Not in Kansas Anymore

Post written by Amy McNair, a United Planet Volunteer.

When they said rural, they meant rural. NO internet in our village. We had to travel in a cho cho (public transportation) to get to the internet cafe this morning, and I thought we were going to die about 17 times. But we passed a store with a sign that said, “God loves tailless animals” so we were kept entertained. Well, we made it safe to Ghana and are living in Alovanya Wudidi, which is in the southern Volta district of Ghana. The village we are in has never had white people live with them before, so to say they are very excited to have us is an understatement. Somewhere between the parade of 250 African children singing songs of welcome to us as they paraded us around the village, and the constant stream of people bringing their children to touch us, we come to realize that things are different here.

Last Monday, as we were driving to Wudidi, I was sitting in the front seat with a bottle of 30% schnapps on my lap to present to the village chief, listening to Ghanaian music and watching huge termite mounds and little children carrying machetes on their way to working in the fields pass me by, I knew we were not in Kansas anymore.

The chief wanted to meet us: It is customary for all the elders to get together and hold a meeting when a visitor arrives. We were presented with handmade beads from the female elders, and had to take a shot of the schnapps, as well as pour one on the floor in libation to the ancestors. That is how I celebrated my 21st birthday. IN Africa, with a chief, escorted by African children and a lot of bleating goats. Not bad, huh?

Our living situation is interesting. We are very thankful, because we wanted to live exactly as the villagers do, with no special treatment. We have a small room to share, and a hole in the ground inside of a “spider home” as Heather calls it, to go to the bathroom. I see more roaches, but I am not scared of spiders so maybe that is why. We have a cement wall to stand behind and buckets for our shower. It is totally cool except that I am taller then the wall, so I have to improvise.

The village of Alavanyo Wudidi is amazing. The children were so fun. I taught them to play hangman, and they would dance up and down the aisles when they beat me. Every time I taught them something, I made them teach me things in return, so I learned lots of cool rock games, and we laughed a lot. It’s funny how infrequently I found that I needed to speak the language, it is easy to have fun with people regardless of what language you speak. It was a privilege to be there and participate in life the way they live it in Alavanyo, and everyone was so welcoming. Most nights I would sit outside with some of the other teachers and we would ask each other questions back and forth for hours. Those evenings are some of my most cherished memories. I received drum lessons from some of the teenagers, and the kids taught me how to dance. We had a drum circle party the last night I was there and I got to perform for the community. I loved participating in daily life, laughing at goats, bucket washing in rain water, and eating the local food. They seemed to learn a lot from me, but I learned so much from them, and made friends that I hope to keep for life. It was an amazing experience and anyone that is adventurous, open-minded and loves people will do well in Alavanyo. We are safe and happy and are feeling blessed to be here. It is crazy, but I love it.