Africa - Week 12 - Accra Adventures

Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 1:01pm

Dear Friends,

Hello and how are you? In 2 days I will have been in Ghana for 3 months and only have 2 more months to be here. This has been the most incredible and life changing experience of my life and I am grateful for all of it. I have come to love this place and the people here more than I thought I could. I daresay I will agree with the statement that Ghanaians are the most friendly people in the world. I’ve not been all over the world yet but I think they have set the standards pretty high. There have been frustrating moments mostly due to cultural differences and misunderstandings but those moments are far outweighed by many more moments of understandings and connections. There are few things I love more connecting with people through conversation. It is something I value above most other things and I have been blessed to have made some great friends here.

Classes will go for about another 2 ½ weeks before we have to write exams. There is a ‘revision week’ at the end of April which appears to consist of the professors prepping us for the exams. I can’t believe we only have a couple  more weeks of classes before finals!! Feels like we are only about half way through. In May we will write our exams and I imagine they are going to fairly difficult. For reasons nearly beyond my understanding, they have spread the finals out over the whole month. My exam schedule, barring any changes, has me taking exams on the 5th, 16th, 17th, 19th, and 27th. I can’t fathom why they would spread them out over such a long period and not take them within a week, maybe 2. Part of the reason, I think, is space. For exams they like to spread you out in a large room to prevent cheating, which is ironic because I’ve seen and heard people cheating in nearly every exam I’ve taken and it doesn’t seem to be addressed even when the person is speaking loud enough for the half a dozen TA’s to hear. It boggles the mind. Also, quizzes are rarely taken during your regularly scheduled class time. I’ve had a quiz on Sat. morning. Again, they seem to do this so they can use the venues they deem worthy or spacious enough to accommodate the group.

I’ve taken several tests here and I still don’t know how to determine they grade here except that they are pretty tough. I don’t understand how they grade or maybe why they would choose to nitpick about spelling or grammar as opposed to content and ideas. It seems ridiculous to me and frustrating, probably because that is something that we don’t put much value on at home. It just seems that if you have the idea and are correct about it then something seemingly minor such as where you put your comma or if you wrote can’t instead of cannot ought not to be so significant. That is to say some of the grades I’ve gotten on quizzes have been disappointing and frustrating. Of course, I accept that I can always study harder but its so hard to do when you really have no idea what they are actually grading. They grade very tough here.

I don’t know much about grading on a bell curve but that is something they do here I guess. In hearing from the professor who is here from MI, the first faculty meeting they had involved the faculty sitting around discussing how many people should get A’s or B’s and such. Wow!! Wow!! Wow!! I don’t know how you can grade that way and be successful. If someone earns an A, they should be graded accordingly. Similarly, if they get an E, (their F here) then that is the grade they get, but to give someone a grade based on what you think is entirely unacceptable to my mind. I don’t understand why on earth you would do that. Now, I’m not sure how much truth is in that or how practically it is applied but I wonder if that has something to do with the grades here. As I say, I can certainly try harder and I will but I don’t have much confidence in this system at this point.

School has been a constant challenge, as you might guess. Just when I think I’ve got something figured out, I discover something new that totally reverses whatever I just learned or thought I learned. I feel we have been ill-prepared for the practical aspects of school here by the international center. Nearly everything we have learned has been the hard way and I feel some of this frustration could have been avoided with some actually helpful orientation sessions.

But lectures are just one aspect of my time here, albeit a large one. I enjoy the content of my classes a great deal and have learned so much about the culture here. Course, just being here is a study in culture, but taking classes on Ghanaian culture just explain that much more. There’s always more to learn and I’m trying to absorb as much as possible.

I had hoped to be able to do some volunteer work during my time here but that is not something I have been able to work out. My interests are in human rights issues and those NGO’s or other organizations are more difficult to find, at least for me, than are the ones involving teaching or medical work or agriculture work. I have met a few people doing work with human rights and I’ll make some inquiries about those organizations. Even though I had hoped to do some volunteer work, I have been kept sufficiently busy with classes and traveling.

