Bruni gets a Haircut

This has been a long time coming. I have been playing catch up every since I returned from Accra. As to my health, since everyone asks, I do get tired once in a while but I am feeling much, much better. Hopefully, in the next week or so, things will be back to normal.

By the way, I posted a few pictures on flickr if you want to check them out: www.flickr.com/photos/patrick Sorry, it is by far not all of them but it took me 2 hours to just get those ones posted.

I believe I have finally settled in Ghana and I am very keen to see the country. I will have to admit, I was asking myself why the hell I was here for the first month. But now I have adapted to life here and it is becoming second nature.

By the way, thanks mom and dad, Anne Marie and Tom, and Aunt Lilli and Uncle Paul for the postcard.

Here are a few of the adventure I have been on since the good times at the hospital. Sorry for the length.

ACCRA TO KONOGO BUS RIDE

The bus ride back was not overly interesting other then the challenge to get on the bus. See, at the station people are given a ticket with a time on it to board. When the bus arrives, people with that time can board. If there is any more space then later times can board also. Unfortunately, the 11 am bus was 1.5 hours late and instead of forming an organised single file line, everyone just goes and crowds the entrance. After one fist fight the bus finally filled. Sad for me, my time was not till 4 pm.

Finally, a bus arrived for us to take and there was no hassle. However, it was funny seeing us 4 brunni’s (Chinese people are also considered brunni’s here) repetitively asking the driver if the bus was going where we wanted it to go. All the Ghanaians were probably thinking those silly brunni’s.

REST TIME

The doctor recommended that I take off my first week back at work. I ended up working a couple of half days but felt wise to stay at home and rest. I didn’t do any travelling that weekend but returned back to work the following week.

DEVELOPMENT PLAN

However, I found out that no work had been done on the development plan since I was gone. My boss, Victor, had been too busy and the others did not know how to follow the guidelines. Victor decided to hand me the job of completing it. I really appreciated his confidence in me and I really want to do a stiller job. However, we are now way past the September 30 deadline and Victor is really pushing me to finish it.

BATTLE WITH THE BUGS

After returning from Accra, I was scared of what I was going to find in terms of bugs. As I expected, I went and killed what I think were (but not sure are) 10 cockroaches. This really pissed me off as I didn’t want to spend my whole time here on bug patrol. I finally did an inspection of my house and found a large gash in the screen of one of my windows. Ahh, that is where they came from. I got the caretaker to fix it and now I maybe get a big bug about once a week.

But it doesn’t end there. I found out that the Mayor had a couch he did not need so I decided to borough one for my place. I took it to my porch to clean. However, between two of the cushions I found the biggest spider I had ever seen in my life (about the size of my hand) outside a zoo! I tossed the cushion and it ran under the couch. So, I got the good old bug spray out and scared it off. That was freaky. I thoroughly cleaned the couch and sprayed it down before bringing it into my place. So far, so good.

However, the geckos seem much smarter and I once in a while catch a glimpse of them in my place. They are harmless other than the like to leave little presents (turds) behind.

CULTURAL ETIQUETTE

I decided to buy two oranges from the vendor (she sits under a tree with her children and sells them) at the Assembly. I took them to the office that the planning officer (Victor) and I share. I arrive and there is the Deputy Coordinating Director and a caterer speaking with him. I was going to give one of the oranges to Victor (they are a whole 5 cents each) but he looked busy.

So, I started eating one and at that moment the caterer asked Victor something in Twi. Victor translated that she was asking me why I had not offered her one of the oranges. I was a little ticked off by this as I hardly knew this woman and why is she asking me for my oranges? So, to avoid a confrontation I say well, she can one if she likes.

Seeing as I did not understand, the Deputy (who I think does not like me) asked me if I was aware of Ghanaian hospitality. I said yes. He then explained that in Ghanaian culture, no matter how little food you have, you are always supposed to offer some to those within the room. At first I thought he was joking but everyone was staring at me quite seriously. I felt very embarrassed but of course, how was I supposed to know. Now I notice all the time people offering food to others and I have since remembered to conform.

My personal culture (not sure if it is Canadian or not) is to only offer when I have extra or when I have specifically bought something for someone. My habit is a bit selfish I guess; the idea of offering food that I plan on eating just results in me having to buy more which is just so inconvenient. On the other hand, if someone offered me food when that was all they could afford, I would feel very guilty to deprive them of any. So, let’s be honest here, do you want me to have your food or not?

