A Re-evaluation

It’s been a while since the last blog. Internet is really hard to get over here. Sometimes I have to travel an hour to get to an Internet Café and only use the computer for 2 hours. That’s only once every two to three weeks. For those of you with easy internet access, be thankful!

It’s crazy to think that we have been in Ghana for nearly two months. The hours here seem to crawl by, but like other PCVs in the past have said, the week and months fly by. Getting older seems to make time go by faster and faster. At least it does for me. I can’t believe how much I’ve already learned and experienced in this short amount of time. I feel like before this I haven’t really been living. There are so many more issues in the world, than the latest Facebook update, or new style of clothing. Sorry everyone, I’m going to vent a little. Hopefully instead of getting offended, you will re-evaluate the things you may take for granted.

These are SOME of the MANY issues Ghanaians (and other developing countries face):

•     REALLY bad roads: The drivers here are not crazy or bad drivers. They just have terrible roads because they can’t get the funding for repair. Many of the “best” roads here are probably worst than the “worst” roads where you live
•     Trash: Trash is EVERYWHERE. You might ask: Why not throw it away? Because there is nowhere to put it! There are no garbage men here, and many communities do not have dumpsters or even trashcans. Other communities try to burn trash every few days, but then they run into the problem of releasing toxins in the air. So again, make sure you thank your local sanitation worker. You’re probably in better shape than half the world.
•     Water: Water here is really hard to come by. Some people have a pipe system or well outside their house, others have to travel a mile or more to get ONE bucket of water. Some communities are on a scheduled time frame and only a portion of the community has access to water at their house for a few weeks at a time before it rotates to the next.  On top of accessibility… some people have rivers and streams close to their house, but they can’t drink or bathe from it without a possibility of getting Guinea worm or schistosomiosis. If you don’t know what either of these are, look them up. They are something you never want to get!

I swear, if I read another Facebook status of someone complaining about how movie tickets were sold- out or that, you were late for work, or that your favorite team lost a game, I will “un-friend” you. Maybe it’s because I have been out of the loop for 2 months now, or because all of that is literally irrelevant in the bigger world issues. Anyway I’m tired of hearing about these silly complaints.

Whew! I feel a lot better now.