Sitting in Traffic

4:13PM 1 July

We spent most of the afternoon driving around Accra. We saw some sites such as the American Embassy, and the location for Parlament in Ghana. We got out of the van at this Botannical garden that houses the casket of Nhkremuah. Most of the time it seemed that we were driving around for Professor Panford to drop random stuff off with old friends. Also, looking for ATMs that take MasterCard. No luck with that one but if I was able to read with just a simple google search of tourism in Ghana that Visa was more assessable then Mastercard, then why didn't anyone else read this information? Good thing I transfered funds.

Our van has many windows and as we are stuck in traffic people that are selling things come up to the window. It's not scary and they are all nice. Most of the time, if you turn away they get the hint that you are not buying. Or say a simple no thank you. But, some people in my group feel the need to shake their hands no, or continuously say no and engage in conversation. If you are continuously engaging in conversation, even if it is negative conversation, they will not stop trying to sell you their items.

People in my group decided that since they did not want to buy anything that they would instead trade items. Offering the people on the street gum or Northeastern penciles. It's just not right. I mean, if you are going to buy an item, then buy it. If not, ignore it. Otherwise, it seems like people in my group are throwing pieces of bread out the window to birds.

Driving around Accra and then the 2.5 hour drive to Cape Coast was very appreciative. We got to see much of the cityside and country side. However, I very much felt that we were just peering into a fish bowl. And truely, that we too at times were the fish. Ghana is considered one of the most developed third world countries. And when I learned this I suppose my worst expectations for living conditions became calmer and somewhat overlooked. But wow. After seeing the capital city, the suburb towns and the villages along the way to Cape Coast, I can tell you that there is so much work that needs to be done. House are made of wooden planks and sheetmetal roofs. Garbage piles are in the middle of villages in the back yards of homes. Water running through it. No electricity, no running water.

I love seeing people caring things on their head. Men, women and children all do so. Their posture is immaculate because of it. I would like to be shown how to do it. They wrap a cloth, like a towel, around and around until it is coiled up like a snake and place that on their head, in the location that a Yamaka would be. Then, they hold platters, boxes, bowls, etc on top. It is amazing the size and weight they can carry. I saw young children carrying wood, persumably firewood, on their head. One little girl only carrying one stick, it obvious that she is learning the skill. There is so much to say about the autmosphere and environment really. My words don't describe.

This was updated at 1:26AM 2 July. Still no wifi connections. I may be SOL. We were told after arriving here at the University of Cape Coast that we have wifi in our rooms and it just needs to be configured for our computers which will be done tomorrow. But, if that is the case, I probably can't connect from my phone. Which means I'll be borrowing someones computer and retyping all this out. Lol.



-- Posted From My iPhone