On Friday, the 25th, a group of us went to a play on campus. They do plays every weekend and this is the first one I went to. They did 2 plays. The first one was a more traditional one dealing with a couple and the woman couldn’t get pregnant by her husband so she ended up seducing, shall we say, his brother. It was an interesting one and I missed a lot of what was going on due to language and cultural differences. Still, it was interesting and well acted. The second one was more modern and pretty funny. It took place in a hospital waiting room. There were several characters from different backgrounds who came in and were waiting to see the doctor. There was a construction worker, a banker I think, a woman who looked a bit like she might be a prostitute, a politician, a prisoner and his warden, and then a high-up government official. It was a play about how money or power influence how long you wait for the dr. and what happens when you try to jump the queue. It was pretty funny and I liked that one more than the first one.

Then on Saturday, they had a basketball tournament between some local universities out on the court in front of our hall. I ended up going down and watching several games. It was a lot of fun. Each team played each other team in a round robin sort of arrangement I guess. The tournament or competition was sponsored by Tigo, a local phone company, so everything from the tents to sit under to the ‘commercials’ on the PA were Tigo. It was overkill African style I’d say. There were banners hanging from the balconies of the dorms, t-shirts galore, every announcement seemed to be about Tigo and the various benefits of their company. It was a nonstop onslaught of Tigo propaganda when you were trying to watch basketball. The games were fun and it was a nice change from watching football/soccer all the time. I like soccer but I understand basketball more. The UCC team didn’t do very well but it was still fun to watch. I must have watched 6 games. The championship game was really good!!! It was a close game and so fast-paced!! It was a great way to spend a Saturday that you didn’t have any plans for.

That Sunday I babysat Elle, professor Stabler’s daughter. They went with a small group to take a canoe ride from Cape Coast castle to Elmina castle and back. I didn’t want to go so I stayed and watched Elle. She is 3 years old and so smart. She picks up on things that I wouldn’t think a 3 yr old would pick up on and she has a pretty sharp memory. It was fun to play with her but I was pretty tired and just wanted to sleep. She wasn’t sleepy. LOL!! The canoe they rode was a big one that they use for fishing here and holds maybe 20 people or so. Not sure but sounded like an interesting trip.

Then this past Friday, April 1, Patrick, Abby, David and I went to Accra. We had been planning this for a while and finally got to go. We didn’t leave until maybe 6:30pm. A couple of them had classes they couldn’t miss on Friday so we went to the ‘Ford station’ after they were done. The Ford station is a gas station with an area in the back where you wait for the Ford vans to pick you up. The vans are air conditioned and in fairly good conditions, as compared to a trotro which is a falling apart, afraid for your life, scary ride packed in with too many strangers. We waited for an hr and a half for our turn. There were lots of people waiting so we had to wait for the next van. Finally got one and headed to Accra. It was only about 2-2 ½ hrs into Accra which was pretty fast. These guys are crazy drivers. Its no surprise they have so many accidents here. On the news yesterday they were talking about it and showed a stat of nearly 2000 reported accidents in Jan and Feb of this year alone!! It’s insane!!

