GhanaBlogging.com » February 14, 2010

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February 14, 2010
20:42
Signs of Love
» ‎ ANTI-RHYTHM

When a strange, unintelligible language comes out of my mouth in a donkey voice.
Because I'm thinking so much about what to do or say that my brain is not connected to my speech!

20:31
"Do you have change?"
» ‎ Accra Lady musings

One of the most frustrating aspects of engaging in any kind of monetary transaction in Ghana has to do with a disconnect between the amount you are charged as a customer, the amount of money you handover, and the change you expect to get - if you did not provide the exact amount in payment.

It has always been the case that those selling on a table, or in a very small shop, might not have the exact change for you, but I often find that these are the very people who will ask you to wait while they go and make sure that you are given what is due to you.

Try a slightly bigger shop, or even a big supermarket, and I have several examples, and then the real palaver begins. If you are lucky you will be asked "Do you have one cedi, and then I can give you five?" At other times you will be told a price which is rounded up, so that the shop or the assistant will not be obliged to give you some one Ghana pesewa coins which of course they do not have! And sometimes you will just be told, "Sorry, no change" with the implication being that you just take whatever there is, and forget about the rest!

On more than one occasion I have asked shop assistants whether they are not given "floats" at the beginning of the day, or even at regular intervals.   Responses can vary: a blank stare is one, another is "it is finished", so the buyer is left annoyed and frustrated.

One of my responses, simply because I know the above is going to happen, whether at ShopRite, Game, Sarlinesta or whatever, is to be prepared! So instead of always relying on the more convenient ATM machines, I try to find time to go physically to a bank, and ask for a packet of 100 one Ghana cedi notes. Plus coins - in 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 pesewa denominations.

Well, usually I manage to get the one Ghana cedi notes - though on my last visit to my main branch of one of the older banks, I was told there were no "ones" and when I complained, I was told that the currency was given to them by the Bank of Ghana so I should just take whatever there was.

Another, older bank is usually OK for whatever notes you want, plus coins, and they even manage to stock one Ghana pesewas which are almost a rarity these days. And for a while one of the newer "Nigerian" banks would even provide me with a packet of brand new notes :-).

Not too surprisingly my purse/wallet seems to get heavier as I try to anticipate my needs for change during my work and shopping days!

But for shops and banks and the Bank of Ghana: have any of you heard of customer needs and wants?

16:11
"Join the Dots" planning Ghana travels
» ‎ This is Ghana

div style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"We have posted another excerpt from thenbsp; a href="http://gisforghana.blogspot.com/p/insiders-guide-book-to-ghana.html"Insider's Guide to Ghana/a here. /divdiv style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"br / /divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PBQZHqzyzy8/S3VTqg0KKqI/AAAAAAAAArE/dAaFzmNkmXw/s1600-h/Guide-journeys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PBQZHqzyzy8/S3VTqg0KKqI/AAAAAAAAArE/dAaFzmNkmXw/s640/Guide-journeys.JPG" width="604" //a/divbr / div style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"This gives you a glimpse of what you will find in the section under Journeys which is over 140 pages long and covers the entire country. In this section we explain, in depth, how to manage your journey around Ghana on public transport. Our guide includes 7 pages of comprehensive transport timetables and fare information that you can't get anywhere else in Ghana.nbsp;/divdiv style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"br / /divdiv style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"When you buy the guide you will receive a zip file which contains both the easy read (colour, 1.5 spaced) version and the easy print (black and white, single spaced) version. You will also have an option to download the Insider's Guide to Volunteering in Ghana for free at the same time.br / br / You can buy the guide here at the secure check out:br / a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?i=617317amp;c=singleamp;cl=103846" target="ejejcsingle"img alt="Buy Now" border="0" src="http://www.e-junkie.com/ej/x-click-butcc.gif" //abr / br / Thanks for reading and please email us if you have any questions./divdiv style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;,sans-serif;"br / /divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"Download a sample of the Insider's Guide to Ghana here: [www.g-lish.org] width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8826326494207776999-4962767503987385296?l=gisforghana.blogspot.com' alt='' //divdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=HESlhoTjHKs:SXM34eL7ff4:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=HESlhoTjHKs:SXM34eL7ff4:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=HESlhoTjHKs:SXM34eL7ff4:gIN9vFwOqvQ"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?i=HESlhoTjHKs:SXM34eL7ff4:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ThisIsGhana/~4/HESlhoTjHKs" height="1" width="1"/

14:50
Valentine's Day in Ghana - All You Need To Know
» ‎ Rain in Africa

Valentine's day became a day to celebrate in Ghana first after the airwaves were deregulated and private radio channels like Radio Gold and Joy FM entered the stage around 1995.

