Ben in Ghana

So I've made it Accra. The last week of training and travel has been intense, and I've learned a ton, but there's way too much to write about, so I'll start things off when we landed in Accra.

The sun was just down as we landed and by the time we got onto the trmac the sky was darkening quickly. The air was hot and heavy, even without the sun, reminding me of the sticky feeling that is summer in Ontario.

We piled onto a bus, waiting a couple of minutes for it leave and embarked on the long journey to the terminal - about 30 seconds - a somewhat disappointing first bus ride in Ghana.

We made it through customs, picked up our bags and finally made it outside to meet up with the long term overseas volunteers (LTOVs), numbering ourselves off from 1 to 23 each step of the way. We met Eli, Luke, Robyn and Monica and they chatted with us quickly and arranged a taxi ride to our hotel.

The ride was an experience in itself. No seatbelts, crazy traffic, constant horns and our cab driver leaning out the window and yelling loudly on a couple of occasions. Deb, Elisa and I tried to take it all in from the back seat while Luke told stories of his trip down from Tamale which included a boat ride down Lake Volta in a skinny but 20m long boat also loaded with numerous cows, goats and other animals. Nothing but an average day in the life of an EWB LTOV.

We made it to our hotel (interestingly named "The House of Lords Hotel". Every business seems to have some sort of religious phrase in it, like the "God is So Good Market"). I got my first glimpse of the open sewers that line the Ghanaian streets as the cab drove up the curb, bottoming out on the metal grate covering the sewer in one spot. We unloaded our bags, eventually got our rooms sorted out and found our way to the deluxe suite we had been assigned.

The room is fairly large, and would probably not pass health and safety inspections in Canada, but the air conditioning feels great. There's a large bed with pink sheets and a bathroom with a sink, leaky shower, and toilet, which I wasn't expecting. Dave says the toilet is more set to 'stun' than 'kill', but I'm sure it'll be one of the better I see.

We sort of unpack, and then meet downstairs in the lobby to hit the street of Accra! Everyone is hungry and has been waiting for this moment for a long, long time.

Each LTOV takes a group and I end up in Eli's group, who has only been in Ghana for a week and will be leaving in a week to bike/boat the length of the Niger river. He has spent the last 9 months in Tanzania and Zambia.

We start out in search of some street meat. We are headed towards a tro tro yard (Ghanaian bus... more like a large van crammed with people) where there will be real Ghanaian food. I'm both excited and apprehensive about new foods and the aggressive people.

As we are walking I glance upwards and see the moon, not in its usual place, but directly above me, almost at the highest point in the sky. I can see stars too. It is amazing how little light pollution there is despite being right in the middle of a city of 3 millions. Street lights are dim, few and far between.

WE pass a large shining billboard advertising Guiness and setp onto the main strip. It is dark, and everyone (except for us) blends into the backdrop. I can see motion - and there is a lot of it, the city is busy - but people are hard to define and faces are nearly invisible. Traffic is loud and as we walk smells of the sewers and exhast from the road are overpowering at times.

We reach the start of the shack and stalls and the lighting is defined by the flickers of fires, casting jittery shadows everywhere. People are talking louding, calling at us as we pass. I'm not sure how to respond. My Twi is horrible and I've forgteen all of the phrases we went over in training. Luckily Eli knows how to deal with anyone that is too eager to meet us.

We stop for food and I order 3000 cedis (~$.40) worth of rice and 2000 cedis of fish. The vendor we buy from even has plates and spoons, which I wasn't expecting. Other vendors seem to just dump your order into a plasticbag and then you are on your own.

The meal is good, really spicy, and early on Eli goes to purchase water sachels which are sealed bags fof water that hold about 500ml.

Ah, my computer just warned me that I am almost out of time, but I still have four more pages to write! I'll finish this entry as soon as I can, but will be travelling to Tamale tomorrow, so it might not be for a couple days, after I have many many more stories.