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Published: July 31st 2009
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This is list of observations, compiled with the help of Fionnuala, of observations on life in Ghana! I will add to it as time goes by...
- Everyone loves Jesus - a lot!
- They show this in the form of shop names and religious slogans and favourite Bible verses on the back of tros and taxis.
- People will carry anything on their heads.
- People will sell anything from the top of their heads.
- Toyota Corrollas (of all possible ages) are everywhere!
- Most tros and taxis would probably not pass an MOT. We went in one the other day which had no ignition - the driver was hot-wiring the car and had to re-do it every few hundred metres when he stalled.
- Everything in a sachet is safe to drink - almost. Everyone drinks sachets of pure water - the women who sell it shout "iiiits pure, puuuure waaater". I can do quite a good impression lol.
- Running water is sporadic and infrequent (and this is only in areas which have access to running water). I get excited everytime the toilet flushes!
- Electricity is pretty constant
(in our area anyway), but randomly goes off for a bit every now and then. I've heard that it is the authorities who control when the water and electricity is on or off.
- Ghanaians love to use the phrase "I'm coming", but what it really means is "I'm going, but i'll be back in a bit".
- They also call toilet roll "T-Roll". I can't bring myself to say it, except in jest.
- It seems 90% of men want to marry an obruni girl - some even walk up to you in the street and say "Hello wife".
- When it's really hot, people will lie down and sleep anywhere.
- If you use a public toilet, there is often a different one for number ones and for number twos and the attendant will ask you bluntly, "do you want to shit or do you want to piss", even if you are surrounded by lots of other people. You just have to get over it! Maybe we're too polite in Britain?! The other day, whilst waiting for a bus in Tamale (northern Ghana), I asked our waitress where the toilet was and she
asked me if I wanted to shit or piss and I felt a tad awkward so laughed politely, then she asked me again, slightly louder, so I replied "I don't know yet" and then she laughed. People just don't mind talking about it in public. I opted to pay 40pesewas for the 'shitting' toilet anyway, because they are nicer than going to a urinal (most of the time!). That was pretty expensive compared to Accra, where a normal toilet is never more than 20pesewas. I even paid 20 for an 'executive toilet' at Accra STC station - still no toilet seat, no lock but less flies, no foul smells and it flushed!
- You shouldn't eat with your left hand because it is reserved for toilet activities.
- People never seem to have change. I've been here for about 6 weeks now and only saw a 1 pesewa coin for the first time the other day.
- People have no qualms weeing in the open sewers which line every street, in full view of everyone (men and women alike).
- Bemusing things often happen and you never know what actually happened.
- You can find
several different sized sockets in one room.
- You get called Obruni about a million times a day!
- Drivers beep ther horns relentlessly, sometimes to make people get out of the way, but most of the time for no apparent reason.
- Skinny goats and chickens walk around everywhere.
- Why does food sometimes taste like mothballs??
- Many people truly believe that if you keep money in your bra, you will get cancer.
- People seem to sweep for literally hours every morning. In our house the sweeping starts around 5am. Other volunteers have said the same thing.
- Every morning, at the same time, a man walks past the house shouting "ai ai eeeeee". We still don't know what it means.
- We also wake up to Jesus songs and nursery rhymes blasting out of speakers at the school opposite our house.
- You can't seem to get real milk - I've been drinking condensed milk in tea for weeks now and it almost feels normal.
- You can get phones with space for 2 SIM cards, which you can use simultaneously on different networks. Some guys
Market scene.
Makola Market, Accra. who worked at Mole National Park were amazed that they had something that we'd never seeen before or even knew existed. But the only reason they have them here is because the networks are unreliable!
- Only in Africa can you get a mobile phone network with the slogan, "Tigo - the network that
actually works!".
- When travelling in taxis at nigth you regularly get stopped at checkpoints by police carrying AK47s, who check for drug smuggling, potential armed robbers.... and that the people in the front are wearing seatbelts. Most cars do not have seatbelts in the back, and if they do they don't work most of the time.
- Mangos and bananas have never tasted so good!!
- We got in a taxi last night (5th) which sounded incredibly unhealthy like it would stop if the driver slowed down too much and he kept trying to rush out of junctions so this did not happen, but unfortunately he had to stop at one junction and his car conked out so me and Alina had to get out and push. It was funny. Bet you don't see many Obrunis doing that!
- Taxi dirvers always beep at obrunis to let you know they're free, even if you're just trying to cross a road. It's as if they don't think obrunis ever like to walk.
- There are a ridiculous number of old, empty taxis driving around the streets of Accra, i'd be surprised if even half of them get business.
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Wendy Milton
non-member comment
Thanks for the info!
My daughter Margo will be in Ghana with Projects Abroad from Sept. 21 for three months. She's only 17 so of course I will worry about her, although she traveled to Germany on her her own at 16. The whole family are really enjoying your blogs and the fact that you're preparing her for what to expect. Nothing has fazed her so far, and I think she has the same sense of humour as you, which I think will be a great way to handle the different conditions she'll be living under. She'll be working in an orphanage (not sure exactly where yet) and also in a hospital. She's from the west coast of Canada, so has a long way to travel to get there, but is looking forward to everything, including meeting other volunteers like you. Keep up the great blogs and sense of humour! Sincerely, Wendy Milton