Ghana - The Challenge of WRiting

The Challenge of Writing

I realize that I have trouble updating my blog for several reasons when I actually write more than I end up posting. I want the project to be academic. I wanted to apply theory to my findings and experiences. I want my blog to be a resource, but the small things that I think are too personal or not so relevant actually become “big” things. Like small conclusions I come to about cultural differences, insights as well as other realizations and conclusions. I spend allot of debating what is “post worthy” or relevant and then I end up omitting the posts. I have come to a decision that is ok for me to talk about these small things, because they are a large part of my growth on this trip. The emotional, psychological outcomes of the experiences I go through are actually quite significant to me becoming a “better me” a more complete, global, aware. I would like to share these experiences with my friends, family, readers and acquaintances I have met on the road. I think that in itself is an asset enough and is a contribution in itself to others that want to follow in similar footsteps or are considering doing similar projects. After all, it’s about relating to others and seeing commonalities in our struggles and experiences. So… I would like to explore a more dynamic approach to this documenting. So it is.

Ghana

Ghana was the first country in Africa for me to visit on my trip. It was also the first place I was alone as well as the first place I would attempt to stay with people that I had met online and not in Hostels. I left Buenos Aires on Feb 21. I was anxious, excited and scared out of my mind. Here I was going to a country I didn’t know a soul, a woman alone and I was just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I felt like I was starting on a bad note when I left the hostel in Buenos Aires with what I thought was just enough money for a taxi. After having a nice conversation in broken Spanish with the taxi driver, my nerves started to get to me and I felt like I had misplaced something. I couldn’t find my passport. I started franticly looking through my bags in the back seat until 30 minutes latter when I calmed down and realized I had it zipped up in the inner pocket of my travel purse. Then upon arriving at the airport and trying to pay for the cab, I found out the cab were 5 more pesos than the Hostel employee had told me. I had made a mistake and learned a lesson in not taking enough $ to the airport for cushion and miscalculation. The driver let me go with being a few pesos short but seemed annoyed. I felt very guilty. Then after checking in, I realized I hadn’t found out if there was airport tax. I went to the atm to take out $. I was disappointed I wasn’t more organized and prepared. This was just the beginning.
The trip from Buenos Aires was long and drawn out for a number of reasons. I had to transfer in two different airports. I flew to Sao Paolo first where I had a 3 hr delay and then after the 15-hour flight on the pimped out Emirates flight to Dubai. I had a 7 hr and change gap until my connecting flight to Accra which was another 7 hrs. All in all I was traveling for more than 36 hrs. The trip was rough, but luckily I had my books, my journal, and my laptop with me to keep me busy. I carry around my universal adapter set and plugged into the wall in Dubai Int. Airport to charge my laptop and the wireless was free! I was thrilled. I walked around and took pictures of the airport, which seemed to feel more like a mini-mall with funny glass facades for short-stay hotels for business and first class travelers. It was my first experience with seeing the wealth of the gulf countries. I saw allot of immigrants working at the airport as well. I heard just as much Hindi and English as I did Arabic.
Upon my arrival to Accra I got my luggage and started making phone calls to the two contacts I had made on Couchsurfing.com. My first option, Eva who works with FARA did not pick her cell phone up so I called Lamont, A Floridian from the states who has been in Ghana on and off for 7 years trying to hatch out a business deal. I’ll get into that latter. So Lamont who had returned from Sierra Leone that day had agreed to host me and I was thankful that I wouldn’t have to look for a hostel. I got a cab right away. I immediately asked how much? He had a chart in front of him and it had neighborhoods and he quoted 15 cedis which was the equivalent of 15$. I thought it didn’t sound too bad so I agreed. I told him that I would have to make a stop at the bank first to get cash, as I don’t carry around dollars to convert. After realizing that I had miscalculated my funds and ran out of $ when trying to extract money from the atm for the 5th time, I knew I was in deep poop. I didn’t know what to do. I told him I couldn’t get any money out so he told me he was taking me back to the airport. I quickly called my mother and told her I needed her to wire me money. Sounding worried she was quickly on it and wired me 250$ for the week. In the cab on the way back to the airport I got a call from Lamont asking me if I was ok because I was taking a long time to reach the house. I told Lamont I was in trouble and he agreed to attempt to pick me up.
