Crocodile eyes

Thanks to Jenny for searching! All leads are helpful.

And thanks to Lynda! Um ... let me think about where to send $$. Maybe to my friend Susan who is handling all my money - if money were deposited there, I could then withdraw with my debit card in Accra and deposit into PCO's account on camp. Stay tuned on that ... I'm hoping to get a "donations" button on the website soon if we can figure out how to allow credit cards. All this takes so long since our internet access is so limited - one real internet cafe on camp, with very slow access and a gazillion other things to do during the day when it's open. I'll talk to Emmanuel and will try to figure things out. Also, PCO is registered as a non-profit in Ghana, so I think the donations are tax-deductible, so I'd want a paper trail for that.

Here's the seeking for funding now. Joseph and I went over bare bones start-up inventory costs - one pencil each for the students, one piece of chalk per teacher per week, chalkboards, etc. - and it came to about $600. Teacher salaries will be either $125,000 cedis or $250,000 cedis (we're negotiating - and there will be about 11 teachers) - and there are $9,000 cedis per dollar, so what is that - around $20/month per teacher? Which is ... well, here's the scoop on that. The teacher pay rate on camp is $250,000, but a big bag of rice is over $300,000. So even if we can somehow get enough funding to pay that much, it's still charity work really. Samuel, the finance director, says we can't pay that much. I dunno. Discussions continue. Morris will be talking to an architect about how to build a school for real to get us the heck out of a church sanctuary with those classroom management nightmares and I'm just guessing around $12,000.

OK, on a less urgent note - I just saw crocodile eyes! Gillian and Cathy and I took off this morning and went west and then north to Kakum National Park. WE went on this really cool canopy walk - suspended bridges over the canopy of the rain forest - about 100 feet high. Such biodiversity! Very cool! Then our guide Robert took us on further hike through the forest talking about medicinal plants and other cool stuff and I saw black and white colobus. Now we're pampering ourselves by staying at a Hans Cottage Botel (and I just learned that this internet cafe costs $10,000 cedis per half hour so I'll hurry up faster now) which is quite cute and clean and the restaurant is above this pond which houses crocodiles. I just had a gin and sprite and a good dinner (love those fried plantains!) and will enjoy my room with a fan and a flushing toilet and soap - such luxury! For $12.50! Which seems like a ton of money to me now, but I'll live. Tomorrow we'll go back to the park, and then back to Awutu (where our house is). The tro-tro ride here was nice actually - mellow and not overcrowded and not too many exhaust fumes and only $14,000 cedis. I'm pretty good at negotiation and don't get overwhelmed with all the shouting at me. And the view was incredible - we went down along the ocean and saw some of the forts/castles where slavers held their captives. I'll come back to visit there. Though next week, I think we'll go to Lake Volta.

By the way, if anybody needs to call me - I can give Emmanuel's number and receive calls without it costing PCO, so just email me and I'll tell you what that number is.

So, a nice little weekend jaunt and then back to the camp on Monday.

This ties into a rough meeting Friday morning - a finance meeting that lasted hours and involved some upset. It all started when Samuel introduced a salary schedule - he wanted to not say what people would be making and they would find out when they got paid at the end of the month, and I disagreed. I said that if PCO keeps such secrets now it will only lead to problems later. They've all been volunteering with no pay for over two years, and I think finding a way to pay for all their work is very important - but I also think it needs to be done right. And I still don't think that I was wrong for suggesting that, but the brouhaha that broke out was unpleasant for all. But still good, to get things out on the table. Nobody would be making any more than $30/month, which is a frustration but not the only one. Things are cheaper here, but not close to free for damn sure.

Anyway, as I said then, I still think it was a very good meeting to start honestly and clearly discussing such things before resentment builds. Then I taught the adult literacy class and had a really good day. I just cannot articulate how hard it is for me to see all these women who are old enough to be my mother or grandmother who cannot read. Who struggle over reading, "What is your name?" But they are eager and we're getting into a groove already. The books I mailed which were donated by mostly Sierra friends have not arrived yet, but I did find some others that somebody else had sent and used those and it went well. Then I was supposed to meet Emmanuel back at home but he was late and I was glad because we were both so fried, so we kind of avoided each other until this morning. I washed clothes (of course by hand!) and cleaned and stuff - the camp work is so hard emotionally and mentally so I just wanted a physical release. Fred helped me take down these tacky musty curtains and I'll replace them with some cool African cloth, and I'm even fantasizing of painting the room. As long as I'm here I might as well make my surroundings prettier. (And yes Jenny, we totally miss your painting touch!) I fantasize of starting a garden, but that might be too much. Emmanuel and I talked about having one with the new school - teaching agriculture is really important in the repatriation process - but it's all pipe dream.

Anyway, I think I'm ready to cruise past the crocodiles again and then enjoy some electric light and read some more Liberian history (Christine has a nice library of books on the subject). I can't believe it was only a week ago that I left the states - seems like ages. Things feel normal here in many ways, though I am really fond of flushing toilets and no amount of cultural adaptation is going to change that.