But if Valentine's Day celebrations got to a late start, it sped up quickly and the celebration of romantic love is today widespread in Ghana!

Fellow blogger Nana Yaw writes a funny post including five stories of what high-school sweethearts go through around this time of year, like this one
Sometimes, you just didn't have the money to compete, but couldn't get her to understand. So, 1 week before the Day, you kicked up a baseless fight, and broke up. No need for presents. You waited for 5 days, and went back to you were sorry.
I hope you never had to do this artificial breakup maneuvre! Read all of Nana Yaw's Valentine stories here.

Professor Jo Ellen Fair (who I met last year) have researched the topic of Valentine's Day in Ghana and in summary says that celebrating "Val Day" is something the middle class in Ghana does to feel modern and cosmopolitan. This quote is from the conclusion of the paper "Me Do Wo: The Creation of Valentine's Day in Accra, Ghana". Find the whole paper here (pdf). or read a summary here.
Many say that the Valentine's theme of love "clicks"
in Ghana. "Because love is universal, anyone in any culture can be a part of Val Day," said one young woman (interview, Feb. 10, 2002). Valentine's Day sanctions gestures and words of affection in a culture otherwise characterized by public and private reserve. Valentine's Day is "the one chance you get to tell people how you feel," said one female secondary student (interview, Feb. 5, 2002). "Valentine is wonderful. I can hold my boyfriend's hand and walk down the street," said another secondary student(interview, Feb. 5, 2002). Advocates of Val Day are insurgents for romance in aculture uncertain of the future of more practical approaches to relationships.

This morning, these inputs paved the way for an interesting discussion over breakfast with my sweetheart.

Pic: Walking together on a beach early in the morning - my idea of romance! Happy Valentine's Day everybody!

12:00
Don’t waste your words on those that listen but cannot hear
» ‎ In My Eyes

I’m writing letters to the blind

I’m heavy and filled and my mind is saturated

I’m silent and still and life seems to me so aggravated

I speak and shout out

I scream and cry out

But on deaf ears do my calls fall

I write and write until I feel my words have all spilled out

But those that read seem not to understand

I long to tell someone what it is I’m really all about

But the truth is that is something even I am yet to find out

Life though so sweet can bring about such doubt

Like love turned to hate

And care to envy

Makes you wonder what really is the theory

Passion unfulfilled will soon lead one to jealousy

So the secrets of ones heart must be guarded jealously

Brother, brother, brother when did this love get spilled out?

Who filled this cup, up to the last drop with so much pain?

May I please pour it out?

Will you let me love it out?

If ever, if ever you are in doubt

I’ll sing you a lullaby

And send that hurt out on a different route

Let us lay our bed of love

With sweet words and gentle actions

Let my heart show you what loving means

Don’t read anything into the silence

Learning another is a science

But of love I have no doubt.

