Adventures of Kate and Meg

**I’ve updated this post. I was in a rush to post it and only had the chance to read through it after I had posted. I tried to make things a little clearer and easier to read. I’ve also added more of my thoughts….

Katie and I have had lots of bonding time here in Africa. I love Ajab equally, but somehow when she’s around, we just don’t get into the same kind of situations. It’s most likely because almost everybody here thinks she is Ghanaian and so if she’s with us, they think we’re being taken care of. People are generally surprised when they find out she’s actually from Cameroon. So yeah, maybe it’s because Ajab is African and gets the way things work here better, or maybe it’s because Katie and I are a little bit of misfits and when it’s just us two, we always seem to find ourselves entangled in some sort of story. The last few days have been no exception.

On Thursday, Katie and I decided to go to the Accra Mall after work. We needed to get a power strip for our electronics. We came to Ghana with four wall plug-ins; three have short-circuited. We flagged a taxi down and asked if he could take us to the Tema Motor Roundabout so that we could catch a connecting tro-tro to the mall. This particular taxi driver proved again why we love the tro-tro so much more. First, he wanted to charge us three cedi. We’ve been here for 6 weeks now and we know how this works. A trip of the distance we were going should require only about 0.50 of a cedi (50 peswas). I said thank you but no thank you to the driver and walked away. He “tsked” us back to the taxi, a common way of getting someone’s attention here, and agreed to take us for two cedi; still pricey, but we accepted. Second issue: the taxi driver actually did not want to take us to the roundabout at all. Instead he dropped us off at the end of the on-ramp to an expressway heading in the opposite direction from Accra and told us to cross the five lanes of traffic to the other side in order to head in the right direction. We weren’t about to argue, and we didn’t have much time anyway because as soon as we stepped out of the taxi he began reversing back up the on-ramp. The kind taxi driver dropped us off at the point of the expressway where a tollbooth is located. Not too many people are hopping onto a tro-tro at this point. But, we crossed the five lanes of traffic anyway, and asked the street sellers the best way to catch some form of transportation to Accra. One of the guys flagged down not a tro-tro, but a giant 50 person plus transport bus. Katie and I hurriedly scampered across the traffic, got onto the bus, which was at a mere rolling stop at the booth, and made it to our seats. For 70 peswas we finally made it to Accra.

A day at the mall was much needed. We found out that we wouldn’t be able to get the power strip and step-down converter that day, though. The shady electronic shop guy had to go buy one from his guy at the market and wouldn’t have it in his hands until after the weekend. It was no big deal to us, as the real reason we wanted to go to the mall was to see Sex and the City. It was well worth the trip to enjoy a piece of American cinema and a bucket of popcorn. After the movie, which was super cheesy but well received by us given our cravings for New York City and dresses and high heels, we got some ice cream and called it a night… a great Obruni-American night.

The next day we went to the market in Tema to find our own guy with a step-down converter and power strip. This trip was successful. The assembly, however, of the step-down converter and charger done by yours truly – daughter of an electrician- was not so successful. I learned a very valuable lesson this day: Always read directions! After managing to blow up the step-down converter and my camera charger (which thank God Katie has the same one), slightly electrocute my hand and nearly cause a small fire, Katie decided I was no longer allowed to be near any sort of electronic devices or plugs. We found out in the end, that the converter is not completely necessary. Our electronics will take 220V, which means that the charger alone will work just fine for us. Thank God there were no major casualties.

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Sundays are generally slow days. Everybody is at church from like 7am until 2pm. Exhausted from the week of work, and a long day of travel to Cape Coast on Saturday, Katie and I decided that we could sleep in. It also down-poured this morning, which gave us perfect sleeping conditions. When we arose at noon, we knew we wouldn’t be able to find food for a while. After 2pm, we began wandering around Tema, thinking that we’d have to just resort to snacks for the day finding that nothing was open. We finally stumbled across some random Chinese restaurant, which looked a little bit like a warehouse, but we were so hungry at this point, we really didn’t care. They cooked us up some fried rice and spring rolls, which hit the spot. In walks this Ghanaian businessman who now lives in Beverly Hills, CA. He ended up paying for our entire meal. Sweet deal. We thanked him and said that was completely unnecessary. He told us that he knew we were students, and that God is good and that we should live knowing that and accept the free dinner. No arguments there!

