It's "somehow" different: Accra living

At 5:25 the alarm on our Nokia model cell phone (the one EVERY Ghanaian has) says in it’s robot voice “It’s time to get up, the time is five-twenty-five..” over and over until I obey and turn it off. Chances are the roosters or frogs or morning worshipers have already awakened me anyway. I pull back my bug net, slip on my flip flops, and shuffle to the bathroom. At 5:25, the sky is still mostly dark.

Ten minutes later Josh and I are in our stinky running gear and outside. Although it’s only been 10 minutes, the sky has gone from dim to hazy and bright. The sun rises and sets so fast here! On days we don’t run, if it’s not raining, I’ll maybe do some laundry and hang it to dry out back.

Our run (or trot, as they say here) takes us down past Independence Square to the beach, on the ocean of the Gulf of Guinea. As we dodge the street sweepers (people, not machines), we either run in silence, or sometimes debate the latest issue that our stay in Ghana has taught us. As we stretch by the water, we look to the east to see the pink sky behind the Osu slave castle and a scattering of palm trees. On the sand, dozens of young guys run back and forth, training for their football team.

By 7:05 we are back at the YMCA, bucket-showered and wearing our half-ironed work clothes, ready for the almost hour-long commute. Along our walk we pass Edward, the shoe repairman who saved my flipflops, the koko lady, and Madame Azuma, our favourite source of groundnuts. They all wave and challenge us to greet them in Twi.

A 15 minute walk takes us to Kojo Thompson Road, where we wait for our ‘car.’ When a tro flies by with the mate yelling “New Town, PigFarm, New Town, PigFarm,” we signal for it to stop and hop in. Though it varies, the ride usually costs us 30 pesoas each (equivalent to 30 cents). We arrive in Pig Farm, where I head to the bread stand. What should it be today. Tea bread? Butter bread? On special days, I get cocoa bread - so good. We then saunter down to our favourite fruit stand in all of Ghana, which boasts everything from bananas to mangoes to pineapples to starfruit to papaya to sweet apple (spiky and green, strangely delicious). Another 10 minute walk takes us to the KITE office.

After a long round of “Good Mornings” and “How are yous,” we settle down to work. When we are not in the field, our office tasks have been a range of data analysis, questionnaire development, and report writing for the two projects in which we have been involved. We have been exposed to so much that is interesting and new and challenging in our projects. We have been able to make good use of previous experience with Word and Excel in our assignments. Sometimes, we are also given side tasks or invited to staff meetings. I enjoy being in the office among such interesting people, and being witness to all the office dynamics. Sometimes there are big project meetings with important stakeholders and companies.

Morning times at the office are filled with greetings as staff come in one by one. Due to the ridiculous traffic in Accra, it takes some people three hours to get to work even if they live in the city!

Lunch comes late – around 2:00 – and is always enough to fill me for lunch and dinner! The KITE staff spent the first two weeks patiently explaining what’s in each new meal and how to eat it. Now, however, we’ve caught on – for example, on Tuesdays I’ll be like “Sweet Josh, it’s yam and palaver day.”

The afternoons pass quickly because of the late lunch. My favourite sound in the afternoon is the fan-milk (incredible ice cream sold in pouches) seller who goes back and forth past the office window squeaking his trademark fan-milk horn (basically a really obnoxious bike horn). We work hard at the office and almost always have enough work to warrant staying a little late.

Anytime between 5:30 to 7, we leave the office. If it’s past six, it’s already dark. We’ll maybe pick up some fruit, or biscuits, for an evening snack. Depending on how fast we want to get home, we either take a faster, more expensive tro to ‘37,’ or the slower, exciting drive through New Town.

Back in the first half of our stay, when everyone was still in school, we would ‘flash’ our YMCA friends on the way home. (Flashing is a really clever cell phone manoeuvre by which you call someone to notify them of something, but then hang up before they answer – free communication! I plan to start flashing back in Canada). If they were around, we would sit outside and chat, or sometimes go get food. Unfortunately now it’s the rainy season, the longest school break for Ghanaians, so they’re no longer around. (However we had a chance to go visit one of them last weekend in their hometown, which was a lot of fun).

Otherwise, we spend a lot of evening time reading. I have been through several phenomenal books, both fiction and non fiction. When you’re here and reading about human history, trade policy, or even Indian culture, everything is somehow just so much more relevant, real, and interesting. If anyone is looking for a life-changing read, pick up Guns, Germs, and Steel for sure.

Now that Amy and Lindsey are back in town, the books have been put down and replaced with long discussions about – well, about just about everything, but particularly our projects, our experiences, and the future of our organisation back at Queen’s. With their project in full swing back at the office, there have been a lot of interesting developments to talk about. I love this but it also means I’ve been staying up later than usual – that is, later than 9:00.

If it’s a Friday, we’ll maybe relax at Strawberry, our favourite ‘spot.’ On the Strawberry patio, they serve Ghanaian and international beers, all the popular soft drinks (that is, coke and fanta), and malt (kind of like a combination of coke and beer, the choice of most people who do not drink, who are many). Of course Strawberry also has an awesome playlist of all the best hiplife songs.

I hope that maybe this gives a glimpse into a typical day in my Accra life. During the last three months I have developed quite a love for this city – maybe it’s because I’ve never really lived in a city before (Kingston doesn’t count when you compare to this!), or because of the adrenaline rush of riding tros with some good reggae playing, or because of the genuine kindness of the people we meet, or the accommodating and friendly spirit of the office, or the incredible vibe and energy and creativity that is Accra. I guess it’s a combination. There’s such a dichotomy between here and the rest of the country, which is so rural in comparison. Both settings present beauty, insight, and challenges. I’m only too fortunate to be living in the heart of them.