22:51

9:03
Travels in Ghana: the reality and hilarity
» ‎ This is Ghana

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But Ghana, a nation where followers of all faiths—Christians, Muslims, and Traditionalists, all—work, eat, joke, and vote together, displaying a remarkably high level of mutual acceptance as they enjoy their constitutional right to Freedom of Worship, is still a bit of a secret. If there’s one thing we’re not good at, though, it’s keeping secrets that really ought to be shared, which is why we decided to write this guide. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"The idea took form during one of many spontaneous itrotro/i journeys. I had been “sweating like a pregnant toad”, as Ghanaians say, in velvet-heavy humidity on the hot side of an old, rusting lorry-bus (itrotro),/i while a lay-preacher shouted a revival-style sermon above my head for three hours ibefore/i we set off on a four hour journey that unfolded, like a market lady’s wrap skirt, to seven hours, because we broke down. It was while five men were simultaneously shouting at the driver who was banging on a piece of smoking engine, and every other man stood peeing along the road facing the jungle halfway to Kumasi, and one proposed for my hand in marriage, that the three Ghana survival essentials whacked me over the head. It was a perfect Zen-coma-itrotro/i moment, a state you must enter to endure and rationalize the numerous near death experiences and delays that every road journey absolutely iguarantees/i. I thought I best mention these survival essentials now, before we get started; you might want to find another country. Although, this advice applies in varying degrees to travel across all of Africa iand/i most developing nations.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Right. So, when a man (or woman) peeing along the side of the highway proposes marriage to you imidstream/i—the eleventh in two days (granted, the other ten weren’t peeing)—and all you want to do yourself is pee (but you can’t because all eyes are on you), and get where you had to be—three hours ago, you need Patience, with a very, ivery/i capital P. You might point out that there iis/i no middle road when it comes to capitalisation, and that’s how it is with this most important of attributes. In fact, since you made it to the end of this paragraph, you might actually have what it takes.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Now, if you’re over thirty you’ll remember waking up early to catch the best cartoons, and how much Boy George wanted to be Madonna, and how much Jon Bon Jovi just wanted their hair, and all the chores you did to save up for those feather hair-clip thingies and stone-washed denim jeans. Well, Whoa-oh! We’re halfway there-ere…Whoa-oh!...because the second most important survival attribute is (inot/i an ability to spout useless 80s pop trivia but, rather) a Scooby-Doo-like, Dogged Determination. (By the way, if you’re under thirty, you’re probably inot/i still singing i“whoah-oh, living on a prayer-er…” /iAnywayi,/i whatever age, you’ll be saying your prayers in Ghana—iespecially/i on the road.) o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"The determination is because you will encounter many obstacles along your journey. This is a good thing. It may be locating the vehicle (among thousands) to take you where you wish to go (which may not necessarily be where you end up), or finding the office that processes the twenty-third piece of paper you need to legitimize your stay, or finding a copier to copy the twenty-third piece of paper since the office (now you have finally located it) has a photocopier but it’s “finished” (not working), or not giving up when the internet crashes for the fifteenth time in an hour and you still haven’t opened one email. io:p/o:p/i/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"It’s more a tortoise than a hare kind of determination, if that helps, because nothing gets done fast, except switching channels to the UEFA Championship, or the English Premiere League, or any Blackstars game. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"And, finally, the third and final attribute, which is as much about survival as preventing malaria, is this: A-Steve-Martin-meets-Billy-Connelly-meets-Queen-Latifah-who-meets-The-Queen-of-England, royally-bonkers, whacked-out Sense Of Humour; after the fifty-fifth, breaking-down-pee-copier-email incident, you will need it.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"In fact, your journey’s sub-theme could be: Learning How to Laugh No Matter What. Because there is the poverty you’re not going to believe when you first encounter it. Poverty is not “funny ihaha/i”, but life is, and the ladies selling strings of beads from shiny aluminium bowls balanced on their heads, and the elderly woman selling freshly charred plantains from her smoking brazier by the open sewer, or the children who shout i“obruni!”/i when they spot you every few feet, or the men or women you promise to marry if they agree to be husband/wife number seventeen, will be shaking with laughter.nbsp; o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"If you are not naturally blessed with the three attributes, you have two choices: o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"1. Cultivate them very quickly, or o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"2. Try Europe instead. Apparently the London underground only keeps you waiting an hour on a ibad/i day. It’s up to you. Look. I don’t know much, but I do know that life in Ghana is nothing if not wildly unpredictable. It is certainly not “neat” or “conventional”: Japan is neat; France is conventional; Ghana is anything ibut/i. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"ispan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Right?/span/ispan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;" Now we can begin. Although, this is not iexactly/i the beginning. And it’s definitely not conventional. Patience, trust me.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Alright. If you’re reading this line, you’re still with us; you’re planning to visit Ghana. By now you may have mentioned this plan to family or friends and they may have given you that funny look and fallen silent. And they may have given you that certain fascinated stare as if you’re some kind of fearless traveler or, if they’re your parents or children, they’re freaking out. ‘West Africa,’ they utter, imagining all the conflict they’ve seen on TV. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"If you have been to Ghana you smile knowing that the ‘scary Africa’ myth is, well, a myth. You remember hanging out on empty beaches with some of the friendliest people on earth, eating fresh fish and coconuts. You remember dancing on the side of the street in front of six-foot high speakers that blast the latest highlife hits with whomever randomly joins you and, invariably, someone does. You remember navigating the country in an ingenious system of cheap, if death-defying, itrotros/i that reach all corners and often generate the best travel stories. You remember arriving at midnight in an unfamiliar town and asking the young man sitting next to you, who’d been debating the democratic process in Ghana with his neighbour for the past six hours, the way to your hotel—and him showing you the way and not asking for anything but your phone number or address.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"br / You wonder why Ghana is such a big secret. Of course, it has its downsides like everywhere else. It’s not for the impatient, as you now know, that’s for sure. On balance, though, Ghana has a lot going for it, particularly for the nervous first-time traveler to Africa. In fact, in our experience, 99% of people don’t want to leave when the time comes. Saying that last goodbye may prove to be the most difficult part of your journey.