Ghana be fun...

What’s that noise?

In all honesty it could be absolutely anything- this has got to have been the nosiest week of my entire life! I was hoping that some of it was down to the end of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid… in fact I am still hoping that this might be the case. My house is neatly positioned between two mosques, with a church making the apex of the triangle. Sunday morning services have been enjoyed on a few occasions- in fact I think tomorrow might see a four mile run being completed whilst I partake of the free morning worship opportunity provided by the loudspeaker system the church has thoughtfully had installed… maybe next time they will use the money to build walls, or a roof, or something useful. But the last week to ten days has also included a call to prayer at about 3:15am every morning, and a hugely entertaining warbling/ caterwauling competition between the two mosques. One will start, yell loudly for ten minutes and then the other will holler back in reply. I know cell phone technology isn’t all that here- and there is no official iPhone provider, but honestly, I have checked the signal and it is good. Turns out the networks aren’t that busy at 3:30 in the morning. If you co-ordinate you can also use your off peak free talk time on MTN to MTN phones then too J I know BT say, “It is good to talk” but I think you are somewhat missing their point- they weren’t referring to microphones over a two block radius!

At least the Eid holiday (and extra day off) gave me a chance to catch up on all the sleep I missed out on from the wedding I attended at the weekend. Well attended might be the wrong word, it was broadcast at full volume from the church, so loud that even the radio in the lounge was drowned out by the happy celebrations. Going out to avoid this joyous occasion wasn’t an option as the 3 million invited guests seem to have spilled out onto the street and turned the road into a party/ parking lot blocking it for anyone else. Who knew you could just go around erecting marques in the middle of public streets… upcoming christening? I know a great spot on the M6 we can use for the party! So, whilst I assume my invitation to the wedding was lost in post (well- Ghana doesn’t actually have mail) I still got to experience the day- best wishes whoever you are.

Whilst writing this I can hear the base pumping through the house from the bar a few blocks away, and random cheers as the soccer progresses- in fact I could probably tell you the score if I cared to pay attention, and I have come to the conclusion that it isn’t just noise, but rather the type of noise. I have lived in cities before, I have lived in busy places before, and I have never been bothered by the cars constantly driving past, or the trains rattling over bridges, and the occasional shouting in the street or siren was understandable but here it is non stop… and I can only put it down to the fact it is constantly changing. Cars and trains may be loud, but they also have a fairly steady pitch and rhythm and it becomes (pretty quickly) something that one can choose to ignore. It is still noise, and visitors may comment on it, but it becomes a white noise that fades and blends into the background the longer you listen. Here it is music and voices, a constant changing of rhythm, beat, and cadences. It is never something you can become accustomed to, and I can physically feel my ears straining to keep up with those changes and my brain always wanting to separate the sounds and react to them. Hopefully I will just fall unconscious soon through sheer tiredness, I would try alcohol, but there is no way I am dealing with the hangover head and that freaking non-stop cacophony of eternally frustrated souls.

Beep beep, beep beep, another of the many sounds in this rich and delightful tapestry of noise, but in this case it may be a welcome one… it is the taxi! This can be an interesting experience. I have no idea what most of the vehicles actually are due to the fact they were made, on the road in Europe or the US, discontinued and shipped to Africa before I was even born. I do know that I am constantly surprised and impressed that they continue to run, and that despite the fact they are often missing valuable features, windows for example (today’s was to be found in small broken shards on the floor, rather than the frame) or windshield wipers, brake lights (who needs them- they are really overrated, I have a reflective disc- what? You have no lights at the front to shine on my reflective disc…) they can be picked up fairly easily. You can tell a taxi because it has orange wing panels, thinks it can go wherever it wants, and beeps incessantly. I am not really sure why they beep. I originally thought it was to show they were available, but they also use the same signal to show they already have a fair. Then again they also have a light that says “Taxi” on top of the cab, but again this just seems to be stating an occupation as it has no connection as to whether the driver is available or not.

Today I have taken three cabs. The first was driven by a great guy who was very friendly and couldn’t do enough to get me where I wanted to be, very cheap and a great guy- no haggling, offered me a price that was actually lower then I would have expected after the to and fro of guess how much I want to pay, and dropped me in the exact place I wanted to be, the second was slightly over the odds, but was the only man who could read the map and the business card and actually knew how to get to the spa, kinda felt he had to have the money and that is was after all only a difference of 70c, and the third was a law unto himself! He was nuts, totally certifiable, and probably worth a whole blog entry of his own.

But at least taxis mean you don’t have to drive your own car and find somewhere to park. I do not have a car, and it is probably best I don’t get one. There are no sidewalks here and the street is lined with the open gutter system. If I manage to get to work on just one day when I don’t see some guy peeing (although my personal favorite last week was the guy who turned from the gutter toward the road to shake his post pee genitals- seriously, he was worried he might get more urine in the open sewer????) Anyway, my parallel parking method is to keep going until I hit the curb- here not so much. So, Wednesday being the Eid holiday meant a small group outing to a Pizza Place. The (Lebanese) pizza was awesome, in fact it was rated as the number three thing to do on a list of thirty eight things to do whilst in Ghana. Not places to eat, please note, but things to do. I’m not sure if this makes it outstanding pizza, or more likely just that Ghana as a whole has few things to do. An equally fabulous pasty followed this, purchased from a (Viennese) bakery, so fabulous in fact that I went back today and had lunch there, and very nice it was too.

Just in case you were concerned- my furniture has arrived as promised. Also in just under two weeks, and I got to ride in a flatbed truck so old and scary that I don’t even want to recollect it. Needless to say, I have never had to avoid a police road block before on roads so bad and in a truck in such a bad state of disrepair that people over took us walking (with parcels balanced on their heads) before. The furniture itself- great tho, then again with three brothers making it (Godfred, Dodfred and Rodfred- I swear to God (or Allah, I am a little confused as to who listens to me more at the minute) how could it not be.