At the base of the mountains

Original post Jan 23, 2007 Africa, Ghana, Accra

The next morning I am woken up at 5:00 am by the muslims in a mosque right next to my lodge. I am incredibly jet-lagged and I am not able to go back to bed. I watch some TV, relax, read a bit and then I take a shower. I can't wait to go outside. I go to the little store right across the road and the girl asks "Obruni (white man) where are you from?" I tell her I am from Canada and she tells me that Canada is her second dream land. I ask which one is her first and she quickly responds America. On the way back to my lodge I see a white guy with a local. I don't pay much attention and go inside. I later find out that they are there to pick me up. We introduced to one another. Patrick is from Ashaley Botchway and he is the brother of Seth. The other guy is form Australia and his name is Ben. Both of them seem nice. Patrick tells me we are going to his house for breakfast. On the way there Ben tells me he arrived a few days before I did and that he is staying at Patrick's and Seth's house. Breaksfast is simple: bread with margarine, one scrambled egg, tea or hot cocoa, and fruit. Ben tells me unemployment in the area is rife and that Patrick is not working at the moment but not because he doesn't want to. He tells me that Patrick will take us everywhere we need to go but we must pay for his transportation. I don't mind considering everything is extremely cheap. We head to Accra that day. It is a 45 minute ride in one of the tro-tros at a cost of 50 cents per person. It is extremely hot and I count 21 people in the tro-tro including the driver. It is insane but a great experience. Accra is a crazy place. It is extremely busy. There are hundreds of street vendors especially at the red lights. Sort of like in Mexico City but multiply it by 1000. We got to a bank that gives the best rates to change my travellers cheques but the system is down so I am forced to go to Barclays. They send me with the bank manager and I tell him that I want to exchange some travellers cheques. He says he can only allow me to exchange $250US but after he saw the traveller's cheques he changed his mind. I give Patrick the thick wad of bills and hope for the best on the way back to Ashaley Botchway. On the way back to the tro-tro station Patrick takes us through the busiest street I have seen in my life. There were people walking on the street blocking the cars and hundreds of shops on both sides of the streets. People were yelling and cars and trucks were honking their horns. It seemed extremely chaotic to me but it made sense to everyone else. Ben and I are the only white people in that street and everyone stares. I feel a bit uncomfortable at times but I try to smile at everyone and I always get a smile back. Patrick buys some packaged ice cream and some plantain chips. I realized I have to suck on the ice cream baggie and that I have forgotten my hand disinfectant. So either way I am screwed. Ben doesn't seem to care and I see him suck on the bag and lick a finger. I eat and enjoy both things trying not to think of the bad stomachache I might get later on. Once at the station, we get on the tro-tro and I start getting the worst headache ever. I was hot, sweaty and extremely tired and this time they managed to squeeze 22 people in the tro-tro. I can't wait to get back to Patrick's house for some food.

Little man

Going to school

Patrick and I in the tro-tro

Accra

Patrick's mom is very nice and she carefully prepares my meals for the next few days. We eat rice or pasta, fried chicken with a spicy sauce and papaya, pineapple or oranges. The next couple of days are uneventful and I just spend them trying to assimilate that I am in Africa. Thursday night, a bunch of us head to a little bar where I am introduced to everyone. Martin and Seth ask me if I want to spend half my time at Dodowa and half at Kwahu Tafo. I agree since I want to broaden my experience as much as possible. All I know is that I don't want to spend time at Ashaley Botchway. It is extremely dry, dusty and too chaotic. All you see is red earth and very little green. They tell me I will be leaving for Dodowa on Friday morning. Patrick tells me he wll pick me up between 7:00-7:30 am to help me with my gear. It is Friday 8:30 am and I am still waiting. I grab all my stuff and head out to Patrick's house. On the way, I stop by the football pitch and I see Ben and Martin. I say good-bye to both of them and Martin sends two kids to carry my luggage. I don't let them and tell them that my bags are heavy and that I am able to to do it myself. Martin tells me again that I am their guest and all they want is to make me happy so that when I get back to my country I can tell everyone how beautiful Ghanaian people are. I feel a bit uncomfortable. I don't want black kids to carry the white man's luggage. Martin and the kids inisist and I have to agree. I stay at the pitch for a while to watch the kids train and play football. At the end of their training Ben and I are asked to say a few things. I choose my words carefully keeping in mind what Kofi said to me a few days earlier: "Please tell them to work very hard and that they will succeed in life. They will believe you because you are white". Their fascination with white people fascinates me.
I head out to Patrick's house where he serves me and Ben the same breakfast. A guy named Henry comes in without saying hello to Ben or me. He is the one that is taking me to Dodowa. He doesn't offer to help me and I don't expect him to. At the end he offers to carry my small bag and I accept. Having a 20kg. bag in your back when it is 30 degrees is not easy. We head to the tro-tro station and find the tro-tro that is going to take us to Dodowa. There is a local couple with some bags waiting to get into the tro-tro but unfortunately the white man has priority and the tro-tro guys put my luggage at the back. There is no more space for luggage. I try to tell the tro-tro guys that I can wait but Henry is already inside and he tells me to get in. We get off in Medina which is not a very nice place. We walk for 10 minutes and everyone is looking at me. Some people wave, others yell "obruni", and others just stare as though they are hoping for the white man to aknowledge them and smile. When we get to the next tro-tro station, the guys tell Henry that I can't put my bag at the back so I end up carrying my huge bag on my lap for the next 45 minutes. It is no fun but I am amazed at what I see when we get out of Medina. We are heading to the mountains. There is greenery everywhere you turn. It is amazing. Henry and I finally make it to Dodowa. It is a beautiful place. The rain forest is just 15 minutes away. Henry takes me to the school where Seth is the Director. He calls for a staff meeting where I am introduced to eveyone. He then calls for a student assembly and I am introduced as the new English teacher. Everyone is happy and amazed to have a white teacher around them. Later on, Seth takes me to my dorm. It is a very simple room consisting of one bed and one desk/table. I don't need anyhting else. I get a bit melancholic when I see the place for it reminds me of the house where my dad was born. I put my gear down and get ready to go outside.

PS Please bear with me. Internet connection is extremely slow and blackouts are common.
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