Hello From Ghana

It's hot! I was hoping that I might have something profound to say in my first post from Africa but I'm going to take the other path and start with the obvious. I've been really busy so I started thinking that the longer I waited to post something on this blog the higher the expectation would be for it's quality. I then decided to disappoint all of you. 

I also have a feeling that this post should be answering the question"How is Africa?".  I have absolutely no answer to this. I can't adequately describe it, the best I can do for now is say that Ghana is an amazing place and will completely change the way I see life in the US. I mean, I'll still try.. just lower your expectation of my ability to properly explain what it's like to be here.

Like I said, I'll start with the obvious things: It's hot, it's loud, it's crowded and it sometimes smells a bit strange. All of these seem like bad things, but when you're in Africa you have to have the appropriate attitude, if was expecting the comforts of the US I would have been incredibly dumb for coming here. What I hoped for was friendly people and enough resources to stay healthy. So far, I think I'll be able to stay in good health and the Ghanaian people are incredibly friendly. Sure, there are beggars and pick pockets but it's not hard to sort out the good people who are trying to be friendly and the people looking for money.

I haven't gotten much of an opportunity to leave campus yet so, my tourist component of the trip is yet to take off. Tomorrow I go on a tour of Accra, which I have only had limited exposure to. Transportation is tricky, I either need to catch a Trotro (A van with people crammed inside like sardines running on a route like a bus)  or get a taxi. The Trotros are practically free they're so cheap and the taxis aren't bad either. I went 14km in a taxi yesterday for 7GHC ($4.80) on top of that, I split it with 4 people. Taxi fares are actually negotiable here which is fun, it's not everywhere you get to argue with a driver about his fares before getting in the car. Unfortunately, the taxis aren't quite top notch vehicles. Most of the taxis I've seen are over a quarter million miles, have a broken speedometer and a cracked windscreen but it just makes for a more interesting trip.

The hostel I'm staying at is fantastic. It holds hundreds of international students and is designed perfectly to promote mingling in the halls around the courtyard. The amenities are very modest as you would probably expect and I have to sleep under a mosquito net but it all just adds to the experience. Also worth noting about ISH(1) (International Students Hostel 1) is that it has no hot water but it doesn't take long in Africa to realize that cold showers are preferable. 

It's a shame I got sidetracked by taxis on my first post but I'll get to the more important things soon enough. I'm going to The Cape Coast this weekend so pictures may be coming early next week.