hi folks...just dani checking back in with everyone again from my new country, ghana....man, have things been busy and now we are going on our sixth week of being here...i have been to the beach, a couple of different markets for everything, have had back-to-school night, been to a play/musical, where a guy proposed to his girlfriend in front of everyone on the stage (a first), a reggae night and an arts festival....things have been busy....
its a different kind of busy, but so far things are good....although i would be in a happier place if a few things fell into place....like my shipment getting here...it's here in port, but my passport is in immigration....which means i can't get it and its costing me everyday...hopefully this one will be taken care of this week...we'll see...or if i actually had working internet in my house....we have a connection, but it is super slow, and they are trying to remedy this, as we are connecting to a server in nigeria...why so far, who knows....once something else falls into place, i should be in a better space....but the one thing i am really grateful for is that it still is not HOT here....people are getting cranky, as it has been overcast for weeks on end...and the temp is still in mid 20's C/high 70sF....so it is really comfortable...people here consider it cold though...i have seen winter coats and hats on people...which just is amazing to me....i am lovin' it...but as someone said, i am on borrowed time....the heat, it is coming....
onto the pictures this time around...there is a good mix of things from around accra...i haven't been out of the city much, but am hopefully headed to the beach for a three day weekend that is just around the corner....we'll see....here ya go....
i took this picture at a local fruit and vege market that we use...they do have lots of things available here that is fresh....the one thing we have noticed is that because it is so fresh, it goes bad really fast, so you need to shop two or three times a week, and buy small amounts of things so they don't go bad....but as you can see...many tasty choices to make...i am lovin the mangoes and avocados the best of all...yummy!!!!!
funnily enough when we were paid this month we had still not received our bank cards to take money out of the atm....so we got a notice from the bank to have cash delivered to tide us over until we get the cards...which we still have not gotten....but i loved that the bank paid me in 5 and 10 cedi notes....when i had asked for a bunch of money....5 cedis = 1.66 USD and 10 cedis = 3.33 USD...and here i am with a lot of them ....it's my money shot.....too bad its not tons of money :)
a few weekends ago we went to the big market here in accra, the mercola market....it was an experience....its huge...and they sell everything....and there are so many tiny shops down little alleys and people all over the streets selling tons of things....they were really not happy with me taking a picture...so i tried to take some on the sly or of just the goods...otherwise i had to give them money...because the people selling the stuff felt i would show these pictures to my friends and family and you all would be shocked....little do they know that you have all seen pictures like this before....anyway....the shot above was the area of the market that specializes in shoes...can you tell...
this was one the food sections of the market...and i love this shot because you can see the lady carrying a basket on her head...which everyone here is able to do...men, women, children and they can literally carry anything on their heads....such a skill...it's amazing to me....in this shot you can see plantains, yams, tomatoes, onions and some green vegetable where the one lady is....this part of the market is on dirt, and it was quite crowded, as we were there on a saturday....
i love this shot with all of the different types of mannequins lined up along the railing....all different shapes and sizes...some of them are not even whole bodies...just crazy and perfect for taking a shot....
this is one of the apartment buildings overlooking the market...again you can see a guy carrying stuff on his head...everyone can do it...i wonder if i can learn this skill while i live here....i find it amazing...one of the other things i think is amazing is that no matter where you go in the world, no matter how run down a building or a shack is that some lives in, there is always a satellite dish close by....and that is true here in ghana as well....just blows my mind every time....
one of my favorite things about ghana is the boldness of their fabrics...i love it...i am sure i will have quite a few shirts made of this boldness....here is some it we saw in the market...i have learned to start paying attention to what is written on the edge and to feel the fabrics carefully, as many of them are actually made in china and are not of such high quality...but they sure are pretty to look at :) and in ghana, fridays are dress in traditional dress days in the entire country....our school does it...i think its awesome....and so bright and cheerful...love it!!!!
