Ghana -- Initial Impressions

First, a note on Kotoka International Airport:  We had no idea who or what Kotoka was when we arrived.  According to the guide at the Military Museum in Kumasi, Kotoka was a general in the Army.  While among the nation's military elites in the late 1970s, General Kotoka took part in coup.  The Coup was successful, but Kotoka was kidnapped and his body was found a few days later at the airport.  It was then renamed for him.  The guide said that they would like to change it, but it was very extensive to rename an airport.

The photo at the right is the first photo taken on Ghana soil.  The two red shirts are missionaries and there are plenty more where those came from.

I didn't take any other pictures until we arrived at Aba House.  Initially, this was because we were going through customs and trying to navigate the airport.  Once we were out of the airport, I didn't take any because we were too busy looking.  The world outside was vastly different than what we were used to seeing -- I was beginning to understand culture shock.

Kotoka International Airport does not have a jet way.  Flights are unloaded on to the tarmac and passengers are then bused to the the terminal.  This setup is used for smaller flights all over the US, but this the first time I had seen an Airbus A330 handled in this way.  The entrance to the terminal was through a building that looked like a temporary structure from the outside.  Inside, it was decorated to look like a soccer field.  I assumed this was done because of the World Cup that was going on at the time of our visit though the decorating is likely to remain for the next decade.

Attention to detail is not a strong suit in Ghana.  The field was made of what appeared to be inexpensive AstroTurf laid over the concrete tarmac.  It was not glued down as there were numerous wrinkles in the surface.  the signs welcoming us to Ghana were supported by plastic pipe with crudely lettered signs attached with zip ties.  All of this was perfectly adequate but in stark contrast to what would be considered acceptable in the US.

After waiting in line for Customs, Tanya was approved to go through, mine was somewhat trickier.  The Customs officer did not approve of the penmanship on my Visa and thought it could be outdated.  Luckily, I brought the receipt for the Visa as well as the Visa itself and was let in after a stern lecture.  Later I would learn that another woman at the residency had a similar issue relating to her Visa, so it appears that someone in Ghana's Washington embassy has a problem.

A few more random checkpoints and we were out of the terminal and staring into a large crowd of people and having no idea what to do.  At about that time a man walked up to me and called me by name and introduced himself as "Talktrue".  He had come from Aba House and took our bags and led us away from the terminal.

A man approached Talktrue and they started speaking in a language that I did not understand and was surprised to hear as everything I had read was that Ghana was an English Speaking country.  According to the Guidebook, English was taught in all the schools and all the signage was in English, from that we made the leap that English would be spoken among the people.  This was my first opportunity to witness two Ghanaians speaking to one another and they did so in Twi -- by far the most prevalent spoken language between Ghanaians.

Talktrue negotiated our cab fare -- a must in Ghana.  There are no meters, fares are negotiated in advance.  We got into an old rundown cab without air conditioning.  In Ghana, anything from the smallest hatchback to a minivan can be a cab.  The only distinguishing feature is that all four fenders are painted orange.  This one was a sedan of some variety.

After leaving the airport and and making a couple of turns, we were off paved roads.  Nearly all of the roads in Ghana, whether in a City or rural area are dirt.  The typical road will have an open trench on each side constructed out of formed concrete.  The trench is approximately one-foot wide and two-feet deep.  The road surface is red dirt, the color of Georgia.

One of my first impressions of Ghana was the poor air quality in Accra (and later in Kumasi or anywhere except the country side.)  The dust from the roads, the substandard condition of most of the vehicles (many were diesel and it would appear that Ghana does not use low sulfur fuel), and the use of wood, charcoal, or trash as the main cooking fuels all combined to make air quality a concern.  Any time we were in a car my eyes and throat burned.

It was about this time that I saw my first goat -- and then my second, and so on.  Goats and sheep wander freely.  We were told that they all know where they live and come home at night only to go out the next day and forage.  Chickens are the same.  It is very common to chicken, goats, sheep and dogs loose in the City.  It is less common, though not unheard of to see cattle, hogs and cats.  Cattle are generally in herds and in the company of a cowherd.  I only saw one hog in Ghana and it was enjoying a day at the beach.  Cats made themselves pretty scarce.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and traffic was not as bad as I had expected.  The whole time we were in Ghana, traffic was never as bad as I had expected.  You see few cars with only a driver.  Most cars are for hire in some way, either a taxi, tro tro or some kind of commercial vehicle or car service.  There is no discernible rush hour and there is always traffic.  The traffic is always heavier than in Kansas City but never as bad as rush hour in Manhattan.  The country lacks infrastructure, so most of the cars are taking a relatively few streets causing congestion.  This coupled with generally poor road conditions and little or no traffic control make situations appear bad.

On the drive to Aba House, we saw many people selling things that they were carrying on their heads in the traditional African way.  These items ranged from basic foods such as peanuts and bananas to bras.  We also saw a number of corn fields, including one on a beach.  The fields were typically small and my guess is that they were planted by squatters based on their odd shape and randomness.

Aba House is located on a dead end street in Nungua named Beach Crescent.  I could find no evidence of this name actually existing.  There are few street signs in Ghana and few addresses.  roads are more frequently named for the places they connect than an arbitrary name assigned by a government entity.  It, like most things in Ghana, had a rundown, weathered look.  By the time we arrived, I felt that once I passed through the gate, the best course of action would be to hunker down and become well read over the next three weeks and never venture outside.