Blogs from Legon, Greater Accra, Ghana, Africa - page 14

The only way I can really describe the rode system in the greater Accra area is to compare it to the digestive tract of a very large grumpy giant with indigestion. There is no real logic to how they work and although they stop up from time to time, are diverted to other paths, and are generally a tangle of people, blazing hot metal,and honking they seem to work well enough. Trotros are the primary mode of transportation serving as smaller faster more compact buses. Essentially they are modified vans, so that anywhere from 15 to 25 people can cram into them. Catching a tro is relatively easy especially near a stopping area. As you walk along the road or at the station you just listen to the driver's apprentice's as he calls out the ... read more

Sorry I haven’t updated for a bit, we’ve been so busy with our orientation that when there is spare time, taking a nap always trumps blog writing. In the past few days we’ve gone to so many crazy places. The orientation is so wonderful with teaching us how to live and be self-sufficient in this culture rather than supplying everything to us so that we are able to do it on our own. When we first came, all of our meals were at the orientation director’s home, which is actually right on campus as are all university employee homes. Then she and our student guides began by taking us to the various eating places on campus (i.e. Tasty Treats, Bush Canteen, Akufo Hall, and Taco Bell which is not at all like the Taco Bell we ... read more

Feb 9, 2008 - 11:43 p.m. The end of my first full day in my new home in Ghana. I’m extremely tired even after a short nap this evening. The sun really takes it out of you. Although, the heat and humidity isn’t nearly as bad as it could be, especially since we have such good fans in our rooms. I am greatly looking forward to building up a tolerance to the heat, as well as, falling into a routine. Today we toured the extensive campus of the University (including about 16 billion “Schools of…” I very much like my experience so far of the people of Ghana. They are very organic, friendly and helpful. Tomorrow, we will be going to a marketplace called Madina. Although I was really nervous for the trip at first, I ... read more