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"br / What Ghana is NOT: Ghana is inot/i the Africa you see on TV—war, famine and disease. While that Africa exists and its story must be told, it is just one part of the story. And it’s not all lions and giraffes and safaris either. It’s somewhere in between. One-third of the world’s nations—fifty-three actually—exist in Africa. More than two thousand languages are spoken across the continent. Ghanaians alone speak over forty. Most individuals speak three or four languages on average iand/i English.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"In addition to being a useful and helpful guide for your journey before and after arriving in Ghana, we hope this guide also helps to dispel some myths about “Africa”, and sets you straight on some of the unspoken aspects of travel, and put you (and friends and family) at ease and perfectly prepared for your journey. Once you’re here, it will help you avoid the pitfalls that many travelers hit, and save you a lot of money, heartache and time too.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"In fact, we intend that the inside information in this guide will take ‘the great unknown’ out of traveling, volunteering or living in Ghana. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"o:pbr / /o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"o:p(This is part of the Introduction to the a href="http://gisforghana.blogspot.com/p/insiders-guide-book-to-ghana.html"Insider's Guide to Ghana/a...the second half continues below from Philosophy...)/o:p/span/divh1 align="center" style="margin: 12pt 0in 3pt; page-break-after: avoid; text-align: center;"bspan style="color: #ffcc00; font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;; font-size: 18pt;"Philosophy behind the Guideo:p/o:p/span/b/h1div class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We decided to write the kind of guide book that would let visitors benefit from our inside knowledge and experience. A guide that is:o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Up-to-date on prices, names and numberso:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"explains clearly how to get from A-to-Bo:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"includes only the best-of attractions and accommodationo:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"that also explains what Ghana and Ghanaians are really likeo:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"with extended culture, costs, preparation and dangers sectionso:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"and includes our insider’s tips throughout every sectiono:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We do love our other Ghana guides, but we feel they don’t give you a sense of Ghana. We’ve heard the same sentiments expressed by other visitors too. We also feel they’re a bit confusing in terms of organization. We also felt the guides needed to be more up to date—they are published every few years. Even when they’re freshly published, the research itself is already about one year out of date. Things change by the month in Ghana. We wanted a guide that was as up to date as possible.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We also made a decision to only include the best value for money establishments based on our own experience and the accumulated feedback from others over the years.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Indeed, our guide is quite different to the standard travel guide book. In addition to being up-to-date, it’s more personal and it’s written by us: A Ghanaian who’s traveled or worked across all ten regions, and myself who is heading towards 4 years in three different areas of Ghana and also traveled to all ten regions and taken close to100 long-distance trips on public transport across the country. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Most guide writers drop in every three years for 3 weeks or 8 weeks to madly update a book. We live here. We’re connected and we pass that knowledge and experience on to you.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We made a decision not to include localized street maps. There is a very good reason for this: no one reads maps in Ghana. Coincidentally, a few days after writing this section I read Elizabeth Ohene’s story at BBC online about this very issue. It’s quite illuminating in regards to the whole navigation challenge in Ghana as well as life in Ghana itself. She said, “I was excited therefore by recent newspaper headlines in Ghana that district assemblies in the country have been asked to name streets and number houses by 2010.” (That may be so, but we advise that you don’t hold your breath.) We do, however, urge you to read the article. [news.bbc.co.uk] class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Just to make it very clear, we’ve included a scenario that may help you understand our reasoning a little more. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Imagine approaching your average male on the streets of New Jersey/Newcastle/Melbourne/Paris and asking them, “Could you please show me how to dance?” I mean, would you expect a demonstration of dancing other than, say, the Macarena—iif you’re lucky/i? On the other hand, if you approached your average Ghanaian man with the same question, most would and icould/i dance for you on the spot, very skillfully. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"But if you approached the same Garden State/Geordie/Melbournian/Parisian male with a street map of the area and politely asked, “Could you please point out the way to the best pub in town?” there’s a 95% chance that all the men you asked would and icould/i do just that. They’d direct you using the map. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"However, if you approached your average Ghanaian man ior woman/i with a map, oh boy. Just as dancing is not part of your average western male’s culture; map reading is not part of Ghanaian culture. Roads and locations are better known by nearby landmarks and street vendors than by their actual name.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We’ll put it bluntly. Almost no one reads maps in real life situations except in academia. When virtually no one knows the names of roads, anyway, maps become somewhat redundant. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"It’s much, imuch/i simpler to ask how to get somewhere.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"However, when you do ask someone for directions verbally, there is often a contradiction between what your helper says and what they demonstrate with their hands. “Go straight” is the standard verbal response that accompanies hand signals that may well indicate left and right turns. Fortunately, sometimes some people ido/i say right and left. You get used to interpreting this. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"To put you in the picture, here is a standard response if you asked someone how to get to, say, the “In Him We Trust drinking spot” (we made the name up, but you’ll soon see the extent to which business names embrace religious expressions).o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"So, “Can you please tell me how to find the In Him We Trust Drinking Spot?”o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"“Oh. Ah! Ok, you go straight for some few minutes. When you see a blue lotto kiosk you curve right and go straight and keep going then you meet a big niim tree at a round-about. Then you curve right again then keep going straight iaaaaaahhhh/i, and you see a big green house. Then in front of the house you will see the Guiness sign. It is there.”o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Godwin insisted we mention that if you hear the speaker say “aaaaaah” as in, “Go straight iaaaaaah/i” it means the place is far. “Aaaaaah” emphasises distance./spanspan style="font-family: quot;Century Gothicquot;; font-size: 14pt;"nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Landmarks are the keys to navigating in Ghana.