After lunch is when the real fun began. After we returned to the Area office I finished my project that I have been working on (the boss said he was “blown away” by it by the way) and took off into the town. My original intention was to head west into what I have read is “modern Accra” with even “sky scrapers.” Mind you, this was the first time I braved the wild alone and I only had a map from my book that I brought with me. The map didn’t instill great confidence however, because the author himself says that he is yet to see an accurate map of Ghana and Accra. So with that, a bottle of water, and my Lake Powell sandals on, I started west in Accra. I wondered through roads and allies for what seemed like 30 to 40 minutes. I could see from a few blocks distance the “sky scrapers.” (see photo below to judge for yourself). Well, to make a long story a bit less long, I ended up taking a wrong turn and missed Akaraba (modern Ghana) by about 1 km. But lucky for me that I did. I ended walking into the neighboring town of Ossu. Ossu is also a fairly modern part of town, just instead of sky scrapers they have the soccer stadium. As I approached I noticed a small crowd gathering and entering the stadium. I stopped some police officers (actually they stopped me, but all in kindness) and asked what was going on. They explained that Ghana was hosting an Olympic qualifying match. (I later found out that one of the teams playing was named “Olympus” and I think that is what they meant). I thought, it might be fun to take a peak into an African soccer game. I wondered how much it would cost and if it was even worth the walk across the street. While pondering I continued walking, but it didn’t take long until a friendly man dressed in a security guard uniform hailed me down. This is not uncommon, people love to talk to the white’s, usually because they want to sell you something, but also sometimes just to talk and meet someone from another country. He didn’t seem to have anything to sell, and like me, must just be walking home from work. We started talking and introduced one another. This whole time we were walking adjacent to the stadium. After about 5 minutes he asked if I would like to go to the soccer game with him. Now, I am thinking, he wants me to buy him a ticket into the game. I was not against the idea, but the cost needed to be within reason. I told him I would like to go, but only had so much money I could spend. “How much is it” I asked. He thought for a moment and said, I think around 40 cedis (the exchange rate is nearly 1 to 1 so $40.00). Well, there was no way my curiosity was going to pay that much to go to the game. Disappointed I told him that I just didn’t have the money to spend like that. He said, “that is ok, we will see what we can do, follow me.” I little hesitantly, I followed him across the road, thinking maybe he will try to cut us a deal or something. We walked right up to the front of the line. I noticed that as we walked everyone parted to the side letting us pass by…even the guard at the door, just let us walk right by. Then I noticed the guard and my friend were wearing the same uniform. Then I noticed I had just been escorted (or snuck if you prefer) into a soccer game in the Ghana stadium. He walked me right up to the tunnel leading into the stadium and said, “go, find a seat.” I asked if he was coming. “yeah, I coming, just go do something.” Thinking he was sincere I walked up and took a seat.
I really was surprised when I never saw him again. It was about 20 minutes into the game that I realized that the initial offer to go to the game was an offer to sneak me in, not to go with me. I chuckled to myself how easily he flopped from 40 to 0. I wonder if he just wanted to do it, to prove to himself that he could. Or maybe I really did make an impression on him, and he wanted to just be nice. Well, to shorten the end of this. The game was fairly boring. Anybody who thinks that “flopping” in the NBA is a problem should spend 20 minutes watching African soccer. It seemed like every play they had to stop because someone fell over and grabbed their leg. It didn’t take long until the fans had enough and started booing. I made friends with Sam, a local middle school teacher. He too is Ghanaian, but wants to come continue his studies in America. This time there was no offer to sell, buy, or sneak anywhere, just pleasant company. I wonder if my other friend sent him from his post? I ended up leaving the game just before the end. I spent most of it trying to plot my way home on the map I had. The walk home took about 3 ½ to 4 hours. I walked back up through Ossu, where we had gone to lunch earlier. I noticed a bakery which sold French baguettes and thought I would try one. I was disappointed. So much so in fact that I gave the whole thing away to the first person who asked for it. He asked which country I was from, I told him US to which he responded “I knew it, it is always US who do stuff like this. Not German, French, or anything, but always US.” I admit that made me smile. He soon had a pack of teenager around him devouring the bread. I was a target through the shopping centers, and at time had 5 to 6 vendors calling me friend and begging me to come into their shop. I knew how to get back to my basic residential area, but I was unsure about the exact location. As it got dark and the malaria mosquitoes started coming out I thought I should begin asking for help. I asked a vender on the street if he knew a my apartments. He said no, but immediately ran about asking everyone around, eventually flagged down a taxi and explained to him how to get there. I gave the man 30 cents, and after 4 hours of walking paid 2 dollars for a taxi ride for the final 3 blocks. I simply could not turn down such good service.
If anything, my tour around the city today put me at ease with where I am. Honestly, by the end of the day I felt safer here than in down town SLC. I mean, if I were in SLC there is no way I would get a free soccer game, king like service at every shop, and a personal concierge. I guess that is just Ghanaian hospitality.
A road in town I walked down
A shop: cutting coconuts for drinks
The skyscraper
the soccer stadium
1 comment:
WOW! What an adventure. It sounds so fun. Thanks for the detail and commentary. It adds a lot to the story. I can't wait to hear more. I would like to see the project that got such rave reviews if possible. You are the Man!
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