Now that I've had a couple of days here, and the whirlwind part is over, I've really started looking around especially since my last 3 days I have spent a lot of time in taxis going back an forth from Denu to Aflao.
As I mentioned in the intro I am near the ocean so everything is sand and dirt, it's red sand so it looks a lot like Sedona, AZ. I feel like I am always covered in it, between the sunscreen and bug spray it just stick to everything. It is very dusty here except when it rains and then it's very muddy. Madame Ester, from the orphanage, explained that when they built Alfao they just started building with no plan. This means there is no type of drainage so when it rains it floods, everything closes and the power goes out. Parts of Alfao have been without power for 4 days, including the orphanage. I also got to experience “road construction” today, which means a big dump truck drops off a load of dirt and the a bulldozer spreads it and that's it. Which is why the cars in Ghana are so beat up and when they break done they are just left on the side or in the middle of the road.
I have also started reading the names of all the shops as I walk or ride around. Ghana is a very religious country so almost every shop name includes something religious in the title. Examples: Sweet Jesus Hair Braiding and Weaves, Jesus Has Done It Dresses, God is Good Hardware, and The Wise Men Banking and Wire Transfers.
The sad thing about this area is the garbage. There are mini "dumps" everywhere and littering is normal. Even going to bathroom on the side of road is a normal and regular occurrence. There are signs up that look new trying to educate the community but it will take a while.
Ok back to being positive, Bless and I went to the market today that was coolest thing I've seen so far. It makes all US farmers markets look pathetic. They had everything: fruits, veggies, fish, nuts, chickens and goats (yes alive and yes for sale as food not pets) candy, drinks, house hold items, fabrics, the list could go on forever. We bought roasted peanuts, which were amazing probably because they were not a hybrid or processed. For those of you who were worried about me not having peanut butter I had a candy (ground nut cake) that taste just like it only hard. We also bought veggies and fruit to eat tonight (don't worry fruit with skin that has to be peeled plus it will washed it is boiled water.) Speaking of water the purified water comes in bags and not bottles which is very interesting, they kind of look like sandwich bags and are very inexpensive.
Lastly the coolest thing I've done in Ghana thus far is drink coconut water straight from the coconut and eating the coconut meat. Bless used a crazy sword to open the coconut right up with no problem - seriously coconut in one hand sword in the other two swings and done!
The next two days I will be at the orphanage playing with the babies then on Friday I will be meeting with the construction manager and purchasing the cement so that Monday I can begin making bricks. Hopefully, there will be a little traveling this weekend. I'll keep you posted. Till next time!
I'm glad that you were able to find something similar to peanut butter :)
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