| Monday, June 26, 2006 |
| Aaaah, Kpandai |
So I finally got an email from the current intern in Kpandai, Reny, and here's what she had to say about the town and the livin':
1) It's her home away from home as she's been there before the internship
2) No internet access but everyone has mobile phones- she gave me her number- so I'll be able to chitter chatter to y'alls too!
3) All there's to eat there is rice and fried eggs. In mango season you can eat mangoes off the trees.
4) She lives with a host family right now, but she has heard that SEND rented the house beside hers for the new intern (aka ME) and the Project officer. She also notes that it might be nicer because then you can cook your own food.
5) That the intern before her did a baseline survey among rural youth, and she's doing a baseline survey with schools, both on reproductive health. So I am either synthesizing both surveys and coming up with results, or I am doing my own survey with credit union members. Either way, she didn't get her job until about a month on the job.
6) Every two or three weekends she goes to Tamale to check her email, get money and chillax in the big city.
7) The weather there is more like the southern regions (hot but moist), than the drier northern savannah
8) Not much to do in the evenings, but like other places she does her hobbies (guitar), plays with her 'sisters' and hangs out with friends.
9) She did get a rabies shot, but not because she was going to Kpandai- she was wanting to volunteer with a group that worked with animals.
So, all in all I am feeling little less rattled about going to Kpandai. It's nice to know a little bit about it. Next queries on my list will be packing, finances, and travel to other countries.....
So my weekend was jam packed with excitement- and no work on revisions (meh)....
Friday night I hung out with Pinkie, Fluff, Pape and her cousin at Amigo's where I had the best margaritas EVER and some Nachos Grande.
Saturday I cleaned like a m0-fo cause my house was getting on my nerves. I then squeezed in a tan, some gossiping time with Jackie, and a quick nap before I partook of the infamous 8th Street Pubcrawl with Squeelers and some of her peeps. Pretty good times, I got pretty boozed.
Pape met us at Whiskey Jacks, and we headed to Jax where the cougars were out in full force....it was friggin great!
Sunday I was hurting, and had to walk a few blocks to get my car. Then did nine holes out at Warman with Bek, her mom in law and another lady. My game is hurting too, need to work on that.
Some exciting news this week: my friend Danno and his wife Nara are home for a couple weeks. They currently live in New Zealand and I haven't seen them in 2 years. Good times ahead! |
posted by angelina @ 8:32 AM  |
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| Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
| You may call me Master |
I passed my defense with minor revisions! The night before D-day I was totally stressed that I was going to be unprepared, and whenever someone would call to give me the standard 'good luck although you don't need it' phone call, I would start to cry. I was such a fusspot.
But as everyone else before has said about the ordeal, it really isn't as bad as you make it out to be. I prepared enough, and I think I competently answered the questions. I was called a pioneer by the 'Co-op Wizard' as I like to call him, because I looked at co-ops in a new way, took on an ambitious data collection project that wasn't warranted for a Masters' degree, and tacked a big question for co-ops now, membership. So that felt pretty sweet. Apparently as my supervisor told me, the co-op peeps want me to publish my results, and in the future, consider doing a PhD on this stuff. Not bad at all!
What made the whole thing easier was the fact that I have such awesome friends who came at 9 am to sit through 2 and a half hours of co-op talk, and my Mommy came too! So props out to Squeelers, Steviekins, Carl Carlson, Paaaape, Mummy, Zurocosa, Pinkie and Pamela for comin out. It meant a lot to me and I almost started crying over that.
I had what could be one of my last meetings with my supervisor, as she is leaving on sabbatical next week for New Zealand and won't be back until December (when I'll be gone). So that started the tears again.
Then, Stevie, Carlson, Squeeler and Pape went with me for lunch, and after Carlson gave me a 300 GB external hard drive as a present for defending and my birthday. Well that made me cry, torrential downpours for real. Cause that's way above and beyond the call of duty for a friend. He said he's never seen anyone get so emotional over a hard drive. I told him that it was too bad that porn was illegal in Ghana.
I had a good afternoon with Squeelers, runnin around gift buyin and such. Then Pamela came to my house and gave me the nicest journal and some super nice smelling lotions. Sweeeet.
