This week was all about the World Cup. No one can talk or think about anything else. Ghanaians have taken K'naan’s theme song to heart and there are flags waving from 9/10 cars, buses and tro tros. There are TVs everywhere: in the ice cream parlor, the pharmacy, the depanneur equivalent, the bus station, hair salon, gym, every bar and restaurant...you name it. Thank goodness I love football because it is inescapable.
I went to watch the Ghana vs. Germany game at this bar called Epo’s. They set up a giant screen outside to accommodate the hundreds of people that showed up. I got my face painted with the flag and donned an official Black Stars jersey (much to the amusement of many locals - a few came up to me and thanked me enthusiastically for my support) Even though we lost the game, there was jubilation in the air since we qualified for the second round regardless. The party took to the streets of Osu where I joined in the singing and dancing.
I witnessed Ghana’s victory over the USA in an entirely different venue. A gang of us decided to take a weekend trip to the Green Turtle Lodge which is approximately a 7 hour drive West of Accra. We stayed in spacious beach huts and fell asleep to the sound of crashing waves. It was utterly blissful. Even when it poured rain all day Friday, the beauty of the place was undeniable. Saturday evening we gathered round a generator-powered television (did I mention this place was remote?) that was propped up on 2 chairs and a table. People poured in from the surrounding villages – it was quite the scene. Drum beats varied along with the intensity of the game as did the songs sang by the crowd to encourage our players to keep up the good work. When Gyan scored the winning goal in overtime, the straw roof nearly blew off the dining hut. Everyone was cheering, screaming, dancing --- it was a fabulous night. I’m already getting nervous for Friday when we meet Uruguay – hopefully my birthday will bring them good luck! Send vibes please…
There will be a significant gap between this blog entry and the next as I will be leaving on a cross-country adventure come Friday. Thursday is also a national holiday here so we end up getting Canada day off as well (yay!) and I’ll likely pass by the Canadian Embassy with my Canadian friends to see if there is anything going on there. (I’ve heard that they keep a stock of Canadian beer and maple syrup in the basement…I wonder if that’s true?) Friday the other CLA interns and I will head north. First to Kumasi (the second biggest city in Ghana), then up to Mole National Park (Africa’s only walking safari – elephants and hippos!! So excited), on to Bolgatanga from there where we’ll meet up with our friend Fish, a drumming instructor and time/money depending we will end our excursion with a trek up to Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. We’ve had such a debate on whether or not to go… the visa is quite chere and I’ve heard mixed reviews of the city itself – the best places to go are on the periphery of Burkina which we do not have time to visit. Do we take the risk and go see a city just for the sake of it? On the other hand, how many opportunities will I get in this lifetime to go to Burkina Faso? Carpe Diem will likely win… stay tuned to find out…
This blog is sponsored in part by Campbell Cohen
