Two Month Check-In

I have now been in Ghana for two months. Getting adjusted to a completely different way of life hasn’t been easy at times, and as my close friends can attest, we all had a horrible “I hate Ghana” week last week. I thought I would answer some of the usual questions people from home have asked me about my experience thus far.

What is your housing like?

I like to describe it as St. Paul’s mixed with campsite minus the hot water and tent. I was really reluctant to move into ISH (International Students Hostel), because I was really hoping to live in a compound house and I was 'over' the dorm life. And let’s be honest - residence is noisy at the best of times, I like my privacy and quiet. ISH has really grown on me and I have decided to stay there for the remainder of my stay in Ghana. I really like the convenient location - I walk to work everyday and there are tons of food options for me all within the campus. I have cooked twice in two months as I can’t make myself dinner for as little as I can buy it for. I am still not fully comfortable with cold showers although most days its bearable. Making friends with other foreign students is also great, I eat dinner with friends or, on the bad days, get ice cream and sit in a parking lot and 'discuss'...

What do you eat?

You know what they say, ‘when in Rome..”. I have been eating Ghanian most meals since I arrived. Typically for breakfast I eat plain cereal or I walk to get an egg sandwich (for about a dollar), or sometimes I eat baked beans - yes! I get Heinz beans here! Lunch is generally a snack of plantain chips (way better than potato chips), or roasted groundnuts (peanuts). I eat groundnuts constantly. They are so good when they are freshly roasted and what a great source of protein. Dinner is the big meal of the day, I usually get jollof rice with a bit of salad and spaghetti or fried plantains. If I don’t buy that, I am usually eating fufu with groundnut soup. Eating ‘Western’ food is a treat and it is expensive by comparison. Other ‘treats’ here include fruit juice and sugar cane. Anyone who has tried sugar cane knows how yummy it is! It is better than candy.

It is not safe to drink water from the tap so I am forced to continue buying bags of sachets. A week’s supply of water usually costs me a dollar.

How do you do your laundry?

Bucket style. I could send my clothes to be washed in a machine on campus for a fee but I actually enjoy doing it by hand, and it saves me money. I find it relaxing to wash my clothes. I try to do laundry at least once every three days. Dirty clothes attract ants and because you go through so much clothing because its hot meaning I am doing laundry a lot. I’m pretty good at using the bar of soap to remove stains and then you soak them in a bucket with laundry detergent powder for an hour or two before rinsing. I wash everything from my clothes to towels to bedsheets this way. Not bad.

What about mosquitos?

I’ve been fortunate thus far that I haven’t contracted malaria (my biggest fear in Ghana). I haven’t been as careful as I should have been because I recently put my bed net up. Prior to this, I sprayed a bit of insect repellent around my bed and on my ankles. The bed net is useful because it means I can sleep with my balcony door open as the nights are getting hotter and sticky.

What do you do for fun?

Contrary to what some might think, I am not going clubbing or to the bars. I go to Trivia Night at a local bar where a lot of expats hang out but other than that, I don’t party. The heat makes you more tired than at home so I am usually pretty tired in the evenings. I try to save my money to go on trips during the weekends. I have traveled for the last five weekends so I am very tired and could use a break! There really isn't a dull moment - what a change from having no friends and nothing to do during the first month here. I will miss my friends terribly when they leave soon.

What is the most frustrating thing about Ghana?

Inefficiency. Just simple things like having an organized lineup to purchase bus tickets or anywhere really seems to not matter. Simple tasks like going to the bank or getting your mail can take hours. Getting a tro tro is not usually organized with a line (except in some places), and people will push and fight one another to get on board, especially if it is an infrequent route. Patience is key. The system will not change so the best option is to just accept it and try to work within the existing system.

What is the best part about living in Ghana?

I could be silly and say that it is being able to buy pretty much anything on the road and being able to buy food while driving. While this is incredibly awesome and makes travel more bearable, I would have to say talking to people my age or people I work with about development in Ghana and about their culture and their lives is the best thing about Ghana. I love to learn and I find it all very interesting because some aspects of Ghanian culture is so different from my culture yet in other ways they are similar. It reconfirms that development work is really where my heart is and that I can have a future in this field if I am motivated.