Ghana – Chapter 1
Accra, February 3, 2005
"Yep, I'm Here"
(I live in North Labone Estate, just off of Ring Road East)
Yep, I’m here, and this my new official email address. {Deleted for security reasons}
Yes, it’s kind of hot and humid, but not much different than an August day in Boston or Washington DC (maybe not quite up to Atlanta standards and definitely warmer than SFO).
I landed around 10 pm on Sunday evening and was taken immediately to my house (#45/4 Klottey Crescent <- don’t use this address for mail!). It’s kind of a funky tropical version of a concrete block house (probably a little like Hitler’s bunker before the Russians blew it up as part of their urban renewal program for Berlin). Actually, it might more generously be described as a one story “ranch style”. It is “U” shaped, with a large patio in the middle of the U (about 25’ x 25’). The garage forms one side of the U and the rest of the house the other two sides. There are 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths, a small sitting room/study, a large living room/dining room, and a small kitchen. It was used as offices before I moved in and definitely needs Kitty and Susan’s home decorating touches (Just no SHELLS!).
The patio is actually enclosed on the fourth side by a “decorative” hollow brick wall and has a bar built into one corner. I think I could squeeze a small band in and use it as a night club on the weekends. I know how much Kitty and Gregg like to shuffle along to some Ghanaian High Life music. At Kitty’s personal request (just before I left) I promised to find at least one dancing amputee for her amusement.
The furniture is Drexel – the US Gov’t buys shiploads of the stuff at a time. A little fusty, but not bad – fancier than I probably deserve. The bathrooms are clean, white, tiled, and pretty bare, but the water is hot and in generous supply.
I have a permanent water distiller/filter built in because the local water supply is considered contaminated (even though I brush my teeth with it). The filter does a good job and is designed to supply a family. It doesn’t change the taste of the water and is a lot better than the old iodine pills that Ellen and I used to use. Funny how I miss the taste of Nescafe instant coffee with an iodine after taste.
My “social sponsor” (a single guy at the US Embassy) has taken me shopping my first 2 days after work. The embassy has a commissary that imports some US items and sells them more or less at cost (including freight to Ghana). They also have a small selection of reasonable So. African and French wines and some “likker” for us hardcore types. If you’re hard up for Miracle Whip or Rice Krispies, this is the place to go. They also have local beer at a reasonable price (more importantly – they have beer bottles. You have to supply empty bottles in order to buy beer or soft drinks and the commissary will sell you either a case full or a case of empties). Everything is paid by check in US dollars.
The second day we went to the Koala supermarket. This is a Lebanese owned store that was surprisingly well stocked. The prices on some things are OK, but high by US standards. On others, the prices are REALLY high (a large box of Tide for $100). However, you can get just about everything you need, including a large selection of sauces, spices, Middle Eastern and Indian foods, etc. Locally produced things (dairy products, some meat, etc.) are reasonable. Koala also has a lot of US branded products (peanut butter, Uncle Ben’s sauces, Ocean Spray juices). So I’m not going to suffer. I’m told there’s a second such supermarket on the other side of town.
I haven’t made it to the real market yet – where the rest of Ghana shops, but hope to do that this weekend. I’ll be looking for the metal workers’ corner of the market to try to find some sort of BBQ grill and charcoal. They do exist here.
My house is surrounded by a 10 foot high wall topped with rolls of barbed wire (looks like Bush’s colony in Iraq). It came with a permanent 24/7 supply of guards (armed with batons and radios connected to the Marines at the US Embassy – about 500 yards away, and a bicycle for emergencies). I also have some yard – grass, two mango trees, a kind of anemic papaya tree and assorted bougainvillea and hibiscus climbing the walls. The yard came with Sylvanus, my new gardener. He claims to have studied agriculture for three years under a Korean named Mr. Lee and does seem to know some things about plants. I think I have talked him into planting more fruit and some vegetables (eggplant, peppers and okra). Actually, he would plant anything I tell him to even if he thought I was wacko for asking! I desperately need some CILANTRO seeds if any of you guys want to send me a Care package (Greg Vaut, 2020 Accra Place, Dulles, VA 20189-2020).
I screwed up on my shipments. Before I left Washington, I was told that my 250 pound shipment of air freight had already reached Accra. It is mostly clothes. So when I packed to fly over, I didn’t pack much in the way of clothes. Well, I got here and found that the shipment hadn’t arrived! So every day after work I have to do my laundry so that I have clean shirts and underwear. Luckily, I have a nice new GE washer and drier! Fortuitously, while waiting around Heathrow airport on my way over, I bought a short sleeve knit shirt – so I have one short sleeve shirt and four long sleeve dress shirts. The office dress is very informal (no ties); I have two suits and a blazer and not much else! Sure hope those clothes get here soon!
I also have a humongous upright freezer, in addition to a large refrigerator – definitely big enough to hold that pig when we do our first Crazy Coconut Tour Pig Roast on my BBQ grill.
My main shipment (a two year supply of Tide and toilet paper, some spare parts for my pickup, lots of hot sauce and tons of books) will probably take 3 or 4 months to get here. My truck will take about the same.
Got to get to work now. Ya’ll write!
Greg