cubbish

today i cooked the first meal since i left home at the end of july.

ive never appreciated chopping cabbage (cubbish) so much.

got me thinking about other strange things that i miss.

1. driving by myself in a car. i found myself staring longingly into private cars on the tro tro ride home from accra today...

2. flying under the radar. one of my least favourite things is when im walking and somebody grabs my arm.

3. eavesdropping. i hate not knowing what people are saying. my liberian english isn't quite at that level yet. my twi is pathetic. maybe my new ghanaian neighbours can help me out there..

that being said... those are just things to look forward to. i certainly wouldnt trade the swarms of kids and insane amounts of rice and peppers for any of the above just yet.

week one of fish, rice and beans is about to come to an end. the kids that come to visit aren't quite as gassy as i thought they'd be after this week, and most seem pretty pleased with the upgrade. most are just peeved that im not giving more. i dont think our pots could possibly hold more rice though.. and even if they could, i cant figure out how our two cooks, comofort and philomena, would manage to stir it.

we have to make a few tweaks to the program so that it runs smoothly for the next term but basically from here on in, the kids will get the rice/beans/fish trifecta on monday, wednesday and friday.. and then oranges on tuesday and thursday.

attendance is notably higher on monday, wednesday and friday.

teachers, as a result, have a love/hate relationship with the new program. they get fed under it but, they have to work a bit harder to control a bigger class with a bit more energy.

ive got the same love/hate relationship... im thrilled to be able to up the anti a bit in camp. i think its way more worth my while to fundraise so that kids can get this, rather than just bread. its closer to their ideal diet, its more filling and its certainly more nutritious. it does mean though that the price of feeding for one week will be up between 250-275, and ill have to raise an extra 1000 each term (have to assess this week to know for sure). i think though that with an website actually coming, and charitable status registration underway, this might be something we can pull off.

maybe what i'll do as an incentive for you guys to donate is bring home obama paraphanalia for people who donate more... maybe an american flag with obama's face on the stripes? those litter the tro tros here.. for the really high donors, i'd consider bringing home a pair of obama boxers...

the best friday at CBW

after getting the equipment for the science lab and the pots for all the beans, AB (big guy at CBW) got a call from FAO announcing that they would be happy to provide us with 350 chickens and their feed/medication for the next 6 months!

CBW used to run a poultry project as another means of generating income independent of volunteers. sadly, the last batch of chickens got some terrible chicken disease and had to be killed... the funds hadn't been around to replace them all but now, we should have a new batch in the next few days!

the staff at CBW was beyond excited about the day and we went out to celebrate... i seem to have burned myself out though and am now stuck in bed today with some delightful african sickness. it was only a matter of time i guess... luckily i have an internet cord that stretches to my bed and no end of movies, thanks to the 70 in 1 dvds you can buy on the streets.

a riddle...

what does 10% beer, toilet paper, oranges, building blocks, ice cream, water and fried plantains have in common?

i could buy all of them from my window on the bus.

i love ghana.

into week two now and i think ive got a bit of a rhythm back..

ive realized these past few days that people are a bit confused about what exactly i do in the camp, and how the donations relate so, ill try to explain.

first, theres the feeding program.. the original. this feeding program operates at children better way school. this school is a budget school on camp and pulls in kids that can't afford to pay the higher fees. right now most of the kids are attending for free.. some have paid the $1 required to register but at least half just shows up. while the free school is nice, it means that all the teachers at the school are (exhausted) volunteers. the fees would go to buy supplies, salaries etc.

enter internet cafe. this cafe is run by children better way (the organization that runs the school). this organization is the one i came through last summer, and was formerly dependent on volunteer fees to carry out operations. it is my hope that by developing the internet cafe, the funds generated will go towards paying salaries and enable the school to stay free.

the purse sales are a bit less connected. the funds from these sales put under privileged kids through school, but they go to the more expensive schools (st. gregory's and faith foundation). bit controversial i suppose that they go to the 'better' schools but, thats where they are. like i said, its about 50 to send a kid to school for a term.

hope that helps.

in other news... we're upgrading the feeding program! starting monday, we're going to see how feeding beans and fish, oranges and rice and fish (along with water each day) works... bit more money, and a few more cookies but well worth it. this food is much more in line with what the kids would like to eat, and has way higher energy values. we're buying incredible amounts of beans and oil this weekend. the teachers will also be included in this program... since they're volunteers now with no other source of income, a bit of food might make the day a bit more enjoyable.

and finally- we're building a community science lab today! a friend in accra had leftover science materials from a ghana-wide distribution project and said that we could have them. we have a spare building that used to be used for HIV/AIDS education and have decided to turn that into a lab that schools can sign up to use. nobody on camp has ever really had access to beakers and weights.

so.. big week. everybody on the camp is melting under the dry season heat. the sun seems to get stronger every day and i continuously peel off brown gunk from my arms and hands. december in canada will be a shock to the system...

quiet at the guest house

quick nod to ghana's performance in the FIFA-U20 championship game last night.

first african country to win..

the camp was a bit excited.. to say the least

it was the quietest night ive had yet at my house. i become much less interesting when massive football games are on. pretty nice.

ahh you are fine oh!

liberians use oh more than canadians use eh... one of my favourite things about liberian english. that and the serious sense of humour.

