Unfortunately, it's raining in my bedroom. The owner of the building lived for 13 yrs in Takoma Park, so we're paisans. He's taking care of it.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Rainy Season
The long anticipated rainy season is here. Cools things down considerably.
Unfortunately, it's raining in my bedroom. The owner of the building lived for 13 yrs in Takoma Park, so we're paisans. He's taking care of it.
Unfortunately, it's raining in my bedroom. The owner of the building lived for 13 yrs in Takoma Park, so we're paisans. He's taking care of it.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Smile of the Day
I love this little boy's face. He was at the match selling cookies and candies in a basket that weighed what he does. Is probably ten but, as with many kids here, he looks younger and is very small. Amazing how hard he can work for what has to amount to a few cedis a day. I asked if I could take his picture then had to coax a smile out of him.
That smile could light the city for a day.
That smile could light the city for a day.
Peace Match
Scenes from yesterday's Peace Match held on African Union Day and organized by Michael Essien. Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Black Stars captain John Mensah, and other current and former players competed. Got drenched and Africa lost but had fun.
Drogba!
After the game and the rain stopped. |
| The opening ceremony with a performance representing how Europeans brought soccer to Africa. I guess. No mention of what Europeans took from Africa. |
Friday, 20 May 2011
Security
Most all houses and apartment buildings here have a gate in front. Many also have a security guard at night who opens the gate for residents. The combination is meant to protect the building and residents from an intruder, natch. Problem comes in when the gate is shut and the guard is not there. Everyone tells you it's one of those inevitable things that happens to you. It did.
One night this week, returning from dinner with friends, I arrived home to find the gate locked tight and the night guard no where to be seen. Tell the truth, the night guard is a lovely but very old man who I'm sure would only lecture an intruder about where his life went wrong. But, there he was not. Luckily for me, I was with Martin and Sam (see If It's Tuesday) and a very nice cab driver, all of whom attempted to open the gate to no avail.
Wall and fence are a bit under six feet high, not counting the spikes...the most effective part of the security system. Martin, who is probably half a foot over six, offered to jump the wall next to the fence with a boost from Sam. Sam suggested that perhaps HE should jump the fence with a boost from Martin. After some discussion, that's what he did. I didn't watch because I was contemplating how we would get into the fence after Sam fell and wondered if the cab driver knew how to get to the nearest hospital (see Taxi!). No worries. He was over the wall and had the fence open in a matter of seconds with nary a scratch, cigarette firmly in mouth. Only cost Martin a few cuts.
Haven't seen the guard since, now that I mention it.
One night this week, returning from dinner with friends, I arrived home to find the gate locked tight and the night guard no where to be seen. Tell the truth, the night guard is a lovely but very old man who I'm sure would only lecture an intruder about where his life went wrong. But, there he was not. Luckily for me, I was with Martin and Sam (see If It's Tuesday) and a very nice cab driver, all of whom attempted to open the gate to no avail.
Haven't seen the guard since, now that I mention it.
Taxi!
Taxis in Accra deserve their own blog. There are thousands of cabs here and their honking to get your attention is part of the soundtrack of the city. Most are old cars, some held together with wire, some barely held together at all. I can't remember how many times the driver has had to get out to open the passenger door. Seat belts work, sometimes. (I don't get into a car without one, Mom.) Drivers are mostly young men (I've yet to see a woman) who brave the terrible traffic and bad driving and lack of stop signs. They can get to only very well known landmarks so you have to know how to get where you're going. Those of you who know my sense of direction and navigation skills: pause for laughter.
I have been quite frustrated by taxis yet have also had some great conversations about the country, the presidents...Mills AND Obama....and life here in Accra.
Taxis represent the frustration and ingenuity that is making a living here.
On the way back from Melcom (like Kmart) the taxi I was riding in didn't start at a red light. I assumed that the car had stalled. The driver simply said, "Out of gas" then proceeded to leave the cab. As I didn't know where I was or what he was doing, I stayed put contemplating how a cab driver could run out of gas.
A few minutes later, the cab driver reappears, opens my door, grabs one of my bags, telling me to get into the other cab he had flagged down. The two cabbies negotiated on splitting the fare, I got into the second cab, and off I went. I'm sure the cabbie used my 2 cedis to buy more gas and picked up a new ride in short order. Ingenuity.
BTW, one doesn't yell :Taxi" here. You either point down toward the ground in front of you or you hiss. I can't quite bring myself to hissing but I stopped putting my hand up in the air at least.
Taxis represent the frustration and ingenuity that is making a living here.
On the way back from Melcom (like Kmart) the taxi I was riding in didn't start at a red light. I assumed that the car had stalled. The driver simply said, "Out of gas" then proceeded to leave the cab. As I didn't know where I was or what he was doing, I stayed put contemplating how a cab driver could run out of gas.
A few minutes later, the cab driver reappears, opens my door, grabs one of my bags, telling me to get into the other cab he had flagged down. The two cabbies negotiated on splitting the fare, I got into the second cab, and off I went. I'm sure the cabbie used my 2 cedis to buy more gas and picked up a new ride in short order. Ingenuity.
