The first three months at site we are told to… “sit tight, get to know your community (or communities rather), start getting a better grasp for the language, assess your main project and see how you can truly help, get to know what the people in your community want from you and how you can help them prosper, etc…”

So the three months have started… yup… so daily I’ve been reading (probably more than I’ve read in the past two years), I’ve been watching TV (again probably more that I’ve watched in the past two years as well, and by TV I mean movies and TV shows on my external hard drive), I’ve been taking daily walks through my town trying to remember people I met from the day before (failing miserably), seeing where different bush paths take me (Togo border), hanging out with my land lady (who can’t stop laughing at me, guess the way I attempt to do anything is hysterical), and sleeping (again probably more than I ever have slept in the past two years). I never before have found it so hard to fill 10 – 12 hours in a day (rather back in the states I don’t feel that there is enough time in the day.)

I’m the first volunteer to serve in Kute… meaning NO ONE knows what to think of me. Yes they have seen white people before (many different NGO’s are making their way in and out of small rural communities), but my supervisor who has brought me to Kute isn’t from Kute and they don’t know who he is… (so I’m again not sure how I landed in this town)…

Being the first volunteer has its ups… yes the plus side of things is that I get to set the standard for the Peace Corps Volunteers to come, I get to figure things out, make all the impressions (hopefully good) and get the ball rolling for this town. The down side of things being… no one knows what to think of me, and knows what the Peace Corps is about. The expect me to hand them money –

Side note…

I was walking through town and I came across some ladies getting their hair done (common thing for the ladies to do). One lady greeted me, and then went back to speaking Ewe with the other ladies, and in my small understanding of the language I could grasp that they were talking about me (not really surprised as I feel like I’m the talk of the town – look at the Yevo, watch the Yevo, see where the Yevo is going, and what the Yevo is doing, etc.) but I looked at the lady and asked what they were saying about me, and she responds that they finally understand why I’m here… to bring them money, and they wanted to know when I would be handing out their share? - I didn’t bring money, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not here to help the towns economy in a small way – for starters I’ve been having furniture made (as there was nothing in my room) I’ve been buying food, water, traveling. I’m sure that my small contribution of money is in some way helping the economy of Kute. In time I’m sure I’ll be hitting the hair dresses (yes I fully intend to get my hair braided in corn rows) as well as the seamstress getting more dresses and skirts made. Not to mention that I’m hoping friends and family (hint hint) will be coming to visit adding in more of an economic bust to the town. It always makes me wonder that in Peace Corps was to withdraw from Ghana for instance, that would mean taking out 150ish volunteers, cutting out about 25 that are staffed full time in Ghana (Americans and Ghanaians) and meaning that friends and family from the states won’t be coming to visit… Peace Corps is in some ways helping economies in developing countries by just placing its volunteers.

Between good and bad, this is an exciting adventure… As it has been said to me “we may have sacrificed two years but we will not suffer in these two years.”