Swearing-In, Moving In, and much ado about fufu

Joe here: On a rainy August 12th, 72 Peace Corps trainees in Ghana, including Hallie and myself, were sworn in as Volunteers. Facing a stage in the parking lot of a senior high school in Kukurantumi were seats to accomadate the trainees, their homestay families, and a brass band. Atop the stage sat the Eastern Regional Minister of Ghana, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to Ghana, PC Ghana Country Director, PC Ghana Program Training Officer, and the PC Training Manager, beside the stage, the remaining 20 or so trainers. The ceremony started early with the arrival of trainees, homestay families, and current or past Volunteers in Ghanaian dress. The night before, our host mother had surprised Hallie and me with matching shirt and dress. The ensuing events consisted of speeches by the aforementioned important people, rewarding of certificates to the new Volunteers, a Ghanaian drum and dance performance by new Volunteers, skits in various Ghanaian languages by the new Volunteers, and a vote of thanks to the homestay families.

Photo: Our homestay mother Maame Doris



Hallie and I replaced a PC Volunteer couple, Chris and Tammi, in Donkorkrom. They lived in the same house that we do now and taught at the same school that Hallie will, Donkorkrom Agric SHS (DASHS). Chris was given the assignment of teaching Art and Tammi, ICT. Among secondary projects they facilitated were establishing a library at DASHS and starting a program at DASHS to recycle plastic water sachets(More prevalent than bottled water, bags of water are widely available in Ghana for about 4 cents a piece, just bite off the corner and drink) into pouch wallets. Before joining PC both were employed by Iowa State University. You can read more about them and their experience on their blog, http://www.chrismartinfurniture.blogspot.com/.

Photo: Mural in our backyard




The method of preparing fufu may be difficult to transport across the Atlantic but, as per reports from our hostmother, microwavable just-add-water packets of fufu powder are sold at some African grocery stores in the US. The only ingredients you need for the actual fufu are cassava, plantain, and water. Allow one tuber and one plantain per person. Peel and chop into large pieces then boil until soft. Place cassava piece by piece into a mortar and turn it by hand, adding water as needed, as a partner pounds with a pestel. Pound until elastic consistency. Remove from the mortar then repeat with the plantain. Re-add the pounded cassava then pound and drive until well mixed. Form into balls and serve in bowls.



Generally, your choice of meat(chicken, beef, goat, snail, grasscutter) and groundnut or palmnut soup, though tomato soup makes a simple alternative, is served with fufu. The soups are made from groundnut paste(peanut butter) or palm oil, tomato, onion, garden egg(eggplant), and garlic with crushed red pepper and a bouillon cube to taste. Mix the groundnut paste or palm oil with water in a pot over medium heat. Meanwhile, chop then saute the onion and garlic, and boil then mash the tomato and garden egg. Mix all ingredients into the pot and cook for some time.

Site Visit, LPI, and the Light at the End of Training

In the latter part of July, Peace Corps hosted our group of trainees as well as Ghanaian teachers working in schools to receive volunteers for a weekend of lectures and group activities. Shortly after sunrise Monday, one teacher from each of our schools, Hallie, and I were driven by Hallie's headmaster's to our new home. Our drive was interrupted, as expected, by a half-hour ferry ride across a portion of Lake Volta. Beneath us on the third and highest level of the pontoon were vehicles packed three rows wide, students, farmers, workers, and casual travelers heading to the the district capital of the Kwahu North Region, Donkorkrom. Around noon, one hour after arriving at the walled compound we share with Hallie's headmaster, we crossed the street together to visit Donkorkrom Agric SHS. We met a few of Hallie's future co-workers before our presence was requested aside an ensemble of student drummers and dancers. For the next hour female students sang traditional Ghanaian songs and danced in formation while male students thumped out drumbeats and handclaps. For the last number, Hallie and I were invited and obliged to join the dancing. Afterwards, we traveled a few minutes down the road towards town to Atakora JHS. We greeted my future co-teachers as the 120 students convened in one classroom. Hallie and I sat in front of the students as one teacher prepared our introduction. When it was my turn, he simply said "This is Yaw," (Twi-speakers assign names to eachother based on their day of birth, I was born on Thursday) and the classroom erupted with cheer (I hope they carry that same enthusiasm into long division). Only after they quieted did he explain that I will begin teaching late September at the start of next school year. We spent the next few days meeting two nearby Peace Corps Volunteers, visiting the orphanage in town, exploring the market, and paying additional visits to the schools before returning to Kukurantumi. Sunday morning, we began our trip on the daily charter bus that departs around 5, then to the speedy motorized canoe crossing Lake Volta, and last taxis. The focus of training for the following week was language, six hours per day, in preparation for the language proficiency interview. The interview was essentially a fifteen minute conversation in Twi with a PC trainer recorded on tape to be sent to Washington. We were given such prompts as: "Tell me a little about yourself"; "I want to visit your site, how do I get there?"; "Pretend you are in a market, approach a vendor and buy ingredients for dinner." With testing completed, we are preparing to be sworn in as volunteers this week and move to Donkorkrom next week.

Pictures from top to bottom: wooden crests of Atakora JHS and Donkorkrom Agric SHS carved by a student from Atakora JHS, Hallie eating fufu(mashed plantain and cassava), our host brother Kwame displaying his excellent balance