Ready for the day

Today I woke up at 7:00 to get ready for the day. I took my shower (No hot showers for a few months), got dressed and had breakfast. I found out later from Charles that my breakfast will be included in the price of the room, which is very nice.
We had to go into town so that Charles could run some errands. Because his car is out of service at the moment and we could not find another vehicles to use, we took the infamous Ghanaian public transportation, the Trotro. Try to imagine a eurovan that has been used as farm equipment for about 10 years, stick a few more rows of seats in so that you can fit about 20 people in and you have a pretty good picture of what it was like. No bother though, packed in like sardines I got to look out the window and take in the scene on the busy streets of greater Accra. Our first stop was the bank. I needed to get some money out to pay for at least part of my lodging. I took out 2.4 million cedis. We will probably stop again tomorrow. We would have taken out more but the most you can withdraw is 800k for each transaction and there were other people needing to use the ATM. I am wondering what kind of exchange rate my bank is giving me.
Next, we stopped off to talk to the man who is getting Charles a new engine for his car. He is importing it from Germany. It seems like all of the world’s second hand items makes it to the streets of Ghana. From used clothing to refurbished televisions lining the boulevards, Ghana seems to be the world’s little sibling, once America or Europe grows out of whatever item it is, they send it down the line.
Charles informed me today that I can get a cell phone here for relatively cheap. So I plan on getting one this Saturday. We are going to go into town to do some things and then I can get a phone. They are prepaid and it doesn’t cost me anything if I get calls, only when I make them. This way I think maybe I can figure out a calling card system that is pretty cheap to Ghana and have people call me. I can also get text messages for free. It will be nice to have that ability for communication. It is also a good idea to have a phone just so I can get a hold of Charles etc. while I’m here.
The next place on our excursion was the university of legon. We went to the book store there so that Charles could buy some text that his older son (13) needs for school. While on our way there, Charles informed me that my school may have more pressing needs than buying textbooks with the money I raised. I told him I would like to hear what this might be and that I’m sure that everyone who made donations would want their money to go wherever it is needed most. To be continued…
On the ride back, also in a trotro, I bough a FanYogo. These are so good and it only cost 2,500 (about 27 cents). This is a frozen strawberry yogurt packet that is sold by individuals walking up and down the lines of cars at stops along the way. I also bought two handkerchiefs to battle the sweat on my face, these cost about the same as the fanyogo. We then stopped for lunch before heading to the school that I will be teaching at. We both had fried rice and two pieces of fried chicken. I had my favorite flavor of fanta, fruit cocktail. I haven’t seen it anywhere outside of Ghana. We then walked a short distance to the school. The name is “Mary Star of the Sea.”
When we entered the school compound the children were all seated in the school square for an assembly in my honor. As we entered the schools gates the children began to get very excited and whispering to each other and waving to me like crazy. In the middle of the square there is a statue of the mother Mary. I noticed that Mary is depicted as being black. It was just one of those things you notice because it doesn’t fit the mold of my normal life. It makes me happy that the statue is black, in fact, Mary probably had a fairly dark complexion anyway, being from the geographic area of the middle east. So they had an assembly with dancing and singing to welcome me and I got up and made a little speech about who I am and why I am here. The atmosphere was very energetic and I am very excited to begin teaching. I will be teaching ages 7-9ish.
After the assembly I met with the other teachers that work at the school and I got up and explained my background, family, interests and why I ended up in Ghana. Charles told them all about the school project from last year and that I wanted to be president of the united states. He was embellishing a bit… When he said that the madam head master said that when I came up to meet her that she saw in my face someone who is going to do great things. School starts tomorrow and I have to wake up at 6:30am. There is no way that I could do this at home.
After school I walked back to Charles’ house with Charles and his younger son (9), Eliza, who attends the mary star of the sea school. Every day I am to walk home with Eliza and then have dinner with the family. Tonight we had ground nut soup with fish and chicken in it along with white rice. Everyone is too kind here. I remember this from when I was here last time but it is still amazing to me how friendly people are.
It seems a bit weird to be here without the rest of my “Ghana Questers” who were here with me last time. Being here brings back so many memories. We should have a reunion when I get back in December.
I hope I will get to go to the internet café tomorrow and that all is well at home.
Side note: the pollution and environmental problems here are disturbing. I am sure I will write more on this another time.