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We usually follow directions up to the point, then we ask someone there for more directions, and so on.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; margin: 5pt 0in;"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"When we had to go to an obscure part of Cantonments in Accra, there was absolutely no use using a map or street names. I used the closest well-known landmark, Adwoa Wangara Hotel. Most drivers could get to that hotel. Luckily my destination was next door.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"On that note, distance in Ghana is measured more in time than space. There are so many obstacles between A and B that to assume how long a trip will take based on kilometres or miles is a mistake—unless you have your own vehicle. It’s best to think in terms of time alone. Accra to Cape Coast is a three hour journey. It should really be about an hour and a half, based on kilometres: about 150 kms. Accra to Kumasi is anywhere from 4-6 hours. However, we have included a distance chart for distances between cities in kilometres, which you will find at the end of the guide.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"So this is why we chose not to include localised maps and, rather, provide longer explanations about how to navigate and how to ask for help.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We chose to create large country maps that show various options for planning a route around the country. You will find these at the very end of the guide too. We based some on themes such as crafts, others on beaches, others on a particular region, and we included several monster trips including everything you could hope to see in Ghana. We also included one map showing the interconnections between major towns and cities. You’ll see these maps under the Journeys section. These maps give you a good sense of how each area and attraction is connected by public transport. If you’re driving, fortunately roads are reasonably well sign-posted, as are attractions and hotels. Ghana is nothing if not overflowing with signs. All you have to do is follow the signs and have faith and eventually you will get to your destination. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We have included a few smaller maps showing localized areas where finding transport might otherwise be a problem, such as “Kwame Nkrumah Circle” area in Accra. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"bspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Guide Conventions: o:p/o:p/span/b/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Telephone numbers: In all cases we have included the international country code in case you are calling from overseas. All our numbers follow the same pattern: o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"country code/area (or mobile) prefix/number. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"span style="font-family: Symbol;"·nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; /spanspan style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"as in: +233(0)21-233-244. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"When calling from overseas you omit the zero (0). So you would dial +233-21-233-244. However, if you are calling from iwithin/i Ghana you drop the +233 (Ghana’s country code), and dial the entire number and always include the zero. So, if calling from within Ghana you would dial: 021-233-244. To use a different example, this number +233(0)244-123-456 dialed from outside Ghana would be +233-244-123-456. In Ghana it would be 0244-123-456.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"GHC: Stands for Ghana Cedio:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"We sometimes quote prices as ‘about’ because the cost of fuel increases by around 5% a month, routinely increasing prices for goods and services across the country. Basic foodstuffs like rice, fruit and vegetables and share taxis regularly increase.o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"span style="font-family: quot;Trebuchet MSquot;;"Finally, we have co-written this guide. Due to differences in our individual experiences in Ghana, particularly before we met, we occasionally distinguish between “I” and “we”. Throughout the guide “I” or “my” refers to Gayle and “we” or “our” refers to both of us. Where Godwin took on exclusive writing tasks we have noted the section as “by Godwin” and similar for Gayle as “by Gayle”. Otherwise it was co-written with individual experiences noted as per this explanation. o:p/o:p/span/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" [http-equiv="Content-Type"] content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"/metameta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Generator"/metameta content="Microsoft Word 11" name="Originator"/metalink href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CTERMIN%7E1.EB1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C09%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"/linkstyle !-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:none; mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -- /style /divdiv class="MsoNormal"So that was the full introduction to the Insider's Guide to Ghanao:p. /o:pThe first-half of the introduction was originally the prologue to the book I am writing about my journey since leaving Australia to come to Ghana (and a little before). However, it seemed better suited to this guide, so I pulled it from my manuscript and here it is. We hope this gives you a “sense of Ghana” before you arrive. The second half of the intro should help you understand what our guide book is about. If you like what you read on This is Ghana, this blog, you will probably like the guide and find it useful too.nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"You can buy the guide now by clicking the link through to the shopping page:/divdiv class="MsoNormal"a href="https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?i=617317amp;c=singleamp;cl=103846" target="ejejcsingle"img alt="Buy Now" border="0" src="http://www.e-junkie.com/ej/x-click-butcc.gif" //a/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"When you buy the guide you will receive a zip file which contains both the easy read (colour, 1.5 spaced) version and the easy print (black and white, single spaced) version. You will also have an option to download the Insider's Guide to Volunteering in Ghana for free at the same time.nbsp;/divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"Oh, and check out yesterday's posts. We're running a competition for the guide--2 nights at Ko-sa beach resort on us.nbsp; /divdiv class="MsoNormal"br / /divdiv class="MsoNormal"Thanks for reading!/divbr / div class="blogger-post-footer"Download a sample of the Insider's Guide to Ghana here: [www.g-lish.org] width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8826326494207776999-6161576669570116403?l=gisforghana.blogspot.com' alt='' //divdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=zehh4JCA94g:uT0jdPmsAUc:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=zehh4JCA94g:uT0jdPmsAUc:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?a=zehh4JCA94g:uT0jdPmsAUc:gIN9vFwOqvQ"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/ThisIsGhana?i=zehh4JCA94g:uT0jdPmsAUc:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ThisIsGhana/~4/zehh4JCA94g" height="1" width="1"/

