On to Sanfo-Aduam

“A Peace Corps Volunteer is a person who, finding a cup of water that is half full, will take a bucket bath in it.”  CD Mike Koffman

Headquarters Accra

Luciano and I were driven right to the PC headquarters for our medical work on Sunday morning. We didn’t have to wait for a lorry or anything–what babies we were.  Actually lou is the oldest in our group and I’m second oldest.  People treat us very nice in Ghana.  Monday was a holiday so no tests until Tuesday. Without any thing to do we got an American style breakfast,  I bought some real sharp cheddar cheese at a western style (expensive) grocery/department store, and I bought expensive Ghanaian food for dinner.  I spent over 30 c for food that day (yikes!)  our per diem is 8 c/day!  I reined my spending and don’t think I spent more than 5 c all day on Tuesday–I even skipped the new Batman movie (10 c).

Ghanaian’s are reputed to be genuinely helpful– especially to old people.  Giftie, one of the PC trainers, told us, if we need directions, to ask a child, a woman or an older man.  She said we should be careful about younger men.  They are just as helpful in Ghana and most of them are fine too, but people who might lead you to a place where you could be robbed or worse, are virtually all young men.

So I left HQ bright and early Wednesday morning to go to my station. Lou stayed back for another test. so  I left with Jenn a PCV who offered to carry one of my bags.  She balanced it on her head and we walked to catch a cab or lorry.  She negotiated a 2 cd ride for both of us to the lorry stop and helped me get on a lorry to the central station. 

The central station made no sense at all.  I couldn’t even see where the buses parked.  So I asked a young woman how to get to the VIP bus station.  She insisted on taking one of my bags on her head and showed me where it was.  It was across a very busy divided road, so she negotiated a 3 cd ride with a cab, who took me through two very long traffic queues to the station.  In the second, he pulled up on the right to the second car in the left turn lane and spoke to the other driver who let him cut in. I asked if he were a friend and the driver said yes, but Ghanaians tend to answer “yes” to most questions unless you ask them to reduce the price.

The ride to Kumasi was in a large comfortable bus.  There was a lot of construction until we reached the eastern region, close to my homestay town (Anyinasin). But it was smooth thereafter.  In Kumasi, I had to find the Bekwai lorry stand.  A young woman asked me where I was going, took my bag on her head and said “follow me”.  She asked at three rows of lorries in a packed station and we had to cross a busy road (not too hard when traffic is jammed), but finally she found the ticket guy and we bought the ticket.  My counterpart met me in bekwai and helped find the line cab  to Sanfo.  He drives a drop cap himself so he had to go back to work.  Line cabs follow a route and are cheap, drop cabs take you exactly where you want to go and are more expensive.

The Net's up the room is sparce but large.  I'm good.

Anyway I made it to my house, my neighbors were gone and the room was locked so I walked into town and bought some oranges and bread without speaking English. I didn’t bargain much because the prices were better than accra or new tafo, but I felt good because on the way my Ghanaian women helpers did all the bargaining for me. My neighbor, madam Esther (She also teaches at my school), soon arrived and helped me sweep it a bit and put up my net.  It is good to be here.  I will shop for some things for my room and see if I can make it feel more like home and a place where a visitor might want to stop on her or his way to the Cape Coast.