When we got to the bus station, which was an over-crowded area full of more vans, people everywhere, many selling all kinds of wares, garbage all over, and more smells than you want to try and identify. Basically, your typical populated area. David who is Ghanaian, was our savior this weekend. He knows Accra and how to get around safely. We got a cab to take us to the guest house we were planning on staying at. Its not safe to out and about at night. There are pickpockets and other various criminal elements that you are better off avoiding, especially if you are white and stand out like a night-light. Haha! We got to the guest house which was in a decent neighborhood and that was a relief. I had a cold and was tired and ready to sleep. Well they only had 1 room they said and it was more than we wanted to pay and it sounded like it wouldn’t have slept 4 comfortably anyway so we walked about 5 minutes to a place we had seen on our ride to the guest house. Their prices were way too high and so after checking with a friend of David’s we decided to try the guest house again. Miraculously they had another room available when we came back. Huh. We decided to take a look and see what they entailed. The one room which was the cheaper one had a full size bed, a closet, table, and a chair with an overhead fan. Acceptable. Looked clean enough. Shower and toilet were next door. The next room which was more expensive was pretty big. There were 2 full size beds, a couch, a tv, an a/c and a closet. We could have easily all slept in there comfortably but the guy was being a jerk and wouldn’t let us, saying we can’t have 4 people in the room which was a bunch of crap, excuse me. Anyways, we ended up getting the 2 rooms. I was just glad to have a place to stay for the night.

Next day we got up and headed into town. First stop was the art centre/cultural centre. This was a big area with probably hundreds of stalls with people selling handcrafts and various tourist items. The stalls were mainly under roofed areas with dozens  under one roof. The aisles were narrow and walking down them meant everyone was yelling at you to come look at their stuff. Come look! Come look!! I can’t hardly handle their aggressive style. It doesn’t make me want to look at all. Grrr!!! It was early in the day so not very many people were there shopping so, lucky us, we got the attention. Ughh!!! Being inconspicuous here is never an option. Ever! We ended up buying a few things before leaving for our next stop. We were hungry and needing food so we walked until we found a place to eat. We had fried rice and chicken with water and Alvaro. It was really good!! That was the biggest piece of chicken I’ve eaten here yet and so good. Alvaro is a carbonated fruit drink here that is so tasty!!

Next door too the restaurant was the book store we were looking for so we went in for about an hour. The a/c always feels so good. It was up on the second floor and was decent sized meaning it was the biggest one I’d seen yet. They had some great local children’s books that I couldn’t pass up. Hated to leave but we had more stops to make so we had to leave the a/c and venture on.

We spent most of the day walking which was exhausting and irritating mostly cuz I was exhausted. Anyways, we went to Independence Square which is where they have lots of national events I guess. All we saw was a large empty square with covered stadium seating around the edges with a statue up high on a pillar overlooking the square on one end, as well as a large colorful bowl thing that looked like you might light it somehow. Not much to look at really. We took some photos and were leaving when some security guards from way across the parking lot started shouting at us. We debated whether we should make a run for it or stay and see what they wanted. We didn’t think we’d done anything wrong. There were no signs up about photography or trespassing or anything so we decided to see what they wanted. David went over first to talk to them and they said they didn’t want us taking photos. Psshhh!! Whatever!! I mean seriously, it’s a large empty square, what’s the problem?? Turns out the presidential palace is nearby and you are not allowed to photograph it and it’s possible, had we known it was there, we might have somehow gotten some shots of it, terrorist spies out to overthrow the government that we are with our bulky backpacks and stark white skin . . . Right. I know that’s what you were thinking our agenda was for going there. . . LOL!! When we got over to them we were talking with them and they wanted us to delete our photos. We got out our cameras and were going to but then they said no it was ok, we could keep them but not to take anymore. So we left and walked to the national sports stadium where the Black Stars play, the national soccer team, as well as other sports teams I guess. They wanted us to pay to go in and we didn’t want to so we left. From there we walked to the national theater where they have performances like plays and concerts I guess. The building resembles a boat for some reason and again we weren’t allowed inside. At this point, I was tired of walking in the miserable heat and ready to be done seeing stupid tourist things that only Patrick wanted to see. Bah!! Yes, I’m whining a bit. I’m not much for tourist attractions, especially empty ones that require miles of walking to see. Then we went to the W. E. B. Dubois Memorial which was somewhere near the American embassy. We didn’t take any photos at the embassy because IT WAS CLEARLY LABELED “NO PHOTOGRAPHY” . . . oh and there were guards with large black guns, too. The Dubois memorial was interesting sort of. I dislike museums generally as I can’t really take photos in them and I find them boring. We may have already discussed this in the Kumasi update. Anyways, this is the place Patrick wanted to see most as he’s a fan of Dubois. The place was a house that Dubois lived in that was converted to a museum after his death. I wouldn’t have gone through it but Patrick offered to pay so why not? It was cooler than the empty stadium, square and theater anyway. Part of the tour included another building right next to the museum . . . Where he was laid to rest. Yep. Right there. She opened the door and BAM!!! Right there on the floor was the grave or tomb or whatever you call it. Not at all what I was expecting to see in that building which was somehow octagonal in shape. Next to him was a small wooden box inside of a glass case where his wife was. Aww isn’t that sweet??? No!! Creepy and odd I say! I mean, I guess its maybe not so odd but not something I’d have chosen to see. The cool part was the stools that were there which I took photos of. Stools are very important to the culture and are a symbol of royalty and wealth and such. These ones were given to Dubois by various people and were very nice.

