At the moment I'm blogging in a really cool little internet lounge called Venus. Its owned by a Lebanese guy, and its got couches and little tables, PROPER coffee and free wireless internet! Hooray! Only I think I shall leave smelling like a giant cigarette as everbody is smoking in here...small sacrifice though. I was starting to think my blogs were going to become few and far between, but I've been saved. A girl from my office, another Cat (hehe) from Canada, has been here for ages and knows all the cool things to do in and around Accra (which, I discovered, is pronounced Ak-raa), and for that I'm grateful. We left the office about half past 12 for our lunch break and, uh, havn't gone back. All in the name of research though. We're going to put together some sort of story, to placate our editor. We hope....
So anyway, I arrived here on Sunday night and have pretty much spent the whole time feeling pretty miserable. Missing Stu and my mum and dad like mad, its incredibly hot and the city is insanely busy and dirty. Think open sewers dirty...yeah. We have to get to our placements via tro-tro's, which are like our Metro buses, only more like minivans. I have 2 tro stops to get to and from my house, which is in a suburb called Roman Ridge. The house itself is ok, just ok. Currently we have no running water, so my housemate Charlotte (a Brit, who like me is also new), and I are mastering the art of the bucket shower. According to the other volunteers we've met, the taps don't work in the places they live either, so we're all in this 'bucket shower' thing together (please don't read literally into that... :) Basically you have a couple of big buckets of warm (or cold) water, and a smaller bucket which you use to pour the water over yourself. Its surprisingly effective, though alot of faffing around. I've managed to wash my hair once. Woohoo!
Its also really, really hard to sleep. The jet lag has seen me waking up super early, unable to get back to sleep, and fighting sleep in the day time because my body just wants to rest. The time difference is 10 hours, I'm sure I'll adjust soon but I might get some sleeping tablets, because I'm really over being wide awake at 4 o'clock in the morning, sweltering and tangled in my mosquito net :/
The Daily Guide, which is hosting me for my placement, is a really nice place. I'll get some photos and post them soon. We have air-con (mercifully) though it makes you feel like your walking into a sauna when you step outside. My editor is called Gomda (I keep thinking Gollum...) and he's pretty relaxed about things. At the moment I'm just gathering ideas for stories and tagging along with some of the other reporters to conferences etc. I went to the Ghana Stock Exchange yesterday, which wasn't as boring as it sounds. I took notes! Its also slightly bemusing being the only white person in a room ;)
The slang term here for white people is obruni. The other Cat is Chinese Canadian, so she gets called Ching-Chong and so forth. Another term is 'white monkey,' though obruni is the most common thing you hear shouted at you from tros and in the street. To be honest I havn't taken any notice, so I havn't gotten offended. Basically because the first few days here have been so completely overwhelming and intense, with so much to take in its just crazy. I had my Projects Abroad induction on Monday, where they show you the route to and from the office only once. After that, your on your own. Its freaky and scary, but they speak English here so you just have to ask. I'm used to it now, amazingly it didn't take long as I'm terrible with directions. The tros will take a little longer to get used to, and the Ghanaian taxi driver's and tro operators take great delight in ripping you off, so you have to be prepared to bargain, mostly in taxi's. Its pretty cheap here, but its the principle of the thing!
Charlotte and I have plans to go places on weekends, which will be good because hopefully it will occupy me and I won't be tempted to cry from missing Stu and home :( I just hope this time goes quickly (til he arrives) but that I'll enjoy it, and be able to show him the really good stuff about Ghana. Accra is a heady mix of people, some parts of it are incredibly wealthy just as others are similarly poor. I've sussed out (with help from others!) some places that have great ice cream (that won't poison you), chocolate, coffee, food, atmosphere and internet. I could murder someone for a cup of tea though. I can't wait to get out of Accra and visit the Cape Coast and Elmina to see the slave forts, and plans are afoot next weekend to visit an area called the Volta. I'll be ok. I just have to keep busy. Bring on the 25th, when Stu arrives. Hooray!
Keep posting comments or emails, its really nice to hear from you guys :) I hope everything is going well back at home. Love to you all, wish me luck!
Hey hun, sounds like its a pretty intense experience! It sounds you get to see the real Ghana (bucket showers and all). So do you actually like the place? Its a bit hard to tell :). Luv the posts, it makes me wish I was travelling again too! Eat lots of icecream for me. Billie
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