The evening was a gong show. It was Carlson's b-day as well we all took off to O'sheas- the shooters were free flowing and of a wide variety. I had a liquor bomb in my stomach at the end of the night. We ended the evening by loading a bunch of peeps in the truck- hillbilly style, for real, and going on the neverending search for food. Struck out on chicken wings at the 7-11 so we ended up at Mac-D's. The sayings of the night: 'I would like a double quarter pounder.......and a 10 piece chicken nugget meal...AND You stole my fries!'
This morning I was a HURTING UNIT, but the magical elixr that shall be called Powerade, and ibuprofen soon made me feel much better. My aunts took me out for lunch at the Asian garden, and I ended up going to work in Muenster in the afternoon. Tonight my dad made me burgers and my granny made me my favorite cake- chocolate with lemon pudding icing. But then my mom came home and she bought me three different kinds of bar cakes. Diabetes anyone?
All in all, a good birthday! |
| posted by angelina @ 8:35 PM |
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| Saturday, June 17, 2006 |
| A word of advice.... |
When you're in the midst of your degree, save EVERYTHING you ever do, even if it bogs down your computer. Somewhere in the span of a year I've missplaced my final colloquium presentation. I can't find it, or my paper notes from that day. Bloody hell! That pisses me off- now I have to base my defense presentation off of an old conference presentation which makes for more work. Blah!
On another note, why is it that people are alarmed when I tell them I am not watching the Stanley Cup playoffs, and that I don't really care who wins? I don't like hockey, just because a Western Canadian team is in the playoffs, doesn't mean I am going to turn into a fan overnight. The game is boring, and you can't see the players' faces. I find soccer a tad on the boring side too, but at least you can check the dudes out when they pan in! tee hee! Viva World Cup! |
| posted by angelina @ 4:52 PM |
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| Friday, June 16, 2006 |
| Days till defense-5...time spent preparing-0 |
What can I say, I am not the model grad student. I haven't looked at my thesis since I left for England and my defense is next Wednesday. This week was a total blow-off. It's kind of hard to force myself to read the thesis when I've been writing/reading gender stuff all day. Well not exactly all day, there was time in there to read my news, and look at World Cup stuff!
Nicky's co-workers invited me up to Saskatoon on Wednesday night for a celebratory dinner for her wedding. I was quite pleased to see that I surprised her- they didn't tell her I was coming, haha. It was at the Keg, which is now tied with Red Lobster and Otowa House for my most favorite restaurants in Saskatoon. The grilled top sirloin is ORGASMIC- if you're a carnivore, you'll love it! Everyone also chipped in and got Nicky her whole bathroom set. All in all, a very nice evening!
Last night I was happy to see that a parcel arrived for me from the United States- my corset!! I only bought it off ebay last week, so talk about service! I immediately cruised out to the farm to see my Granny who has graciously offered to alter my bridesmaid dress. The downside to the corset though is that the clasps that go down the front kind of show through the dress front- so Grandma is going to change those with smaller ones for me. But overall it does the job. It sucks me in and smooths me out. I am gonna look haaawt! lol
Tonight I am attending a friend's candle party- but I don't know if I'll buy anything- there's no point to it really if I'm leaving in a couple months. We'll see...they might have a new scent that will tickle my fancy, or I might feel a little guilty. Then tomorrow, the only time I am leaving my house is to go with my mom to buy my birthday present- a brand new digital camera!
But the focus of the weekend is DE-fense DE-fense DE-fense!!!!! Don't bug me- I won't need the temptation! |
| posted by angelina @ 9:29 AM |
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| Tuesday, June 13, 2006 |
| Drowning in apathy |
I've always wondered why I beak myself because I feel like I should feel/act a certain way. It goes something like this:
You should feel more nervous about your thesis defense, it's in eight days.
You should be more excited about your trip, it's a big thing.
You should call people more often, pretty soon you're going to be gone.
You should (fill in blank)....
My response to myself: Meh
I just don't care right now. I guess I'll get more motivated in due time. I think part of it is because I'm sooooooo bored! And it becomes cyclical....a good way to explain it is that if I am busy I get much more done, if I'm not busy I have a harder time getting anything accomplished.
