We don’t have a car here in Accra so I spend part of my day, everyday, trying to calculate how I am going to get from point A to point B and back the most efficiently.   I am surprised that going to the grocery store or to French class can be an adventure just to get there. They are several options for travel within the city: walking, Uber, taxi, tro-tros, shared taxi and private car. Some are reliable, some semi-reliable, and others just don’t seem like a good option for various reasons.

Should I walk? This is highly dependent not on just how far it is but how hot it is outside and how much traffic there might be and whether there is enough room on the side of the road to walk.  Also, walking here is not for dawdlers.   Seriously, you will die if you dawdle. Every pedestrian I see runs across the street. Even when a car has stopped to allow you to cross, you run, as fast as you can – like your life depends on it (because it does).   In some ways I wish Americans could heed to this in the US – being an impatient American I do get a bit irked when in the US able-bodied individuals lollygag across the street when I am in my car. NEVER.  WOULD. HAPPEN. HERE.

Should I take an Uber? Yes Uber is here and thriving but not always reliable. In fact, more often than not, it takes 2 or 3 tries to call up an Uber before one actually shows up to pick you up. Cancellations while they are “on their way” are common even when the driver is texting you that they will be there soon or you watch your Uber car on the little map that the app provides and you see it make a U-turn away from you and the time to reach you increases by a minute, then two, then five, then you get a cancel notice. I find this so confusing and a bit funny. Well, not really funny when I have a load of groceries and am trying to get home before everything melts or spoils in the heat. I have resorted to measuring some of my days by my Uber experience – get an Uber on the first try AND he (no she Uber drivers that I have seen) had a working seat belt in the back seat – that is a thumbs up kind of day.

Should I take a taxi? This involves 2 important issues: 1) you must not only know where you are going but how to get there. Street names and addresses have little to no meaning here – you must know landmarks (mine is always “I live near the Koala Airport market” and 2) you have to feel up for bargaining since there are no meters and the price is ALWAYS negotiable. I will overpay for a taxi just so I can get home quickly. Also, when I say overpay I mean paying the equivalent of under $4 US dollars instead of $2 or $3. Can’t get too upset at those prices. Taxis also seem to lack working seat belts in the back and I have yet to be in an Uber or taxi with air-conditioning or maybe they have it and just don’t turn it on.

Speaking of taxis…The first week we were here we noticed (hard not to since about 50% of the vehicles on the road are taxis) every taxi that passed us while we were walking tooted their horn at us. The hubster and I thought this was maybe a sign that we were walking too far into the road or that they thought we should not be walking and we should jump in. Well, we come to find out honking here means: 1) I see you and just in case you really want a ride here I am 2) I am turning the corner so if you are crossing you better run (see above) or wait until I have turned 3) I see a taxi going the other direction, “Hey there, other taxi!” or 4) I see someone pulling out and I want them to know I am here. While out walking, taxi drivers will stop or slow down and ask, “Where are you going?” They just want to know if I want a ride and when I wave them away they look at me and also gesture with an upturned hand meaning, “Why would she walk when she could get a ride?” Not an unreasonable thought especially when I notice even the back of my hands are sweating.

So this all leaves me with the other 3 options – tro-tros, private car or shared taxi. I have yet to take a tro-tro. Tro-tros are minibuses that are public transportation. They are the most common and cheapest form of transportation for Ghanaians. There are usually pretty rickety looking, spew a lot of black smoke, have religious or other sayings on the back windshield (i.e. “Yours is coming”, “Nowhere good”, “Fear women and save your life”) and I have often seen the back gate and the sliding door held closed by rope. They are usually stuffed with people and what they are carrying and when someone gets out it looks a bit like a small amount of toothpaste being squeezed out of the tube. That all being said, I have not managed to have enough courage to get in one…yet. Hiring a private car is a luxury here and it is nice to do when you are traveling a bit out of the area or you have a lot of errands to run and don’t want to keep calling for an Uber or taxi.   I probably never will experience a shared taxi – this is when a taxi will pick up other passengers along the way. It is a lot cheaper than a regular taxi but doesn’t seem to be the safest or most efficient way to go especially since I seem to have lots of other options.

