Day Twenty-seven
Disclaimer: Thursday, the 23rd, was a great day. I did a bunch of cool stuff, so I’m going to write this in installments.
Yesterday I struck out on a little adventure, waking at 6:50 in the morning to visit the Thursday-morning Koforidua bead market. The drive was half the adventure. I caught my first trotro to Madina, costing me only 30 pesewas (20 cents). In Madina I had to transfer, and the second fare was a whopping 2 cedis and 80 pesewas (about $1.95), so I knew I was in for a long ride. Luckily, this trotro was pretty swank—decent air-conditioning and plenty of those great “oh shit” bars for you to hold onto when careening around mountain corners.
The teenage girl sitting next to me fell asleep halfway into the ride. How one falls asleep going 70 miles an hour up and down windy roads, I’m unsure? Sleep was a preferred alternative to having her throw up on me. It seemed to be a typical case of car-sickness….although she argued that it wasn’t the car at all but the air- conditioning that made her want to vomit. I’ve never thought much about that before, but I guess I have something new to be thankful for—no aversions (whatsoever) to air-conditioning.
Koforidua was definitely one of the more rural areas I’ve visited thus far, although it’s still considered a fairly healthy-sized town by Ghanaian standards. I decided to pass the time on the two-hour trek by writing down things that humored me as we drove.
#1 (in Madina): A roadside shop—“The Lord is my Shepherd Saw Sharpening Center” (if you haven’t been struck by the odd infusion of religiosity into everyday life yet, I can share more great Ghanaian advertisements)
#2 (in Madina): Another roadside stand—“Thank You Jesus Entertainment” (selling bootleg Chinese DVDs and CDs…I kid you not) I always tend to thank Jesus for my illicit behaviors?
#3 (in Madina): a gas station advertising a “Lubitory.” I was absolutely perplexed at first. Come to find out this is a bay for changing oil. Hahaha.
#4 (near Aburi): “Kunta Kente Orthopaedic Hospital”—Hmmm…I always thought Kunta Kente was a fictional character?
#5 (in Koforidua): painted wooden sign advertising “Afghanistan fried rice.” Really? I’m going to place a LOT of money on the fact that no one from Koforidua has ever been to Afghanistan. Nor do I think that fried rice is an Afghani specialty, but I could be wrong there.
I found the market really quickly after disembarking from my trotro on the Koforidua highway. Once there, I bought mostly local beads, a few foreign ones tossed in for good measure…one older set from Burkina Faso and a really unique charm from 1935 that will make a great pendant on a necklace. One very legitimate vendor was selling antique milefiori “trading beads” that originated in Italy but were once used all over Africa. I debated getting a set for myself but they were about $25, so I passed. I dunno. I still have mixed feelings about that decision. I know that my grandparents brought some back from Kenya years ago, though, so we have some at home somewhere, making me a little hesitant to acquire more. Maybe if it continues to gnaw at me I’ll head back another Thursday morning and pick up a set. Mom, I’ll let you have your pick from the current mix as soon as I get home!
My final morning adventure came as I was bargaining my way into a great set of beads. Out of nowhere a huge gust of wind came upon us and knocked down the huge tent under which I was standing. I saw it all happening in slow motion, so I reached up and grabbed the heavy metal tent leg that was about to come down on my head and slowly placed it on the ground. Unfortunately, the other three tent legs weren’t brought down quite as delicately, and one came crashing down on the head of a woman eating lunch in the corner. Only in Ghana can bead-marketing draw blood ☹
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