8:43
I would like (poem)
» ‎ Why so serious? Blogs of a MIghTy African

This is my second post this Valentine's National Chocolate Day. I was going to combine both posts but had too much to say in the first one. I have a poem to share with you all in the spirit of this weekend. It's a very special poem to me, because it is a love poem. Uuh. It's titled 'I would like'.

I have debated well over a year whether to make it public and finally I have decided to let you all enjoy it. Well, I've performed it a couple times (spoken word) so it's not a huge secret and I've shared it with some friends as well. I wanted to keep the poem safe till I released it in my anthology or maybe, used it at a very very very special time. But hey, since I am unable to write poems these days for stupid reasons like "this poem better be better than the last poem", I figure I'll share the poem with y'all so I could be forced to write some new ones. It's easy to see why I chose this day, it's Valentine's Day, love is in the ayer. Also, it's a special day for a very special friend. So, here goes. Hope you enjoy it. "I would like"

I would like to love you
Because you sing my feelings
Because you house my affections
Because you play out my scripts
Because you solder my connections
Because you understand my passions
Because you educate my emotions
Because you love my love

I would like to need you
You find my searches
You see my dreams
You cook my fantasies
You tidy my ecstasies
You wash my bleeds
You befriend my deeds
You fulfill my needs

I would like to want you
To expand my reach
To contract my speech
To fulfill my desires
To predict my destiny
To discipline my inputs
To encourage my outputs
To have the next generation of me

I would like to have you
Beside me, because the trust warms me
Behind me, because the faith calms me
Before me, because the hope drives me
Beyond me, because the space focuses me
Above and beneath me, because the beauty floors me
Within me, because the emotion makes me
Make me want to be me

I would like to be with you
You take onlookers' breaths away
You must be a flawless capture
You take onlookers' breaths away
I must be lucky to be in the picture
You take onlookers' breaths away
As they look, see and experience
I cherish being in the experience

I would like to complete you
Because this joint will make and break
And make again
Because this road allows for going back and moving forward
And standing still
Because this building experiences tear and repair
And needs utmost care
The bridge that attaches you to your destiny is me

I would like to be intimate with you
Intimacy that unites
Unity that ignites
Ignitions that spark
Sparks that result
Results that birth
Births that provide
Provisions that love

I would like to
Show that I would like to
Because I am on a cause
I would like to
Have you like to, too
Because I keep on saying because
I would like to love, need, want, have, be with, complete, be intimate with you
Because you be the cause

8:41
White humour and people of colour
» ‎ Border Crossings

TV has become an important aspect of mother-son bonding during AM’s teenage years. We snuggle on the couch together and watch all sorts of stuff that I’d really rather not know about. Mostly it’s BBC SciFi like Dr Who, (which I do like) or assorted American crime shows (which I often don’t). Very occasionally (owing [...]

