The strangest thing I’ve encountered in Ghana so far is the feeling that nothing seems strange. Since my most recent trip to Ghana in February, I have driven a rental car through Southern Africa, taken a trip to the British Virgin Islands, and decided where I will be starting medical school this August. But stepping of the airplane in Accra, it felt like just a week had passed.
I spent my first evening in Ghana catching up on sleep and watching TV with my friend’s uncle. I’ve gained a new appreciation of American reality TV after watching “Big Brother Africa.” I made it through 15 excruciatingly slow minutes of two housemates playing chess before realizing that the show is broadcasted on a dedicated channel, in live time, 24-7…
Today was spent dealing with something just as annoying back in the states as it is when traveling…computer problems. The disk I’ve had stuck in my CD drive for the past two years finally decided to put up a fight, making it impossible to use the internet (which I had spent the morning setting up) or access any of my documents. So I did what you do in these situations…head down to the Apple Store, or in case of Ghana’s closest approximation, the iStore. I was immediately put at ease when the technician lectured me about the importance of “running a full backup with time machine” and he managed to remove the disk within minutes. In the midst of apple t-shirts and sleek displays of iPhones I almost forgot I was in Ghana…until the technician not-so-subtlety reminded me that he works for tips ☺.
Slow Traffic
One the bright side, sitting in traffic on the way to and from the iStore gave me plenty of time to make calls to health and government officials, mapping out their various travel schedules in an effort to plan my own route through northern Ghana.
Emma