Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know what I've been up to for the past week. I have been relocated to a host family in a town called Old Tafo. They have taken me in for the next 9 weeks until we finish training. It has been an interesting experience because they speak no English whatsoever and we can only converse in Twi. I will post more details about them later and post some pictures. I also have some news..... We have all received our site assignments and I will be heading to the Upper West Region to a town called Wechiau where I will be mainly working to build up the Health Clinics. The language of the region is called Dagaare, and I have been learning it for the past week! It has been so difficult because I have been going to language classes for Dagaare in the morning and than I have to head home to a family that only speaks Twi, I don't recommend learning two completely different languages at one time on anybody!
Also, I have posted my address here in Ghana in a earlier post, but I think I may have made a mistake and forgot the Ghana part, so here it is again:
Sinae Hong, PCT
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
but if the carrier doesn't P.O. boxes the address is:
Sinae Hong, PCT
26 West Cantonments
Switch Back Lane
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
Oh, I also have a phone here, the number is 011233240685458. You need to dial this exact number (I have added the country code and everything). I will try to make some calls out too, but even receiving a text message from y'all would make me the happiest girl in the world!
Well I hope everyone is doing well, more to come soon!
Love, Sinae
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Pictures!
Kath, there's a Deloitte in Accra! It made me think of you!
This is the new Presidential Palace, it's supposed to look like a stool on the top of the building
The 6th graders in Agoue Fie
Everyone wanted to be included in the shot!
This definately made me think of home back in the PNW! When it rains here, it REALLY rains!Thursday, October 9, 2008
This is just the beginning
Hey Everyone! This is my first official blog post from Ghana! I just wanted you all to know that I'm doing well and I have officially fallen in love...... with Africa of course and all it has to offer! This past week has been such a whirlwind and so much has happened. I promise to post some pictures soon, but I'm currently at an internet cafe with not much time to spare. Here is a brief recap of my journey so far...
We landed in Accra and did a couple days of training there, just basic language and safety lessons. On the third day, we were sent out with a partner to explore the city and boy was it scary! Here in Ghana, they travel in minivans called tro-tros that go fast and if you're not careful it will start driving whether you're fully in the car or not! Every driver on the road has the most aggressive road rage I have ever seen! People are honking left and right, and no one pays attention to speed limits or pedestrians/bikers for that matter!
After Accra, we all were sent out on a vision quest where we were to follow a current Peace Corps Volunteer in their village or town for four days. I was sent to a town called Agoue Fie, which is in the outskirts of the Volta region and about 9 hours away from Accra. It was survival of the fittest and each man its own because everyone was expected to figure out their own way to the site they are to be at. I personally, had to ride a 4 hour tro ride to a town called Ho Hoe and then take another tro from Ho Hoe to Nkwanta. Here in Ghana, there are NO bus schedules so the buses only leave when it is full, so I had to wait 3 hours for the bus to get a move on and when it finally did, it took about 3 hours to get to Nkwanta on unpaved roads. At Nkwanta I was greeted by my host volunteer and from there we waited another 3 hours and had to convince a driver to take us to Agoue Fie, which is in the middle of nowhere and cars only drive through twice a week! Agoue Fie is a small village composed of multiple tribes, with no running water, no electricity, and no shower. So I was forced to take bucket baths, use a latrine, and sit by candlelight and listen to the BBC on a battery powered radio for entertainment. We were asleep by 9 and awake by 6, since the sun sets at approx 6.30 and rises at 6 every day and night! Being in Agoue Fie has really reinforced my desire and passion for joining the Peace Corps in the first place because I really got to experience firsthand the great things volunteers are doing here and the sense of real world perspective he has attained by living in this village. I got to see the community latrines that he has installed with the help of the villagers, learned about the malaria and family planning campaigns that he has headed, and also visited the local school where health lessons are taught at. I got to have a try at the teaching, so I taught the kids about diseases that could be contracted without the use of shoes or sandals. What can I say about the village kids? They are absolutely wonderful, they are well mannered, curious, and always so eager to learn. I have a lot of pictures to post of the kids, because they are obsessed with the camera! Every time, I take out my camera, kids from all corners will come out of nowhere to swarm to the focal point, so they could be included in the shoot. The next obstacle was figuring out how I was supposed to get back to our next training site in Kukurantumi. We waited for hours for any car to pass through town, but we had no luck, so the Peace Corps van had to personally come get me the next morning.
