The Rebirth of Blog

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Of course, none of you even knew this thing existed until I just sent out that email inviting you to read along. It's been a hectic first five days in Accra, so my plans to begin blogging started later than usual--at precisely the time I contemplated scrapping the idea and sending out a mass email or two. But this just seems a lot easier.

So what to make of this city so far? Off the top of the head and in a word: "manageable," which sounds more like how you describe an exam than a capital city in a continent you've never been to before. But it's true. Sure this isn't a glistening place, and there are lots of ditches to fall into and houses that are not much more than some planks and tin, but the adjustment has been really quick here.

This probably had something to do with my friend from school being here up until yesterday, so we could get our bearings together, but more than that I think it's the fact that this city just doesn't feel like a big city, despite it's size and importance to the country and region. There aren't many buildings past four or five stories, and everything looks like the same neighborhood repeated over and over--foodstands, modest houses, bars, vendors, traffic jams--so it never lords over you like a metropolis can. Plus, there is a real sense of safety here, walking the streets at night not a problem for me (yet) and people are great conversationalists. I hate when people come back from somewhere and say "oh my God, the people were so friendly," since I can only assume they were surprised they weren't drawn and quartered by the natives, when in fact most people around the world are "friendly," so no surprise there. Liking a culture is more about personal feel when you interact. In Ghana the questionairre might go like this: Do you enjoy talking politics? Do you think it's cool to shake hands and snap your index fingers as you pull away? Are you ok with everyone yelling "obruni" (white person) when you pass them on the street? If so, then book that ticket for Accra and come join me...

That being said, I wouldn't say this is a nice city, and would never recommend a tourist come here, there just isn't much to see as far as I can tell. But I kind of like that for what I'm doing, since it means I really am the only foreigner walking in a crowded rush-hour street more often than not (of course I haven't gone to Osu, the area where the ex-pats are said to roam). If I were here more than 10 weeks maybe that would get tiresome, but for now I'll take it. Until the next time...

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