I'm back in Kpando. I had quite the adventure yesterday riding the tro tro to get back to here. I was so sad to leave Patsy and Allan. They are my Ghanaian parents. I felt like I was home from college staying with them for the week. I even brought my laundry! Haha!
I had a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs before I left their house. I got to the tro tro station around 2 pm. It took an hour for the tro tro to fill up with people before we could leave. They sure know how to pack the tro. They do not leave until every seat is full. There were 18 of us in it. I would say its a little smaller than a 15 passenger van in the US. The seats are so small that even I feel squished. Most people consider me pretty petite so you know it is a tight ride if I'm complaining!! It costs about $5 so you get what you pay for. It's such an easy way to travel though because they are everywhere and they go to every town. I have gotten very use to the pot holes and the crazy driving, but it did not keep my bottom from getting sore. I had no room to shift around. I seriously thought I would have pressure sores after that ride!
Half way through the trip we smelled some smoke. I didn't think anything of it. I just assumed it was a bush fire. The driver stopped though and quickly got out of the van. I looked behind and saw him stopping on something that was on fire. Now, I was freaked out! We all got out of the van while the men messed with stuff underneath the tro tro. The muffler ended up falling off into their hands. They figured this solved the problem of whatever caught on fire so we all piled back into the tro tro. The ride was noisier after that but we didn't smell smoke again. Haha! I guess it's a successful ride if you get from point A to point B in one piece. I have a few more tro tro rides before I leave Africa. I would like to hire a driver, but I'm trying to make the most of this experience.
Patsy and I were talking yesterday about how you don't have to do a volunteer trip they way mine has been structured. There are so many opportunities out there where you can do volunteer work and stay in more modern accommodations. This trip for me was also about submersing myself in another culture. It's been fun and I laugh at all my crazy experiences, but to be honest I don't think I could do it the same way again. A month without running water is not easy! My skin is not a fan of the heat so I feel like a teenager again. Also, the creatures keep me up at night. I picked up the toilet paper roll last night in the bathroom and screamed since there was a lizard on it. Then 2 seconds later when I walk back into my room, I screamed again because there was a huge cockroach in the room! I made Millie kill it! She's home for midterm breaks. I actually slept okay last night except all my mosquito bites were itching like crazy. I was only outside at night for 5 minutes on Friday and managed to get 10 bites on my legs. They are really bad in Accra!! Thank God my malaria medication seems to be working!
We will see how this week will be. It's really my last full week at the hospital before I leave. The week after, I have to go back to Accra to pick up Tiffanie, the OT volunteer who is coming to Ghana. The week after that we are hopefully going to Cape Coast, and then the week after that I leave! Crazy, crazy that the end is in sight. While I will be so glad to be back in the US with all the modern amenities, I will miss Ghana so much! It really has been home for me the past 3 months!
Love, Kari
Hi Kari! I understand Patsy's point of view about considering volunteers' comfort, especially if they will stay for an extended period. That is why we suggest a 3-month maximum stay for volunteers; it just gets to be too long without our modern conveniences.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would like to add some thoughts on behalf of Therapists Without Borders on the importance and benefits of living like a local.
-- It puts us visitors on a more equal plane with the people we would like to serve
-- Helps us understand the daily lifestyles, routines, and struggles (especially important for therapists who need to know activities of daily living)
-- Helps us as privileged Westerners fully appreciate what we have
-- Living with a welcoming host family makes us feel like we belong there as a local. You become more invested in their interests. Otherwise, visitors are prone to always view themselves as a visitor.
-- If we want to serve the neediest, it's not possible to find "modern accommodations" in those areas, and not a good use of one's time to constantly travel into/out of those areas if you aren't staying there.
-- People who think they can't handle not having their certain Western items or conveniences learn that they really can :-) After all, in the course of a lifetime, a few weeks without them is nothing.
-- As you mentioned, the full cultural immersion experience is invaluable.
These are a few of the multitude of reasons I advocate for the immersion approach! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and allowing me to share as well.
Haha. I wrote submerse instead immerse.
ReplyDeleteLinda, You are correct. The immersion approach is invaluable. I do not think longterm trips would go well without staying with a host family. I’ve had a chance to observe and participate in many local customs and routines. However, I wish more people would do volunteering of some type. I think a 1 or 2 week trip could still be successful even if someone was only staying at a hotel. I think many people would be more open to a volunteer opportunity if they knew they didn’t have to forgo their modern day amenities. They obviously won’t get the opportunity to experience a new culture in the same way I have, but it could still allow them time to start a new project or training session. It is true though that it would not even the playing field. The volunteers may still be looked at as superior; however, I do not think that ever changes in a country like Ghana due to cultural beliefs.