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So it turns out that volunteering includes a room with aircon, hot running water, a swimming pool, three buffet meals a day and wi-fi! (At least until I headed up north, but that was a whole week away and so I pushed it right to the back of my mind). The first few days we spent in the hotel in lectures and doing activities. The most useful was talking to a rep about what life was going to be like up north. It turns out that every VSO house is kitted out with a fan, fridge with a freezer, bed, desk and chair, water filter, gas cooker, electricity and proper security. Things were definitely looking up and even the thought of living of £5.50 a day could not dampen my spirits!
The other highlights of the first few days was 'riding the pony' (this is not a euphemism for taking hard drugs or some bizarre sex act but a game normally played with primary school involving chants and imaginary horse riding which I introduced the other volunteers to) and our first experience of Accra properly. There were two parts to this; the first being a trip to the local spot (the Ghanaian word for pub or bar) and our trip to the local market. The visit to the spot was our first trip out of the hotel and the difference was staggering, although saying that I did feel more at home in the hustle and bustle of the local streets. To qualify for a spot all you need is a few plastic chairs, a cooler with a few beers in it and a MASSIVE sound system. As someone pointed out, the guy in Ghana who sells sh%tty, second hand speakers that have huge amounts of distortion must be equivalent of Theo on the Ghanaian version of Dragons Den, as they are everywhere.
Right, a quick rundown of alcohol in Ghana:
· There are three main beers called guilder, star and club and I rate them in that order. (Guilder is like Stella, star = fosters and a club is like Tesco's homemade piss) and costs between 75p and £2 depending on how upmarket an establishment you are drinking in
· You can get Guinness but it tastes sweeter and is a bit weird and they also make some odd but sort of nice malt drink that I found much to my disappointment has no alcohol in it
· You can get savannah cider!!!!!!!!! (Down south, am not sure how far north it goes)
· Up north most spirits come in sachets which means when the mood takes me I will be able to have a gin and tonic with ice and a slice of lime (no lemons) if I have a fridge, which is very civilised!
· Tumu (where I am based) has the best wine in the whole of northern Ghana! I have already agreed to swap wine for imported coffee and a proper shower with a volunteer who lives down the road (three hours by motorbike if there has been no rain) when I come to visit.
Finally, we went to the local market by Tro Tro. Tro Tros are the equivalent of a local bus service. They bomb around in clapped out minivans and each Tro has a driver and a mate. The drivers job is not to crash and pull over when his 'mate' prods him in the back and the mates job is to shout out the abbreviation of the final destination and play one handed charades in case the yelling was not enough of a hint (for example if the Tro is going to Circle the mate shouts "circ,circ,circ" repeatedly while furiously stirring an imaginary pot of liquid with his finger to indicate a circle).
My two favourite things about Tros are;
Firstly, they are regularly filled to the brim so you often get given a baby to hold onto while the woman next to you sorts out her other children and chickens that have escaped (although you have to be wary on longer journeys as I have heard stories about volunteers who have been lumped with babies for 3 hour journeys and the nappyless baby then promptly pisses all over you!)
Secondly, to get a Tro to pull over you just shout "MAAAATTTTTEEEEEE" as loud as you can and then everyone has to pile out of the Tro to let you out and then scramble back in!
Because of this most of the volunteers are much better acquainted with each other then most of their friends back home as you don't think twice to piling into a taxi and have someone you have only met 36 hours earlier sitting on your lap for a forty minute journey. One of the many wonders of travelling is that your inhabitations are replaced with practicality and cost saving measures almost as soon as you step off the plane.
The final thing we did was visit the local market where we stuck out like sore thumbs, but on the plus side it turns out that almost all of the 60 kgs that I brought with me can be purchased for a quarter of the price locally so if I lose a bag it should not be too hard to replace!
Have decided to make this an interactive blog with a homework assignment after each post! While doing your homework is not compusory it will show me who loves me the most
This blogs assignment: Ways to amuse yourself on a 17 hour bus ride (cleanish please, its quite possible one of my grannys is reading this!)
- comments
Vic Well now 17 hours is a long time but there is always eye spy... Or count the hairs/freckles on your arm! other than that I'm stumped! Good luck with the journey
Johnnie Any form of long African bush journey can be kept full,of entertainment by swapping sleeping women's babies around and waiting to see how long it takes either the baby or mother to realise what is going on.... Or just get drunk and try and teach the rest of the bus how to sing "brown eyed girl" xx
Penny Get your three stars on every level of Angry Birds! Either that or teach yourself tapestry, then send completed tapestries home for entry in the Royal Bath show arts & crafts competition. Love the blog! We all miss you. Love from your Laing cousins x
g-bits an exellent start. keep going - and I havn't been shocked yet