HAIRCUT

The week back from work made me decide I really needed a haircut as it was getting to hot at night. I knew barbers were around as they identified their shops with painted signs of a black man's head and an electric razor floating around it. However, do they know how to cut a brunni’s hair? Finally, I asked my friend Sam and he suggested his barber, who also the DCE (the mayor) uses. If the mayor uses him, he must be good, right? So, we set up a time and date. I was expecting to go to a shop but this guy just showed up a Sam’s house with scissors and comb in hand. I sat on a chair outside and wondered what would happen next.

The guy attached a blade to a comb. Then he would flick the comb at my hair until it was “slashed” to the right length. I was afraid he was going to cut my head open. While it wasn’t the cleanest cut (I had to do some trimming at home) it was overall one of the best haircuts I had ever had. The guy told me this was the first time he cut a brunni’s hair. I asked if there was a difference and he said my head was very rubbery. Ha, ha, I guess I have a rubber melon. That was so not funny….

LAUNDRY

I had mentioned in a previous entry how I spent $18 at the laundromat to get my clothes done. Well, I took my one Ghanaian friend to see if he could bargain for a better price. He ended up getting him down to $8! So, I thought, ok, that is still not cheap but I guess I need one luxury while I am here. I am not going to spend all my time hand washing my clothes while I am here.

However, I returned one day to get my clothes cleaned and the laundry man declared he could not wash them today. Umm, why? Well, because there is no electricity. Oh.

So, I came to the decision I needed a reliable way to get my clothes done. Seeing my plight, a friend at work suggested a friend of his to do the laundry. After negotiating a price with him (a whole $5) the women comes over in the middle of the week and returns the next day with the laundry clean. She does a good job and we often chat about life while she is over. Now before you suggest I am a cheap bastard, please read below.

MONEY

So, I was trying to figure out what things were truly worth to people here in Ghana. My baseline was the lunch I sometimes have at one of the two restaurants in town. For my coke, fried chicken, and friend rice I spend a whole $2. I sometimes see people there but very few of my colleagues from work. I thought to them it was what would be a $20 dinner to us.

But then, my one friend bought 4 DVDs for $10. I blurted out that is cheap! Cheap? he responded, it would take me 2.5 days to make up the money for these. I was in total shock. I thought I had not heard right. That means he was making about $3 per day and my $2 meal to him is what would be a $100 meal to us in Canada. I better watch what I say.

To confirm I talked to another friend and he said he brought home about $100 per month after taxes for his family. Also, the last intern did a survey of 18 communities in the District and found that the average household spends $118 per month. Just to put it in perspective, I spend about $200 a month on myself, not considering travelling. No wonder Brunni’s are seen as rich. I honestly feel quite guilty now that I know all this.

However, as I say this I should mention that this is just in the area where I live and may not mean the whole country or every person. I believe people in the larger cities make more money. And I believe there is a large discrepancy between the rich and poor here.

NOT THE ONLY BRUNNI IN TOWN

I was at the restaurant in town when in walks two Mormon Missionaries. After eating, they came up to me and said hello. One was Ghanaian and the other was a brunni from US. We had a friendly chat and the American asked me if I new Joe (or some other name) from Calgary. Of course I did not and explained that Calgary had 1 million people. Why are Americans so American? As per protocol, they offered an invitation to their church. I felt bad for them because they are in their black pants and white shirts and walking around all day in the hot, hot sun. I see them once in a while as their church is near my office.

Sorry, sorry, there is another brunni but he is a Chinese engineer and his name is Tan. Yes, Chinese people are considered brunni’s too. Tan is a cool guy but does not consider himself a brunni.

ANIMALS

I have really great conversations with Solomon the Community Development Officer. I mentioned how we are not allowed to keep farm animals at our houses unless we live on a farm. He asked me whether this was because Canadians did not like killing there own animals. I laughed and said Canadians don’t even like to know where their food comes from.

