Road Rules Ghana

So I have some free time at the office today, because a meeting got canceled, so I have decided to post some of my random musings from my journal onto my blog.

So driving and getting around here in Ghana is a lot different than in the states. I have had fun getting to know the transportation system and most of the odd little things about it are quite funny. Here are some of my driving and traffic observations so far:

1. Sidewalks are viewed as extra car lanes.
   
2. There are only two speeds at which you travel, about 75mph when you are not in traffic or 5mph when you are. You never ever travel at 30mph, this speed is only ever seen when accelerating or decelerating.
3. Lanes mean nothing. A three lane highway usually has five lanes of cars plus the sidewalk.
4. You will spend 2+ hours in traffic daily.
5. You will almost die 8 times per day while traveling in a trotro.
6. Stop lights exist, but are either turned off or not obeyed. Stop signs are not present. Crosswalk exist, but are used at your own peril.
7. Car will not yield to anything. Not to pedestrians, not other cars, not to bikes, not to people in wheelchairs trying to cross the road.
   
8. Very few street signs exist. You must know where you are going by the landmarks that surround it.
9. Honks have meanings. One honk means hurry up or go faster. two short honks means move out of my way. three short low honks means room for passengers.
10. You will at some point be in a vehicle that is completely encircled by 8 other vehicles whose fronts are all facing you. You do not understand how this happened or how you got out of it.
11. A vehicle you are in will break down. It will then be repaired with a piece of tin foil.
12. You will at some point get into a vehicle, sit down and then realize there is a huge hole in the floor and you can see the ground moving beneath you.
13. You can in fact fit 5 people into a cab. One of you will just have to get out at the police checkpoint walk 10ft and the get back in.
14. You can take a mini-van to work with 22 other people.
15. Bike lanes are for motorcycles.
16. Pot holes are filled with dirt.
17. You can by almost anything out your vehicles window. Here is a short list of what I see for sale on a normal day of travel: water, eggs, flashlights, candy, umbrellas, a live chicken, laundry soap, condoms, jewelry, soda, beer, hard alcohol, matches, towels, screwdrivers, FanIce, shoes, and fried dough balls.
    

Free Weekend

This weekend was our last weekend in Ghana with nothing pre-planned. We decided to just explore the city and have a good time. Unfortunately, I got a little bit sick from a bug that has been going around the house. At about 4am on Saturday morning I woke up and almost puked all over my bed. I made it to the bathroom where I stayed for the next 6 hours and puked about every 20 minutes. I couldn't keep anything down and got extremely dehydrated. Eventually I was able to drink something and got a Cipro (antibiotic) to stay in my system. After that I began feel slightly better, but it took forever for me to rehydrate. By about 4 in the afternoon I was feel better and was able to go out for Renee's 21st birthday. We went to Indian food, which was delicious and I got a sweet lassi which made my stomach feel much better. I wasn't feeling well enough to go out afterward, but other people went out to celebrate. The next day I slept in and then went to the Accra market and a place called Wild Gecko that sells silver handicrafts. We then went out for dinner and made a cake since it was Ashlee's lat night in Ghana. I'm feeling fine now so don't worry about me. love you all and see you soon.

Third Week of Work

I had a very busy third week of work. Monday and Tuesday I was at Oxygen Plus which is the event planning department. On Monday, I helped plan and set up for a house warming party that Vodafone, a mobile phone service, is doing to show a house they a giving away in a promotion. On Tuesday, I helped plan the set design and layout for a logo reveal and after party for the 50th anniversary of the tribe elder of the Ga. Wednesday, I was back in the creative department. I had a meeting with Vodafone about the housewarming party and then had to quickly do a look and feel design for Citizen Kofi. A look and feel is basically just giving the client a rough idea of what an ad and promotion material could look like. I then rushed to a meeting with Citizen Kofi to discuss how we were going to handle their promotions and design a draft media plan. Then on Thursday I had a brainstorm all day about the Star Beer campaign. We were trying to think of ways to extend on their previous campaign. The basic premise of the campaign is celebrating the little triumphs in life with Star Beer. Friday, I had a meeting with Malta Guiness to discuss the TV show they are sponsoring called Street Dance Africa. Then that afternoon I had a creative meeting at the beach, which was a nice way to end the week. Miss you all and see you soon.

Kumasi

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I have been very busy with work.

