Traveling

Transportation in Ghana is quite different than the United States. For one thing, the country is small that you don't need to fly anywhere. Instead of Greyhound buses like we do in the US, they have tro-tros here, which are like 16-passenger vans that transport people long distances.
First of all, to hail a car when you are by the side of the road you can do one of two things. To hitch a ride (hitch hike), you hold out your hands like taking communion (for catholics) and smack your hands together; this is especially useful on my road, as sometimes there are absolutely no commercial vehicles going by and I can hitch a ride with private vehicles. Or, if you are hailing a taxi in town and want to go a short distance, you point down at the ground with your right hand. Should you want to go a long distance, you point up. Guess where you point to go a medium distance? That's right, you point about shoulder level. BUT, what if there is a fork in the road a little ways down? Easy, simply point the way you want to go at the fork. Sometimes it can get complicated, like if you want to go a long distance but there are two sets of forks in the road. It's really funny to see a person point up, point right, then point left, and repeat frantically attempting to stop an uninsured, twenty year-old rusting tro already sardining 20 people into 15 child-sized seats.
Taxis. They resemble Americans taxis in name only. There are no meters (too expensive), so you have to negotiate a price based on how far you travel. Of course, this assumes you know how far it is, which is really a fallacy since prices are also increased being a white person; one person may give you a ride for 2 cedis while another, after hard bargaining will only go down to 4 cedis -at this point I pretend to huff off to see if they make a final offer... typically to no avail – I continue to walk away. There are also 'line-taxis' that take a predetermined route, but there aren't any maps to see where they go – trial and error works best in this situation. Bargaining is funny – at the airport in Accra, to get there is maybe about 4 cedis from a certain destination, but leaving directly from the airport the taxi driver charge 20 cedis.
United States = Price gouging
Ghana = Leverage
On a more cultural note, there was a funeral in my compound this past weekend. It was planned for months ahead of time so everyone in the family could make it. My landlord (Michael Asafo) is the patriarch of the family, so hundreds of people descended upon my house for a weekend of festivity and mourning. Since it only ended yesterday, I haven't had time to write about it and will post about it in full next blogupdatetime.

Harmattan!

Harmattan! It means that everything is dusty and dry. I have some mountains that are about 2 miles away from me that I can't even see now because there is so much dust in the air. The dust reminds me of an overcast day in the US, except its always overcast and foggy. Its dry - a stream next to my village has completely dried up.
Unfortunately, all of my stuff is covered in dust as well - If I go out to my market town, my pants and shirt look like I decided to roll around in a dirt field for an hour. The upside - its pretty cool here at night and the sun is mild (for Ghana), but the sky is just all gray... there is no blue sky to be seen.
Teaching is just starting up again, so I am really excited to try out new teaching techniques and ways of getting students to care about learning. I went to church for the New Years with Ghanaians, and it was really different. Do they stay up until midnight? Yes. Do they celebrate with friends and family? Yes. Do they stay at home or go out to friend's houses? Neither, in fact Ghanaians all cluster in their churches to bring in the new year. Actually NYE is a larger holiday than Christmas (when no one goes to church unless its Sunday) because EVERYONE goes to church and prays for a successful new year. I think the strangest thing was not going to church, or having a 3 hour long church service, but between 11:30 and midnight, everyone is praying (some silently, some barely audible, some talking loud). No talking from the pastor, except to mark the time (15 minutes left!), and then all of a sudden its HAPPY NEW YEAR! and everyone cheers and breaks out into song and dance. An interesting experience... but one I probably won't redo next year - Ill be watching it on tv!
Days since last rain: ~30 days
Money spent for a 2-egg omelet on toasted bread: ~60 cents
Fuel price increase in one day, as determined by gov't: 20%
Extra ICT classes taught at my house: 20