TRAINING CENTRES

My boss has been taking me around to some of the development sights he is responsible for. One day we went to two training centres. One was to train people in tie-die and batik and the other was in soap making. The participants, mostly women, are given a loan to attend the training centres. They had some really nice things. The hope is that they will use their new skills to start their own businesses.
A WEEKEND WITH MY BOSS

The weekend of October 21-23 was a long weekend in Ghana in celebration of the end of Ramadan for the Muslims. My boss, Victor, invited me to Kumasi where his wife and children live. Kumasi is where he grew up and attended university. He commutes there on weekends to stay with his family and visit his farm. He set me up in a hotel near his house which was a whole $10 a night.

UNIVERSITY

On the Friday Victor took me to the technical university he attended. There I met one of his former classmate’s who is now working to be a professor of geography. His speciality was rural settlements patterns. It would have been nice to talk further with him but Victor had lots of things for us to see. The university looks incredibly modern compared to the rest of Ghana I’ve seen. Lots of 1970 modern buildings, well maintained open spaces, and sharp looking students. There were even surveyors practicing with their modern equipment.

FAST FOOD NATION

Later, Victor decided I needed western food after picking up his kids. So, we went to this gas station which included an On the Run (I believe we have them at Esso gas stations). This was one of the nicest gas bars I had ever seen! It had a mini food court where you could chose from pizza, fried chicken, Mexican, and hamburgers. There was air conditioning, it was clean, and even had washrooms! So, out of place for Ghana. The pizza, water, and fanta I had was about $5. However, I felt bad because the food I was eating in front of Victor and his kids was quite expensive for them. Fortunately, Victor bought his kids a coke so I was not completely alone enjoying my meal.

HOUSE

That evening I went to Victor’s house. He started it about 7 years ago and it is still under construction, which is typical here. The walls are made of concrete blocks and he has an aluminium-zinc (so it doesn’t rust) corrugated roof. It is one storey with a walkout basement. A concrete wall surrounds the property. The inside is not complete as the ceiling panels have not been put in place and the floor is bear concrete. Kind of reminded me of when my family first moved into our home in Deer Ridge when it was still under construction.

Aside: When I was in Accra, I was wondering why I was seeing all these abandoned buildings or buildings with just the main floor built. In fact, they are not abandoned but simply unfinished. The owner, like Victor, is just building as funds become available.

Victor’s brother died sometime back and he is now responsible for his 5 children. Victor has one child of his own. At the moment, I believe 2 of his brother’s live with him and the rest are with the sister in-law. Also, Victor’s mother lives in the basement.
ON TO THE FARM

On the Saturday the entire family (Grandmother, wife, Victor, 2 kids, 3 neighbour kids) and I pilled into Victor’s truck (yes very safe, fortunately I sat in the front) and went to Victor’s farm which is about 45 minutes from Kumasi. I guess he makes this a trip every Saturday with his family. He employs 2 young guys to do the clearing which is essentially done by a machete to cut the weeds and a stick to pull them back. The main crops will be cocoa (for chocolate) and palm (for palm oil). However, he has also planted plantain, oranges, and cassava for his family. There are also some chickens running around. The workers cook and sleep in two buildings made of clay blocks. There is also a caretaker but Victor wants to fire him because he is lazy and steals from the farm.

So, we spent the day there and I followed Victor around on his inspection. He showed me what a cocoa tree is versus a palm tree versus a plantain tree (they originally all looked the same to me). I found out the boundaries of farms are marked with a certain yellow plant.

During our inspection, Victor’s wife and a neighbour’s daughter were slaving away making food. They made mpc (that is completely not the spelling but that is how it sounds) and fufu. Mpc is a sauce with fish, tomatoes, onions, and palm oil which you eat with cooked yam and/or plantain. Fufu is plantain/cassava/yam that is put in a wooden boil and bashed with the head of a log (the pistol) until it is a sticky blob. The blob (oh, I mean fufu) is put in soup. You take the blob with your right hand and soak up soup. This is essentially like banku but banku is made with maize. I like banku better because it actually has some flavour and texture. Victor’s wife made me think of my Oma (German for grandmother) and how she must have worked hard in the kitchen to feed 9 kids.

It was odd seeing Victor with his family. There appeared to be distinct rolls for women (cooking) and men (farm work). Victor himself looked like he was the king lording over his land. He would ask for simple task to be preformed for him by his kids like taking off his boots. Victor and I even ate first before the women and children. I could go into equality and the western culture of waiting for everyone to sit down before eating. However, I felt that I am the guest and it was not my place to intercede.

