Ghana, Part 2





These are pictures of my house and the bank where I work in Osino.



On Sunday, I got to see my work headquarters in Accra. We had lunch at a western-style restaurant featuring smoothies and paninis. Then, we headed to the grocery store – Lebanese owned – to buy provisions for the week. The store had lots of variety – foods from around the world ranging from matza farfel to laughing cow cheese to petit beurres cookies. We bought some cereal and cheese and headed on our way. (No matza this week.)

In the afternoon, we headed with our bags up to Osino. My boss warned me about the bus station in advance. The minute we stepped down from the taxi, we were accosted with people trying to help us find our way and carry our bags. We walked assertively, repeating that we knew where to go. We found our mini-van (a new, air-conditioned vehicle) and climbed aboard. While we waited about 20 minutes for the shared-taxi to fill, we were surrounded by people on all sides selling water, phone cards, ice cream and endless other snack foods. Most were women, carrying their goods on their heads, piled heavy and high. Still, they walked effortlessly and reached their arms through the van windows, enticing us to buy. I tried a frozen chocolate milk treat and filled up my phone with minutes.
Just before taking off, the driver put on a heavy winter coat – the air conditioning was apparently too cold for his tastes! We witnessed the same thing today at work when people inside the bank were bundled up in jackets despite the at least 80 degree weather.
The roads were incredibly bumpy. At first, we drove through herds of goats, but eventually we followed a single road through the jungle, thick trees, shrubs and vines on either side of us. Occasionally, we passed through a village with people loitering along the road. The women carried babies on their backs and water, fruits or other goods upon their head. I urgently needed the bathroom and was grateful when we stopped about 2 hours into the ride. Everyone poured out of the car, and women and men lined the side of the road, standing only 1 or 2 meters apart, and did their business. The women could even do it standing! I tried to go a bit down a path for privacy, but the men told me not to stray far.

When we got to the edge of Osino, E decided it was time for me try real Ghanaian food. I had heard of foofoo and ground nut soup so I ordered them, although I had no idea what they were. The foofoo was an enormous glob of sticky dough, made from ground cassava and plantains. The soup was poured on top – an oily and extremely spicy mixture of peanuts, red pepper and a few pieces of meat. The price was according to chunks of meat – each one cost about 80 cents. I got two, but had to ask several times for a better looking piece. The ones she served at first were covered with gristle and cow skin. Yes, thick, chewy looking cow skin.
E got plantains served with a spinach-like side dish, also very spicy. Meals here are eaten with your hands and on the table was soup, water and bowls for hand-washing. The food was certainly not bad. Very flavorful and hearty. But it was spicy and I couldn’t eat that much. With time, E assured me, I will get used to it! (Today’s lunch was much more basic – white rice, spicy red tomato paste called stew and a hard-boiled egg – all for 80 cents.)
After dinner, we hopped in a cab. The driver’s boss was nearby so we started talking with him. Turns out, he knows a Ghanaian man in the area who lived in Israel for 20 years. He said he will try to introduce us. The taxi driver himself was not a very good driver, so we had him let us down despite his pleas to help us more…
And thus, we arrived at my new home during the next 6 weeks! In the dark, off the side of the main street, we stumbled through the gates, around to the back entrance.
The house is huge. Really huge! There are wide open rooms with tile floors – a living room, a huge entry/greeting room that we don’t use, a kitchen, 3 bathrooms and at least 4 bedrooms. There is very little furniture and no hot water. We have a huge, unkempt yard filled with papaya trees. I may switch bedrooms to the far end of the house, but for now I am a room with a large bed, a night stand and a chair. The house is surrounded with thick walls, barbed wire (that is even electric) and a porch where we keep on the light at night. So for the audience at home, no need to worry!
The internet is working better than I thought, although I can’t skype or talk on gchat, I can check my emails and occasionally (slowly!) the news. Putting up this blog may take a while…