Observations

I've been thinking about some of my observations during my daily life here in Accra that might be interesting for others to know about . . .

1. The new Accra Mall that I've visited twice is a sprawling, air conditioned mega mall where I found veggie burgers yesterday. Veggie burgers! Amazing.

2. Newspapers often use strange words. "30 Students Pass Out at Ceremony" (meaning they graduated).

3. People do not use their left hand to eat, shake hands or gesture. If you do use your left hand, someone may stare at you until you stop.

4. Women have very curvy bodies.

5. People have assumed that I am from Germany and Ireland and every once in awhile I get the U.S.

6. Quite a few Ghanaians love love love Obama. There's a song about him that plays on the radio.

7. There's no milk, cheese is extremely expensive, but there is ice cream. My favorite variety is Fan Choco, iced chocolate milk.

8. Goats are everywhere. Chickens too. And just because something is free range does not mean it isn't eating nasty things like feces.

9. Ghanaian men are more outgoing than Ghanaian women on the outset.

10. Women carry their babies swaddled in cloth on their backs.

11. Seemingly anything can be carried on your head. Molly witnessed one woman ask for assistance because her bundle was too heavy for her to pick up but then once she got it on her head, she was ready to roll.

12. American music.

13. Dogs and cats are very small and malnourished. And eaten by people in the north.

14. Time is an abstract.

15. Someone will take your large bill at a restaurant/bar/shop and may not return for a few minutes but they'll eventually find your change.

16. Alight. To get off. Now get off the tro-tro.

17. Tro-tros have mates that take your money and yell at you on the side of the road in a strange nasally tone to announce their destination. "Cir cir cir cir cir cir cir circle." That's my call to listen for. And if they could stack people inside the tro-tro to make more money, they would.

18. Club is the better beer to drink out of the two choices and it's made in Ghana.

19. "Sister", "Friend", "Obroni", "White woman" are commonly used terms throughout the country.

20. Groundnut = Peanut

21. The term is not intern, it is attachment.

22. We live at Okponglo junction. "A pung-lo"

23. Watch out for the really deep gutters; 6+ feet.

24. Church/Weddings/Funerals will take hours and they will involve a great deal of singing and dancing.

25. Michael, the 14 year old bartender across the street, is the sweetest, most innocent bartender ever to exist. And he dances up a storm.