Victor has a wonderful mother. She does not shy away from saying her opinion and likes to crack a few jokes. Well, that is what I gathered from everyone’s body language because she didn’t speak English. I was taking pictures of things and she came up to me and demanded I take a picture of her. I was surprised but I snapped away and I think I got a nice one.

After a long day at the farm we pilled in the truck with a crop of plantain and oranges.

LAKE BOSUMTWI

Now, I am not sure this is with all Ghanaians but Victor appears to think that drive by sight seeing is the way to go. On the Sunday he took me to a Lake Bosumtwi which is south of Kumasi. To get there you drive down a step road into a large valley. At the bottom is a round lake which was formed by a meteorite. I was looking forward to relaxing by the tranquil lakeshore but as soon as I got out of the car, teenagers were swarming me saying brunni, brunni. Some of them hope you will ask for a tour of the lake and give a few dollars at the end. However, we were also greeted by a middle aged who appeared to be the unofficial greeter for the town. He gave us an overview of the place and I bought a guide book as a souvenir. Victor of course tipped him at the end. The lake reminded me of Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan but with the impolite children. One unique thing is that there is a taboo about using traditional boats for fishing on the lake. As such, the locals get around this by laying down on what looks like handcrafted surfboards and paddle through the water with their hands. After a whole 20 minutes there, Victor decided it was time to go.

KUMASI

We returned back to Kumasi where Victor did some more drive by sight seeing. Now Kumasi is about 1 million people in size and the second largest in Ghana. It is also the home of the King of the Ashanti tribe which I believe is the biggest in Ghana. The city is about 1 hour away from Konongo. The sights we drove by included the Ashanti King’s Palace, the market (which has 10,000 stalls and is the largest in western Africa. Must return!), the cultural centre (handicraft market), the old British Fort, and the downtown.

I really like Kumasi. Unlike Accra, it has a rolling topography which provides for impressive views. There is also a more urban and prosperous feel to the city. For example, many of the colonial buildings in the centre are two – four stores in height and are built up to the street, which helps define the street and provide a sense of proportion. Also every large traffic circle was well landscaped and included a statue. Overall, the city seemed to have a cosmopolitan feel, a sense of place, and character.

However, the suburbs of Kumasi where Victor lives could have been better laid out. The dirt road to his place for example is full of ruts, meanders all over the place, and is quite steep. He doesn’t like to drive down there when it has rained. I believe he lives in a richer area because all the buildings have concrete walls surrounding them. Does not provide for a sense of community what so ever.

THE PALACE

Well, not the King’s palace but close. A surprise for me was when Victor took me to see one of the sub chiefs to the King. He lives in this square apartment building, about 3 storeys, with a courtyard in the middle. The chief lives at the top floor and the rest of his extended family lives in the other apartments. The chief’s apartment was better furnished than many houses in Canada; polished tile floors, leather couches, big screen TV. We waited a few minutes during which time Victor told me the chief had gone to school in the UK to study as an archaeologist. The chief came out and I was a little nervous (how do you act around a chief). Victor introduced me and in turn the chief welcomed me. He was a strongly built middle-aged man. After finding out I was an urban planner he decided I needed a lecture on protecting Kumasi’s reservoir from pollution. After some conversation, he seemed to lose interest in me and was more into the TV. Finally, Victor decided it was time to leave and wished the chief farewell.

Aside: Chiefs are very important people in Ghana. For one, chiefs are the stewards of the land and if you want any, you have to go to the chief and ask for a plot. Also, they are very effective at mobilising people in the participation of community projects and spreading educational messages. In addition, they mediate disputes.

WATER RESERVOIR

On the Sunday he took me first to Kumasi’s water reservoir and treatment plant. We got a tour of the facility and I was impressed by how comprehensive it was. It made me think I could actually drink the tape water in Kumasi but I don’t think I will risk it. However, they only are able to treat 18 million gallons a day and the city requires 40 million. The city generally has 3-4 days a week of water. They are hoping to expand the treatment facility, which was built in 1970. There were a few people fishing in the reservoir and Victor bought some fish.

OWABI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

We then went to Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary. It protects a chuck of land around the Owabi reservoir which was built by the British in 1928. There I met 3 European girls who were volunteering in Ghana. Victor and I chatted with them for a bit after which they invited me to a Halloween party on the following weekend, which was cool. Then they went on their tour of the sanctuary while I stuck around and took some pictures. Then it was off again.