But one thing that got a rise out of me last night was that Wife Swap show. It's embarassing to say, but I am a huge fan! Anyeay, the basic premise of the show is: find two women who are polar opposites, and have them move into each others' homes. The first week, they abide by the rules of the household they are in, the next week they make their own rules and the household has to abide by them. In TV Land, at the end of the show both wives have something to teach the family of the other wife, and everyone lives happily ever after. Last night, they swapped a very Christian farmwife who raised llamas with a party-wife from New York. That makes for some first class entertainment! Another episode that I remember fondly swapped the wife of a freakshow/street performer with the wife of a promotions exec. The sparks flew on that one! AHAHA! There was also the one where they swapped a woman who was a very successful and career-oriented real estate agent, with a stay-at-home (and may I add, psycho) mom that had 6 kids whom she home schooled due to safety reasons. I can't wait to see who they profile next week.... |
| posted by angelina @ 10:23 AM |
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| Monday, June 12, 2006 |
| My guns hurt real bad! |
I think I'm done with needles for a while. Over Friday and Monday I've had eight needles in total. Tetanus/pertussis, measles/mumps/diptheria, hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, typhoid, polio, meningitis and a tuberculosis test. The one I got in my upper arm this morning makes it feel like someone just up and sucker punched me. And I've noticed that I reacted to the yellow fever and tetanus shots- I have red, itchy welts on the backs of my arms where they stuck the needle. Ugh...but I have decided that I am not going to worry about rabies shots. It is a relief not to have to spend the money on that!
This weekend was crazy but good! Rat/cat/dog sitting again, Nicky's stagette (I was boozed, and it was good times), and Sharm/Jana's wedding/baby shower. Lots of good food, and the best angel food cake I've ever had! Also lots of running around, visiting, and tanning.
I don't know what's wrong with me, but today I am super bored, and instead of working (as I should be), I am not motivated to start it. Ah well, that is what tonight is for, I always work better at night. |
| posted by angelina @ 3:24 PM |
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| Friday, June 09, 2006 |
| Sometimes it pays to be a beatch |
| After I sent an email to the public relations lady for the Saskatoon Health Region, I recieved another phone call from the International Travel Clinic, telling me that they have been notified of my issues. They then proceeded to tell me that they do indeed have another storage facility, and to have them go look for my records, it would cost me 8 dollars. I felt like telling her, well I'll just take that off of the long distance charges I racked up calling all those different offices! but having calmed down I just told her it didn't matter. So, we pieced together my vaccination history, and I have to get new boosters for everything anyway, except I may be able to get out of getting rabies shots, but I had to promise that I woudn't go spelunking or try and pet any strange dogs. I'm getting about five shots today, at least that's what I was told. By the end of the summer I am going to be invincible! No disease will touch me! |
| posted by angelina @ 9:35 AM |
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| Wednesday, June 07, 2006 |
| Full of the Rage! (and it's not even noon yet) |
So, get a load of this.
Before I move to Ghana, I need to get a shitload of vaccinations for stuff like hepatitis, yellow fever, maybe rabies, and so on and so forth.
I made an appointment with the International Travel Clinic for Friday to get the ball rollin', because before you know it, it'll be September and I'll be saying sayonara!
So I made the appointment with the Clinic, and then the receptionist told me that I had to make arrangements to fax them my health records. I attended school in the same place for the whole of my formative years, the booming metropolis of Viscount, so they referred me to the Humboldt office. (Keep in mind these offices are in the same health region)
I contacted the Humboldt office, who then told me that they didn't have my records and that I should contact the Lanigan office. When I spoke to Lanigan, they told me that they sent their records to Humboldt, and if Humboldt didn't have my records, then I should contact the Saskatoon office.
I contacted the main office in Saskatoon, who then told me that they sent their records to the International Travel Clinic. And when I called the InternationalTravel Clinic again, they searched their records, couldn't find me, and told me to contact Humboldt to double check.
I called Humboldt again to double check, they did and couldn't find me, and then said to contact the main office again. I did, and they immediately transferred me to the International Travel Clinic without speaking to me.
What the fuck! Why am I contacting offices IN THE SAME HEALTH REGION who should, in my opinion, have their records consolidated? Again, to underscore my rage, WHY ARE MY RECORDS LOST among offices IN THE SAME HEALTH REGION, and WHY AM I CONTACTING THEM!?!?!?!