There have been other highlights in the first month here included a trip up the coast with the hubster’s colleagues, including a visit to Kakum National Park where we walked along the Canopy Walkway, bridges suspended 30 meters above the ground; we have experienced several electrical outages – one lasting almost 2 full days (but we have a generator so don’t feel too sorry for me). I started taking French classes 5 days a week and I am the oldest student by over 20 years and I’m also taking Twi (the local language) once a week. We learned how to bargain at the market in Twi last week – somehow bargaining in a language other than English is empowering rather than intimidating, go figure.   Yesterday I watched a movie being made at my favorite coffee shop around the corner from our apartment with the famous Ghanaian actor, Prince David Osei and my favorite waiter got a bit part in the movie.  So life here is not just about wishing for a timely Uber ride and a seat belt, but I’ll take those things any day.   MΣhunu wo akyire.

Hubster on canopy walkways trying to not look frightened.

Elmina – fishing village up the coast.

Actually officially we arrived 12 days ago, but the first week was a bit of blur with settling in, attending an orientation with hubster for his work (this is mostly a “how to stay safe and healthy in Ghana course”), running around trying to figure what you need for your apartment and where the stores are and is it better to take an Uber (yes, they have Uber here, more on that later), a taxi or get a private driver.

We were told by several people who have been here before that the “trailing spouse” (that’s me, although I beg to think of a better term for us) should always have a plan for Monday morning.   So yesterday morning, Monday, being the good student I am, I had a plan ­­­­− work on my blog and run over to the mall and get my local phone set up. Great plan. Well it seemed great until 3 AM. Without giving too much detail let’s just say there was a lot of time in the bathroom, alternating with trying to sleep and then my first date with Cipro. So, I slept 20 hours yesterday and did nothing.   Apparently I was not paying attention in class about how to stay safe and healthy.

So, today I will for sure get over to the mall to get my phone set up – I tried this a few days ago but forgot my passport. Well, really I didn’t forget it I just didn’t think I would need it to get a phone. I do have a Ghanaian ID card, which looks super official and all, but the woman at the store told me I wasn’t in the system and she could not identify me. I don’t even know what that means except that I could not get my phone that day.

In the first 12 days we have taken several Ubers and taxis and had our first (but likely not the last) Uber ride where the car broke down on a busy highway. We were able to safely get out of the car and make it across the highway – luckily for us there was a Mosque across the street and a crosswalk and then we successfully flagged down a taxi to get us home.   The next day we took an Uber over to the mall to get my phone set up (unsuccessful) and buy some groceries (successful). Again, we take an Uber home. As soon as we get in the driver says what sounds like, “I need food.”   We look through our bags wondering what we can give him, I offer up some eggs. He looks at me like I am a little crazy. He says, “No, I need FUEL.” Ah, fuel. Yes, I see that his gas gauge is below empty. Hubster wants to bail and get another car, but really, this guy needs some fuel, so we will give him a cash “dash” or tip.   Of note here is that a ride from our apartment to the mall or visa versa is 5 cedis (GH¢) which is equivalent to one dollar US. So, we end up giving him a dash of 5 cedis. The eggs were actually more expensive.

We have eaten out quite a bit – could explain my date with Cipro, and so far our two favorite restaurants are a local Chinese restaurant and a Lebanese-French restaurant where we went for the hubster’s birthday. In both places our food came quickly; was hot and delicious. Everywhere else the normal time between when you order food and it is delivered to your table seems to be about 55 minutes – no matter how many people are in the restaurant at the time and no matter how hard or easy the dish seems to be to prepare.   Note to self or anyone visiting here, never go out to eat when you are starving or at least bring a snack to have on the way.

Life here is not all about learning patience and slowing down a bit for us Type A Americans. The people here are beautiful, wonderful, uncomplaining and kind.   The climate is tropical and reminds me very much of Hawaii. We have beautiful sunsets off our balcony every night (see photo taken from our balcony above). We even had a laugh with our taxi driver – the guy who picked us up after our failed Uber, when we told him where we lived and said he didn’t know the street. This is common in taxis here so I would not advise taking one unless you know the way yourself. We told him our apartment was near Koala Airport, which is the market close to us, and his eyes get wide and he says, “Oh you must live in that tall apartment building across the street.” I know exactly the place he is talking about – it is probably one of the fanciest places around and, no, it is not where we live. I laugh and say, “No, not there, but I wish!” He responds, “Me too, but you white people can live anywhere in the city.”   He laughs, a big hearty laugh.  We give him a good dash.

