DESPATCH #1

Heathrow -> Istanbul -> Accra -> Ho

 

The flights were fine. I couldn’t get my bag wrapped in the end as it was too early in the morning (commonly advised when travelling to Africa or Asia, in case someone tries to slash your bag/smuggle something inside), but thankfully this wasn’t a problem. The three and half odd hour transfer in Istanbul went super quickly, largely due to a minor panic when I logged onto my emails to discover that the Guardian hadn’t received my acceptance email! One person’s hotmail is another person’s junkmail. (Thanks to Craig and to Dad for forwarding on my reply!) The food onboard Turkish Air was pretty good: salty cheese filo pastries, beef kebabs, & the somewhat clichéd but not unwelcome cube of Turkish Delight...

I packed L'Occitaine Lavender soap from home :)

air con, yay!

my iphone mosquito app :)

Light office-wear: blouse & loose trousers:

Now I’m all settled into my little annex room on the church estate. Voice Ghana is stumbling distance away, so fortunately my morning commute isn’t too troublesome in this tropical climate. Breakfasts are all inclusive; there’s a menu, but it’s possibly more for interest only, as you get what you’re given in the mornings: instant tea or coffee (ah, THANK GOD for coffee! I didn’t have time to get any the first day!), a rolled-up egg omlette, & 2 bread buns. The bread here is doughy and sweet & heavy, & they serve it with jam, just in case it isn’t sweet enough.

There’s been a somewhat culture realignment that I’ve experienced, but I think I channeled it into 2 things that bothered me most (and less so now): the foreign exchange rate is a lot better than I thought: for some reason, I just assumed the rate in the Brandt guide (edition mid-2012) would be about the same as it is now. The Ghanaian Cedi however is fairly tumultuous. Just a few years ago it was redenominated by a factor of 10,000, and the currency is prohibited from leaving or entering the country. What I had assumed, as per Brandt, was 2GHC to the pound; instead, as per google today, it’s 3GHC J

The other thing was the internet. I’m pretty much always, or not far from being, within an online radar (Instagram! Twitter! Facebook! Hotmail! Blogreader!), & found it pretty hard not having internet in my room. I knew I’d be like this, & it’s just something to get used to having a hiatus from! I’m typing & editing pictures when I get the chance, & then I’ll upload them to the interwebs/dropbox during a break in the work day.

Everyone’s friendly, but mostly they stare a lot! Next to our office, an elderly man in crutches sits in a hut & makes chalk. He asked for my email address & was keen to know that we could be friends. This is completely au fait as per Brandt: the authors carried out a few amateur experiments, giving out their true email & postal addresses when asked: some got many replies, others concluded that it was just a promise of friendship, not a contract to make good (although apparently with the latter, the author had particularly illegible handwriting, which may of course have played its part!)

Millicent walked me to the bank today. On our return, she remarked that I walked very fast. I thought I was trying my best to keep her pace! I explained that in London, we even have codes for overtaking someone on the stairs; Londoners are so busy & harried & stressed so much of the time! It’s not until you take yourself out of the equation that you realize you’re one of the busy & harried & stressed rat-racers yourself: it’s good to have a break!

I’ve read through the past 3 years audited accounts, the policy & procedures documents, & have started to look at Quickbooks. The next few days will be where we really start to look at how Voice Ghana has been using Quickbooks, & whether we can improve processes/confidence in the system.

Only 1 mosquito bite so far: I’m taking plenty of precautions: malarone tablets, together with Deet spray applied morning & night, a blanket activated by human movement that I wrap around my pillowcase, & an app that I use when my iphone is plugged in to ward away the flies. I haven’t hung up the mosquito net over my bed yet as it seemed a bit too bothersome, & I think it might get a bit tangled if I hang it on the ceiling fan. Things may change of course. I also put in earplugs when I sleep; they certainly dull the background noise, but I still wake up at the cock’s crow – literally – at 3.30am...

Haven't really taken my camera out yet, but hope to soon...

{all photos by me}