One good thing about the program I'm with is that they take you around the area to do a lot of the tourist-y things that you just kind of have to do. On Monday, the day after I arrived, we went into Accra and saw the National Museum, Kwame Nkrumeh Memorial Park, and the Arts and Cultural Centre, in addition to the big markets of Makola and Tema. None of these things were spectatular by any means, but I wanted to see them and I'm glad I got the chance to. The market was crazy, milling with people, smelly, hot, dirty, busy. It's so funny to me that the town moves at such a fast pace, because no one Ghanaian person (that I've yet met) moves at this speed. Everything here that is done on a person-to-person level is very slow and iffy. "It's not far" could mean a 2 hour drive, "soon" could mean within the next few days, and "definitely" is practically a curseword. But the speed of the city is in stark contrast. I don't really like the city - the fumes from cars and the stench of the open sewers make it practically impossible to get a breath of fresh air. If the car or tro-tro I'm in gets stalled behind something that spews an especially toxic black smoke, which happens a lot, I start feeling light-headed and nauseous. I guess I'm spoiled by our pristine Pacific Northwest air.
3 comments:
Wendy wants to know how many people smoke in your area....the assumption is that pretty much everyone does, I think. At least males, anyway.
This is very hardcore of you! You rock!
Very few people smoke here actually. It's kind of taboo, especially for women. If they're smoking, they're drinking.
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