oh well, here i am!!! survived the first month in ghana, still doing good, still in an extremely positive mood, still enjoying everything :D
hmmm, i think i should start with a summary of past week; and i will not be very creative about how i put things in order, chronological seems like a great choice :D
during the past week, i have been pretty busy with work; i am doing research on case studies these days... while doing so, i have been reading about very interesting projects and people :) other than that, i have been going to bed at about 20.30 every day; so nothing that exciting really!!!
the only different (and relatively fun) thing in last week was the trivia game they held in the office on friday (oct 30)... each of the three main departments were represented by a team of two people; and i was in one of them!!! and -of course- we won!!! well, i actually knew the answers to barely three questions :D who is the ministry of culture in nigeria?!? how many tribes are there in kenya?!? what is the name of south africa's national football team?!? excuse me?!? i just had the right team-mate to make it to victory :D
and, of course... during the week, i was looking forward to the weekend: to go to yoga, to go to the makola market for the first time, and just to relax at home... and and and... to start my spanish courses!!!
soooo, today was the day!!! first, i went to the regular 07.00-08.00 yoga class... i guess, in a couple of weeks, i will be able to do the pose where you raise your foot behind your head :P though, they will change the saturday classes to pilates starting from next week... so, i might as well look like madonna or ebru salli next time you see me :P
but i am really loving yoga, it is so relaxing, gradual, positive... so, i -for sure- will keep on going to the classes on friday, in addition to practising at home... these days, i think that i might have been a yogini in my previous life :P
after yoga, i went to the university of ghana for my spanish course!!! maaaaan, i love this language... which makes me think, i might as well have been a spanish gypsy in my previous life!!! so the conclusion is: i was a spanish yogini gypsy in my previous life, hahaha!!!
it was last sunday when i met the head of the spanish department (mr adra) and my teacher (alberto) to talk about the details (alberto is from cuba by the way)... they both are very friendly and nice... ah, speaking of last sunday... last sunday was also significant: because i cooked!!! pasta and a very mediterranean sauce: onions, tomatoes, zucchinis, basil, mint... hmm, only garlic was missing :D (oops, i think i am not doing the chronological order anymore :D)
anyways, my first spanish class was great... i actually can understand most of the things alberto says, but i just don't have enough practice to make sentences... i hope it will happen, and i hope it will be sometime soon!!!
after my spanish course, i took a tro-tro in order to go to the makola market in downtown accra!!! now that i have a first-hand tro-tro experience, i can give some more information about them (however, i want to mention that the information depends on my own tro-tro trips -which is a total of 2- so there might be other realities :D)... ok, here we go; tro-tros for beginners:
tro-tros are the super old minibuses that compose the biggest share of public transportation in ghana; they run almost everywhere in the city, plus there are tro-tros that travel between cities... in addition to the driver, there is 'the mate’ who collects the fares and assists the driver... when reaching the stops, the mate puts his head out of the window and shouts the final destination... i figured that there is also some sort of a sign language: if the tro-tro is going to downtown accra, the mate points his right index finger upwards shouting "accra, accra, accra"; if the tro-tro is going to the kwame nkrumah circle (which is another central location in accra), he points his right index finger downwards making a circle (i don't know if there are more signs)...
regarding the schedules/routes, it is rather an unorganized system that somehow works... i have seen some identified stops, but most of the stops are unidentified, you tell that it is a stop by the people waiting :D well, i don't know if there is a need to mention anything about time schedule :D the price depends on the distance; however, in any case, it is a super cheap way to travel; it was 40 pesewas (which is 40 kurus or 30 cents) for a trip from university to downtown accra; which i think would cost at least 8-9 cedis (8-9 liras or 5.5-6 dollars) with a cab...
everyone agrees upon the fact that tro-tros are horrible to travel with; though i didn't find it to be thaaaat horrible; i mean you get what you pay for...
i got off the tro-tro at the last stop in downtown accra (which is called ‘tema station’)... when i was getting on the tro-tro, the mate told that i could walk from the tema station to the makola market... but when we arrived to the tema station, he disappeared before i got the chance to ask him which direction i had to walk!!! so there you go, belgin needs to find another person to ask!!! and deciding on a person to ask for directions is my least favorite thing!!!
eventually, i looked around and saw this guy who was in the same tro-tro... he said he was going to the makola market too, but also didn’t know where it was (he was from cape coast and studying at the university here)... but a friend, who would take him there, was going to meet him, which made his situation better than mine :P great!!! so, i joined him to find his friend first, and then we all walked to the market!!! they had their own list to shop for, so i said good-bye to them and discovered the market by myself :D
of course, i had heard things from people about the makola market... that it would be super crowded... that there would be sellers who would keep on touching to take my attention... and that i should wear some light clothing because it would be super hot...
from my experience: yes, it was super hot... yes&no, barely 5 sellers touched me... and no, it was not that crazy crowded... maybe i am just under-rating what i saw :D
i guess, you can find everything in makola market... they have clothing, fruits and vegetables, meat, household stuff, everything... my favorite items were -as usual- the fabrics!!! i didn't buy anything today, but i absolutely will do some fabric shopping soon...
seeing the vegetables and fruits in the makola market... i really missed the vegetables and fruits in turkey; there is not that much variety here, plus they have a different taste and different goods (like yams, plantains etc)...
speaking of food, i also miss feta cheese!!! however i can do without it... but without walnuts?!? noooooooooo!!! can you believe, i could eat only 5 walnuts since i came here (and they were not good at all)!!! so if i manage to go to turkey in december, walnuts will get the royal suite in my luggage :D
after being exhausted in the makola market, i found my back to the tema station -by just asking to one person luckily... buuuuut, in order to find the tro-tro that would take me home, i had to ask maybe 15 tro-tro mates... i literally started my tro-tro search from one end of the station, and with each mate i asked i made it one step further finally reaching the other end of the station where the east legon tro-tros were :D well, it was my first time, so next time will be much easier :D
and then... home sweet homeeeeee... well, showers are the best part of life here, but i might classify the one i took today as one of the best!!!
ok... i want to finish it with a nice quote of the duchess in alice's adventures in wonderland: "maybe it’s always pepper that makes people hot-tempered, and vinegar that makes them sour – and camomile that makes them bitter – and – barley sugar and such things that make children sweet-tempered... i only wish people knew that: then they wouldn’t be so stingy about it, you know..."
i am eating lots of sweets ;)
_belgin
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