Walking back in the direction of our place, we planned on stopping at the Internet café. We saw that the new restaurant located above the bank that is right next door to the café had finally opened. There’s been an “opening soon” sign up since we’ve arrived in Tema, so we were pretty excited to check it out. It such a cute place, and has great food for a reasonable price. I’m sure it will become a staple for our last month here in Ghana. The woman who owns the place so kindly added Tiramisu on the house to our order of Espressos. We’ve been really well cared for here. Katie and I shook our heads at how lucky we’ve been through all of our recent adventures. We love Ghana.

Things have slowed down a bit here, and life here has become semi-normal. We’re well past the adjustment period, and it almost seems as if this is our home now. We know though, that our time here is limited. Walking home from the Internet cafe after our Sunday together, we talked about all the things we will miss about Ghana. It’s funny, because Katie and I both went through a phase around our 2^nd or 3^rd week here where we completely questioned our decision to come here. Even last weekend, I was feeling a little homesick. Katie has been to Africa a few times now. She says that she goes through this every time. Now we are starting to approach that phase of questioning the way we’ll feel when we return to the US. Somehow, through all the resistance and questioning, the African way of life has woven itself into mine. I’ll explain it this way: Remember how I spent an entire chunk of a blog post complaining about the food here? Well, while I still crave food from the US, I’ve now been here long enough to have cravings for Ghanaian food as well. It’s the same with the way of life and I know returning back home will warrant some resistance and questioning as I pull away from my life here in Ghana.

It’s sort of like backpacking; something that Katie and I both love to do. We’ve talked about how backpacking actually is a pretty rough experience at times. You walk for miles in a day up and down loose terrain with 25 pounds or more on your back. When you arrive to a campsite, work is still required. You must quickly find wood or begin sawing at a dead tree in order to build a bug fire so that you can enjoy a meal out of a bag, or some sort of small snack. Sometimes it rains, and then everything is muddy and soggy. Sometimes you get really frustrated from the pain in your feet after walking for days. Sometimes you get really sick of being dirty and smelly. But somehow, when you make it out of the woods (and if you’re Jeff Knaus, head directly to Wendy’s for a Biggie #2), with time, you always want to go back. The beauty that you see in nature and the peace that you feel from the experience is well worth the struggle and pain. Our adventure in Africa has given us a similar experience, which is why I think it’s only appropriate that our last adventure here is a backpacking adventure. I wonder when I return home, how long it will take before the pull of another adventure abroad begins to call me back.

Will I ever smell African smells again? No matter how pungent they can be, at least they are honest and real. Will I ever be able to purchase a fresh pineapple sold on the street by a woman with her child tied to her back? It’s just not the same when it’s pre-sliced from a grocery store. Will I ever see kids playing a game of pick-up football in the field nearby through a tro-tro window? There’s something so special about the spontaneity of children and the game. It’s just not the same to see kids lined up in their blue and red jerseys on the manicured lawns of Firefighters Park from my air-conditioned car. Please don’t misunderstand me. It’s not that I don’t absolutely love the US or the people that live there. Believe me, I miss my family and friends more than I could ever explain in words. I also miss the clean air, summer in Michigan and my favorite t-shirt and pair of jeans more than you could know. But just as laughing with my friends and family, spending time in the woods and watching sunsets in Glen Arbor complete my life, spending time within another culture also fills a part of who I am. For now, I will enjoy each day left in Africa and take in this last month of experience and adventure, so that I will have many memories to keep with me until next time.