I love this shot...this woman is carrying an oil drum on her head....amazing....i have no idea if it is full or empty, but my mind was blown....there were actually three women in a row doing this....i did learn this past weekend that one reason they carry things on their heads is space issue and to leave their arms free....markets and streets are usually crowded and instead of carrying things in your arms & taking up lots of space...people - men & women - carry things on their heads....so smart....
a few weekends back now we had a fun day of shopping at local stores and local markets...i loved this bathroom sign at one of my favorite places to visit....wild gecko....this is a shop that sells handmade wares and makes sure the money gets back to the groups making the article of clothing or jewelry...its a quirky place that has amazing furniture and metal work and even a monkey (a bit crazy) and turtles...plus, this great bathroom sign...a nice bathroom too, which you always take advantage of....
after shopping for the morning we went to a street art and music festival called Chale Wote - Chale is short for - Charlie - which here in ghana is = to friend....i need to do some research into where this came from and will let you know more, but i really want to get this upate out and internet is being non-functional at times...so no research today...at the festival they had live music, dancing and street art happening of all types...below you see some of the things i saw...the band above is highlife band...usually drums and live brass instruments....and always people dancing...
funerals and weddings are HUGE things here in ghana....so in this art fest were funeral processions...but they were sometimes for people and sometimes for the earth...meaning the outfits were composed of trash and plastics in response to the trash issue on earth....this one was a combination....for a person and for the earth, as everyone in the line is wearing recycled materials...some very creative stuff going on here....
this is another funeral procession, but this was all women, all in plastic outfits...all black and white...when you see people wearing white here for funerals, it means they are celebrating a long life of a person who has died....most deaths in ghana are unfortunately of people early in age....average age i was told for men is in their early 50s....when you see people wearing black and/or red it means someone died young and people are mourning....funerals are big affairs here and even if you only know someone in passing, you go to a funeral for their family...it is the ultimate sign of respect....weddings and naming ceremonies are the other big weekend happenings here in ghana...more on those in another update....
one of the coolest pieces of art was this building....yep, a whole building was covered in burlap and then had this colorful artwork on top...it was all fabric and obviously sewn together...here in ghana there is tons of construction...much of it mid-way finished....and possibly never to be finished, as the country is in the start of a huge recession....so the organizers wanted to do something with this half-built building and this is what they came up with....i loved it....it covered the whole building!
i saw this guy all over the festival....and loved his outfit...so when we asked if we could take his picture, we got the famous ghanaian smile...people here when they smile, it lights up everything...ghanians are friendly, polite, respectful and happy for the most part....are their issues here in this country...yes....BUT are they making the best of the situation...yes!!! and if you can get by on music and dancing...this place has it made.....his pants are ghanian cloth...bold and pajama-like...
there were street artists all over the festival....this guy was the graffiti artist who made the painting behind him....i have not seen much graffiti here....except signs saying "do not urinate here" or "land is not for sale" or on buildings saying "get your permits to keep building"...all interesting...but this was the first i had seen graffiti done by a local artist...he was very excited that we took his picture :)
this is one of those pictures i love...down on the beach behind the street festival is a place for orphaned and street kids....i have a colleague who works/volunteers there....they were hosting drinks at the bar in front of the place the kids live at and we went to have a cool beer and watch some dancing and drumming by the kids...look at those faces...these kids were amazing dancers and drummers and got all of us to join in the fun...and man, were smiles everywhere....yes...there are many things that are stressful about being in africa...the kindness of the host nation is not one of those :)
this is the view from that place where the kids live...actually from the bar...its a very clean part of the beach and comfortable too...most parts of beaches here in accra are nothing like this....you would not swim in the water either, as the sewers from the city empty into it...but in this shot, it looks like a beautiful place...but to the left and right of the shot, not so beautiful....
back up at the street festival, some of the musicians were just getting started...this guy on the stand up bass was incredible...literally dancing while playing....he also had some dancers and the rest of a band playing with him...but they had all just taken a break...but not this guy....he just couldn't stop :)
as we were walking out of the festival, we came across some more art on billboards that artists had made....this is the name of the festival...Chale Wote....it was a great time and rather crowded, with excellent street art, music and vendors....plus, it was not super hot....so i was really happy we had gone...definitely a place to see the pulse of accra....
one last shot of me...at the alliance francais....a great place run by the french embassy and french people here in ghana...they have an art show space, a stage space and an amazing italian restaurant run by italians...with wood oven pizza and belgian beer to boot...just perfect on those WAWA days....we have been there twice...and it is tasty food, with relatively good/fast service and excellent beer and pizza....this was taken on reggae night...happens every month...saw some great musicians from togo, nigeria and the ivory coast...
i promise i will write more soon again, as this is an amazingly different places from all other places i have been, but it would be easier to keep you informed if i actually had working internet at my house...which i still do not....so keep those fingers crossed that this happens sooner rather than later...both for my sanity and the ability to do my job here....as well as keep in touch with all of you...hope you enjoyed this one...more to come...hope all is well :)