As we were leaving there to find water and get to a taxi we passed a café that had a pretty sweet cherry red corvette in great condition outside. I asked the 2 gentleman who were sitting there if I could take some photos. They said I could and that I could take it if I wanted. I laughed . . . And considered it seriously. Haha! I have no desire to drive in the madness that is traffic here, especially in that car. No thanks!! I’ll keep walking.

Eventually we made it to the mall!! Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!! Haha! It was the planned end of the day and a much appreciated and welcome one. It was like a little slice of America right in the middle or somewhere of Accra. Not sure it is in central Accra. I digress. It was great!! There was a/c which is always a welcome and sought after luxury. First stop was the food court where we had ice cream!! Real ice cream!! Ahhh so nice!! I had lemon and vanilla. Yummmmmmm!! The mall isn’t very big and I’d guess maybe half the stores are for electronics. They had a movie theater upstairs. No idea what movies it was playing. We stopped in to the book store there and only bought some postcards. It was expensive for the books and we didn’t really need any of them. They had movies and music there too. We walked around the mall for a short while before getting some supper. In our wanderings we found 2 American style grocery stores, complete with a produce section and a frozen section and such. Wow!! I didn’t actually go in them but Patrick and Abby did and found some nice luxuries such as soup mixes and sauce mixes as well as BASIL!!!!!!!!!!!! They found me some basil!! I’ve been wanting some since I got here and hadn’t found any yet and was kicking myself for not bringing some from home. They also bought KitKat bars. Tasty. I’ve seen Snickers and Butterfingers in Cape Coast. Always a nice treat. Their food court was similar to ones you’d find at come with a play area in the middle with rides and such for kids. Abby wanted to jump on the inflatable jumping cage thing that I can’t think of the name for at the moment .. . Bouncy castle?? I don’t know. Anyways, after looking at the various places, some pretty basic with chicken dishes and pizza, as well as a few nicer/spendier places, we decided on pizza. I do love pizza!! We also had smoothies, real smoothies from one place. Smoothies here often mean a mixture of 2 or more juices with no ice or coldness involved. Very disappointing but these ones were cold and delicious!! The pizza was also delightful. I had a pepperoni and olives. Abby had a meat-lovers one and Patrick a veggie one and we all shared them. They were the closest to American pizza that I’ve had yet and were so good. It was like a mini vacation which I’m sure sounds strange but its true. It was so nice to be in a familiar setting and for once be the one showing David around. Haha! Not that I’ll be spending all my time at the mall when I get home. Certainly not!! But it was sure nice for a few hours. Hated to leave but we had to find a hotel for the night.

