meeting some of my friends. We traveled by bus and tro but the travel was hard on my fam, I knew it would be. Long legs and sore backs suffered.
In Kumasi we stayed in a hotel by a park with really big cows in it. Jamie and I went out for a pub crawl with the guys for Kyle's Birthday. Happy birthday, dork. Next day we continued on to Cape Coast where we chilled and relaxed on the beach and spent several days. My family liked the beach a lot. I feel like I have filled my beach quota for the rest of my service, but i imagine I'll end up there again anyway. I hope Lauren doesn't want to go to the beach. jk. My aunt and uncle flew in for a week and joined us in CC. We went to Kakum natioal forest and walked on the canopy walk early in the morning. It was beautiful and really high, certainly a cool place to see. We had our binoculars at the ready, but we didn't see much for wildlife, dad was a little dissapointed there. We also toured the castle and enjoyed the beach resort night life. I danced with some rastas at the beachside club, the other white people danced some too. There was one african woman present for a short time, and she wanted to dance with me, she was a good dancer but i found out later that she was married. Her husband bought me a drink.
Jamie took a tro back to Accra a week before the rents went back, and we stayed another night at a fancy beach resort, like i said, a lot of beach time. Then we traveled up to Koforidua, stayed in a nice place and visited the bead market. Dad found a good spot to watch birds by the hotel and he was happy. I watched Fight Club and Juno on satelitte TV. Then we went back to Accra and they all flew back home. Except me, I'm still in Ghana.
I'm so happy that my family was able to come see me and experience what i am doing here. I know now that I will be able to talk to them about more of the challenges I faced here and they will know what i'm talking about. The trip was a hands down success. They got sick for only a day each, nothing serious. We visited all the main places we planned. Travel was rough at times, but we got where we needed to go. They also tried most of the local food I love, although we did eat at some pretty fancy expensive places too. I feel a little spoiled on food.
Now I'm getting myself back into mindset to teach and be a poor pcv again. I'm still in Accra for VAC and won't get back to teaching until next week, but it feels more noraml for me now. It also feels like the whole experience is accelerating. Only about 7 months to go, two school terms and lots of visits and events to fill the gaps. I've got to start making serious plans about what i'm doing after this. looking for a job, maybe back to school, where should i live? anyone want to hire me? I'll get back to yall about all that, but i'm always open to sugguestions.
Love and kisses,
-Toby
We took our time traveling south from Sirigu, spending a day in Bolga to go to the craft village and market and getting clothing made by Rashid. He made a cute skirt for my mom and a very colorful shirt for my dad, Jamie got some nice stuff made too. We went down to Tamale and spent some time in the market there. Mom made some people mad by taking their picture without permission, but that happens. We went out for excellent chinese and invited my ...friend Mercy and some other pcv teachers who were around to join us. It was nice to see them and my parents enjoyed meeting some of my friends. We traveled by bus and tro but the travel was hard on my fam, I knew it would be. Long legs and sore backs suffered.
In Kumasi we stayed in a hotel by a park with really big cows in it. Jamie and I went out for a pub crawl with the guys for Kyle's Birthday. Happy birthday, dork. Next day we continued on to Cape Coast where we chilled and relaxed on the beach and spent several days. My family liked the beach a lot. I feel like I have filled my beach quota for the rest of my service, but i imagine I'll end up there again anyway. I hope Lauren doesn't want to go to the beach. jk. My aunt and uncle flew in for a week and joined us in CC. We went to Kakum natioal forest and walked on the canopy walk early in the morning. It was beautiful and really high, certainly a cool place to see. We had our binoculars at the ready, but we didn't see much for wildlife, dad was a little dissapointed there. We also toured the castle and enjoyed the beach resort night life. I danced with some rastas at the beachside club, the other white people danced some too. There was one african woman present for a short time, and she wanted to dance with me, she was a good dancer but i found out later that she was married. Her husband bought me a drink.
Jamie took a tro back to Accra a week before the rents went back, and we stayed another night at a fancy beach resort, like i said, a lot of beach time. Then we traveled up to Koforidua, stayed in a nice place and visited the bead market. Dad found a good spot to watch birds by the hotel and he was happy. I watched Fight Club and Juno on satelitte TV. Then we went back to Accra and they all flew back home. Except me, I'm still in Ghana.
