Post-1st day of field work

I've decided that 1 hour of field work = an extra hour of sleep needed that night.  I am exhausted.

Pre-1st Day of Field Work

Today I go out into the field to test my skills at semi-structured interviews using feminist methodologies.  Yesterday I learned that I will, in fact, need an interpreter for many of my interviews.  Which means I will not be going out into the field alone.  And, because of the focus on women subjects and feminist methodologies my interpreter will also be female.  This is all very relieving to  me, because the primary mode of transportation here is via cab, and so far I haven't heard any of the cab drivers speak English (I assume they do, at least enough to get me around, but I still haven't tried it yet).   So I'm not exactly sure how to tell cab drivers where to take me.  Overcoming that "barrier to access" is one of my goals for this week.  I also want to be able to walk around Market Circle alone without being completely overwhelmed.

Hopefully after today I'll have a better sense of what needs to be modified about my interview process.  I am sure that I don't exactly have it down exactly, but I won't know what needs to be changed until I've actually attempted to interview a few subjects.  I will be heading into the fishing community of New Takoradi.  Stephen seems to think that me focusing on head female fish mongers (Konkohenes, in Fante), as opposed to fishermen, will work well - again because of the feminist methods I will be employing.  Thank you Professor Marc Miller for insisting I have a solid methodological background before going into the field - otherwise I'd feel even more lost!

Wish me luck, faithful readers!

Meta Lunch is Meta

Ghanian food is delicious.  The rice is called Jallof and is cooked in spicy tomato broth.  It is the what Cajun Jambalaya is based off! 

Also, I'll bet none of my US audience has ever seen a pre-selective breeding chicken (unless they have also traveled out of the country), because I sure hadn't before now.  They are small, scrawny birds.  And they are truly the definition of "free range;" they literally just walk around where they live, on the roads, wherever they please.  I'm going to try to get a picture.  They are often found in the vicinity of goats, which some of my friends may remember I am quite fond of.  And it's spring time here which means... cute little chicks and kids!

First Day in Sekondi-Takoradi

So today I try my hand in blogging.  I’m sitting in my hosts’ living room, watching The Food Network, which feels very familiar.  It’s 8 AM and already very humid.  My hair is already dripping wet.  Perhaps I should have taken a shower this morning.  The shower is only cold water, which I never thought I’d say I’m fine with, but in the heat, there’s no need for a hot shower.  The shower I took last night was very invigorating. 

My doxycycline alarm just went off so I took my daily anti-malaria medication, however stupidly I took it on an empty stomach.  Now I’m fighting nausea and eating some bread and jam. The loaf bread is different here, sweeter and very soft. 

My flights were long and miserable.  I waited for 7 hours in the waiting room in the Accra airport, which felt like forever on these terribly uncomfortable seats.  I don’t really want to re-count the experience because it was exhausting. 

The Ghanaian accent is a bit difficult for me to understand.  When my host speaks to his girlfriend quickly, I can’t totally follow.  When someone talks directly to me I can lip read a little bit and I’m basically able to understand, but if I can’t look at the person talking, it’s more difficult. 

This weekend I’m hoping to explore Sekdondi-Takoradi.  I suppose I should take this time to explain the city I’m staying in.  The NGO I’m working for, Hen Mpoano, is located in Takoradi, however the home I’m staying in is in Sekondi.  Although they are technically different cities, according to Cephas, my host, “You can’t see the divide between the two, you wouldn’t know its two cities.”  I asked if “Sekondi” means “second,” because it certainly sounds like it.  This amused my hosts, who explained that Sekondi is actually the elder of the two cities, and still the seat of power in the Western Region.  However, at one point the rail system collapsed and Sekondi began to whither, and Takoradi became more of the metropolis.  Even though Takoradi is the larger city, the administrative buildings for Western Region are still located in Sekondi. 

Flying into Seknodi-Takoradi, I was fascinated by the way the city unfolds into the jungle.  From above, there are large swaths of green jungle, and patches of housing areas, not in any sort of grid, which are lined with roads of the bright red Ghanaian soil.  In the Accra airport, I was amazed at how red the soil is.  You see it in pictures but honestly nothing does it justice.  It’s amazing and vibrant.  Leaving the airport, Cephas asked me if I’ve ever been in the tropics before, and that was the first time I actually realized that I’ll be staying in “The Tropics.”  Months and months of planning and that didn’t dawn on me!  From the large (screened-in, of course) back yard balcony, I can see jungle.  From the quiet bathroom in the middle of the night, I could hear sounds from the jungle, bugs and frogs going about their nightly rituals.  On the drive from the Takoradi airport (the smallest airport I’ve ever seen, pictures to come) we went from a very busy, vibrant market place to a jungle lined road to the area where the house I’m staying at is. 

Well that’s it for now.  I’m nervous about my first day at Hen Mpoano, I hope I don’t disappoint them!  Luckily I have two days between now and then, and hopefully I can get over my jet lag and get my normal apatite back from them.

Final note: I’ve learned that Ghanaians say “take” to mean “consume.”  “Do you take coffee in the morning?” I was asked.  “We take a large lunch and a light dinner,” and “do you take beer?” are things that have been said.  I’m still a little thrown by this language quirk, but I’m sure I’ll become acclimated.  

Test

Test post for Hannah in Ghana.  Including Simcoe!