It had been a long day and we were ready to call it a night. We took a trotro back to the station where we were planning on going back to the guest house we had stayed at the night before. Oh!! Just remembered something!! In one of our trotro rides I got to hold the most adorable baby ever!! No offense to those of you with the most beautiful children in the world. This little guy was just so cute. His mom was trying to get into the trotro and couldn’t quite maneuver the baby and her dress without some difficulty so since I was sitting near the door I asked if I could help, thinking I could give her a hand or something. Instead, she just hands me the baby. He was maybe 3-4 months old, chubby cheeks, and beautiful curly hair. Oh goodness!! What beauty!! He didn’t even cry when he saw me. Perhaps he was too young to be frightened. He just sat there happy as ever. She let me hold him until we started moving and I passed him back to her, concerned that if there were an accident of some kind that I’d be holding him. No thanks on that note!! Seatbelts are an afterthought here and I’ve never seen anyone wearing them. Kids ride on the drivers lap or wherever and certainly aren’t strapped in in any way. Scary dangerous especially with how they drive here. Yikes!! Anyways, that was a huge highlight. Such a precious little guy!!

When we got to the station, we made some phone calls and it seemed the guest house was full so we would have to find other accommodations. David asked around and got some directions to a place nearby so we headed there. Again, being out at night and being white especially is not entirely safe or advised. We walked quickly and attempted to look like we knew what we were doing. No idea how well we pulled that off. Haha! David wasn’t sure where the place was so we asked a couple people and the directed us down an ally. We thought maybe this ally would lead through to an open area or another road. Instead, from this ally we went down an even shadier, and I don’t just mean dark, ally which looked more like a fire escape between 2 buildings that we could barely fit between. We went up some narrow and steep stairs and through the door at the top. I commented that we must be coming in the back and that if anyone at home saw me at this moment they’d sure be mad. Ha! Oh just wait. We go through the door into a dark short hallway where a few people were standing around. We walked to the small area that was just around the corner from the door we’d come through to where we thought ‘reception’ was or might be. There was a paper with rates on it above this little closet-sized opening where there was a computer and a couple chairs with a woman nearly passed out in one. There were other people in the small cramped area but I didn’t look at any of them. There was a blue light giving off a small amount of light adding to the sketchy feel of the place. We couldn’t have been in there for more than a minute before David headed out, back down the stairs quickly without saying anything. We just followed, all relieved that we wouldn’t be staying there. When we got back out to the street he tells us that it was essentially a whorehouse/hourly hotel. LOL!! Oh my!! None of the people he asked about a room worked there. The rates on the sheet included hourly though I only saw the 9GHC/night before I stopped reading. We left the area quickly and went back to the bus station where we intended to see about other accommodations. Being in the bus station we decided to see if we could find a ride back to Cape Coast that night rather than waiting for tomorrow and trying to find a safe place to sleep in that area. By the grace of God, the bus going our way had 4 seats left!! Four seats just for us!! Oh, you have no idea the relief it was to get on that bus and be headed back to CC!!! Enough of empty attractions and shady accommodations!! Give my room in the hall any day. Hahah! Our short trip into that building could have resulted in a very dangerous situation. Prostitution is illegal and if they had thought we were spies for the police or something we could have been seriously hurt or killed. If we had somehow ended up staying there it is likely that we would have been robbed for sure and probably also harmed. Praise God for getting out in time and not coming to any harm. I truly believe God protected us from any harm from that event and that He brought us back safely. Praise God!!!

Such an adventure!! It was great to be back in CC. It was about 11:45pm when we got to the dorm where we sat and rehashed the events of the day. For my first trip back to Accra it was quite the adventure and certainly unforgettable. Ha! Sorry for the scare some of you may get when reading this, especially the last part. You just never know what is going to happen here even when you have a local person with you.

So that was last weekend. This week has been fairly uneventful. Sunday after our adventure Abby and I watch the Bourne trilogy and didn’t do much else. Just needed a day off I guess. I don’t have plans for this weekend other than to study and stick around campus for the most part. I think this is long enough for now so I’m going to end it here and wait for the next adventure to update you. Love and miss you. Take care and God bless!!