Now, I am in a town called Kukurantumi for 10 weeks where I will be completing my training and then on December 13th, depending on whether I pass all the tests or not, I will be officially sworn in as a volunteer and then the next day I will be sent out to my site where I will be for 2 years!
I just want to thank everyone for their emails, I promise to reply to them the next time I have some time, but please keep writing me because they make me feel soooo loved and make me feel at home! I miss you all and am thinking of you always!
Love, Sinae
P.S. Here is my address where I can receive mail,
Sinae Hong, PCV
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
but if you plan to mail me something through a carrier that doesn't deliver to P.O. Boxes, here is an alternative address,
Sinae Hong, PCV
26 West Cantonments
Switch Back Lane
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
We landed in Accra and did a couple days of training there, just basic language and safety lessons. On the third day, we were sent out with a partner to explore the city and boy was it scary! Here in Ghana, they travel in minivans called tro-tros that go fast and if you're not careful it will start driving whether you're fully in the car or not! Every driver on the road has the most aggressive road rage I have ever seen! People are honking left and right, and no one pays attention to speed limits or pedestrians/bikers for that matter!
After Accra, we all were sent out on a vision quest where we were to follow a current Peace Corps Volunteer in their village or town for four days. I was sent to a town called Agoue Fie, which is in the outskirts of the Volta region and about 9 hours away from Accra. It was survival of the fittest and each man its own because everyone was expected to figure out their own way to the site they are to be at. I personally, had to ride a 4 hour tro ride to a town called Ho Hoe and then take another tro from Ho Hoe to Nkwanta. Here in Ghana, there are NO bus schedules so the buses only leave when it is full, so I had to wait 3 hours for the bus to get a move on and when it finally did, it took about 3 hours to get to Nkwanta on unpaved roads. At Nkwanta I was greeted by my host volunteer and from there we waited another 3 hours and had to convince a driver to take us to Agoue Fie, which is in the middle of nowhere and cars only drive through twice a week! Agoue Fie is a small village composed of multiple tribes, with no running water, no electricity, and no shower. So I was forced to take bucket baths, use a latrine, and sit by candlelight and listen to the BBC on a battery powered radio for entertainment. We were asleep by 9 and awake by 6, since the sun sets at approx 6.30 and rises at 6 every day and night! Being in Agoue Fie has really reinforced my desire and passion for joining the Peace Corps in the first place because I really got to experience firsthand the great things volunteers are doing here and the sense of real world perspective he has attained by living in this village. I got to see the community latrines that he has installed with the help of the villagers, learned about the malaria and family planning campaigns that he has headed, and also visited the local school where health lessons are taught at. I got to have a try at the teaching, so I taught the kids about diseases that could be contracted without the use of shoes or sandals. What can I say about the village kids? They are absolutely wonderful, they are well mannered, curious, and always so eager to learn. I have a lot of pictures to post of the kids, because they are obsessed with the camera! Every time, I take out my camera, kids from all corners will come out of nowhere to swarm to the focal point, so they could be included in the shoot. The next obstacle was figuring out how I was supposed to get back to our next training site in Kukurantumi. We waited for hours for any car to pass through town, but we had no luck, so the Peace Corps van had to personally come get me the next morning.
Now, I am in a town called Kukurantumi for 10 weeks where I will be completing my training and then on December 13th, depending on whether I pass all the tests or not, I will be officially sworn in as a volunteer and then the next day I will be sent out to my site where I will be for 2 years!
I just want to thank everyone for their emails, I promise to reply to them the next time I have some time, but please keep writing me because they make me feel soooo loved and make me feel at home! I miss you all and am thinking of you always!
Love, Sinae
P.S. Here is my address where I can receive mail,
Sinae Hong, PCV
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
but if you plan to mail me something through a carrier that doesn't deliver to P.O. Boxes, here is an alternative address,
Sinae Hong, PCV
26 West Cantonments
Switch Back Lane
Accra North, Ghana
West Africa
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