Hey Everyone!
I am back in Accra after a very short, but productive four days in Kumasi. Here is a recap:
I arrived in Kumasi on Thursday afternoon after a roughly six-hour bus ride. In Ghana, bus services make multiple stops along the way to their final destination. Reasoning that the last stop would be at the bus station in Kumasi (that is logical, right?), where I told my friend Michael I would meet him so he could help me find my hostel, I stayed on the bus until we reached the final destination. The only problem was that the final destination was not the bus station, but rather in the middle of one of the markets. I called Michael and ended up having to hand my phone to a taxi driver to explain where I was because neither Michael, nor myself, had any clue when I tried to explain it. So, after a brief chat with Michael, the taxi driver took me to meet him. It was at this time that I figured out that my sim card in my phone had de-activated itself for the second time (it would deactivate for a third time in the four days I was in Kumasi. I am definitely learning the value of patience). On the up side, at least it was still working when I was dropped in the middle of the market with no sense of where I was. We finally reached Bethel Methodist Guesthouse, my home for the next four days. The place was great; the bathroom even had a working showerhead. I felt quite spoiled, as most of the times I have stayed in Ghana, including my initial time in Accra this time around, I have taken bucket showers, which I actually prefer.
After checking in, Michael and I went to the phone store to try to rectify the issues with my registration. I was given yet another sim card (my third) and was told that the problem was probably my phone, so off Michael and I went to Adum, a market center, to buy a new phone. The trip was successful and the next day I went to get my phone all set up, which went well. I now had a working phone complete with Whatsapp, which is very popular here, and email to communicate easily with people back home, as well as a BBC app to keep up with the news. Originally I was iffy about getting a smartphone because I didn’t want to seem flashy or to have too many distractions from things here. But, being able to communicate with my loved ones at home is important and makes me happy, and having internet capability on my phone facilitates that process. Plus, in all honesty, I would have been an outlier if I had a phone that just made phone calls, a point I want to use as a segway to address those of you who are shocked that there are smartphones in Africa. Telecommunication has become widespread in countries all over the continent, and Ghana is no exception. I see more people with Blackberries and iPhones, or some other Nokia or Samsung version of a smartphone, here than I expected. Smartphones are as common in Ghana as they are back home in the States. How’s that for breaking stereotypes of Africa?
I am back in Accra after a very short, but productive four days in Kumasi. Here is a recap:
I arrived in Kumasi on Thursday afternoon after a roughly six-hour bus ride. In Ghana, bus services make multiple stops along the way to their final destination. Reasoning that the last stop would be at the bus station in Kumasi (that is logical, right?), where I told my friend Michael I would meet him so he could help me find my hostel, I stayed on the bus until we reached the final destination. The only problem was that the final destination was not the bus station, but rather in the middle of one of the markets. I called Michael and ended up having to hand my phone to a taxi driver to explain where I was because neither Michael, nor myself, had any clue when I tried to explain it. So, after a brief chat with Michael, the taxi driver took me to meet him. It was at this time that I figured out that my sim card in my phone had de-activated itself for the second time (it would deactivate for a third time in the four days I was in Kumasi. I am definitely learning the value of patience). On the up side, at least it was still working when I was dropped in the middle of the market with no sense of where I was. We finally reached Bethel Methodist Guesthouse, my home for the next four days. The place was great; the bathroom even had a working showerhead. I felt quite spoiled, as most of the times I have stayed in Ghana, including my initial time in Accra this time around, I have taken bucket showers, which I actually prefer.
