Judi’s musings during the last week…

What I think I will miss most about Ghana

ð The action on the streets. Since it’s so hot and most people live in very small accommodation, life is pretty much lived outdoors. Whether I’m walking, or riding on a bus, or in a car, there is enough human drama on the side of the streets to keep me thoroughly entertained - An older brother taking little sister by the hand to school, both smartly dressed in their school uniforms, or a stranger helping a woman to lift the bowl of water from her head without either of them speaking a word, or young men selling everything from coconut drinks to shoe laces, or hundreds of people dressed in their funeral finery, or passengers pushing the ‘trotro’ bus to get it started, and then almost not catching it to jump in - there are thousands of little stories happening everyday, everywhere.

ð The things people carry on their heads and how elegantly they do it. It’s just always interesting.

ð The photographic opportunities. The street scenes I mentioned above, the gorgeous people, wonderful scenery.. life! And it’s all just there waiting for me and my camera. Can’t get enough of it!!

ð The friendliness. It’s pretty hard to find an unfriendly person in Ghana. A simple smile and greeting will elicit a huge friendly response. I’ve had some amazing conversations with taxi drivers, people on the street, the lady at the kiosk. And just raising an eyebrow pretty much assures a grin from any kid.

ð The relaxed pace. We could take a lesson from people here. They really don’t worry too much about time, and patience is a quality that most people have in large measure. Just a couple of days ago, I had a chance to experience this firsthand. I was taking a bus to Kumasi (supposed to be about a four hour bus ride) to meet Colin. The 1:30 bus finally left at 4:30. It then took until about 6:30 to clear the traffic in Accra. An additional five hours later it reached Kumasi, due to all the scheduled and unscheduled stops. Thank goodness for the funeral sisters, three lovely young women, dressed to the nines for a weekend funeral they were all atttending. After chatting with them for a while, I realized that this was their version of a girls weekend away.

ð My co-workers at ICA. They have been amazingly tolerant of my rather direct approach, always sweet and welcoming, and worked enthusiastically and consistently on all the tasks I have suggested to them. I plan to stay in touch.

ð The warm weather, although sometimes, Mother Nature can overdo a good thing. We have just returned from our Kumasi trip, which again should have been a four-hour trip but was interrupted by the car breaking down twice. There is no airconditioning in the car and it’s brutally hot again, so we ended up absolutely covered in red dust which stuck to the sweat. (Yes, a lovely picture!!) Still, except for our trip to Tanzania, I have only worn a light sweater twice in the four months we’ve been here. I’m bracing myself for Vancouver and Whistler weather.

ð Sharpnet. Life would not have been the same without our daily dose of the Internet. Thank goodness we found this Internet Café, with fast efficient computers. I guess it’s one addiction it’s hard for us to live without.

What I definitely won’t miss about Ghana

ð The smelly open sewers. Remember? Those are the ones I’m very careful to step over so I don’t fall in. When they flow into veritable rivers of sludge (and then stop flowing), the smell is quite unbelievable.

ð When the power goes out in the middle of the workday. Since the screen on my laptop is now completely broken, I have to use a monitor, so even if I could work from my computer’s battery, I’m hooped. Most of my work requires a computer, so I try to think of other things to do and hope that the power will be restored some time soon. But I generally don’t cope well and sometimes end up leaving work out of frustration. I guess I haven’t really integrated the patience lesson, yet.

ð The slow pace. OK, so this is the downside of the relaxed pace.. Lateness, appointments, deadlines.. hmmmm… not always the same priority we would give them. Although ICA is far better than most organizations I’ve encountered.

ð My curly messy hair – four months worth. Oy! I will be happy to visit my hairdresser at last!!

ð The traffic in Accra. It’s way, way beyond anything you’ve ever seen in Canada. Changing lanes is an art form, and if you have trouble doing that, you can just create your own lane. It’s part of a giant game of ‘dare’ that is played with hand signals, horns and yelling when it doesn’t go your way.

ð My clothes. I’m just plain sick of most of them, so they will stay here. I justify this by saying people here need them more than me.

It’s safe to say that both Colin and I are experiencing mixed feelings with only a few more days left in our stay here.

There’s no question we are really looking forward to coming home at so many levels, except maybe the winter weather. It’s always nice to be in your own bed and your own environment. Of course, we can’t wait to visit with friends and family, eat the foods we enjoy, drive our own cars, go skiing etc. etc.

But we will also be looking back fondly on our experiences here, and trying to hold on to the important life lessons that come from living in such a different environment.

When we returned home from Uganda, three years ago, I remember how hard it was to see how much ‘stuff’ we all had and how important it all seemed. (And, I should say that we are as guilty of that as anyone we know, so I’m not pointing fingers at all.) Most Africans (even our co-workers) have soooo much less, and yet they seem to live simpler, happier lives. That comparisonwas quite hard to live with for a while last time, but of course eventually one has to adjust to one’s own life. Still, I hope some of the lesson sticks.

I don’t know whether this blog will end when we leave Ghana, or not. But I would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to come on this journey with us, and especially thanks for the feedback and support. We have felt very connected to you.

See you … in Canada!!

Judi