Ghana be... fun

Back into Africa… again!

The summer was great, the travel was amazing and I seeing family and friends was enjoyable. But as ever, all good things must come to an end. Having been back in Accra for just over a week now I have spotted a few of those familiar, frustrations and eye rolling moments that let you know you are home.

Top ten ways that I know I am back in Accra…

1.     Mosquitoes are buzzing around and mosquito nets are once more a familiar sight before bedtime- now if only I had it over the bed rather than still draped over a chair it might prove to be more effective.

2.     Every time I step outside the compound gates I am confronted with the blaring of taxi horns and cries. “No, I did not want to taxi the first three times you yelled at me, I still do not want one now, and reversing down the road and asking me to tell you where I am going is not going to convince me to change my mind!”

3.     But- while we are on the subject of taxis…. Yes, they are all cars that are at least 20 years old, yes they have to have a wonky chassis and crack in the windshield, and yes you have to haggle and agree a price with will be three times the rate for a local, just because of the obroni tax… but I still know that ALL taxis have orange corners and I’m not going to get in any random car just because you say I can!

4.     Traffic! Enough said. I was surprised in Moscow over the summer, but I still think Accra drivers and the most insane I have ever seen. If there is a space fill it- who cares what side of the road it is on, or which way you are facing, or even if you are going in the right direction. No space? No problem! Either drive on the verge, or into someone else. Oh, and don’t forget the market with the constant roadside sellers that you need to weave between.

5.     Chicken shawarma- I forgot how good that was. I put it down to the garlic mayo… thank good for the Doxy, it has benefits other than keeping malaria at bay J

6.     The amount of male genitalia I see on a daily basis. No one should see as much as I do! I think even a doctor would be hard pressed to see what I see.  I should point out that this is not through choice, but just because I happen to be walking/ driving along the road.

7.     Which leads into number 7, and is not exclusive to Africa and Ghana by any means and I have seen a fair few offenders in America and Europe over the last few months, but… what is it with the jeans around the knees and the underwear on show look? The worst case was over the weekend, where the jeans were so low that there was skin between the bottom of the boxer shorts and the top of the jeans, enabling jiggle and genital escapage with movement!

8.     Housing quirks…. I have a shower which leaks and doesn’t empty- ever! Not because it is blocked but because it is a plinth rather than a tray, has no lip and the water needs to run uphill to get to the plughole.  Electric sockets that are so randomly wired you have no idea what switch controls which power source- it is the Salvador Dali of wiring, maybe an early physics plug and play lesson with a 9 year old? But all of which runs on a generator, when the diesel is there.

Shower- in progress earlier this year.

9.     The water truck arrives- no water does not just magically flow freely throughout the house and run effortlessly out of the taps; it is delivered in a truck. Once every few weeks the water truck appears and fills the tank at the side of the house. The drinking water comes from a water cooler and the volvic bottles are replaced every few days, and the water in the pool- now salt water- well, I have no idea where that comes from, but it is very clean and refreshing looking.

1 Finally and by no means least- you know you are back in Accra when you can see so many smiling and helpful faces around you. You catch up with friends and colleagues, weekend brunch dates start to show up on your calendar again, the sky is usually blue, the weather is hot, fresh coconuts and mangoes grow in your garden, palm trees can be seen out the window, and drumming can be heard coming from… well actually I have no idea, but it is a familiar sound.

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Of course there are plenty of other Ghanaism- the church and the mosque trying to outdo each other on volume at 5am on Sunday morning, people sleeping in the road- yes with traffic moving around them- a constant source of fear to me, the newspaper guy who stops to great you every morning no matter how busy he seems- and yes he is always trying to teach us new Twi words, the children who are convinced you must be a ghost, and the lady who owns the store on the corner and will try and order anything you need- “It’s finished.” Maybe a familiar phrase but you know she is out looking for more.

Great summer- nice to have some familiarities back after 7 weeks of travel and adventure, but now it is time to start planning the next one.