aripeskoe
(living in ghana)
21 May 2006
Hi There
So, I'm off to Ghana to become a Peace Corps Volunteer. I've gotten a lot of questions about this over the past few months, so I'll try and briefly answer a few of the most commonly asked. I hope you'll come back again soon...future posts will be from Ghana!
1 - What is Peace Corps?
2 - Why are you doing this?
3 - Where are you going?
4 - What did you pack?
Answer #1:
Peace Corps is a US government program started in 1961 by President Kennedy (JFK's speech about PC). The mission is to help people of interested countries and promote better understanding of Americans on the part of people served and vice-versa. There are currenly about 7,500 PC Volunteers in 70+ countries. There have been a total of over 170,000 volunteers. In 2005, Peace Corps received $317 million in federal funding (thank you for paying for me).
Answer #2: Ask me again when I get back. There was no single reason. Some factors include:
As you can see, Ghana is on the west coast of Africa. It's a bit smaller than the state of Oregon. The capital is Accra, a city of 2 million people. The official language is English, but there are other languages spoken too. It was the very first country to accept Peace Corps volunteers!
There's actually much more information than that available on Ghana. If you're interested, please do some Google searches. Besides, this webpage is going to be about me, not Ghana :)
1 - What is Peace Corps?
2 - Why are you doing this?
3 - Where are you going?
4 - What did you pack?
Answer #1:
Peace Corps is a US government program started in 1961 by President Kennedy (JFK's speech about PC). The mission is to help people of interested countries and promote better understanding of Americans on the part of people served and vice-versa. There are currenly about 7,500 PC Volunteers in 70+ countries. There have been a total of over 170,000 volunteers. In 2005, Peace Corps received $317 million in federal funding (thank you for paying for me).
Answer #2: Ask me again when I get back. There was no single reason. Some factors include:
- I want to live somewhere completely different. Peace Corps provides me with a job and a place to live, making this much easier than if I were moving on my own.
- I have no career plans (or really any plans whatsoever).
- I have no interest in finding another office job right now.
- I am at least tentatively interested in 'international development' (although it seems to have some issues).
- I want to do something positive.
- I'm 24 years old! This is what life is all about!
As you can see, Ghana is on the west coast of Africa. It's a bit smaller than the state of Oregon. The capital is Accra, a city of 2 million people. The official language is English, but there are other languages spoken too. It was the very first country to accept Peace Corps volunteers!
There's actually much more information than that available on Ghana. If you're interested, please do some Google searches. Besides, this webpage is going to be about me, not Ghana :)
Answer #4:
This basically what I've packed. They say you can pretty much buy everything you need in Ghana, and the maximum weight for luggage is 80 pounds. Peace Corps provides advice on what to bring, much of it apparently from actual volunteers. I think I've actually overpacked, but I guess better to overpack than underpack.
Footwear:
- 1 pair Tevas
- 1 pair New Balance sneakers
- 1 pair waterproof boots
- 2 pair brown leather shoes
Clothing:
- boxers (lots)
- socks (loads)
- khakis (5)
- jeans (1)
- button down short-sleeve shirts (4)
- button down long-sleeve shirt
- golf shirts (4)
- hooded sweatshirt
- long-sleeve shirt
- shorts (4)
- bathing suit
- t-shirts (7)
Books (most mailed to myself in Ghana):
- Appiah, Kwame Anthony: In My Father's House
- Aurelius, Marcus: Meditations
- Brooks, Terry: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Isle Witch
- Buchholz, Todd G.: New Ideas from Dead Economists
- Carnegie, Dale: How to Win Friends and Influence People
- Carver, Raymond: Where I'm Calling From
- Dangarembga, Tsitsi: Nervous Conditions
- Darwin, Charles: The Origin of Species
- De Soto, Hernando: The Mystery of Capital
- Friedman, Milton: Capitalism and Freedom
- Garcia Marquez, Gabriel: One Hundred Years of Solitude
- Gibson, William: Neuromancer
- Haddon, Mark: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
- Hawken, Paul: The Ecology of Commerce
- Heller, Joseph: Catch-22
- Hemingway, Ernest: A Moveable Feast
- Hesse, Hermann: Steppenwolf
- Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World
- Irving, John: The Cider House Rules
- Jews (various): The Bible
- Kerouac, Jack: On the Road
- Kauffman, Stuart: At Home in the Universe
- Kundera, Milan: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- L'Engle, Madeleine: A Swiftly Tilting Planet
- L'Engle, Madeleine: A Wind in the Door
- L'Engle, Madeleine: A Wrinkle in Time
- L'Engle, Madeleine: Many Waters
- LaBerge, Stephen: Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming
- Marx, Karl: The Communist Manifesto
- Milton, John: Paradise Lost
- Orwell, George: 1984
- Roth, Phillip: The Great American Novel
- Sagan, Carl: The Cosmic Connection
- Sagan, Carl: Pale Blue Dot
- Schmidt-Nielsen, Knut: How Animals Work
- Shelly, Mary: Frankenstein
- Shirer, William: The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
- Smil, Vaclav: Energies
- Steele Gordon, John: A Thread Across the Ocean
- Steinbeck, John: East of Eden
- Steinbeck, John: Of Mice and Men
- Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Return of the King
- Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Two Towers
- Volk, Tyler: Gaia's Body
- Swiss army knife
- shortwave radio
- digital camera
- non-stick 11" frying pan
- sharp knife
- siddur
- nalgene
- headlamp
- flashlight
- digital camera
- batteries (lots) and solar powered battery charger
- duct tape
- scissors
- umbrella
- raincoat
- various toiletries (razor blades, shampoo, soap, deoderant, shaving gel, suntan lotion, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrush, Gold Bond)
- anti-bug spray
- epoxy glue (it was on the list...not sure why but maybe one day it will be useful)
- pens and pencils
- notebooks
- 12 passport-sized photos
- ziplock bags
- tupperware
- handiwipes
- baseball cap and wide-brimmed hat
Thanks for reading! Come again soon!