The Swing of Things

The adjustment process continues. My movements have been confined mostly to the campus. I have visited three suburbs of Accra (Medina, Osu, and Achimota) for shopping but am yet to make it into Accra proper. I have logged one successful run on a tro-tro. Tro-tros are the nearly ubiquitous vans that offer cozy (or cramped depending on your mood) and cost effective (though taxis are not terribly expensive either) transportation to pretty much anywhere you want to go. A twenty minute ride the other day cost me 35 pesawas, or about 35 US cents.Regardless of how you travel, the traffic is pretty slow around Accra. There’s a great deal of construction. I think at least some of it consists of projects funded in part by the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is supporting infrastructure upgrades, particularly between Accra and the port of Tema.

Personally, I feel that I’m adjusting well. I’ve already had several engrossing conversations, many started spontaneously by strangers eating at the same food stand or sitting on the same bench. I was told that Ghanaians would be extremely friendly, and my experiences on the campus have certainly born that out. The most recent Pew Global Attitudes Survey notes that about 70% of Ghanaians have favorable views of Americans. For the most part, it seems that any anger with US foreign policy is directed at the government and not confused obrunis (Twi for white people).

I’ve been eating well. For breakfast, I usually have fruit (bananas or a mango) or a bread and egg sandwich. Lunch and dinner are usually organized around a starch, either jollof rice or pounded cassava or maize. The pounded cassava or maize comes in doughy balls called fufu and banku. You use your right hand to break off a piece (the left hand is considered unclean and therefore not appropriate for eating, shaking hands, etc.) and dip it in a soup which may be based on groundnuts (peanuts) or palm oil. I’ve also had beans with plantains and gari, which is a powder made from dried cassava. I’m sure I’ll become more food savvy in the coming weeks, but for now I’m happy that I’ve found good tasting meals that agree with my stomach.

Projects for the week include straightening out my academic program, searching out internship/volunteer opportunities, and continuing to explore the library.