I'm so happy that my family was able to come see me and experience what i am doing here. I know now that I will be able to talk to them about more of the challenges I faced here and they will know what i'm talking about. The trip was a hands down success. They got sick for only a day each, nothing serious. We visited all the main places we planned. Travel was rough at times, but we got where we needed to go. They also tried most of the local food I love, although we did eat at some pretty fancy expensive places too. I feel a little spoiled on food.
Now I'm getting myself back into mindset to teach and be a poor pcv again. I'm still in Accra for VAC and won't get back to teaching until next week, but it feels more noraml for me now. It also feels like the whole experience is accelerating. Only about 7 months to go, two school terms and lots of visits and events to fill the gaps. I've got to start making serious plans about what i'm doing after this. looking for a job, maybe back to school, where should i live? anyone want to hire me? I'll get back to yall about all that, but i'm always open to sugguestions.
Love and kisses,
-Toby
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Koy Family comes to Ghana!
What a dramatic title for a blog entry!
We've been having fun and not too many snags. Here's a quick overview. Mom, Dad, and Jamie arrived in Accra after lots of bus, plane and airport time and passing through London. they got in a few hours late, so i had fun hanging out it Accra airport waiting for them (not really). We stayed in a pretty nice hotel in Osu and then went to Adda Foah for a few days, stayed at Maranatha beach camp. Dad liked the sand and friendly staff. Jamie and I danced with Antoinette, mom took pictures with her new camera.
Traveled back to Accra and struggled to get cash, missed the Forex by a few minutes and the African ATM did not agree with the people in the bank back in Stevens Point, but we got enough money to buy plane tickets. We took the flight from Accra to Tamale, GHc262 one way, about an hour flight. It was actually really nice, just like any flight. We did have to get up at 4 am but it all worked out pretty good. We saw Andy in the airport with his family, too, doing the same thing we were doing. I spent more money than i make in a month (my parent's money actually) to travel for 1 hr to a place it would normally take me 12 hrs on a bus to reach. Pretty cool. also cool to get from Accra to Sirigu all in one day.
We relaxed in Sirigu, went to the market, sat on some crocodiles and met my good friends. Bismark took us on an excellent tour of his family home, and we got a chance to see some traditional dancing at the Natunia festival. My parents stayed at SWOPA and Jamie stayed with me at my house. We tried some food. Mom likes red red. Jamie had some stomache issues one day, dad said it was from the goat, but we disagreed.
Now we are traveling back south, Bolga today, Tamale tomorrow, Kumasi and Cape Coast after that. Rashid is making us some nice ghanawear and we'll get some gifts and things in the market. maybe a basket or a pot. We'll meet more friends along the way. hope they all can handle long bus rides, we'll use STC mostly.
Love and etc to all,
-Toby
We've been having fun and not too many snags. Here's a quick overview. Mom, Dad, and Jamie arrived in Accra after lots of bus, plane and airport time and passing through London. they got in a few hours late, so i had fun hanging out it Accra airport waiting for them (not really). We stayed in a pretty nice hotel in Osu and then went to Adda Foah for a few days, stayed at Maranatha beach camp. Dad liked the sand and friendly staff. Jamie and I danced with Antoinette, mom took pictures with her new camera.
Traveled back to Accra and struggled to get cash, missed the Forex by a few minutes and the African ATM did not agree with the people in the bank back in Stevens Point, but we got enough money to buy plane tickets. We took the flight from Accra to Tamale, GHc262 one way, about an hour flight. It was actually really nice, just like any flight. We did have to get up at 4 am but it all worked out pretty good. We saw Andy in the airport with his family, too, doing the same thing we were doing. I spent more money than i make in a month (my parent's money actually) to travel for 1 hr to a place it would normally take me 12 hrs on a bus to reach. Pretty cool. also cool to get from Accra to Sirigu all in one day.
We relaxed in Sirigu, went to the market, sat on some crocodiles and met my good friends. Bismark took us on an excellent tour of his family home, and we got a chance to see some traditional dancing at the Natunia festival. My parents stayed at SWOPA and Jamie stayed with me at my house. We tried some food. Mom likes red red. Jamie had some stomache issues one day, dad said it was from the goat, but we disagreed.
Now we are traveling back south, Bolga today, Tamale tomorrow, Kumasi and Cape Coast after that. Rashid is making us some nice ghanawear and we'll get some gifts and things in the market. maybe a basket or a pot. We'll meet more friends along the way. hope they all can handle long bus rides, we'll use STC mostly.
Love and etc to all,
-Toby
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