FAUSTINA

The evening before, I had met Victor’s friend Faustina who was teaching accounting at a school. Now, I am not sure if he was trying to set me up with her or just needed sometime alone with his family but he arranged it so that she and I would spend the afternoon together.

So, Faustina and I went to the Cultural Centre to check things out. We wandered around but unfortunately being a holiday, few things were open. However, we did go to the Prempreh II Jubilee Museum who was the King of the Ashanti from 1931 to 1979. It had an interesting display of artefacts relating to the King. I also bought a book on Ashanti culture. Afterwards, we went to a drinking spot (bar) to have a couple beers. The Milk Stout I had was excellent and reminded me of Traditional in Alberta.

This was the first time I have had a long conversation with a Ghanaian women. Before that, I found Ghanaian women to be rather reserved and even cool towards me. Faustina is an independent minded woman but easy going also. It was fun talking with her about western culture, Ghanaian family structure, and taboos in Ghanaian society. However, for all those wondering, there was nothing there beyond friends for me. Afterwards Victor picked me up and took me back to my hotel. We returned to Kumasi the next day.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

Last weekend was the Halloween Party in Wiamoase. To get there I had to take the President’s Bus (an intercity bus; I guess they do have some mass transit here) to Kumasi and then take a tro tro (rickety mini bus/van) north for an hour. The other intern, Lia, also met me in Kumasi for the party. It was a very odd coincidence but the rest of the people heading to the party ended up being on the same tro tro as us.

We reached Wiamose and man, what a backwater town; all dirt roads, sketchy drinking spots, and lots of locals just milling about. Also, the local drunk decided to follow us around. Ha, ha, and we must have looked like the Brunni Invasion. After getting some beer, we headed to the house.

The place we went to was a huge house at the Salvation Army Medical Centre. An American girl and a Danish girl were volunteering there. In the end there were 12 of us hailing from Canada, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Iceland, and the US. There were also two friendly Ghanaians who participated in the fun. The Americans and Europeans were all part a volunteer program and were either teaching or in medicine. I was totally the oldster (thanks Naomi for coining that) as they were all extremely young (19-24) compared to Lia and I. Fortunately, the one girl thought I was 24. Yes! I don’t look that old!

It was a fantastic time and a lot of great costumes. Everyone’s favourite was the Icelandic girl dressed up as a giant mosquito. Also, one of the Ghanaians dressed up as an old school headmaster which was hilarious. Mine was very last minute as I dressed up as a Kumasi Kotoko football fan. The Ghanaians loved it: The best! Fabulous! goes the chant.

It was great exchanging all our experiences; everything from the Ghanaian English, to bathing, to food, to getting hit on, to bugs, to the brunni cat calls, to getting sick. I also chatted with a girl from Denmark who also got Malaria. I guess she had it much worse than me as she had a fever, was throwing up severely and ended up in the hospital. It took her a month to recover. I suppose I was lucky. That means there is one week to go for me.

I especially enjoyed the drawings the American had on her wall. Each week she would do a new picture summarising her experience. The first week she drew pictures of an electrical outlet and a water tape both crossed out. Next was her in a taxi going blah, blah, blah and the Ghanaian responding Food? (not all Ghanaians speak English).

We stayed up till 2:30 and crashed all over the house. The next day we got up and went for a short but beautiful hike in the jungle. Then it was off to the tro tro and back to Kumasi and then home.

Aside: Tro tros only leave after they are completely full. You can wait from 30min to 4 hours to go somewhere.

We had to wait 30 minutes for our tro tro to leave. Unfortunately, before we left, we met up with not just one but the two local drunks. The one was simply annoying but friendly. The other may have been crazy though. He was harassing us, drooling, stealing oranges from the local vendors, and throwing them. The locals didn’t appreciate this and started pushing him away. He would keep on coming back and finally the orange vendor started hitting him with a stick. Just when things were getting a little too intense, our tro tro filled up and we left. In Canada, we would simply call the cops in that type of situation. But being in such a backwater place, it would take the police probably a few hours to arrive. You kind of appreciate security after an incident like that.

Well, this weekend is back to Kumasi. I have to extend my visa so I must go to the immigration office. I hope to see some of the things that Victor drove me by. Hope you are all doing great.