The Good (without the Bad and the Ugly)

Okay so I have heard from a few people, well maybe more than a few, that after reading my blog they have re-considered coming for a visit to Ghana.   The crazy and weird stuff really does make good material to write about – food borne illnesses, the heat and humidity, frustrating Uber rides, hazards everywhere and difficulties communicating.  But just to be clear there are some really awesome and wonderful things here in Ghana, so I decided to devote this blog to some of the good, and not the bad and ugly, about living in Ghana.

First, if you have been following the blog or know me well you know I love to run.  One of the things about running that has bothered me for years in the US is that even when the temperatures are in the low 70’s (we are talking Fahrenheit here) I get crazy frozen hands after or during a run.  For those of you familiar with this condition, Reynaud’s syndrome, it is a fairly common plague of runners.    Ghana, and its consistent heat has, at least temporarily, cured my Reynaud’s.  I haven’t seen the deathly-looking white, blue and then bright red changes in my fingers since I arrived.    Since I am trying to keep this positive I won’t talk about the trade-off for running in the heat and humidity. The other part of running or walking here in Ghana is how amazingly safe it is here. I have never felt unsafe. Ever. I walk alone not just during the day but also in the evening. Since we are in a good-sized city where many people get around by foot there always seems to be others on the street even at 5:20 AM when I leave to go for a run. The other thing is that people always talk to you so there isn’t that weird vibe you get when walking alone in the dark on some streets in the US.

How much do you spend on your cell phone bill a month?  Somewhere between $50 and $100?  Well, here in Ghana I spend just about 20 GHC.  This is equivalent to about 4 USD.  This is for data, text and talking.  $4.    My cell phone bill isn’t the only thing that is incredibly cheap here – my average Uber or taxi ride is about $1.50; a bunch of bananas or a whole pineapple – 40 cents.  Oh and by the way, the pineapple here is delicious, very sweet, soft and has a beautiful pale-yellow meat.     Any locally grown fruits and vegetables are also incredibly cheap. If you stayed away from the imported goods and eating out here your food budget would be very, very small.

The availability and prices of handicrafts in Ghana are amazing. Hand-painted glass beads, beautiful woven baskets, vibrant batik fabric and Kente cloth (a woven silk and cotton fabric with interwoven cloth strips native to the Akan ethnic group of Ghana), leather sandals, and wood or metal sculptures abound. Everything is reasonably priced, even cheap by American standards. Craftsmen here are usually happy to share the process of their craft. You can travel a few hours outside of Accra and go to Cedi Bead factory where Cedi (that is his nickname which is the name of the Ghanaian currency) or his staff will show you how they hand-grind recycled glass, pour it into clay molds and fire it in wood fired kilns.   After the beads are cooled they are washed, polished and hand-painted and then morphed into beautiful and colorful earrings, necklaces and bracelets. If you have time you can book a three-hour session there and create your own beads. So cool.  You can also make your own batik fabrics with Esther at Exmac Fabrics here in Accra.   I did this a few months back and created my own design and then had it sewn into a dress by a local seamstress (also an incredibly good deal here).

And then there are the coconut stands.  It seems almost on every street there is a coconut vendor.   You will see a huge pile of unused coconuts on one side of the stand and another pile of the discarded coconuts on the other.  I love to stop at the stand, and pay around 2 cedi (again this is about 40 cents) for the young coconuts – these have more water than a more mature coconut.  The vendor, using a machete, shaves the top part of the outside shell of the coconut and then hacks off the top of the coconut and gives you a straw (if you are trying to reduce your plastic use you can just forego the straw) to drink the delicious coconut water inside.  When you are finished drinking all the water you can hand the coconut back to him and he will crack open the coconut so you can eat the meat inside which is a white slightly gelatinous glob and tastes delicious.  If you ask, they will configure a makeshift spoon with a small piece of the shell of the coconut for you to scrape the inside.    Remember this next time you go to Whole Foods and buy a bottle of coconut water for five bucks.

Before my arrival here one of the things people told me about Ghana was that I would be impressed with the people and this has proven to be very true.  The people here are kind, friendly and compassionate.  California, for the most part, is pretty friendly but Ghana is really the friendliest place I have ever been.  When I walk down the street everyone says, “Hello, how are you?”  Not just, “Hello”,  “Hello, how are you?”  Sometimes we exchange this greeting and just walk on, but especially when I pass vendors that I see a few times a week (like the ladies who run some of the food stands on my way to L’Alliance Francais) I stop and ask how they are, they say “good” (or “fine” which are the only acceptable responses – it is considered impolite to tell someone you are not well!) and then they ask how I am, sometimes they ask about my family and I about theirs.   Even when I am starting to fume because I have had several cancelled Uber rides (I am really trying to keep this positive) once I finally get into an Uber, the driver is always just so nice that I can’t be angry anymore about anything.    Also, the people are so proud of their country and their people.  The first thing people ask me is, “How do you find Ghana?”  That is literally how the question is asked. They want to hear what I love about their country; what foods I have tried and what are my favorites; where I have visited; how long I have been here and how long I plan to stay.

Just in case some of you thought we were really roughing it here, our internet and AC in our apartment are fantastic. Apparently Google laid 1200 kilometers of fiber optic cable in Ghana a few years ago and our internet here is faster and just as, or more, reliable than at home in California. As for the AC, I look forward to walking into our apartment from the oppressive heat outside. Every. Single. Day. I am always in awe of the coolness of our digs. This can really be the highlight of my day, that and taking off all my sweaty clothes.

Before arriving I really did not have a sense of how people in Ghana dressed. Because of the heat I assumed people would wear fairly loose and casual clothing.   Remember I am a native Californian so I specialize in comfortable. Boy, was I surprised when I saw both men and women here dressing snappier than any day on Stanford campus back home. Women here, sometimes even the women carrying goods balanced on the top of their head in traffic, always seem to be wearing a very nice, fitted dress with a comfortable flat. The dresses are usually made of Ghanaian fabrics, bright and lively in mainly yellows, greens and various shades of reds and oranges with both intricate and bold, beautiful patterns. Many men, especially the younger men in the work force, wear “skinny” form fitting pants and shirts, ties and sometimes jackets. Some of my Uber drivers wear a nice pressed dress shirt and slacks. At church I feel like I stepped into a Ghanaian fashion show. Couples and even whole families come with beautiful matching Ghanaian fabric outfits.   I don’t know how they survive here in these outfits but they don’t look any worse for the wear and they look like they could have stepped off the curb in New York City.

So there you have it – a few of the positive things about Ghana. I didn’t even get to all the places in and out of Accra that you can go for either a historical experience (think slave castles) or a weekend getaway only a few hours drive from here (think beach resorts). Maybe I convinced just a few of you to visit Ghana in the near future.   If you come before next September we have an extra bedroom and bathroom waiting for you. You would even have your own fantastic AC unit.

Coconut man preparing my coconut

Firing up the kiln for glass beads

Washing and polishing glass beads

Esther at her shop (she is a bit of a ham)

Cedi bead bracelet and earrings

The batik I made!