So there I was, back at the airport, with my bags, no money and not knowing anyone in this country. There was a moment where I thought I was going to loose it, break down and start balling in front of all the taxi drivers. My cab driver that was hanging out in the spot where he picked me up walked by me and asked me if I had a ride coming. I assured him I did and he asked me if I wanted to sit down. I told him I was ok. I was too anxious to sit down. I thought for a second about if I had done the right thing, if I had prepared enough. It was the first moment where I questioned if I would make it. That moment was extremely uncomfortable and scary.
I hoped that Lamont would come through and something from the sound of his Florida accented voice sounded sincere, especially when he asked to speak to the driver to tell him that the fare he was going to charge me was way too much. 20-30 minutes I got a tap on my shoulder and heard a familiar accent. Lamont had come to my rescue with a taxi. Relieved but still not sure what I was getting myself into I went to Lamont’s eager to at least get a shower and a nap until I figured out the next move. Burning up in the taxi I started to feel the shock of heat and humidity. It was almost harder to breathe. Lamont started telling me about his AllTerra communications company. I tried to explain what I was doing in Ghana and we talked small talk. When I pulled up to Lamont’s property in it’s gated security protected enclosure I realized that I was in one of the nicer homes in Accra. After taking a shower, meeting Anush, Lamont’s partner, as well as everyone living in the house and settling in I felt a little better. After getting a bit settled and going through my things I realized I was missing a few things. My phone, which I know, I had had at the airport and in the taxi was missing. My point and shoot camera was also missing, but that I know I had packed in my suitcase as well as my medical bag with prescriptions and vitamins, band aids etc… was missing. I didn’t finalize that I had lost or had them stolen until days latter when I had time to go through all my bags and unpack completely and then reorganize my things. (I do this often, as it is quite difficult for me to get used to living out of bags) You constantly feel like you are misplacing things and are keeping track of your belongings hoping you didn’t forget something important somewhere. (Like a phone!)
The next few days were rough as well. Emotionally it was hard for me to adjust and take everything that had happened in. I wanted to allow myself to feel what Ghana was like and not worry about all the logistic stuff and what I had lost, had stolen etc.
My first night in Ghana, I went out to Manson, Tantra and another club. I met Lamont’s friends and got my first taste of what Ghana was like. I was shocked to see so many foreigners at the clubs. There were allot of Indians, allot of Lebanese and frankly allot more white people than I was prepared to see. I found out that there were allot of Indians in Accra that were there for business. The clubs we had gone to were owned my Indians, hence the Indian names.
I ate pretty good sushi and drank entirely too much. I heard some good music though which was nice to hear hip-hop after being in Porto Alegre and Beunos Aires that doesn’t have the hip-hop scene that Rio and Sao Paolo does. I missed it. The next day I woke up hangover and trying to recover from the day before. My third day I was eager to get out of the house. Lamont agreed to accompany me. We walked to a local Ghanaian spot that sold beer and the typical of Ghanaian food – Tilapia a large clump of Booja and some spicy red _____. I was excited to have Ghanaian food. I was eager to eat it with my hands. I ordered my local “Star” beer and was given a large bowl of water and soap. We sat outside and talked about our life and goals. We overheard an argument about Ghanaian politics, corruption and requirements for being a revolutionary by some Ghanaian military men. One wore a Kwame Nkrumah shirt. The argument escalated from a joke to something that looked potentially serious when the biggest of guys at the table picked up the plastic chair and threw it. Lamont assured me they were just playing. We walked back home and Lamont gave ma mini tour of Osu and Ridge. We stopped to get fried banana chips, a fertility necklace for me and say hello to some street kids that Lamont was friendly with. Apparently we had given them food and $ the night of our club hopping. They remembered me and I felt bad for not remembering more about them. He showed me the soccer stadium that the African cup had been at only a few days before with Ghana and Egypt battling out the top spot, among other UN buildings and Embassies that were close to his home in Ridge.
The fourth day with some help arranged for a car to take me around to a few historical spots around Ghana so I could take pictures. I visited Aburi Botanical Gardens, The Kwame Nkrumah Museum Mausoleum, Independence Arc, as well as small crafts market in Aburi.

My fifth day I stayed with Eva who works with FARA and the last two days I spent with a family in Kumasi. This leads me to my next blog.