A Home??

August 12 marked the transition from trainee to volunteer. Thats right folks, I am now a volunteer. No longer haunting the southern half of Ghana as an "obroni," I now stalk the streets in Northern Ghana as a Salimiiga (spelling?). It means the same thing but it is harder for small children to say and endlessly repeat over and over again.

After a small time in temporary housing, my permanent house is now vacant and I get to begin the moving in process. I hope to get everything unpacked within the week and begin the process of trying to figure out how to get a couch and then move said couch to my place. I am, however, really excited about the pillow and full size bed that I have inherited.

The only true down side to my new place is the varied and close proximity of loud speakers for the call to prayer. Lately the call to prayer at 2am has bled into the call to prayer at 4am. Pre-recorded sermons play throughout the morning. But gosh darn it....if I can tune out a train and college kids in Flagstaff I can tune this out or at least incorporate it into my dreams and have some crazy Dagbani/Muslim influenced dreams.

My local supervisor is pretty cool. My local counterpart is out of town until the 9th. I a in idle until then. I plan to master the market and make friends with some of the vendors. My mission is to find the lady that sells the best tomatoes, yams, oranges, and onion. They may be all different vendors, but I will find them.

It rained the other day and I was able to fill my newly acquired rain barrel. Its yellow, and probably at one point held palm oil, but it locks and its mine! Dry season will be tough, but I am taking advantage of the rain while I can. The rain also cools down the world significantly, the locals say they are freezing, I say I am in heaven...an 80 degree heaven!