A word from my guest columnist, the hubster, George.

Meredith has kindly allowed me to write an entry on her blog. I doubt that will happen very often, so I appreciate the opportunity.

The title above is a line from a Talking Heads song (Life During Wartime), but it accurately describes what Meredith and I have obtained to prepare for our departure in ten days. I managed to get approved for a second US passport (possible if you expect to have to apply for many visas) in the spring, and just got an e-mail a few hours ago that my Nigerian visa has been approved. We both already have gotten our Ghanaian visas. The Ghana visas were issued in two days with minimal paperwork required from us; Nigeria took ten days and lots of paperwork. Lately, most of the companies involved in the Stanford SEED West Africa program have been Nigerian — not surprising, since it is the largest economy in the region. Others have been located in Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger, Benin, Senegal, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso, so it is possible I might be traveling to any or all of those countries over the coming year, as a coach.

Some bumps in the road in getting ready to leave for a year. The biggest mishap happened while we were in Europe a month ago (when we did the “Tour de Mt Blanc”, a 200 km circuit of the Alpine trails around Mt Blanc). I opened an e-mail from someone named Seth (not a name familiar to me) saying: we think we lost your car and think you should file a police report.   Meredith recognized the sender’s e-mail address and said it was from the company she had hired to ship her Honda CR-V to our daughter Gabriella in New Orleans. However, there was no indication WHERE the car had gone missing (key info if we were going to file a police report). Several weeks, one police investigation and an insurance claim later, the car was found – in the wrong end of a large lot in Chandler, AZ, where it was mistakenly put up for auction. Car is now safely in New Orleans, and Meredith is disputing the $1500 fee charged by the trucking company (which had been recommended by someone in the business – which apparently is known for some very sketchy operators).

Other issues were relatively minor in comparison to a lost car: I discovered, when I started on the list of required vaccinations needed for Ghana last May, that there was a nationwide shortage of yellow fever vaccine (apparently the only factory authorized to produce the vaccine in the US had just been forced to close, and all vaccine was being sourced from Europe). A doctor at my local healthcare provider in Santa Cruz threw up her hands and said she had no idea where to send me for the yellow fever shot. I ended up driving to the Oakland airport office of a nationwide network called Passport Health (which we highly recommend for any readers thinking of visiting us in Ghana). The only other snag came when we were setting up all our bills for electronic billing and payment: our small electric utility in South Lake Tahoe (where we have a vacation home) does not accommodate electronic billing – you can pay electronically, but have to look for a monthly invoice via mail (so last century). One pleasant surprise during the past week: we discovered that while we have to pay for each checked bag on our flight from San Francisco to New York on Delta, there are no baggage fees for the next leg from New York to Accra.

I feel very fortunate to be part of the SEED program, now in its sixth year in West Africa. We have been following the blog of one of the current coaches (with whom I worked some twenty years ago in Silicon Valley).   In her final post, dated today, she said she has had an unforgettable experience over the last year.   We are looking forward to having the same.

I am used to being busy.  I mean really busy.  I have been working full-time my whole life; raised three kids mostly as a single mom, exercise/run a lot and currently have a 100 mile round trip commute to work.   So when I found out that I wasn’t going to be able to work while in Ghana – I really started to wonder what I was going to do with all that time.  Free time, gobs of it.   I did have visions of me lying around, going for leisurely shopping expeditions, joining every exercise class I could find, but would that be enough?

And then life took a little turn of luck or serendipity or whatever you want to call it.  A few months ago a friend was having a fundraising event for an organization called Mini Mermaids Running Club (MMRC).  MMRC was born in 2009 in Santa Cruz when the founder, Heidi Boynton, discovered a lack of after-school running clubs for girls at or below the poverty line.  Heidi has created a unique character-driven, movement-focused curriculum for young girls (and boys) utilizing running, jogging and walking as a teaching method for self-efficacy.  As luck would have it, Heidi was at the event and we got to talking and then I found out that her program has expanded to OTHER COUNTRIES.  Light bulb.   I immediately wondered aloud – could we do this in Ghana?  I could combine my love of running and its benefits, kids, and life and bring something wonderful and empowering to young girls in Ghana that they would not otherwise have available to them?