its insane and intense being back. lots has changed, lots of people have moved and a lot feels exactly like how i left it.

the kids are psyched to have a volunteer back... prosper (twin sister of prince.. wrote about him last year) is as hilarious as ever. her attitude has gotten way bigger and whenever we go walking together she holds my hand and dances madly singing some no no song that requires a lot of kicking. we move slowly. the family that used to be across the road from me has moved but is still around a lot. its crazy to see how much older they seem after a year.

anyway. the kids are great but the work is draining. there are as always, a million ideas coming from the liberians for projects that require money that i dont have. so, im turning to you guys to see whats out there.

first.. an internet cafe. this is the organizations lifeline right now, in the absence of volunteers. the $19-32 that it generates a day is paying the bills and will hopefully one day, pay the staff who havent been paid in months. it also allows children to go to school for free. as it stands, we've got about 300 in school and half have paid the $1 they're supposed to pay to register. the rest are just sort of there... which is good. i love that CBW is there for kids to just go to school, hectic as it may be at times.

second. student sponsorship. the organization (hope foundation) that i have been working with to sell bags is, to say the least, struggling. i have faith that we can turn it around but in the mean time, we owe a lot of money for student sponsorship. they are at a very good school on camp and it is roughly $50 to send a kid to school for one term.

i took economics last year in a last ditch attempt to understand a tiny bit of what is going on. we spent time reading sachs and learning about the poverty trap.. too poor to save any money to invest and grow. serious hand to mouth kind of thing. that seems to be what is going on with hope foundation and i dont know what to do. i dont think many economists have figured it out either. what is important though is that these kids are able to stay in school. i am working to develop a better sponsor a child system where you could meet the kid. if there is ANY interest here, please let me know (eat.to.feed.liberians@gmail.com).

anyway. there it is for now. im sorry to make a blog about asking for money but that quite literally is the only thing i think about here.

oh and.. after a day of trying to cook for myself (and by cook i mean buy bread..) ive gotten comfort to come back. ive missed my diet of incredible spice, cabbage, rice, fresh fruit and of course, fanice (ice cream that comes from the ghanaian dickie dee).

goodbye egypt

i have a boarding pass (and a mcflurry).

i will be in ghana tomorrow.

check this often and spread the word!

i can see saudi from my backdoor...

little nod to palin...

anyway. on the red sea coast right now in a little backpacking town called dahab...

realizing that im not going to leave egypt until at least sunday now (tomorrow is my 2 week anniversary here), i figured id head over here to see what the hype is about. turns out, its warranted. its this sleepy sort of town lodged between the red sea, saudi arabia and mountains. not a bad place to hang out while i continue to be in limbo. best part is that beer is finally easily accessible. its certainly not in cairo... as any local will tell you. one of the first things some guys ask is how long youve been here and if you'll take them to the duty free shop for their "nephews wedding/sisters birthday/cats funreal"... its not that they drink, it sjust that its a celebration and they want to bring something nice. hilarious experience.

this past week i went out to the white and black desert in western egypt for a little camping trip. did the whole sleep under the stars with a few bedouins.. no camels though, just a jeep. once around the pyramids was certainly enough for my lifetime. they're not enjoyable.

tonight its up mount sinai to see if i too can recieve the 10 commandments... or at least a bit of luck for my visa. if nothing else, the midnight climb up is supposed to leave you at the top for one of the world's best sunrises so, that should be good. we'll see how it goes. for someone who apparently doesnt pick up her feet enough, steps in the dark could be a disaster.

oh yeah...

andy's ego played aswan, egypt to rave reviews.

if you haven't already, check them out on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiH0SYX7ygE&feature=related

okay ghana. i get it.

a word to the wise... get your ghana visas sorted out in your country of origin well before you go to ghana. the country doesn't take well to spontaneity.

im still in cairo.. i think and hope beyond all else i will be on ethiopians flight out of here tonight. but at the rate ive been going, it will likely be another uneventful trip to cairo airport in the middle of the night.

ive now spent an unplanned week in egypt which, despite the frustration, has been pretty good. i wandered around cairo for a few days, checking out some mosques, old areas and sufi dances. this city is an entirely different world that blends the chaos of major african cities with KFC, caesar's pizza and 4+ laned roads (which im a pro at crossing now).

my first trip here a few weeks ago, i wasn't totally sold on the place. it didn't come off as very walkable and egyptians seemed to be constantly ripping me off. on second look though, living in the centre of downtown, its come off entirely differently. ive spent too much time wandering around a lot of twisted alleys and missing apparently all of the big tourist attractions. ah well.

after a few days, when i realized i wasnt getting anywhere until at least today, i took off to aswan and luxor with some australian guys i met. down there, we saw some seriously big and old temples (pictures on facebook). we also spent a good chunk of time zig zagging down the nile in a felucca... it may be the budget option of seeing the nile but i think its about a million times cooler than the cruise ships.. even if its a bit slow and windy.

i did an overnight train to cairo last night, under the impression that id be flying out at 230am. the ghana embassy seems to have changed their mind one more time though.. some man from the embassy is coming to the airport with me tonight to try and get me on the flight. hopefully im not deported when i get there.

this whole week has certainly made a strong case for planning in advance.. but on the flip side, i never would have made it down to abu simbel without it so, im probably not going to become a planner anytime soon.