After checking in, Michael and I went to the phone store to try to rectify the issues with my registration. I was given yet another sim card (my third) and was told that the problem was probably my phone, so off Michael and I went to Adum, a market center, to buy a new phone. The trip was successful and the next day I went to get my phone all set up, which went well. I now had a working phone complete with Whatsapp, which is very popular here, and email to communicate easily with people back home, as well as a BBC app to keep up with the news. Originally I was iffy about getting a smartphone because I didn’t want to seem flashy or to have too many distractions from things here. But, being able to communicate with my loved ones at home is important and makes me happy, and having internet capability on my phone facilitates that process. Plus, in all honesty, I would have been an outlier if I had a phone that just made phone calls, a point I want to use as a segway to address those of you who are shocked that there are smartphones in Africa. Telecommunication has become widespread in countries all over the continent, and Ghana is no exception. I see more people with Blackberries and iPhones, or some other Nokia or Samsung version of a smartphone, here than I expected. Smartphones are as common in Ghana as they are back home in the States. How’s that for breaking stereotypes of Africa?
The following day, I met with Dr. Kwabena Nyarko, professor
in the Civil Engineering Department at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology (K.N.U.S.T)- the university with which I am affiliated- who is
advising and helping me with my research while I am here. Dr. Nyarko is a great
resource. In addition to his role as a professor, he is the head of the
WASHCost Project in Ghana, which is researching the costs of water, sanitation
and hygiene services in rural and peri-urban communities. He has been working
in the water and sanitation sector for many years and I am really looking
forward to learning from his expertise over the next nine months. The meeting
went well. We discussed some national policy documents I should review to begin
my background research and he also told me of the National Level Learning
Alliance Platform, an organization under the Resource Center Network Ghana
(RCN). RCN is a “network of institutional partners working to promote knowledge
management in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, with aims to provide
improved and sustainable pro-poor services.” The Learning Alliance hosts
monthly meetings where members come together to discuss relevant topics and
themes. It is open to the public and to students. There is a meeting this
Thursday in Accra, on an Evaluation and Impact Assessment of the Governance and
Transparency Fund Program in Ghana, which is incredibly pertinent to the
research I will be doing here. So, I decided to come back to Accra,
indefinitely, to attend the conference and set up some other meetings with
organizations in the area. More on plans for the week, later.
So, after meeting Dr. Nyarko, it was time to begin my search for housing. Fortunately, I had a few leads on places open to rent in the area. The first was a single room, with my own toilet, shower, and kitchen facilities. The woman leasing the place, Mercy Vanessa, works for the International Programs Office on campus and was very nice. The place was great, but I wasn’t crazy about the location. Though it was on campus, it was in the area where staff and faculty are housed by the university, so it was a bit far removed from the main campus, where I plan to be everyday. I proceeded to contact a man named Eric. Eric has hosted SIT students in the past and Yaw gave me his number so I could see if he had a room open to rent. It turns out there is a room for rent, so I went to see it. Essentially, I would be living in my own room in Eric’s home and would share a toilet, shower, kitchen, and living room with him and his family. It also had a balcony, which was definitely a bonus. The location was great: it was situated roughly 2 minutes from Tech junction, where I can catch transportation to just about anywhere I would want or need to go, and a five minute walk to campus. The only issue was the price. I have been talking with Michael and other people I have met in the area about what I should expect to pay for housing. The price continually quoted to me was between 50-100 Ghana Cedis (GHC) per month (roughly $25-$50). Eric’s price was roughly double this for a two month stay. Though I will be here for nine months, right