Akwaaba!
I have officially completed my first month in Ghana! It's crazy really, it seems like such a long time ago that I left home, but it also seems like yesterday! I'm 1/4 of the way through the trip, and that's a strange thought too!
This has been a rather slow week. We did go into a few of the local schools to try and set up music programs through Mansek, and a couple seem prospective! Aside from that, it was a pretty average week. Because I don't have a whole lot of news, I'm going to describe a bit about Ghana and how things work here. I have taken a lot of photos, but like a jerk I left my cord for my camera at the house... I'm going to post them in the next couple of days with explanations, etc. Also, if you have Facebook, another volunteer posted a bunch, and you can see some on there!
Ghana Time
It's a bit of a joke among Westerners, but Ghana Time is a very real thing! It essentially means you arrive at approximately the right time. A general goal is within two hours of the scheduled time. It's a bit shocking at first, but since everyone runs on Ghana Time, it's nice to know being a little late is no big thing! We've had a couple concerts here, and even the performers show up an hour or so late! Craziness... But you can't really blame them, things in general run at a slower pace, and I think it's a heat thing. The last thing you want to do when it's 100 degrees is rush around!
Government
From what I can tell, and what I've been told, Ghana has the most stable government in Africa. They've been solid and peaceful since gaining independence in 1954. It runs pretty well, and is really trying to build infrastructure, provide affordable healthcare, and enforce compulsory education. It's a hard thing though. Many of the people still live in the past, and many struggle to make a living. Taxation is hard to enforce, as lots of people make a living peddling oranges, etc. Additionally, it is rather corrupt. You can get out of most anything with a bribe. Police barriers in an out of town check cars for a variety of things. Once we had a taxi that was one over the limit of passengers, and it cost a cedi (like 60 cents) to get through. For the most part, the government is effective. Funny quip: There are bill boards with the new president and Barack Obama on it that say "Change has come!" :) It still cracks me up every time I tell someone I'm from America and the first thing they say is "Obama!"
Speaking of independence, Ghana Independence day is Wednesday 6th! It's a national holiday, much like ours I gather, so it should be a lot of fun... I'll write all about it next week.
Schools
Elementary school is compulsory, but a lot of kids still aren't able to attend for a variety of reasons. The government subsidizes schools, and most are through churches which fund them as well. There are fees, though, which aren't very high usually, but can be enough to keep kids out, once you add shoes and uniforms. Upper schools are private and relatively expensive, so most kids get around a 6th grade education. There are several technical schools and universities in Ghana, and attendance is growing rapidly.
Relations with Obruni
Obruni is the term for white people here. We hear it... A LOT! The kids shout it at us as we walk by, and it 's the way anyone gets our attention. There hasn't been a lot of whites in Takoradi until just recently, when there was an oil boom off the coast about 7 years ago, so we're still kind of a novelty. There seems to be age divisions... babies until the age of about 4 are terrified of us! They often cry or just look at us in fear/confusion. Children think we are really interesting, and want to talk to us and play with us all the time. Then older adolescents/young adults see us as a visa opportunity! I can't tell you how many proposals I've gotten! It's silly. Flattering at first, then sickening. We've developed strategies, but one thing is for sure about Ghanaians... they are persistent! For the most part everyone is incredibly friendly, and very rarely rude. The only irritating thing is they assume all obruni are rich. Kids just randomly ask us for money, etc. We had a kid ask for a cedi, then think about it for a second, "No, obruni give me 100 cedi!" We also get "obruni prices" a lot. Really nothing is a set price here, so people charge/bargain as they please. Taxis fares, food, nearly everything goes up when they see obruni! Luckily, we've been coached in the fair prices, so we know what we should be charged, and have walked away from many a taxi trying to charge us double! Over all, though everyone is very kind, very helpful, and very enthusiastic to spend time getting to know obruni! The other volunteers and I always joke about how depressing it'll be to go home and not be a novelty any more.... our ego-ometers will go drastically down when we don't get 3 proposals a day! ;)
Names
I've mentioned before that middle names here are based on the day of the week you were born. I'm still investigating to figure out exactly why. Many people have very Western first names, and ghanaian last names. But lots go by their Day Name, which can be quite confusing in groups! Figure out your Ghana name!
Male/Female
Monday Kwadwo/ Adwoa
Tuesday Kwabena/ Abenaa
Wednesday Kwaku / Acua
Thursday Yaw / Yaa
Friday Kofi / Affua
Saturday Kwame / Amma
Sunday Akwasi / Akosua
Well, as I said I'll hopefully be posting pictures in the next couple of days! I send my love, and I look forward to hearing from everyone!
Love, Acua
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