So, Heidi and I talked and met, and the more I knew about her and the program the more I knew that I wanted to try to make this work in Ghana.   I got in contact with another coach’s spouse who lived in Ghana a few years ago as I remembered she had helped a school, Noyaa https://www.noyaaghana.org/  in the Jamestown area.  This is one of the poorest areas of Accra and most of the children cannot afford to go to the regular public school (which costs very little but there is still a cost).    Did she think this was feasible?Yes.   Did she think the school that she helped might let me give this a go there? Yes. Would she put me in touch with the headmistress at the school?  Yes!

I have a goal of implementing 5 six-week programs for elementary girls in Accra over the year we are there.  $1000 can support a class of 10 girls so I have set a goal of raising $5000.  There will be no cost to the girls to participate and each will receive a journal for reflection, t-shirt, supplies for activities within the curriculum, race entry to a local 5k and finishers medal.   To donate please check out my fundraising page here.

If you would like to have more information about the program please check out their wonderful website at https://www.minimermaidrunningclub.org/ or please feel free to contact me directly at meredith.mills@gmail.com.

No donation is too small or too large.   Meda w’ase!  (Twi, a local language, for thank you)

July 16, 2018

Last fall, the hubster, George, came to me asking what I thought about him applying  for a volunteer gig with the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Ghana (West Africa).  Okay, so at first, he actually wondered if he got the job if it was “okay with me” if he went whilst I stay in Aptos, work at Stanford, take care of the house, and live the life of a single woman.  My answer was “Only if I can go with you!”  A year in Africa?  Sounds like a plan to me.  So the short story is that George got the “job” and we are heading off to live in Accra, Ghana for a year starting in September.

We are less than 2 months from our ETD and there is a list of things to do before we go taped to a kitchen cabinet and there are a few things checked off – only a few.  One of the things I have on my list was to go to the DMV to renew my driver’s license which expires while we are away.  The new Real ID is available now (if you don’t know what that is I am sure you will in the next few years). This requires you to bring a lot of documentation with you including your passport, some proof of a SSN (I am pretty sure I haven’t had a SS card in about 30 years), utility bill to prove where you live, your first-born child, snacks for everyone at the DMV who literally take a break every half hour.

Being a responsible and optimistic person, I made an appointment for today at 9:20 AM.  I arrived around 9 and there was a line about a quarter-mile long.  Lucky for me that was the “No appointment” line.   I walked in the appointment door and was pleased to see that there was NO LINE at the appointment desk.  I am thinking “This is great. This is going to go smoothly. I will be in and out of here in no time.”    After standing on the red carpet (is this supposed to make us feel special for having an appointment?) for 10 minutes the woman behind the desk who is ALSO checking in everyone without an appointment turns to me and asks if I have an appointment.

“Yes,” I answer.

“What time?” she asks.

“9:20”

“Our policy is not check you in for your appointment until 5 minutes before your appointment time.”  (It is now 9:10)

“Um, okay.”

“Did you fill out the form for your renewal over there.” Nods her head towards a back wall of the DMV office.

“No”.  I am wondering did I miss a sign or something.  Immediately assume I have done something wrong.

“Well, go over there and fill out the form then write the confirmation number here and then come back here.”

“Okay.”