now I am looking for a place to stay for November and December. Since I am going to take the next two months to just do relevant background reading and research for my project, which I can do from anywhere since I just need my computer and an internet connection, I plan on taking advantage of this freedom to travel as much as I can. Plus, I haven’t yet identified the communities where I will be conducting fieldwork for my research, which I am hoping to begin in January, so I also don’t want to lock myself into a place until I figure out the logistics of my daily routine when my research really gets underway. Basically, what I am looking for in terms of housing is: a location that is convenient to campus and transportation, a place where I can cook my own food if I so choose, and a place that is safe to store my things while I am gone. Eric’s house definitely fit that description and it would be nice to live with a family, but I decided to keep looking to see what else was available. My friend Rita referred me to a woman named Ms. Rosemond who was building a hostel in the area and had rooms available for roughly 100 GHC/month. The following day, I went to see the hostel. It was great. It had all the amenities I am looking for and though it wasn’t directly on campus, it was only a ten-minute walk to KNUST. There weren’t very many people living there from what I could tell because it was still under construction, but since housing is limited in the area, she said it was going to fill with tenants quickly. The only problem with the place was that I could only live there if I agreed to stay there for a full semester, or in other words, the full nine months I will be here. Well that made my choice clear: no. I explained to her what I was looking for: a room for two months with the flexibility to support my nomadic lifestyle. Ms. Rosemond is a fashion designer and splits her life between Ghana and Germany. As a frequent traveler herself, she could appreciate my requests. So, she took me to her home because she has a room that is open. The place was amazing. I felt like I was at a resort, which could be very good for my psyche, but potentially very bad for my work ethic. The room was huge with a full size bed and a small leather couch. I would share a bathroom and kitchen with a girl living in the room opposite mine, who is a Master’s student in the Pharmacy program at KNUST. The only problem was the location: a 15-minute drive (by car, not public transportation) to campus. That was a turn off for me, but I haven’t ruled it out completely. My final option is to live with my host family in Kumasi from when I was studying in Ghana last year, which would be awesome because I am very comfortable there and am considered part of the family. It isn’t very close to campus, but it’s definitely not a bad commute either. So the good news is that I have a lot of options, but the bad news is that my indecision is in full swing. I have decided the best thing for me to do is to make a pro-con list and mull it over while I am in Accra. I’m in no rush to get back to Kumasi and I’m confident that I’ll have a decision by the time I leave Accra to go back to Kumasi on a more permanent basis (at that point, I’ll have no other option than to make a decision).
Basically, my five days in Kumasi were filled with house hunting, making new friends, multiple trips to the phone store, random tro-tro rides to the market and walking around campus to pass time. I am very happy to be back in Accra with Magdalene and the family. I missed everyone a lot and it was great to come back to very warm welcomes and a lot of “I’ve missed you” ’s from Nana, Ama, and Kate (my host siblings). On the agenda for this week: tomorrow I will be meeting with Alberto Wilde, Director of Global Communities. Global Communities is an organization working on water and sanitation projects in peri-urban areas in Ghana. I am really eager to meet Alberto and get to see the work the organization is doing. Thursday, I will be going to the National Learning Alliance conference. I am hoping to go to a drumming show at the National Theatre and will plan some day trips to the market and Tema as well. There is a train, painted as the Ghanaian flag, that runs from Accra to Tema and it is on my bucket list, so I’m hoping to do that on Friday. I am also going to begin my background research and enjoy spending time with Magdalene and everyone. Accra has become a safe haven for me, which I am grateful to have, and I am looking forward to spending the next week or so in the comfort of good company.