BTW, one doesn't yell :Taxi" here. You either point down toward the ground in front of you or you hiss. I can't quite bring myself to hissing but I stopped putting my hand up in the air at least.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
If It's Tuesday
Saturday, 7 May 2011
Pizza with Quinine and Extra Cheese
Accra is a place of such contradiction. I had pizza last night that rivals any in DC...even Pizzeria Paradiso and Two Amy's. A friend was supposed to join us but he has malaria.
See what I mean?
(He's going to be fine, btw. Just a touch.)
See what I mean?
(He's going to be fine, btw. Just a touch.)
Thursday, 5 May 2011
WTF Update
A white cow running down Kanda Highway yesterday at about 5:45 p.m. His owner was chasing behind him about half a block. A lady yelling, not sure if at the cow, the owner, or just generally.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
The AABN Team
 |
| Stella, Cathy, Robbie, Maureen and Freemon (seated) |
Lome'
Lome, Togo, is about three hours from Accra. Five if you go the scenic route. Don't.
Nice beaches, right along the port area. Fun spot for music, including a great Lionel Ritchie tribute. Some good food though the promised great cheese and French wine alluded us.
The Cocoa Beach hotel is not at Cocoa Beach. You really had to have assumed that.
The Fetish Market: I can't really describe it. Imagine for a minute small, dead heads of animals and the attendant smell. Guess that does describe it. The photo won't do it justice. You really have to be there.
The fetish man will bless objects that bring luck, love, good health, virility (as this is a family blog, I won't quote him).
Fetish priests practice white magic. Only Nigerians practice black magic. Doesn't matter if you believe or not; it will still work on you. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
The border is a scene of terrific chaos. Americans pay more than Europeans to enter Togo. Hmpft. Getting back in to Ghana easy. If you don't have your Yellow fever vaccine card, you better have a small bill. If the official you get is watching a particularly riveting episode of a soap opera, it may take a while.
Nice beaches, right along the port area. Fun spot for music, including a great Lionel Ritchie tribute. Some good food though the promised great cheese and French wine alluded us.
The Cocoa Beach hotel is not at Cocoa Beach. You really had to have assumed that.
The fetish man will bless objects that bring luck, love, good health, virility (as this is a family blog, I won't quote him).
Fetish priests practice white magic. Only Nigerians practice black magic. Doesn't matter if you believe or not; it will still work on you. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.
The border is a scene of terrific chaos. Americans pay more than Europeans to enter Togo. Hmpft. Getting back in to Ghana easy. If you don't have your Yellow fever vaccine card, you better have a small bill. If the official you get is watching a particularly riveting episode of a soap opera, it may take a while.
What the ...?
My friend Martin, who's Irish, said yesterday that "not a day goes by here that something doesn't make you go what the f#$%." Truer words never spoken.
Yesterday's WTF: Small, white pickup truck driving from the Togo border toward Accra. Two men in the back. With two horned cows. One guy had his legs draped over this poor animal's back. There may have been three cows in the truck, actually. I only saw two. Either way, wtf.
Yesterday's WTF: Small, white pickup truck driving from the Togo border toward Accra. Two men in the back. With two horned cows. One guy had his legs draped over this poor animal's back. There may have been three cows in the truck, actually. I only saw two. Either way, wtf.
The News from West Africa
I was in Lome', Togo when the news of bin Laden's death was announced. Actually, I heard it the next morning on CNN International. Was odd to be away from the US when this happened and may have increased my very mixed feelings.
A sample of how the news of bin Laden's death is being reported here:
Daily Guide (Ghana's second largest paper): "News about the stealth operation in which Pakistani authorities collaborated with their US counterparts was broken by a visibly-excited President Barack Obama in the wee hours of the night in the US, a development which reports indicate could shore his waning political fortunes."
From allAfrica.com: "Is the death of the terror mastermind necessarily going to lead to safer travel and tourism or will it lead to heightened security alerts and more thorough screening? Kenyans have never forgotten that in 1998, al Qaeda terrorists, who were targeting the American embassy in Nairobi, killed over 250 Kenyans -- and 12 Americans -- in what remains the country's worst terror attack."
The other large dailies and radio sites are using BBC or Al Jazeera coverage.
A Ghanaian colleague asked me today if I was "rejoicing" in bin Laden's death. He shared my fear that there might be reprisals but also a general sense that the world is better off without bin Laden in it. No other comments from folks. Life goes on here, as it did before September 2011.
A sample of how the news of bin Laden's death is being reported here:
Daily Guide (Ghana's second largest paper): "News about the stealth operation in which Pakistani authorities collaborated with their US counterparts was broken by a visibly-excited President Barack Obama in the wee hours of the night in the US, a development which reports indicate could shore his waning political fortunes."
From allAfrica.com: "Is the death of the terror mastermind necessarily going to lead to safer travel and tourism or will it lead to heightened security alerts and more thorough screening? Kenyans have never forgotten that in 1998, al Qaeda terrorists, who were targeting the American embassy in Nairobi, killed over 250 Kenyans -- and 12 Americans -- in what remains the country's worst terror attack."
The other large dailies and radio sites are using BBC or Al Jazeera coverage.
A Ghanaian colleague asked me today if I was "rejoicing" in bin Laden's death. He shared my fear that there might be reprisals but also a general sense that the world is better off without bin Laden in it. No other comments from folks. Life goes on here, as it did before September 2011.
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