Accra So Far
Okay, so you’re dying to know more about my life in Ghana, yeah?
I’ll make you a list.
1. Accra reminds me of India in many ways. It’s a lot less developed for sure, but parts of the culture, the way people function, the aspirations remind me very much of people in India. In fact, there are streets in Accra where I can just go stand and pretend I’m in New Delhi.
2. People are extremely helpful. They go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and settled in. They’re also very friendly. Strangers on buses and on the street wish each other “Good Morning” as if they’ve known each other for ages.
3. When I arrived, Accra was all dressed up. People seemed to be welcoming me to their country with flags, posters and clean streets. “Don’t flatter yourself,” my local friend said to me a day after my arrival. “It’s because Bush is visiting Ghana tomorrow.” Well, if that’s what they’d like to believe.
4. Traffic was a mess the day the American President actually did arrive. I got nothing done.
5. My first day in Ghana was spent in a part of the city that’s near the outskirts and has a number of estates. People seem affluent, but the area itself is under-developed– dirt roads, no communication, no transportation. I walked two miles just so that I could get a SIM card for my phone.
6. Since I’m not African, and don’t look it, I get charged exorbitant prices for everything. However, and here’s the irony, people here tend to mostly regard me less as a foreigner, and more as one of their own. This is because I’m Indian, I’m told. They love Indians here.
7. On my first night out with local friends, they keep pointing out Indians to me “1 Indian, 2 Indians, 3 Indians…” This is, they tell me, so that I “won’t feel so alone.”
March 1st, 2008 at 4:08 am
Cool! You have local friends; that must be a big help (even if “ten little Indians” is their favorite song.
)
But how’s the FOOD?? Coffee — can a woman go to a cafe and sit and have a coffee? Does the answer to that depend on whether one is Ghanaian (?) or foreign? Do you cook for yourself? What’s it like when you go to market? Big supermarket, or different little markets for meat, veggies, grains, etc? Packaged, processed foods readily available, or mostly fresh, you-cook-it type ingredients?
What — you’re not writing my personal travelogue?…oh, right. I knew that. Well, anyway, that’s what I’m wondering about today.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:30 am
One local contact, who I only knew online before I arrived, and I shared a room with his sister when I first arrived here. Other friends were made on arrival.
Eating out is EXPENSIVE whereas fresh fruit and raw vegetables are so inexpensive. Eating out is considered a luxury. People are cool and laidback, so yep, you can go have a coffee (tea is more popular though). There are some grocery stores that have packaged and processed foods and while they’re a big deal here, you wouldn’t be too impressed. Or at all.
I live smack-dab in the center of the city, so I can pretty much walk out and get anything– electronic items, Ghanaian music (oh yeah!), even paint for my walls! The other areas are less connected and some people have blogged about how they had to travel across town to buy basic things like nails! That’s pretty accurate actually. I chose my location for precisely this reason, though it’s costing me a fortune.
I am writing a travelogue actually. Three-part series for a magazine. They don’t know it yet. But I’ve decided they’re going to publish it.
(I’ll send you a copy when I’m done.)
March 1st, 2008 at 7:36 pm
i lived in africa for almost ten years before heading back home. it’s a warm, warm continent with the lovely people (have you noticed yet, they all sing in key and have the brightest smiles), your post reminded me of that
enjoy your stay and the spirit of africa.
March 1st, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yep! I’m so at ease here, it’s almost like I’ve been here forever. I expected to feel like a stranger or out of sorts for at least the first week, but it’s been home almost since the day I arrived. I’ll be very sad when I leave.