There are so many things to type about, those that have happened recently, experiences I have since reflected upon, things that happened months ago but are amazing stories that should be shared (like the elephants in Mole or the driver ants and treehouse in Kakum). My idea was to make this a combination blog by putting in 5 "adventures" I've had this week. As you will see, "adventures" is loosely defined as those events, experiences or thoughts I've had throughout the week. Some include me going to new places and others are just those random events that happen during my everyday life in Ghana.
NOTE: The first entry ended up being quite lengthy so #2-5 are listed here and #1 is it's own post. Happy Reading!
2. Fine Dining in Tamale. I’ve posted on the intricacies of easting in Ghana, mainly Tamale. Well Friday Mona and I decided to have a proper lunch- our first real lunch ever in Tamale! We decided to try a local restaurant we had each been to before. We had a terrific and filling lunch that left us with the expected afternoon drowsies. Generally we eat supper right after work in an attempt to be home before it’s completely dark, but between the time it takes to get through the dinner process and the sun setting around 6:30 p.m., we haven’t made it back with light left yet. Having finished lunch at 3 p.m., Mona had a snack for supper and while I too wanted something light, there wasn’t much in my room.
I kept getting side tracked with stuff on the internet and when I finally ventured out to get something it was about 9:30. The shop right outside my hotel was closed but the food place seemed to be open. I went up and she just said ‘it’s finished’ (as in all of the food has been consumed, which I translated as ‘We’re closed’ but not wanting to be too honest, said that all of the food was gone… even though I could see some through the window).
So I headed across the street to the gas station that was still open. I looked around and finally left with a large carton of mixed fruit juice, a Coca Cola, a package of biscuits/cookies and a little bread. I ended up having some juice and the sweet bread- I don’t know the last time I had a meal that came 100% from a gas station. I guess over break in the US I had some breakfast pizza’s in the morning, but I feel like breakfast is the most common meal to get at a gas station.
3. Baby sheep! From the looks of things, we are in lambing season in Tamale right about now. There are so many uber pregnant sheep and goats walking around. This week, traveling to and fro work I noticed many fresh baby sheep- so small and clean and cute! But what makes this worth posting about?
I first started to notice these very pregnant ruminants when one goat, who had to be carrying multiples, was waddling down the road. I kept walking and watching it sluggishly dodge the motobike traffic until it crossed the road. (Goats are normally super jumpy and fast with traffic, this one was too pregnant for that).
So I instinctively go straight to lambing/kidding mindset and think- she should be birthing any day soon. Then, without really consciously doing so, I looked over and "wow that ovula is swollen!" No doubt she would be kidding shortly, but not wanting to go into too much detail, she would not be kidding within the next few hours.
Oh the random thoughts that go through my head- for all the sheep and goats roaming around this town, how many Westerner’s do you think check a sheep/goat for signs of birthing? You can sell of the sheep and take the girl off the farm, but…
4. The Western Store. Saturday morning, Mona and I got together for lunch then headed off to town for her to introduce me to the stores that had Western food items. We went to three stores, the second of which, Zeus’s, was the best! Another volunteer had told us about this find and together we remembered what it was called and found it relatively easy. I bought Snapple, instant mac and cheese, spaghetti noodles and a can of Heinz meat sauce, milk, Kellog’s Cornflakes, Snickers bars, the local version of ramon noodles and a week’s worth (5) small sweet breads in the shape of hearts! I also bought a bowl and a spoon :)
Most of the food items were purchased to be eaten for lunch at work- all this past week I kept saying things would be better once I had bought some food I could prepare at work so I look forward to eating, what I now see as mostly pasta, for this week’s lunch. While I spent about 80 cedis/$50 of food- there are 2-3 weeks worth of lunches for work and stay at home cereal that I can eat for breakfast, dinner or whenever I want really :) While it is pricey by local standards- It will still average out to me spending $1-2/meal- not too shabby (Snapples and Snickers don’t apply)!
5. (Not So) Dangerous Motobikers! Monday, as I left work and started walking to Luxury to eat the usual after work dinner, I was still fuming at my friend having been mugged by men on motobikes. So walking to work that morning I couldn’t help but have bad thoughts whenever I saw a man on a motobike (which is probably the most common sight in Tamale!). The only exception was if the man had on a helmet, which happens so rarely that you know this is a person of a different caliber- at least safety is a thought. So here I was fuming in my head about all these terrible motobikers, then would see one with a helmet and concede- fine, you must not be that bad- plus the thieves weren’t wearing a helmet so you’re okay I guess.
Tangent: Recently, I found out many will buy a bike brand new and then remove the rearview mirrors because they are ‘old fashioned.’ How do you respond to that? Although, I feel this gives a nod to the impact the poor education in the North has on its citizens. Oh, and most people with motobikes don’t have license so it’s not like they really even know the rules of the road- but that assumes anyone would follow them even if they knew them. Police could care less here about following the law, it’s only important if they’re getting their bribe. (End of tangent.)
During work, my ire at motobikers somewhat subsided. Then, on the walk to the restaurant for dinner, a motobike had the audacity to stop next to me!
On my guard and ready to tell Mr. Motobike off once he started with whatever nonsense I knew was going to come out of his mouth, I looked over with a scowl on my face, looked through the yellow helmet at the face inside and instantly smiled and said, ‘Hi!’ I wasn’t being hassled by an evil motobiker- a coworker was offering to drop me off at the restaurant so I didn’t have to walk! (My other coworkers laughed when I told them how mad I was and then it ended up being someone we all know and trust and wasn’t out to “get me” :)
Regardless of this comical situation, I still have a heightened distrust of others, which in reality is how it should be- in the US we are blessed to feel safe and secure and that’s just not how it is around the world. I, as many other volunteers I have noticed, am guilty of having a false sense of security in a place where it’s not warranted. I learned in college it’s a common mistake for Westerns to make and I can attest that it is difficult to constantly be wary of one's surroundings, especially when you’re not used to it. And as some coworkers are now telling us, even as locals they don’t get too close to others since you never really know who you can trust. While it’s sad it has to be that way, it does help a little to know that it’s not just me, everyone regardless of if this is their hometown or not has to keep their guard up.
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