Two weekends ago we went to the town of Kumasi. Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti kingdom and is the seat of power of the Akan king. Though Kumasi is only 85km away from Accra the roads are not in good condition and it took us about 6 hours to get there. We got the Friday off of work and drove basically all day until we arrived in Kumasi. We visited the historic palace of the Akan king and learned about the Ashanti people's history and rise to power in the 1100s (though this date is only a guess since there are no written historical records before the 1700s). The Ashanti Kingdom was known as the kingdom of gold and because of this was sought after by European explorers. The Ashanti knowing that there kingdom was in danger due to increased European influence in the region hid all there valuables, including the most important of Ashanti artifacts, the Golden Stool of the Akan, which is the throne of the king and is said to contain the heart and soul of the Ashanti. The gold stool is never aloud to touch the ground and therefore was hidden for over 500 years suspended in a cavern near Kumasi. The British eventually took control of the Ashanti kingdom, but they were never able to find the Ashanti's gold. Many of the Ashanti's gold is still hidden today, its location lost in history, but every year the king appoints a group of 8 young men to search the wilderness around Kumasi and try and reclaim some of the lost treasure. The next day we visited Bonwire which is located right outside Kumasi. Bonwire is a village were Kente cloth has been made for centuries and is said to be the best Kente cloth in Ghana. We went there to see the Kente cloth being made and it is amazing how fast it can be produced considering how old the loom they are made with are. The main loom is over 200 years old. We then visited a village right next to Bonwire that produces Adinkra cloth, or cloth that has been printed with Adinkra symbols. Adinkra, which means farewell in Akan, are symbols that are printed on clothing or carved into handicrafts that are used to send messages to your ancestors or to future generations. Each symbol has a unique meaning and they can be combined to create a certain message or meaning. We got to see how the ink for printing was made and then got to choose a Adinkra symbol to print with. After this we ventured to the Kumasi central market, which is the second largest open air market in the world. It was crazy. It was like a huge maze. Thankfully we had Sonny who knew they market well and cold help us get around. Seriously, anything you could ever want could be found in this market. It had every type of food imaginable and was an assault on your senses. The most interesting and for the vegetarians in the group the most horrifying part of the market was the meat market. The meat market was inside a dark little warehouse that smelled of raw flesh and blood. You step in the door and instantly have to dodge a pool after pool of blood. You look around and see unrecognizable slabs of meat draining blood on to tables and slowly dripping onto the floor. As your eyes adjust to the lack of light you look around and see entrails, brains, kidneys, hearts, bellies, and whole animal carcases surrounding you. We move along and it just gets more intense. We see goat heads on spires dripping blood, animals being sheered of their hide, and oddly goats feet stuffed inside a pigs belly. As we emerge we savor the fresher air. The rest of the market seem mild after this. We go to Chinese food for dinner, which is apparently very popular with Ghanaians. It seems weird to be eating Chinese food in Africa, but I must admit it is a nice break from Fufu. The next day we visit a bead village and see how they produce the beads from grinding up old glass and plastic bottles and melting them into beads. After this we head home, which is an 8 hour drive. I sleep most of the way and then go out to see the new Harry Potter movie in the evening.

Second Week of Work

This week I've been working in the production unit of Lintas, called Printon. They handle both jobs sent to them from the main office and small outside jobs such as t-shirt printing and sign making. I have mainly been printing and cutting stickers for a Vodafone campaign. I basically place the Vodafone graphics in a document on the computer and then print them on sticker paper. Then after a row of them prints out I line up a laser cutter and cut them out. I also got to use the laser cutter for engraving office sign and help print out a huge sign for the Accra Mall. Tomorrow, I will be in the Media Intitative department, but I'm not sure what I will be helping them with. Friday, I dont have work since we are leaving for Kumasi for the weekend.

Sunday Footbal Match

On Sunday afternoon we went to a football (soccer) match in the national stadium in Accra. Originally we thought that it was going to be a qualifying match for the World Cup, but that was moved to Nigeria. Instead we saw two local teams battling each other, Chelsea FC and SP Mirren. The game was very good. It was an intense match. SP Mirren start the game off scoring a goal twenty minutes into the first half, but after halftime Chelsea FC came back invigorated and scored two goals to win the match. After the game we went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant Mama Mia, which was nice since I had really been craving Italian food. After dinner I met up with some co-workers to continue my club competitor analysis. We first went to Honekysuckle (which from the name does not sound like a sports bar) and grabbed a drink. Them we headed over to Citizen Kofi the entertainment center we are doing the ads for to check it out. I'll write more latter. Got to go. Love you all.

