Monday, 30 January 2012

Our First Tro Tro Ride...and more...


Today was a crazy busy day. It was a lot of fun; we got to go out and see a lot of Accra, but the heat definitely made us exhausted.
The timing of the day and meals are very different here. I will have to try and get used to it. We wake up a lot earlier, around 6/7am, but they don’t eat lunch until around 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon, and supper is around 7pm. There are big gaps between meals that I am not used to, but the food has been really good! This morning we had Wheatrix cereal. It’s this flakey wheat stuff that you mix with hot water and milk and it turns into an oatmeal-type breakfast. I added sugar to make it sweeter and it was yummy. We also had fresh pineapple and baby bananas and fresh bread. It was delicious. And the stories are true, the fruit here is so much more fresh and super sweet!
                The water wasn’t running today, so we had to use buckets to wash up. It’s more difficult, but honestly, I would never complain; it just felt so good to pour cold water over me after sleeping last night! It was a lot hotter today, but I think we are adjusting to it a bit. I was sweating again last night, and Petra was cuddled under a blanket...maybe there is something wrong with me? Haha...
                I got a chance to talk to Mummy Biney more today. She has a business where she makes and sells fruit juice; she sells a lot to the hospital because it is made out of these leaves that have a lot of iron in them. She is so smart, and knows so much; I think she will be a great person for my students to talk to about running their businesses!
                Today, we took our first tro tro!!! So exciting! (For those of you who don’t know, a tro tro is a little bus...looks more like long van from back home...and it’s in place of a taxi). Anyways, people PILE into these things; literally pile in, they push the people in until they are right full. The tro tro stops at certain stops and the driver yells out where they are headed. You basically have to run and jump on because they hardly stop, and just keep on driving. It was QUITE the experience.
                Afua had to work, so her friend Akos took us around; she was extremely helpful and very friendly! We took the tro tro to “Circle”, a place in Accra that has a big circle with a fountain. We got our phones and internet figured out today, so it’s nice that I can call home every once in a while.
                We went to “Osu” for lunch and ate at the food court. It was kind of nice to have food from home. They had a chicken, pizza, and ice cream place. I had a good old fashioned breaded, fried chicken sandwich with French fries, which they call “chips” here. AND I HAD A COKE! YUM! So good.
We also went to a really cool fabric store across the road. They had a lot of really nice patterns and fabric that a lot of the women have their dresses and skirts made out of. I will definitely have to go back there!
                We went to a cool art museum at the ‘centre’ and there were neat little shops with dresses, jewellery, and Ghanaian fabric and jerseys! All of the vendors were excited to see ‘white’ people and they kept yelling “Obroni! Obroni!” at us to get us to come into their stalls. (Obroni means ‘fair skinned person’ in Twi). It was really cool to see how badly they wanted us to look at what they were selling, especially when most of them were selling the same things.
                We came home and the little boys weren’t home from school yet, so Petra and I decided to walk back to la Tawala Beach and read a book by the ocean. The breeze, again, felt great! It was nice and relaxing.
For supper, we had pasta (didn’t know they had that here) with the same pepper and onion sauce that was on the rice. Either Mummy made it less spicy for us, or I am getting used to it a bit. Michael and Kwadwo were talking to us about their school during dinner; they were showing us their work and telling us riddles. They are such smart kids! They are so intelligent; they learn English, French and Twi in school!
Well, that’s about it for today...it’s a lot again, but SO MUCH HAPPENS HERE! I will try and put pictures up on Facebook tonight as well! 

2 comments:

  1. haha. Enjoy the food in Accra, like chips and breaded chicken. You won't be finding that in Asamankese! And I"m glad you talked to her about the business stuff! She's so excited to get involved!

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  2. Awwww...I had such heart palpitations this morning...oh, I was so worried for you guys so I'm so glad the day ended up so well. Eat all the fresh fruit you can. Haven't had that cornmeal before so I will try it next time.
    RE: Mama Biney - I should meet this woman! Do pick her brain for best practice...it will be helpful for our business development. It was cool seeing her wash stuff with her hands - used to do that all the time especially in boarding school. That will be quite the experience for y'all!

    RE: Art Center - that place is crazy! I always get a headache afterwards 'cos its so packed full of things and people. They are so lovely though but you're right - everyone wants to sell you stuff. Just take it in stride yah?

    RE: spicy food - you got it going on girl!

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