Thursday, April 14, 2011

Life's Little Victories when traveling

Travel in Ghana typically happens via one of three vectors: tro-tro, taxi, or moto. Since Peace Corps bans me from motorcycles (which is dangerous anyway, because they dont wear helmets, go on dirt roads around blind corners through rain, and drivers usually dont have a license), I tend to stick with semi-reliable forms of transit and supposed safety.There are some typically Ghanaian/African aspects to relocating your body around the country: Some tro-tros will, in a row designed for three people, fit four, five even six bodies to make more money or because transit options are scarce (economics explain it all!). The roads may even be paved, but that doesn't make it a good road if there are multiple potholes per foot of asphalt – parts of the dirt road that goes to my town is better than the main highway to a city of around 10,000 people (the pothole per foot ratio is very important). Traveling at night is not recommended because of two things: sometimes the headlights on a car doesnt work (or the driver wants to save money so he doesn't turn them on) and the potential for armed robbers. Also, cars and tro-tros dont leave until every nook in filled with a limb; no one wants to go to my town? I wait. Finally, much like a bar or a club, the bigger you are the more right of way you have. A small taxi will almost always yield to a Metrobus (think charter bus) because hey, if theres an accident the metrobus driver will be out of a job, but the taxi driver may be dead, much like my bar example. With this being said, life does bring some little victories to travelling:
Life's Little Victories
Being the last person to board a tro-tro/taxi that immediately leaves (Yes!!)
Riding a Metrobus and other vehicles will part like the Red Sea (Score!! Suckers!!)
Knowing the road ahead has no potholes (Time for a nap!!)
Sitting in the backseat of a tro and pretending to be fat so only three people will be on a three-person seat (When the door closes I stretch out, bonanza!!)
Not seeing a large person boarding the taxi to my town (Then I can steal the front seat while the other four people cram into the back seat of a compact car!!)
Walking to the roadside of my town and seeing a vehicle (I think I will go to the city!!)
Riding my bike to a neighboring town to catch a vehicle, and no one passes me on the way there (Complex decision = justified!!)
Finding a wageshi (fried cheese) seller right outside my vehicle ( I'll take THREE!!)
Riding my bike home and seeing the 'local gin' seller / Primary school teacher in my neighboring town, who indicentially offers free shots to all teachers (I've had a long journey, might as well treat myself to something nice...)
Life's Little Victories is a cartoon in the Funny Times (for those that dont know, it is a monthly political cartoon and humor newspaper – highly recommended by yours truly!). Additional information for you digestion: my birthday is April 16th! And for those than can't remember how old I am, I will be 24! I am 23 now, which is a prime number.
TEST: When will be the next time my age is the sum of two prime numbers AND also a prime number?
Answer: TBA
I think this question comes from me doing oodles of GRE/GMAT math problems. I find doing them is fun and relaxing; my correct answer rate is about 95%, but time constraints during the actual test will make it harder. Also, I'm thinking about going back to school a year or two after I return to the US. Will ponder over it.

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