Day in Osu

Today was another uneventful day. Woke up around 9 a.m., took a shower, went to the computer lab to write my blog and send out some emails (only to find out that the manager didn't show up today, so they were closed), got breakfast, watched an episode of House, and played some Axis and Allies on my computer. Thankfully, I found some others that wanted to go into Accra today, so I didn't have to go alone, which would have been fine since it was daytime, but not nearly as much fun. Ben, Mike, Andrew, and I left ISH around 12:30 p.m. and walked to the tro-tro station. There usually aren't tro-tros that go directly to your destination, so you have to go to one of the main stations and pick one up from there. We rode to 37 Station and switched tro-tros. Sure, it's a bit of a hassle, but it only cost $0.65 per person to get there (vs. a taxi which would cost about $2.00 per person). Once we got to Osu, we walked down the street to check out the street vendors stands. The merchandise in Osu is a bit pricey, but at the same time very nice because it is in a very tourist-centric portion of the city. I bought the Ghana flag for 7 cedi and a football jersey (knockoff of course) for 7 cedi, 50 pesawas. The original asking price for both items was 15 cedi, so I was pretty proud of my bargaining abilities today. Once Mats and Simen, from Norway, arrived in Osu, we walked down to Papaye for lunch. Papaye is about the closest to an American "fast food" restaurant, but the service is far from fast. I had a cheesburger and french fries (which Ghanians call "chips"). With a large bottle of water and a glass of tangerine juice, my lunch total was 6 cedi, 50 pesawas. Pretty comparable to McDonald's. We walked back up the other side of the street, constantly being heckled by vendors. There are a ton of guys that go around selling wrist bands that say Ghana, or more popular "Obama."

I told a Ghanian that I wasn't an Obama supporter for the first time today. He seemed amused at first (thinking I was kidding), but I told him that I wasn't joking. I said that I was going to vote for McCain and then his expression quickly changed to confused. I asked him if he had ever even heard of John McCain and he said "no." I explained that he is in the opposite political party (using a reference to Ghanian politics) as Barack Obama. Based off this guys expression, it seemed like he thought Obama was already elected president! After telling him all this, he left me alone (probably because he was either embarrassed, or more likely, disappointed that I didn't like Obama and that he wasn't guaranteed to become president). I think I'll have to use this tactic from now on! I'll just have to be careful who I say it around. I've quickly found that I am, literally, the only conservative American at the University of Ghana! Doesn't surprise me, but it does make political debates a bit intimidating. Luckily, I have 4 years of speech and debate on my side and the arrogance to think that I'm always right (very important characteristic I've found for doing well in debates).

That aside, after we left Osu, we stopped at the Accra Mall...the most Western thing south of the Mediterranean! There's a Nike Store, Panasonic, Puma, Shoprite, and several other upscale Western-style clothing stores. I picked up some groceries at Shoprite: peanut butter, tomato sauce, spaghetti, and a bottle of South African white wine. Aside from the peanut butter, I'm planning on having a very Italian-style, home-cooked dinner tomorrow night (although red wine would have been more appropriate). I'll probably pick up a nice loaf of bread tomorrow at the market to top it all off. Something that I thought about today...it is going to be weird when I get back to the States and can't have alcohol for a year. I only have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine with dinner, but I'm sure that after four months of doing so I will become accustomed to it.

We left the mall around 6:30 and came back to ISH. I picked up some salt and cooking oil at the "All Needs, Ltd." (which is a very ironic store name) down the street. I just finished up dinner (two sausage and vegetable kebabs) and came over to ISH 1 (I live in ISH 2) to use the internet. I'm pretty tired tonight so I think I'll be staying in, but a couple people were planning on going to the "Family Room" Cinema to watch a movie. The Family Room is a place that has several rooms that seat 4-7 people that you rent out to watch a movie on a television. You just pick a DVD and they play it for you. It costs 10 cedi for the 4 person room and 13 cedi for the larger, 7 person room. I'll probably just watch a movie on my laptop, then call it a night. I have to go to the Bush Canteen market in the morning to pick up a plate, silverware, a pot, and a cooking pan. In the afternoon, I'll work on my Sociology assignment in the library and pick up my books at the student bookstore. Doubt I'll be posting tomorrow because almost everything is shut down because its a Sunday. Ghanians take the "Remember the Sabbath and Keep it Holy," commandment a bit more serious than Western countries.

Just found out that Penn State won today! Not just won, but handed it to Coastal Carolina. Let's go State! I really wish I had been there. In fact, this is my first episode of homesickness. Oh well, I have the rest of my life for Penn State Football; I only have 4 months to enjoy living in Ghana! Well, I'm heading out...

Greg