by phil | Aug 10, 2010 | Camels, Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
There is a lot to love about the Yas Guesthouse. First, the guests themselves. The flourescent light importers, the Saudi Arabian rice traders, the Malian couple that fight endlessly, the family of seven that stay in one room and use my doorstep as a playground. Then...
by phil | Aug 5, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
For the first time on this trip, I have experienced catastrophic, explosive diarrhea. This was inevitable. My eating habits have been reckless and I often purchase sachet water that tastes like dirt. Travelers diarrhea has various incarnations. Before today’s...
by phil | Aug 1, 2010 | Ghana, Music, Stories, W. Africa
As I mentioned in the last post, I was invited to a graduation. It was a private school, well-funded for Ghana, and they put on a ceremony that was essentially western, but with much more music and dance. Several hours of music and dance in fact. Most entertaining was...
by phil | Jul 29, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
When I tell Ghanaians I am staying in the Newtown neighborhood of Accra, I receive one of two reactions: elation, because they live in Newtown themselves, or shock, because Newtown and nearby Nima are known for thuggery. It turns out that some years ago, Newtown was a...
by phil | Jul 22, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
Five years ago, outside of a game reserve in northern Benin, I got a cut on my shin that became badly infected. From knee to foot, my leg was like a piece of rotting fruit. I became immobile, bearded, and completely pathetic. After a regimen of IVs, oral antibiotics,...
by phil | Jul 12, 2010 | Ghana, Stories, W. Africa
After spending an hour and a half in two different cramped and dilapidated minibuses, I am looking for a shared taxi to my final destination: Beach Road. My first couchsurfing experience has led me to the western-most neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana. Dansuman, Shiabu,...
