3 October 2009

It’s-almost-over-and-done-with-lists

Eleven things I’m going to miss

1. The daily view on many palm trees, the beautiful jungle around the village and the view of the hills around Adamorobe.
2. Never being cold
3. Sitting outside in the cool evening air underneath a starry sky without light pollution
4. Fufu, banku, kenkey, ampesi and ‘red-red’: the local dishes
5. The absolute mixture of all ages: the eldest until the smallest shrimps, all mingled together, in every corner of this village
6. The goats, cats, sheep, dogs and chickens scratching around everywhere, performing ‘the deed’ and, unfortunately, leave behind their droppings
7. Not seeing my budget shrink that fast
8. Fooling around with the Adamorobe deaf
9. The written conversations about Adamorobe’s history and culture with my hearing research assistant
10. Dedicating my full attention to my research and not being aware of what’s happening in the rest of the world
11. The kick I still fell every day during interesting conversations or interesting situations, basically every piece of the puzzle that will contribute to my PhD-thesis

Eleven things I’m not going to miss

1. Being ripped off, getting no (!) or not enough change because I’m white and am seen as a walking wallet for everything ranging from food, education, medical expenses, a car up until a flight; while there are people in this village – with car and/or big house – who are definitely more wealthy than I am.
2. That people try to pry all my personal belongings from me, going from my clothes up until my backpack, my flashlight and my cell phone, and the argument that I can’t go and walk around naked in the UK does not matter, because at home I have – in their eyes – heaps of cell phones, clothes, back packs and flashlights, don’t I?
3. That the deaf keep wanting more and more in exchange for my research: getting a finger and taking a hand, but really wanting an arm
4. Being seen as potential partner in marriage or just a freaky bed partner by men of all ages who are offended when I turn them down and don’t agree with my argument of not being single, because “he can’t see what you’re doing here, anyway” and carry on thinking that I don’t want black men and hence I’m actually a racist
5. The fact that in a village where everyone lives outside, every movement you make is closely monitored, and without exception is surely commented on and criticized behind your back
6. The constant – and I truly mean constant – gossiping and putting each other down in the village life slowly tends to disgust – ‘that one is bad’, ‘that one is a hypocrite’ and ‘that one is stingy’ seem like frequently used expressions, embedded in their vocabulary
7. Straightforward Africa: the burning sun that sometimes tends to lower your energy levels while you’re conducting your research for about 12 to 14 hours a day
8. The dust that gets on, under and in everything
9. Mice, spiders, ants and cockroaches that ALSO get on and under everything, crap and munch on everything and even have the guts to come and pay me visits in my bed
10. Always seeing the same people
11. Forcing myself every day to get up and at finishing my field notes, which takes me about 2 to 3 hours

Eleven things I look forward to

1. Anonymity
2. Privacy
3. Going to a pub or a restaurant with my friends
4. Going through my research results – of which I am very pleased I might add – with my promoter
5. Seeing HIM again in November
6. Using a different sign language than AdaSL
7. The amount of choice in the supermarket
8. Wearing something with long sleeves and sleeping under a cozy, comfy thick blanket
9. Easy internet access and being able to send e-mails all day long
10. Getting behind the stove and cooking myself, being able to choose from more ingredients than tomatoes, fish and rice
11. And ESPECIALLY: having something else on my mind than Adamorobe and my research

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