8:09
Happy Chocolate and Valentine's Day!
» ‎ Why so serious? Blogs of a MIghTy African

So it's Valentine's Day all over the world, so let me start by wishing you all Happy Valentine's! Like the Good Book says, Love is the greatest commandment. Love your neighbour as yourself. Pretty golden quote to live by.

Where I'm from, aka Ghana, February 14th is National Chocolate Day. It was adopted by the Kuffour government in 2007 to boost the consumption and sale of cocoa. Ghanaians like to claim the best cocoa (or even chocolate) comes from Ghana. February 14th is a day cast in stone for high consumption of chocolate and cocoa products in Ghana. I know when I was in Ghana for February 14th in 2008, I bought my family a big pack of Golden Tree Chocolate. I shared my story on GhanaConscious too. So yes, we must buy made in Ghana-products all the time, but if you needed any reminders, we have National Chocolate Day. Too bad, I don't have any here to give us gifts. In fact, I am wondering where I could get some. I MUST get some Golden Tree Akuafo Bars today!

I don't know if Valentine's Day is celebrated more in Ghana than the US or vice versa. I don't listen to the radio in the US and hardly watch TV here (unless it's basketball or sports) so I can't make an educated decision. The Valentine's Day movie that just came out looks good, want to see it. In Ghana, Valentine's Day is synonymous with the colour RED. Just like World AIDS day. So now think about that for a second. The two reddest days couldn't be more connected. Remember, it's as easy as ABC. Abstinence, Be faithful to your partner, wear a Condom. If it's not on, it's not in. The whole point of this paragraph was to get this sentence "If it's not on, it's not in" into the blog entry. :-D

People claim Valentine's Day has become so commercialized that people have been missing the point. Well, what is the point? Well, that's we love Wikipedia. Wikipedia says "Saint Valentine's Day" (kai, the day is even meant to be holy) is a holiday celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. Ahem, intimate companions. So if people go get busy as a result, let them get busy. Ghanaians shouldn't complain if condoms all of a sudden become in short supply. :-) The Wikipedia entry also says it's a holiday where lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). In the US, the only time when more greeting cards are sent than during Valentine's is during Christmas.

How am I spending my Valentine's day weekend? Well, it's also NBA All-Star weekend, folks. It's a long weekend too, I wish I could have gone somewhere. I know where I would have gone, had some things fallen into place, but that's a secret. No, it's not the All-Star game in Dallas. And it's not Sin City either. So, I will be watching basketball most of the time. I'll call or communicate with a few loved ones too. I already sent one card and a few more will go out today. Oh, did I mention that men spend twice as much as women during Valentine's? Like we didn't know that already. Oya, me, I am doing my part to make sure the ratio decreases.

Since I'm a big African music person, I have to share with you this African love songs playlist on Museke.com. I'm a fan and I'm sure if you listened, you'll become a fan too.
Listen here

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

1:50
The Letter Writing Project: To My Valentine, With Love
» ‎ Circumspect

Dear Valentine,

"Should I blog on Val's day or should I not?" This question has been tossed back and forth numerous times in my mind. I've wondered: what could I possibly have to say about Val's Day that isn't already out there? Heck, there's an entire movie dedicated to the day. But finally, the story found me. Just as it always does.

My "Gnashing" History
In primary school, I gnashed. In JSS, I gnashed. In SSS, I gnashed. Right now, well, I've obliterated the word "gnash" from my vocabulary, so let's just say "I...". But wait. That leaves it open to interpretation, doesn't it?

I'm sure many of you who went to high school in Ghana know all too well what "gnash" means; even if you claim to have never experienced it yourself. For those foreign to the word, hmm, how do I explain this? It's kind of like getting stood up? Or having an important occasion go unnoticed? Well anyway, I'll admit that I did. If you're talking about gifts, sweets, cards, teddy bears and what have you from boyfriends and significant others, then yes. I gnashed. For one thing, I'd told myself I didn't want or need a boyfriend because I didn't want or need that distraction in my life. Honestly though, I didn't want to find out my parents' reaction at learning I had a boyfriend. And yes, I believe I would have told them.

