Friday, July 9, 2010

Africa: Day Two

I am at the internet cafe again, but today the computer is running very slowly and the internet connection is poor, so I am struggling to check my email and write this and wait for things to load etc. all in the brief 30-minute time frame I have here.
This morning we explored the marketplace of Accra, which was quite a colorful, noisy, and fragrant experience.  Some of the fragrances were good, others were... not so good.  I would post pictures, but I don't think there's a spot on this computer to plug in an SD card. 
Oh yes, I haven't told you: the leader of our group is letting me borrow his camera for the next month, since he has a video camera that also takes pictures.  Very, very generous of him.  So I popped my SD card in it last night and will take all my pictures home with me no problem.  Praise God.
Anyway, about the market.  We basically just walked through (with a guide, of course).  There was loud, upbeat music playing around every corner; it was all I could do to keep from dancing through the streets! 
Here are the rules of the road in Accra, as far as I can tell:
1. Don't hit anything.
2. The bigger your vehicle, the more right of way you have. 
3. Stay to the right as much as possible. (This is negotiable.)
That's pretty much it.  So as pedestrians, we have no rights to the road.  And there are no sidewalks. 
We passed through the Catholic school here, and it was as though we were in a parade!  All the little kids ran to the windows and waved, smiling, until we waved back.  They made quite a ruckus.  I think their teachers must have hated us for the disruptions we caused in their classrooms.  And the kids LOVE cameras.  As soon as they see one, they run over to pose and push each other to get right to the front of the picture.  Some of the younger ones have never seen white skin before, and they are absolutely captivated by us.  It is really darling.
This afternoon we had the famous Ghanian dish fufu for lunch with a spicy chicken soup.  No one hated it or got sick, so I think we're going to survive the next month.  I personally found it quite good and very filling, which is a good quality for food to have where we're going.
Tomorrow morning we leave for the village on Lake Volta, so you probably won't hear from me again until I get back to Accra.  And I have one minute left, so I really must be going.
Pray for me! :)

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