aripeskoe: Stop Calling Me Osama and Other Random Happenings

(living in ghana)

08 December 2006

Stop Calling Me Osama and Other Random Happenings

The other day I realized that every time I eat beans I am also eating bugs. This is unfortunate, but I'm still going to eat beans.

Beans are sold out of a giant 2-3 foot in diameter open-air bowl. Beans are bought by the cupful. One cup, measured with an old tin can, will last me a month or so. I have bought beans three times, and the last two times the bag of beans I brought home was filled with small insects. After the first time, I figured it was a fluke, so I threw it away. After the second time, I figured this is something I'm just going to have to deal with. I try to pick them out and rinse the beans, but the bugs are small, so I'm sure I'm missing some. And cooked beans that I buy from someone on the street for lunch surely have not been cleaned so well.

So I eat insects. I've eaten much much "worse" things in this country (poopsoup anyone?).

Because of my beard and light skin, I get called Jesus by random people on the street. I often find this amusing and sometimes I play along telling people in Twi that yes I am Jesus, and I have returned. I think they generally take this as a joke. So far I don't have masses of people following me around worshipping my shoes or anything.

Sometimes people also call me Osama, as in Osama bin Laden. I don't get the sense that he's popular here, but people have heard of him and apparently they know at least two things about him: 1 - he has lighter skin than they do and 2 - he has a beard. I don't find being called Osama amusing at all. I used to ignore it, but occasionally I'm in the mood to get angry at a random Ghanaian.

This was the case the other day when, walking down my very own street, a 20-something man said 'Osama' as I was walking by. Using a combination of English and Twi, I told him that what he was doing was wrong, and I told him my name is Kwabena. I started walking away and I again heard him say Osama. Now I got angry. I asked him if he spoke English (he did) and I again told him that what he was saying was wrong. I asked him if he knew who Osama bin Laden was (he did).

He then pointed to his 5-year old brother and said, "this is Osama. This small boy's name is Osama." Yikes. I was very apologetic and I tried to explain to him that sometimes people call me Osama because of my beard (so weird to be explaining this to a Ghanaian), and I don't like it. I don't remember this guy's name and I also couldn't pick him up out of a lineup, so now I'm extra friendly to any 20-something man that I see on my street.

The other day we had a teachers' meeting at school. I have only attended two other meetings, and both quickly deteriorated into discussions of salaries and other payments to teachers. The focus is usually on "extra classes money."

The school day technically goes from 7:15 to around 1:20, but in reality the last class of the day is over at 3:10. Classes between 1:20 and 3:10 are called "extra classes." In addition to tuition, uniform fee, computer fee, entertainment fee, student council fee, PTA fee, etc, there is a special 50,000 cedi fee per term for "extra classes." This money is then divided among all of the teachers at the end of each term. If every student in the school paid, each teacher would receive about 2.7 million cedis per year, or almost 300 dollars. But not every student pays, and some of the money is used for other purposes, such as transportation to funerals of relatives of teachers.

Because of the strike, the headmaster, with the support of the government, ruled that all extra classes money for the term would not go to the teachers. This announcement was made at a previous meeting, so the teachers should not have been surprised by it (but they were and they were angry). Compounding their anger was the fact that the Board and headmaster had decided to use the money to build toilets for the girls (currently there are not any and they share with the boys, I think). Teachers not only did not understand the importance of girls' toilets, they also took this as a severe insult. Hilarity ensued at the meeting and I typed up a letter (they can't type) that all of the teachers signed which was sent to the Board.

Killing a bug or any small living creature in my house is often a hard decision. If I kill a spider, will there be more flies? Are the lizards keeping the spiders in check? Whose making sure the ants don't eat my food (they do)? And will the frog really bring the snake? It's a delicate Darwinian balance. One exception is the cockroach. As far as I'm concerned, cockroaches, which live in my freakin' latrine, serve absolutely no useful purpose.

All of this life in my house keeps my cat busy. Watching him (now a confirmed male after I brought him to the government vet) chase around a frog is PBS nature show quality material. He doesn't have a killer instinct, but he likes to swat it, watch it run away, and then chase it down. It's a small frog, the body about the size of one my cat's paws. Watching my cat chase things is one of the many ways I pass the time.

¶ 1:06 PM

Comments:

Hey P
I am amazed at the things you go through on a daily basis. Did anyone else move into your since the strike ended? How much would it cost to buy a house in ghana? 300 dollars? It's almost worth it for 2 years. Think about it.
Where are your parent's staying for their trip to Ghana and what do you have planned for them? When the ghanians see your parents walking through the street are they going to call your dad G-D and your mom virgin mary? That would be awesome if that happens.
Alright sorry to hear you lost another peace corp person. How many usually make it through the 2 full years. Does anyone decide to stay there forever?
Yo and get a gecko. THey eat the cockroaches.

Ok have a good time with the fam.

Adler

# posted by

Anonymous : December 09, 2006 5:31 PM

p-

i had a firm holiday party the other night and as colleague of mine was hanging on another employee (in a drunken fit), i was reminded of the times that we used to "play" basketball together in frisch. ah, the good ol days.

be safe.

and please send regards to osama.

--uri

# posted by

Anonymous : December 14, 2006 3:37 PM

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