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
So, I looked on the Saskatoon Health Region website and got the email of the public relations representative, and she got an earful. Well I guess it would be an eyeful because I emailed her- I am way beyond talking to anyone anymore in a civil tone. |
| posted by angelina @ 10:06 AM |
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| Tuesday, June 06, 2006 |
| Just Friends |
Last night I watched ‘Just Friends’ with my Dad and Brother, and almost wet my pants! If you don’t know the just of the story, the main character (played by Ryan Reynolds) leaves his hometown fat and socially awkward and smitten with a girl who considers him just a friend. He arrives back in town ten years later, a Hollywood success, thin and a hit with the ladies, and eventually gets his girl. There are some very hi-larious fights with his younger brother, and his rock star client that is a little psycho, who also ends up in his hometown with him.
But, it also opened up a whole can of worms. Being ample of both mind and body, I started to analyze the hidden assumptions/stereotypes about fat people that came through in the show (I did the same thing when Shallow Hal came out, which I will never watch again, nor will I ever be a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow’s). Here when the main character was fat, he was socially awkward, ridiculed by his classmates, and not attractive enough to land the girl. When he comes back to his home town ten years later, he’s thin, suave, confident with himself, and he gets the girl.
And this is something that hits a nerve with me- it is perhaps my biggest nerve, so to speak. I know that some people think- relax, it’s just a show, it isn’t real. The problem is- it isn’t just a show! Theatre and arts (including movies) are a good barometer of the social environment at any given time and often serve to reinforce the social attitudes that we ‘ought’ to have. Back in the 20’s and 30’s white men would do blackface routines and that was perfectly fine. That would never float today- in the 90’s Ted Danson did blackface for Whoopi Goldberg’s Friar’s Club Roast and he received a lot of flack for it, and rightfully so. Discrimination is discrimination, anyway you cut it. To me movies like Just Friends, are still promoting discrimination only now it’s based on size.
And it makes me wonder how people view me....if these shows are highlighting how fat people should be viewed and treated. Do strangers look at me and assume that all I do is eat and sit on my hump? That I am a blubbering fool who won't succeed? Do guys look at me and see me as ugly? If guys get to know me, and I immediatly put on the 'just friends' list? If a guy is indeed attracted to me, would he be too embarrased to approach me because of what his friends and peers might say or think?
Most of the time I just say, to hell with the lot, if this is really the case, people are losing out on how good of a person I really am, and I know I'm awesome! But sometimes when it feels like the whole world holds that opinion, and that's all I see on tv, it's really hard to make it feel credible. |
| posted by angelina @ 12:32 PM |
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| Monday, June 05, 2006 |
| Action! List! |
Through the wonders of blogging, Fanger and Fluff have introduced me to the greatness that is Found Magazine. This site is so friggin funny! ahahaha! I can see how Fluff got addicted to looking for shit on the sidewalk...
Check the site out if you have about three hours to spare. I am warning you, it is pure brain candy. And it doesn't get old! |
| posted by angelina @ 12:20 PM |
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| Sunday, June 04, 2006 |
| The things I learned in England |
1. It pays to figure out as soon as possible to look the opposite way that you're used to when crossing the street. It'll prevent altercations with buses, and perhaps save your life.
2. Beer is cheap. Very cheap. So is the cider. And good!
3. Never tip the cabby, bartenders and barmaids. It might be mistaken for attraction to said person.
4. KFC's in England are aplenty, but they don't do gravy, biscuits or coleslaw. If you like baked beans however, you're in luck!
5. To give the finger in England, extend both your index finger and your middle finger into a v.
6. A'ight then? is how you say 'how are you doing?' in the familiar sense.
7. Mind the gap, mind the gap, mind the gap.....fuck the gap!
8. If you ate a full English breakfast every day you might end up needing a bypass operation or at the very least, some laxatives.
9. South Africans drink a lot. And never bug one about his mother.
10. That apparently, people from Saskatchewan like to party 'redneck style'....
11. You can indeed walk enough in a day your feet throb and your hips ache!
I had some unreal times in England, too much fun to type out right now! When I get my poop in a group I'll post a website link for my pics. And I'll be boring you all about the awesomeness of Rochdale for a while! |
| posted by angelina @ 8:20 PM |
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| Me, Myself, and I |
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Alias: angelina
Where I'm at: Kpandai, Northern Region, Ghana
In 500 words or less: I am now done my schoolin' and you may all call me Master! I'm currently livin it up in a small town in Northern Ghana, and it's a blast being the only 'obruni' (white) in town!
Step into my mind, if you dare
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