The "Unpopular" Valentine
But the fact that I had no boyfriend to "spread" (pamper) me on Val's Day didn't mean I gnashed in other areas. Not at all! The "suppression, oppression and depression" affected me occasionally, but certainly not all the time. I'd receive cute lil' surprises from supposed admirers; I once received a little red book entitled "On Love"! I know right, how appropriate! And boy, did I fill my head with those love quotes. And then, there were the little expressions of love from my girls. - For those who don't know what "a-girling" is, it's basically the Wesley Girls' version of the "school mother - school daughter" relationship. - So my girls always made Val's Day a memorable occasion. With Amansh for instance, we wrote notes to each other on a daily basis. On Val's Day or even Novi (November) Rush, we went the extra mile...literally. She'd find a wad-of-cash-looking note all rolled up on her nicely decorated bed, and once she unrolled it, there wasn't any way she wouldn't notice. So, I must say that while I haven't had many valentines in the "popular" sense, I have had valentines; spontaneous ones which always succeeded in warming my heart.

My Pre-Valentine
This year, my Valentine's Day started early. I met up with a wonderful woman and friend, Arame Tall, after work on Friday, and she took me out on a date. We went to dinner at another friend's place - Sali - where we had a sumptuous meal, talked about Africa's economic integration and development - which, by the way, we ended up calling "The Cause" - and she bought Sali and I roses! Now how sweet is that?! Afterwards, we headed to the theater to watch Dear John by Nicholas Sparks, author of my favorite book/movie, The Notebook. I adored it. Sparks seems to have a thing for letters, just like I do. Like his characters, I save my letters (and birthday cards and sweet memorabilia). Needless to say, I'm a grade one romantic. We left the theater around midnight and then spent at least an hour trudging ten blocks in the snow, slush and freezing cold. I was convinced I was getting frostbite. Talk about not feeling the love! Eventually, a taxi did stop for us - thanks to Sali's persistence - and then I was awakened to the fact that despite my consideration of blacks and whites as equals, others would still deny a consumer service because of the color of their skin. Mind you, some of those cab drivers who ignored us were black themselves! Anyway, our lovely cab driver - bless his heart - eventually got Sali and I home. I was so thankful when I arrived that I gave him one of my roses in addition to a generous tip. I guess he counts as one of my valentines?

To Val's Day or not to Val's Day?
Now I've seen and heard some people say that Val's Day is overrated. That it's too commercialized, that it shouldn't be celebrated. In fact, it should be scrapped altogether. I beg to differ. First, I don't believe Val's day should be so burdensome to the point where some guys would pretend to be sick just to avoid the cost! Quite the contrary. I believe Val's Day should be a simple affair with the respective parties chipping in. It doesn't always have to be dinner for two at an expensive restaurant; it can be dinner at home trying out a new recipe, messing up badly and settling for leftovers from the night before while reminiscing about how far you've come together. Nor does it have to be "chinchinaa" (by force) you have to get me something or else...It can be "how about I get you something this time, just for the heck of it?" And finally, Val's Day doesn't have to be commercialized. It should be whatever you make it to be. Instead of spending money, what about spending time? - We're in a recession, abi? -How about you sing (or try to sing) me my favorite song, write her a poem or offer to take him out for a walk?

Love Is The Message, and the Message Is Love!
Yea, I'm definitely against scrapping Val's Day. True we should show the love each and every chance (day) we have, but Val's Day is also for those people who need an opportunity to hope, love, dream again and give themselves up to the romantic notions that daily living sometimes seeks to rob us of. At the end of the day, love is all there is. [I must say, I have spoken like a true romantic!] So, if you think you're gnashing this Val's Day, think again. Happy Valentine's Day! Will you be my Valentine? ;)

Now & Always,
J

1:17
For My Original Valentine on a very cold morning
» ‎ Nana Kofi Acquah - Ghana Photographer

I stood shivering in the cold wind
and watched these flowers remind
me of the Love I so miss.

I made this photograph for you
To say you're my one only Love
and I miss you today too.

Happy Valentine's day my Love
and if God wills, I'll hold you tonight
till all the Winter in me dissolves...

and a new shivering begin.

Nana Kofi Acquah © 2010

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Signs of Love

"Do you have change?"

"Join the Dots" planning Ghana travels

Valentine's Day in Ghana - All You Need To Know

Don’t waste your words on those that listen but cannot hear

Travels in Ghana: the reality and hilarity

I would like (poem)

White humour and people of colour

Happy Chocolate and Valentine's Day!

The Letter Writing Project: To My Valentine, With Love

For My Original Valentine on a very cold morning