So, after meeting Dr. Nyarko, it was time to begin my search for housing. Fortunately, I had a few leads on places open to rent in the area. The first was a single room, with my own toilet, shower, and kitchen facilities. The woman leasing the place, Mercy Vanessa, works for the International Programs Office on campus and was very nice. The place was great, but I wasn’t crazy about the location. Though it was on campus, it was in the area where staff and faculty are housed by the university, so it was a bit far removed from the main campus, where I plan to be everyday. I proceeded to contact a man named Eric. Eric has hosted SIT students in the past and Yaw gave me his number so I could see if he had a room open to rent. It turns out there is a room for rent, so I went to see it. Essentially, I would be living in my own room in Eric’s home and would share a toilet, shower, kitchen, and living room with him and his family. It also had a balcony, which was definitely a bonus. The location was great: it was situated roughly 2 minutes from Tech junction, where I can catch transportation to just about anywhere I would want or need to go, and a five minute walk to campus. The only issue was the price. I have been talking with Michael and other people I have met in the area about what I should expect to pay for housing. The price continually quoted to me was between 50-100 Ghana Cedis (GHC) per month (roughly $25-$50). Eric’s price was roughly double this for a two month stay. Though I will be here for nine months, right now I am looking for a place to stay for November and December. Since I am going to take the next two months to just do relevant background reading and research for my project, which I can do from anywhere since I just need my computer and an internet connection, I plan on taking advantage of this freedom to travel as much as I can. Plus, I haven’t yet identified the communities where I will be conducting fieldwork for my research, which I am hoping to begin in January, so I also don’t want to lock myself into a place until I figure out the logistics of my daily routine when my research really gets underway. Basically, what I am looking for in terms of housing is: a location that is convenient to campus and transportation, a place where I can cook my own food if I so choose, and a place that is safe to store my things while I am gone. Eric’s house definitely fit that description and it would be nice to live with a family, but I decided to keep looking to see what else was available. My friend Rita referred me to a woman named Ms. Rosemond who was building a hostel in the area and had rooms available for roughly 100 GHC/month. The following day, I went to see the hostel. It was great. It had all the amenities I am looking for and though it wasn’t directly on campus, it was only a ten-minute walk to KNUST. There weren’t very many people living there from what I could tell because it was still under construction, but since housing is limited in the area, she said it was going to fill with tenants quickly. The only problem with the place was that I could only live there if I agreed to stay there for a full semester, or in other words, the full nine months I will be here. Well that made my choice clear: no. I explained to her what I was looking for: a room for two months with the flexibility to support my nomadic lifestyle. Ms. Rosemond is a fashion designer and splits her life between Ghana and Germany. As a frequent traveler herself, she could appreciate my requests. So, she took me to her home because she has a room that is open. The place was amazing. I felt like I was at a resort, which could be very good for my psyche, but potentially very bad for my work ethic. The room was huge with a full size bed and a small leather couch. I would share a bathroom and kitchen with a girl living in the room opposite mine, who is a Master’s student in the Pharmacy program at KNUST. The only problem was the location: a 15-minute drive (by car, not public transportation) to campus. That was a turn off for me, but I haven’t ruled it out completely. My final option is to live with my host family in Kumasi from when I was studying in Ghana last year, which would be awesome because I am very comfortable there and am considered part of the family. It isn’t very close to campus, but it’s definitely not a bad commute either. So the good news is that I have a lot of options, but the bad news is that my indecision is in full swing. I have decided the best thing for me to do is to make a pro-con list and mull it over while I am in Accra. I’m in no rush to get back to Kumasi and I’m confident that I’ll have a decision by the time I leave Accra to go back to Kumasi on a more permanent basis (at that point, I’ll have no other option than to make a decision).
Basically, my five days in Kumasi were filled with house hunting, making new friends, multiple trips to the phone store, random tro-tro rides to the market and walking around campus to pass time. I am very happy to be back in Accra with Magdalene and the family. I missed everyone a lot and it was great to come back to very warm welcomes and a lot of “I’ve missed you” ’s from Nana, Ama, and Kate (my host siblings). On the agenda for this week: tomorrow I will be meeting with Alberto Wilde, Director of Global Communities. Global Communities is an organization working on water and sanitation projects in peri-urban areas in Ghana. I am really eager to meet Alberto and get to see the work the organization is doing. Thursday, I will be going to the National Learning Alliance conference. I am hoping to go to a drumming show at the National Theatre and will plan some day trips to the market and Tema as well. There is a train, painted as the Ghanaian flag, that runs from Accra to Tema and it is on my bucket list, so I’m hoping to do that on Friday. I am also going to begin my background research and enjoy spending time with Magdalene and everyone. Accra has become a safe haven for me, which I am grateful to have, and I am looking forward to spending the next week or so in the comfort of good company.
Until next week,
Chelsea
about the phone thing, I noticed that a lot in TZ. While we were there, we learned you can easily send money via your phone in the form of airtime and then trade it in somewhere. Its pretty smart, that was how we paid our enumerators (instead of carrying around loads of cash on payday)
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