June 9, 2012
So today was the big day!
The Accra Quest! We started at
6:30am. We had to go outside of the
compound and catch a trotro that would take us to Tema Station in Accra. My group had 5 people, so we had to find a
fairly empty trotro in order for all of us to fit. Some groups started walking away from the actual
stop to see if they could pick up a trotro elsewhere. We thought they were silly because trotros
only make stops at legit drop off locations.
Yep…we were wrong. A group got a
trotro easily after they had walked away from the rest of us. So others followed suit. My group decided to stay put, and after
waiting about 30 minutes, a completely empty trotro stopped and picked the
remaining people up (about 21 of us, and then some Ghanaians got on as
well). This trotro took us to Medina,
the stop right before Accra. We had to
get out and find another trotro to take us into the city. Every Ghanaian was trying to help us to make
sure we found the right trotro. It was
awesome, and made everything really easy.
The entire trip took about an hour and a half. The trotro was soooo hot and I didn’t stop
sweating the whole time.
After all morning of traveling around Accra, I actually
remember the places we visited. We got
to go to the Accra National Stadium, Independence Square (aka Liberty Circle),
the Ministries, Osu Castle, and the National Theater. Since today is Saturday, most of these places
were closed, so we didn’t get to actually go inside L The Accra National Stadium hosts sports such
as football (soccer), badminton, tennis, kick boxing, field hockey, etc. If you wanted to go watch a tournament, it
would cost you the most expensive ticket, which is about 10 cedis. Independence Square is an archway in the
middle of a roundabout (which is why my group changed the name to Liberty
Circle). It represents Ghana’s
independence with a giant black star and the year printed on the stone (I can’t
remember the year…1957 maybe?). The main
Ministry we had to go to was the Ministry of Water Resources. We were supposed to find out who the current
Minister of Water (no, not magic) is.
But, like I said before, we couldn’t get into any place because it was
Saturday. So we couldn’t finish that
task. Osu Castle would be like our White
House. The President of Ghana lives
there. We walked all the way to it (it
was pretty far and right by the ocean…score!).
We got stopped several times and told we couldn’t take pictures after a certain
point. Ghanaians are fairly strict about
picture taking around military and governmental figures. The National Theater was a huuuuge building
on the main street into Accra. Tema
Station was several meters past the theater, so we didn’t actually go
there. Instead, to answer our questions,
we asked some people we met if they could tell us about that landmark. Throughout the entire day, whenever we felt
lost (which was often), all we had to do was walk up to someone, greet them
(with our awesome Twi), and ask for help.
Most of the time, Ghanaians would realize we looked lost and would ask
“Where are you going?” and would help us.
It was so amazing. They took time
out of their lives to help lost Americans.
How cool is that! Around 10:30am,
we decided we should probably head back to Valley View, since the trip would
take so long (we had to be back by noon).
The trip back was fairly easy. We
got a trotro that went directly to Valley View without us having to get out and
find another one. I think I was sweating
even more on this leg of the trip. I was
soooo tired. I would close my eyes, my
head would droop, and I would bolt awake every time we hit a pot hole (which
was every 10 seconds). It was such an
exhausting day, but such an amazing day too!
I could easily adapt to this culture.
I think it helps knowing that if I need help with anything, all I have
to do is ask, and people are more than willing to help me out.
Once we got back, we had a few lectures, which as
interesting as they were, took a lot out of me to stay focused. I think everyone else felt the same way. This morning was beyond exhausting, and we
just wanted to nap! We talked about our
homestay communities and what to expect.
We still don’t know where or who we will be living with. I’m so anxious to find out! We move into our homestay sites on Monday
morning. Yahooo!!
After the lectures and dinner, we got to perform our
talent show. Yikes! Lou went a few before me, and his was a tough
act to follow. Lou is a New Yorker with
a strong accent (from the Bronx) and a sarcastic sense of humor. He’s pretty much my hero. Anyway, he had this lengthy show he put on
with magic tricks, and it was just great.
Then here comes me…with three tiny bouncy balls…telling everyone I’m
going to try to juggle. I fail the first
2 times, and finally, on the 3rd try…success!!! But only for about 5 seconds. Oh well.
People applauded and laughed, so that’s all that matters J Everyone else had really cool talents. Some people told jokes, balanced buckets on
their heads (like the locals), juggled (MUCH better than me), read poetry, performed
soccer tricks, and sang. It was really
nice to break away from our lectures and just have fun and see what all these
people can do. Everyone has such great
talents. Since juggling isn’t my forte,
it would be kind of cool to have one of the other people teach me one of their
talents. It would be awesome to learn
something new that I would probably never learn on my own.
Tomorrow, we get to buy cell phones, sim cards, etc. I’m kind of excited about that. I haven’t contacted anyone from home since I
got here, so that’ll be nice. We also
get lessons on bucket baths and laundry.
Which is also nice, because I NEED to do laundry (Already? Yes, I know…it’s true). And then we have a free day. A what?!
A FREE DAY!! We get to hang out
and do whatever we want! I may even
watch a movie and take a nap!! I really
want to play some card games and read as well.
I’m pumped for tomorrow. It’s
going to be such a great day!
After Sam and I got back into our after the talent show
we looked at each other, realized we are both super sweaty, gross, and dirty,
and decided to turn the air conditioning on (Yes! They have one in our room and we JUST now
turned it on). Yep…we turned the air on
despite the fact that power went out on the compound and we are currently
running off of a generator…oops. The
lights keep dimming, and we are pretty sure we are stealing all of the
power. If it gets too bad, we’ll turn
the air off, but I haven’t noticed the lights flicker for a while, so maybe
we’re good! After taking nice cold
showers and after a hot day in the sun (I got a little sunburnt) and in the hot
lecture hall, we get to relax in our nice cool room. It’s awesome.
I’m pooped. I may read for a bit
then go to bed. I feel so at peace right
now. I love it.
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