Accra, July 3, 2010

Day 3 (written on Saturday)

I am wrong. About many things. Ghana and the Netherlands included.

What a freakin’ wild ride with the Black Stars yesterday?! It was absolutely amazing to be here while it all played out…despite the tragic ending. And the Netherlands pulled through quite wonderfully, despite my first blog post (written during the 24th minute of the game) that might have alluded otherwise. I watched the Ghana v. Uruguay game last night from a sports bar called “Champs” that sold $25 imported South African steaks. I virtually got laughed out of the bar for ordering a pastrami sandwich. Unfortunately, the student budget doesn’t permit for South African steaks this early in the game, despite the fact that I could’ve justified it as a “once-in-a-lifetime-experience.” I’m going to save my fancy steak dinners for the desperate nights that are sure to come somewhere down the line…after I’ve eaten my fill of fufu, red-red, and kelewele. I will say that it was a sad ride home last night—watching people pour off of Oxford Street with their heads down.

Today was a very “Western” Saturday, spent checking e-mail and watching Toy Story 3 from the glories of the Accra Mall. Great movie, by the way. It might’ve taken coming to Africa to actually get me to sit down in a theater to watch it, but I’m extremely glad I did. Laughter, tears—all the good things one expects from Pixar these days.

Dr. Cindy Stanton from JHSPH was supremely cool and took me out to a nice oceanfront seafood dinner tonight at La Palm Hotel here in Accra. I ate prawns as big as my fist, squid tentacles that looked like bananas, and massive filets of fish strewn over a yellow paella-esque rice. Fantastic if you’re an omnivore ☺

I do think finding your way around Accra is a bit like riding a bike. Once you’ve learned it properly the first time, you don’t really forget it. I found myself jumping from shared taxi to tro-tro today without a care in the world. I knew where I wanted to go and I knew how to get myself there—a rarity for me last summer. Let’s hope getting my research project up and running is as easy as sniffing my way out to the shopping mall!