Akwaaba

Akwaaba means welcome here in Ghana where people speak a plethora of languages, but most everyone speaks a bit of English. I arrived Monday night after a flight straight down the Sahara desert. Unfortunately I landed at night and didnt get to see any part of Ghana but it was different looking out the window and seeing mounds and flats of sand for as far as the eye could see at 37,000 feet. When I arrived, the owner of the hostel, Selesy was there wearing a wide grin and carrying a sign reading 'Mathew H.' The place where I stay is pretty decent; I have my own room, small desk and chair, and my own locked toilet and shower in the communal bathroom. Things I will have to get used to are the roosters of the 0400 hour, no hot water so coooold showers, and the three days electricity on, one day off. With time though I suppose I will get used to it. I met a worker at the hostel named Haruna who has been all too kind showing me the ropes. He is one of nine children and his father died when he was five. His view on life is, well, awesome. He's 24 but and has not had formal education, but will not give up on that chance. He says, education is the key. I completely agree. He knows his time will come and he will get his chance, so his mentality in the mean time is help everyone you can. He likes traveling, but knows how difficult it can be, so he says that when he saw me, he knew he should help me out. It really is a due unto others as you would have done unto you, and if you do, good fortune will come your way. Haruna took me into the town of Medina where we live and we walked around for a while, some areas looking a bit more squalid than others, but overall people seem content with their lives here. The one thing I have noticed wherever I go, is the place always stinks. Between the road and the "sidewalk" (unpaved area to the side of the road) they have dug about a two meter deep gutter where people dump all kinds of nasty trash. Later in the day I took a tro-tro (big van cramming 25-30 people) to Accra. It's a smelly hot 45 minute drive, but I get to see a lot, and it costs roughly 30 cents. The currency redonominated on Sunday and since it was holiday on Monday, today was the first day people were using it. Now I'm walking around with two currencies, the new one 4000x smaller than the original. The tro-tro dudes, who are constantly yelling out the window and making hand signals to designate their destination, only take the old stuff currently, so I'm still in the market for the former currency.

Accra, the capital city, is a mad house. Curvy streets with barely any signs and once I get a chance to get pictures on here I will but it may take a while. I am quite the spectacle. In case you didn't know, everyone is black. I saw fewer than five white people today and saw thousands and thousands of Africans. It is quite a change, and it is always exciting. I wrote down some of the things people said as I walked by. Once I was walking with my eyes buried in my map, and one dude sitting down goes, "Hey white man, those silly maps are never right." I had a laugh and let him attempt to show me on my way. Everyone here loves to help me out, except often times they have NO idea what they are saying and it can take quite a while for the explanation. It's pretty amusing and am always welcome to the interaction. Almost always we exchange names, a handshake and some friendly talk. I bought some crackers from a lady in the market and as she attempted to trick me into buying two, I kindly refused, and she began to have a hearty laugh. "Mysterious Obruni, have a nice day." Obruni is another word for white man, of course. I had a good laugh myself and continued on through the market where hoards of people are selling all kinds of food, clothing and woven materials along the street. Nobody here is fat, but the women seem to be the more confident and powerful of the gender. They seem to be built a little bigger and they, as you will see, are the only ones lugging crates and tubs on their heads. The men often jabber at each other and seem to be a little more on the lazy side. The children, they think I am straight from Mars. A group of school girls had no shame in pointing, laughing, grabbing my arm and making jokes where all of them giggled. Yes, quite the spectacle. Everyone so far has been so nice, and have formally welcomed them into their country. Loads of pride for their roots and their country, loads of it. And I am beginning to share their sentiment.