I have a feeling very few people actually know this but May
25th was African Union Day!!!! It is quite a big deal in Ghana and
many other parts of Africa. The Ghanaians are at the beach almost all day
celebrating with music and dancing. There are also crowds of people who jog
down the street and chant Ghanaian songs (quite an interesting sight actually).
It is a giant celebration and even the hospital had a slow day because people
were celebrating. We went to Labadi beach, which is about halfway between our
house and downtown Accra. There were tons of people there, all dancing or
simply running around like crazy. It was quite a sight. We also met some Rastafarian
artists who were selling amazing paintings. We next went to Osu to meet
Mitchell’s (my South African roommate) friends from his volunteer work in Ho (a
smaller city in the Volta region, northeast of Accra). The other volunteers
were 4 German girls who were spending 9 months to a year volunteering in Ghana
during a Gap year between high school and college. I find everybody I meet from
a different country has an amazing story.
Discovered
Breadfruit several days ago, as well as fan Ice, two delicious African treats.
Breadfruit is a ball of dough that has been fried, much like a donut but
without icing (and I dare say more delicious). They are only 50 peswes, or
about 30 cents USD, and can be bought all around Accra. Also Fan Ice is the
African form of Ice cream. It is basically just frozen chocolate milk that you
squeeze out of a bag (much like the clean water we get here). It tastes
delicious especially since anything cold is a precious commodity in Africa. I
don’t know whether I can help myself whenever I see either of these, so they
may become a staple of my diet.
We
managed to make it all over Accra several nights this week. I have been to Osu
(not ohio state university but like O-sue), as well Independence Square in the
heart of Accra, Tema Station, Jamestown, cantonments and Teshie. We had some
interesting experiences bouncing between spots (the Ghanaian saying for
somewhere to get food or a drink) in Accra. We got lost several times or did
not know when to get off the trotro, but the people of Ghana are so nice and
always willing to help a lost obroni. For instance, we were walking through a
neighborhood trying to find a specific spot but couldn’t find it. We asked a
man sitting in front of his house, but he didn’t know so he yelled to his
neighbor to ask him. His neighbor did not know either so he got on his phone
and called several friends to ask. Neither stopped until they had at least some
information for us. It is the same for trotro rides where you can ask anyone
where to get off and they will tell you or tell the driver. We asked a women
one day which trotro was heading to Jamestown. She told us and then when the
trotro arrived, she explained to the driver where we were going (in Twi) and
made sure he would help us to get off. It is often quite amazing the lengths
that Ghanaians will go to in order to be nice or helpful. Before you talk to
anyone it is difficult to understand this fact, because most people will just
stare at you. But once you start talking to them or asking questions you break
a barrier and they can’t help but be friendly and helpful.
Anyway
we also went to Tema station which is a madhouse of people selling things. We
bought some sugarcane (just pure sugarcane which is really good) and then
walked into Accra. We passed by the memorial to the first President, which is a
massive beautiful monument. We walked through Jamestown, which is the fishing
district of Accra. It is also incredibly poor and there was a makeshift
shantytown by the docks. Apparently the fisherman in the Gulf of Guinea are
overfishing and depleting the pool of fish. So they are forced to catch the
smaller younger fish instead of throwing them back, only exacerbating the
problem. Not only are they struggling now but just to hang on they are ruining
their hope for the future.
When I
have some more interesting stories from the hospital I will make another post;
probably around Wednesday or so. I will also try and get some of the pictures
my roommates took of Accra. Here are a few more Twi phrases.
Twi phrase: ete sen? How are you? (Greeting) This is the shorter version
Me
da ase. Thank you
Maaha Good Afternoon
