Akuapem and Accra are two different worlds. Mayobridge and Newry. The slow pace of life in the mountains perfectly suits the rolling green hills and a rural people. Accra is a hot, bustling mess of a city where tro tro space on the road seems to be more valuable than human life. I have no problem admitting that this was a difficult transition for me.

The volunteers in these two locations also lead two very different lives as a consequence of the location of their placements. The obrunis in the mountains are a much closer group, hanging out together and doing things en masse. Despite having no electricity or running water, it is much easier here to be accepted by the locals and to become part of the community. There is also a nice mountain breeze in the evenings due to the altitude.

Because there are more volunteers in Accra and spread out over the city, they tend to form their own little smaller groups. Accra-ites are much more used to seeing obrunis and there are specific obruni bars where Ghanaians do not seem to drink, either because of the horrible décor or the ridiculous prices. The worst thing about Accra, however, must be the traffic. Prepare to sit in a tro tro for an hour crammed with fifteen other people sweating the bit out if you want to go anywhere in the city.

Surprisingly, however, it did not take me long to get into the swing of things in the city and there is much to like about this crazy town. While I was in Accra, I helped out at a newspaper called the Daily Guide, a private paper which largely took an opposition stance to the government.

I befriended the sports editor and so had articles published about Ghanaians playing in England hopeful of making the Black Stars World Cup Squad (http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7906&Itemid=262), a local community football match between volunteers and Akuapem (http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7922&Itemid=262), Ghanaian boxing (http://dailyguideghana.com/newd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7996&Itemid=263), and some sports round-ups.

It was very interesting to see how a Ghanaian newspaper worked and to see my articles in print and random Ghanaians reading my pieces as I walked around the city.

Last week, a group of us visited Akwidaa, a beach west of Takoradi. It was a very relaxing weekend and the beaches along this stretch of the Ghanaian coastline are unspoilt by obruni interference. We stayed at a place called Green Turtle Lodge and then at Safari Beach lodge, both of which were very laid back with good food and some nice cocktails. We went on a canoe ride on the nearby river with some local fishermen and I even managed to get my hands on a surfboard for a few hours.

Last weekend just passed, I went with my two Ghanaians friends from Mamfe, King and Kofi Chinese and a Scottish volunteer called Mhairi who plays the fiddle, to a recording studio in Madina, North Accra. We put down some polkas with an African beat, King and Kofi playing percussion. Then we did a Ghanaian version of 'Galway Girl' before helping a local singer, Jahlead, put down his own song in Twi. I really liked his song and once I get home I will try to upload the CD we have so you can hear our Afro-Celt sound. It was a lot of fun.

After spending the last two weeks in Accra, however, I am now in Cape Coast and back to the building project. It is hot here, but I plan to enjoy being by the coast and relaxing on the beach on my days off. There is also a National Park near here called Kakum which I hear is worth a visit.

If Akuapem is like a more remote Mayobridge and Accra is like Newry, then Cape Coast is like a busy Cranfield. Here, the predominant language is Fante and not Twi so all those transactional Twi phrases/sentences that I have been learning in the mountains over the last two months are worthless now. Those that do speak Twi here struggle with my Akuapem accent as their Twi is more Central Region. Think someone from West Cork having to deal with a Kilkeel accent. Not easy.