Ghana: First Impressions

It's Day # 2 in Accra, so I thought I'd take a moment to report my impressions and experiences thus far. My friend and fellow volunteer, Beth, and I arrived after a 23-hour long bus ride from Ouaga, altogether not a terrible experience. The bus was air conditioned and exponentially nicer and more comfortable than any transport I've experienced in Burkina. I left armed with a stack of magazines, several books, snacks, and a fully charged iPod. I shared my abundance of Newsweeks with the couple sitting in front of us on the bus, the only other Americans traveling with us. They were on a long visit to several West African countries, having served in the Peace Corps together in Ghana over three decades ago. It was neat to hear about their experiences as they served with their children (one of whom was born in Ghana) during the four year window when Peace Corps supported families abroad. Our border crossing at Paga took some time (ah, bureacracy in the developing world), but was otherwise uneventful.

I noticed significant differences in the scenery immediately upon crossing into Ghana. The houses, though quite reminsicent of those in Burkina, were often larger with corrugated metal roofs, which are not common on non-fonctionaire or city houses in Burkina . The villages we passed through all had an atmosphere of being, well, more developed. The cities, however, presented the most significant difference, as even the smaller cities we passed through (Tamale, Kintampo, Kumasi) are much more developed than Ouaga, the capital of Burkina Faso. It's not that any of this should come as a surprise; Ghana is # 16 on the Human Development Index of the 51 African countries, while Burkina is # 48. The discrepency was obvious in so much that we saw, from the prevalence of advertisements to the types of cars (I saw a Hummer on the road to Accra) to the improved state of schools and municipal buildings.

After we arrived, we headed to our hostesses' house (my friend from college and her housemate), in one of the nicer neighborhoods of Accra, home to a large proportion of expats. It was neat to see some of the city, which is often more reminiscent of Europe than West AFrica. When we got to their house, we were absolutely floored by how nice it was and generally beyond excited to be staying somewhere that in no way resembles our houses in village. We spent the day relaxing, napping, and watching Desperate Housewives (such luxury!). We met my friend for lunch at a nearby restaurant that serves a mind-boggling variety of salads and sandwiches (it took us a good 15 minutes just to decide what to order). After dinner, we headed out to a local bar/restaurant (complete with American decor - photos of James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, etc.) to check out the expat scene. We met lots of our hostesses friends, from employees of NGOs to European and Middle Eastern entrepreneurs, some of whom actually grew up in Ghana. It was a huge change from our experiences with the nightlife in Ouaga, which are generally limited to other Peace Corps volunteers and development workers.

Today our plan is to check out a market and artisans center in the city, followed by dinner (the variety of restaurants here is amazing!) and a night out. We hope to take a day trip to a beach a few hours away this weekend and, as there's not all that much to see in Accra, have made a firm commitment to watch lots of movies, eat well, enjoy our friends' company, and generally partake in the decadence and luxury of being in country # 16 and not country # 48 for a week!