Meet Me in Ghana

It's hard to believe that 6 weeks have already passed. I find myself settled into a somewhat mundane daily routine that's strikingly similar to my life in Vancouver. Funny how that works. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, people eat, sleep, work, play and repeat.

I guess the difference is, on the whole, there's a much higher dose of 'uncomfortable' with a good sprinkling of adventure. I mean uncomfortable in the best possible way - I think it's one of the greatest aspects of travel. It's about pushing your boundaries and just immersing yourself in something with nothing certain except a bit of self-confidence and the common ground you will inevitably discover with the people around you. There are often moments in my day when I have no clue what is going on, how things work here, where the bus I'm on is going....but it's a beautiful thing when I figure it out. (or, depending on the situation, come to the realization that I never will) There are some days when I feel like every small task requires a ridiculous amount of effort. But there are also days when typically uninteresting activities become fabulous adventures!

Speaking of my daily adventures, here are a few pictures for you:


Home sweet home

This is the family compound. There are about 7 different buildings where different members of the family and boarders like us stay.










My room...

You can't see it but there is a very beloved fan on the ceiling =)







Oxford Street

An Accra neighborhood called Osu - it's very popular with Expats because there are lots of restaurants and shops around.

The white and blue vans you can see at the end of the traffic line are Tro-tros, the most common form of public buses. They are RIDICULOUS and awesome at the same time. You can pretty much catch a Tro-tro on the side of any road, and get dropped off any where you like along it's route. Rides within the city cost less than 1 cedi (~60 cents). BUT the doors are often secured with rope, sometimes you can see the road through holes in the floor and a working speedometer is a treat! Acceptable moves in terms of
sane driving are also very different...


Pretty fabrics!

Traditional Ghanaian fabrics are so beautiful and bright! Pre-made clothing (like we're used in shops) is very expensive here. As a more reasonable alternative, most women have their clothes sewn at tailors =Awesome! Basically, you just go to the market or fabric store and pick a fabric you like and you can get pretty much anything made. We've already put an order in!