Our first week in Ghana and what a week it was!

July 7, 2011

Until I arrived, it was difficult for me to imagine what my time in Ghana would be like.

What did Accra look like, sound like, smell like? Were the people friendly, was the city dark and dangerous? How should I dress, where do I go, how do I get there? What would we eat and how was the night life?

These of course, were all concerns in relevance to my personal life here in Ghana as opposed to my professional life and work load, we will have time to get into that later.

Since arriving only a week ago a lot of these concerns have been answered and any anxieties associated with them have calmed.

As mentioned in the previous blog, the traffic here in Accra is hectic. It was also the first thing I found completely mind boggling. The city is loud, very loud and all the time. There is a high level of pollution and each night I clean out my nose – thoroughly. The streets smell of exhaust and fire stoves and although lined with garbage, what I will remember most of Ghana is the beauty of the people. Pleasant and easily approachable, the locals value relationships and spend a lot of time communicating with one another. They do not hold back and verbal exchanges of agreement and/or frustration are openly expressed, and loudly. Many people will stop you to talk and I can't count how many times I have been asked, “can we be friends.” When unsure of where to go, as most streets do not have road signs and often people don't remember them anyhow, locals are always willing to guide you in the right direction. Even if the best they can go is insist on “ you go straight, straight,” they do their best and in many ways are right. For a short period of time, we must always walk straight.

On a personal note, we have spent the last week running in and out of appointments. We have met with the previous jhr interns and have been introduced to staff and students at the African University College of Communications (where I will be working with my colleague from Global News, Cheryl Oates), the reporters and news editorial staff at The Daily Guide (a private daily newspaper where Paul Carlucci, a Canadian colleague who worked in magazine and news writing, will be working), as well as staff from two local radio stations Joy FM and Citi FM. We have had the privilege of meeting staff at the UNHCR and staff of the non-profit organization The Peoples Dialogue. Both which are locally based international non-profit organizations working on poverty reduction and human rights issues within Accra.

Some of the week has been a blur – but we are coming around nicely. We have been meeting many interesting personalities, both in our placements and out and I am extremely looking forward to beginning work at the AUCC on Monday.

Tomorrow we hope to be moving out of the Kokomlemle Guest House, which has been amazing and is where we have been staying since our arrival, and into the house in which we will be staying for the remainder of our time in Accra.

View from our Guest House in Kokomlemle

View of average, everyday traffic from our cab window in central Accra

Garbage surrounding a stream heading through the city