I walk over to the back wall in the direction of the big nod and look at all the forms and not one is for a DMV renewal. Then I see a bunch of computers in an alcove and a lot of frustrated looking people and one man in a blue DMV polo shirt running around trying to help people – this included measuring one customer to determine his height so he could enter it on the form which is ON THE COMPUTER.    Unfortunately all the computers are taken.  The woman sitting at the first computer is just doing that.  Sitting.  Not completing anything on the computer.  I realize that she speaks Spanish and doesn’t know which button to click.  She waits for the man in the blue DMV polo shirt to show her how to get the form in Spanish.   The woman next to her has obviously had a stroke and is having difficulty using the mouse, man in blue DMV polo shirt to the rescue.   It is now my appointment time and I am still waiting for a computer.  Finally someone leaves.  I step up thinking how hard can this be I am on a computer all day, I am tech-savvy, speak English as my first language, haven’t had a stroke, know how tall I am so won’t need the man in the blue DMV polo shirt.  I zip through the form which asks name, date of birth, SSN, CDL #, height, weight, hair color (I debate between grey and blonde and decide on the latter), whether I am willing to donate my organs (yes) and whether I am a citizen and want to register to vote (I am already registered to vote).  I press the submit button.  ERROR.  THERE IS SOMETHING INCOMPLETE ON YOUR FORM.  What?  I go back and recheck all my info, press submit again.  Again the error message.  Now I have to wave down the man in the blue DMV polo shirt.  He is kind which of course surprises me.  He tells me it is not my fault (I am liking him better).  He then explains that basically all the computers need to be restarted as there is a glitch preventing any form from being able to be submitted.  He redirects me to the computer next to me which he has already restarted.  I start all over again and this time when I submit I get the coveted confirmation number and I yell, “It works!”  A few people around me congratulate me including a guy whose form submitted but then he forgot to write down the confirmation number on his piece of paper so he had to start all over again.  We all give him looks of sympathy.

Okay, so I return to the nodder but she has been replaced by another person.  Again, I am pretty sure these people take breaks every half hour.  She gives me my secret special DMV code that will in time allow me to talk to a person at a window.  I sit and wait and watch for my number and about 5 minutes later this is what I see:

Yep, NO ONE at any of the windows.  How is this possible and I love the “How are we Doing?” sign.  Pretty sure the answer has never ever been positive.  I text hubster to tell him how it is going and that no one is at the windows and he responds, “Maybe a team mtg on customer relations?”  Ah such a card.

It is now 10:30 AM – I have been here over an hour and now finally my not so secret number is up on the board.  I proceed to window 11.  She takes all my documents, makes copies several times, seems confused as to where the actual passport number is located in my passport.  Tells me I need an eye exam, photo and to take the test and then proceed to Window 15.  Takes my thumb print.  I pass the eye exam even though I am pretty sure I incorrectly stated at least 2 letters.  I feel like the test is a trick since the P and F look the same when you are 61 and not wearing your glasses.  Next I get my photo done and the photographer (Window 13 lady) tells me I look pretty in my picture.  We’ll see.  She sends me back to the computer area to take the test.  I pray that there is not another glitch in the system. I pass the test (it only takes 5 minutes) and only get one wrong.  The question is:

If you fail to pull over to law enforcement the penalty is

1. $1000 (sounds good to me)
2. Some idiotic answer
3. Not more than one year in county jail

Correct answer is c.  Hmmm.  I am not sure who knows the correct answer to this unless you were planning to not pull over and thought “It is not more than one year in county jail so I am going to evade the police.”

I proceed to Window 15.    Everyone in this line seems to be waiting for their behind-the-wheel test.   Window 11 lady approaches me while I am in line and asks to see my passport again as she needs to make another copy  – my suspicion about not knowing where the number is might be right.  I wait in line.  She finally comes back with my passport and I find out a few minutes later that I am in the wrong line.  Supposed to be 14 rather than 15.  Window 14 is marked “Corrections”.  Apparently to others this is a logical place (although unknown to Window 11 lady) to go when you renew your license.  I am now ready to start acting crazy since Window 11 told me to go to Window 15 and then comes and talks to me and takes my passport again while I’m in that line yet THIS IS THE WRONG LINE?  How can this be?

A very kind man lets me in front of him in my new line – there are still three people ahead of me which by DMV standards is extremely short.  He and I start chatting.  He told me that he has been there since 6 AM.  It is now 11.  Finally, in what I hope is my final time with anyone at the DMV for at least 5 years she calls me forward.  She takes my paper, hands it back to me, hands me my temporary license, has me sign it and I am done.  Took maybe 45 seconds.  Total time at the DMV – 2 hours.  I am just guessing this is my training for the year to come in a country where nothing apparently runs on time.  Going to be quite a year!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton