Top 10 Things I Took For Granted

Before I joined the Peace Corps I had a lot of fears about what my time in Ghana would be like. Namely, how would I do without. Without a washing and drying machine. Without internet or cell service. Without hot water for bathing… or even running water at all. Those fears are, in part, what drove me to be a volunteer in the first place and in the months before I left I tried to appreciate every amenity afforded in my lifestyle, if I hadn't been already.

There were many things, however, that I had not thought about. Things not typically talked about in blogs or Peace Corps PR that took me by surprise and made me miss the comforts of home. That's what this list is about - the things we truly take for granted about the way of life in the states.

10. Customer Service: Even a bad waiter in the U.S. would be preferred to the service I usually get here. There is typically no tipping though, which might help explain it.

9. Sanitation Knowledge: Open defecation, not washing hands and improper storage of food are all big problems here. I could add to this reproductive health knowledge as well resulting in high STD and teen pregnancy rates around the country. In other words, there is a reason one of the three sectors for volunteers in Ghana is health.

8. Business Information: I don’t know how to label this one but it’s a consistent problem for me. Which stores sell the item I need and at what prices? Where are they located and how do I get there? When are they open? There are certainly no websites. Some have business phone numbers but even if you can manage to get a hold of them, they are always mobile phones that are more often turned off or held by someone not working than not. Also, getting verbal directions is difficult with the language barrier (not to mention lack of street names and building numbers) and you definitely don’t want to price shop after you’ve been wandering around in the sun for an hour.

7. Septic System: The septic system here can’t handle toilet paper so you have to put it in a trash bin next to the toilet and periodically burn it.

6. Proximity to Friends: Ghana is about the size of Oregon, so surely one can take a short road trip to see anyone in the country, right? Nope. There are no real highways and even the main roads between the major cities are one lane each way and littered with speed bumps because they continually go right through villages with schools right next to the road. Other roads between towns and villages are often not paved or have more surface area covered by a pothole than without one. Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m tucked away in a corner of the country. For me, it takes a good deal more time door to door to reach some of my friends here than when I would visit friends and family in the U.S. that were thousands of miles away.

5. Public Infrastructure: I just mentioned the condition of the roads, but there is also a lack of other public facilities like libraries and parks. Also, many hospitals and schools are in very poor condition.

4. Organized Public Transportation: I could add to this list safe public transportation, but I didn’t expect it to be great to begin with. This list item actually has more to do with the unpredictable and undocumented nature of traveling in Ghana. There are no schedules or maps of routes or prices listed anywhere. To get somewhere you need to rely on the directions provided by someone who knows the destination and the trustworthiness of Ghanaians when you pay your fares. Then you just hope your bus and/or taxis fill quickly, since it is only then that they will leave.

3. Water Availability: What? Africa has a water problem? Okay, so maybe this is well known. But I just never really thought about it in such a real way. I never had to limit my water usage and be concerned about the cleanliness of the water in so serious and consistent terms. In most places in the western world you can drink water right from the tap without significant threat or easily filter your water. And even in the midst of living in a water crisis in the South West U.S., I never thought about the length of my showers or how much water I was using when washing my dishes. These are all things I can’t take for granted in Ghana. This, by the way, is also a major focus of health volunteers.

2. Garbage Disposal: In America, the garbage man comes on scheduled days for specific materials and takes them to a designated place to be either recycled or properly dumped. There is nothing like that here so people either burn their trash, breathing in the plastic fumes with their children nearby, or throw it on the road or their farms, as if sending a personal invitation to bugs, critters, bacteria and diseases.

1. Food and Nutritional Variety: When I decided to be an agriculture volunteer, I had this image of large farms that grew a variety of crops full of nutritious vegetables that simply needed my help to make more income or adapt to new the changing climate. If nothing else, it seemed likely my diet would improve eating fresh, unprocessed meat and vegetables. But unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the reality. My village grows almost exclusively cassava (essentially a potato except even less nutritious), maize and beans. In the market towns you can get some vegetables but the selection is limited and certainly there are no whole wheat products to speak of. Most of the meat is so rough and bony compared to what I’m used to, I can’t really eat it in large quantities and the only designation in cut of meat at my local seller (besides type of animal) is “hard” or “soft”. Also, dairy just isn’t a thing here. No milk. No cheese. No yogurt. Plus, between my pickiness and limited cooking skills, I have end up with virtually no variety at all. I remember reading a PCV blog post before I left of someone who had extreme anxiety when they entered a super market for the first time upon returning. Thinking about the selection of vegetables and fruits no matter the season, the variety of types and cuts of meat, and the sheer abundance of different food options, I have a new appreciation for that anecdote.

BONUS

Anonymity: The reason it’s not on my list is because the Peace Corps does a great job making you aware this will be an issue during your service, so it didn’t take me by surprise. However, it’s not something my typical reader has reason to think about so I wanted to include it in some way. Below is a vlog post by a PCV friend of mine, Max, that I think sheds good light on the subject.