1st Day in Accra

July 7th, 2008 Posted in Uncategorized

Besides sitting on the runway for 2 hours before takeoff at JFK, the travel was smooth and uneventful. I landed in Accra at 9am, and after making it through immigration, baggage claim, and customs, I saw Fusheni holding a sign with my name on it at the airport exit. On the short drive back to the Ghana Baptist Mission guest house there were men walking through the streets, weaving through the cars trying to sell everything from magazines to soccer balls. At first the traffic was a little scary, but after a while I realized it just has a unique rhythm to it that I would never care to learn.

After leaving my things at the guest house, I had a great opportunity to see the city of Accra with a couple other people who will also be heading to Nalerigu on Wednesday. Johnny was our driver and an excellent tour guide. His family is Ashanti but he was born in Accra. He did the bargaining for us at the markets and took us to the Kwame Nkrumah museum and Independence Square. It was a pleasant surprise to hear George Straight singing “Somewhere Down in Texas” on the radio in the car. I assumed I wouldn’t be hearing any American music for 6 weeks.

The guest house has a lot of conveniences. I just had a fried chicken dinner with the 6 other people who are staying here tonight. There was a bottle of filtered water in the bathroom so I don’t have to use the tap to brush my teeth. And there’s even a little hot water heater I can turn on for my showers if I want to. It’s also nice that the office here can exchange US dollars for Ghana cedis so that I didn’t have to search for a currency exchange in the city.

I think Johnny is going to take us to Cape Coast tomorrow. I’ll try to post again before heading north.

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