Obama in Ghana

This Friday and Saturday, President Obama visited Ghana. He was only here a short time (a little over 24 hours), but his arrival has been highly anticipated. This was his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since he became president. There are Akwaaba (welcome in Twi) Obama signs all over Accra. There are even pop songs hailing his arrival. I have counted 23 Obama related song so far that have made the rounds on Ghanaian radio during my visit. The Obama related merhcandise being sold on the streets is out of control. Everything you can imagine is embalzened with an Obama grpahic. I even saw a Obama Pez dispenser.
Obama stated he chose to visit Ghana because Ghana has a history of democratic elections and peaceful transitions of power, Kenya and Nigeria have viewed his visit to Ghana as a snub because both assumed they would be visited first. Kenya believed Obama ancestry there would guarantee them a visit, while Nigeria thought it huge population and status as an oil-produce nation would measure a visit.
Obama arrived on Air Force One late Friday evening, which made traffic home already more impossible than it is, so I went straight from work out to dinner and drinks with some of my housemates and co-workers. Obama was met at the airport by Ghanaian President John Atta Mills. Because of security reason, Obama accidentlly snubbed President Mills by leaving him on the tarmack after driving off in the beast. In Ghana it is tradition to always see somone home safely and offer them a ride to their home.
Then Saturday we were basically stuck at home because of all the traffic created by the Obama visit. We watched it all on television. He first visited Cape Coast castle, via Mariner One, and got a tour with Atta Mills and then they had a short press conference and did some meet and greets. One of my co-workers got to shake Obama's hand and she was extremely excited.
After visiting Cape Coast, Obama flew back to Accra and visited a local hospital. He then addressed parliment and gave avery good speech. If you can access it I would suggest you watch it.
I've got to run to a meeting now. I love and miss you all.

First Week of Work

I had a great week at work. I work at Lowe Lintas Advertising and Marketing. The first two days I was in the creative department and got to work on an advertising campaign for the Ghanaian Institute of Architecture. I designed three rough ads for an exhibition they are presenting at the Ghanaian National Theatre. I also revamped their logo, since it had not been updated in 50 years and they liked it so they will be using it in the ad campaign. The ads that I created have been sent to the Creative Director, Pat, and he is looking them over. The next three day I spent in the Account Management department. The first day I created a consumer questionnaire about an insurance company that will will be creating a campaign for. I also did a logo mash up, so we can determine brand recognition and will be helping interview consumers next week. The next day I went ot a photo shoot for Key Clothing Soap. I was in charge of setting up the display to be photographed. They gave me a sketch of what they wanted and then I set up the soap and created suds for the display. After that there was a meeting with Vodafone, a cell phone company Lintas represents. We also had a strategy meeting about a club we are advertising for called Citizen Kofi. We have to do competitor analysis, so I get to go around to clubs and restaurants analysis them with my co-workers. Friday was a relaxed day and I worked on consumer analysis for the club and then there was a retirement party in the afternoon. Love you all. Got to go.

Elmina and Cape Cost

This weekend we went to Elmina, which is to the west of Accra, near Cape Cost. We stayed at a hotel that a friend of Leslie's runs. One of the students that went on this program last year, Josh, actually stays at the hotel and manages the radio station for the town. It was cool to meet him and get some advice. We even got to listen to his radio program one evening. After arriving at the hotel, we visited Elmina Castle, which was originally build by the Portuguese in the 1400s. It was originally a fort used in the spice and gold trade, but was later used by the Dutch in the slave trade. The castle was incredibly eery and it was so terrible what happened there. I got chills walking through the gate of no return. After the castle we went back to the hotel to decompress. I went for a swim in the ocean. The next day we went for a canopy walk in the rain forest to the northeast of Elmina. We didn't see much wildlife, but just walking in the canopy was amazing, we were over 50 meters off the ground.  After walking the canopy we went for lunch a a restaurant that is surrounded by an crocodile pond. It was kind of frightening to be eating lunch with crocodiles swimming all around you. After that we headed to Global Mama a craft center in Elmina. The next day we headed home and prepared ourselves for work.

Republic Day and Aburi Gardens

Hey Everyone,

Yesterday we had a Twi lesson. Twi is the most spoken of the local languages in Accra. It is part of the Akan family of languages and was fun to learn. We learned some local phrases and slang so we communicate better with everyone. Some of the words are a little hard to pronounce but we are all practicing and getting better at it. Yesterday was also Republic Day, which marks the day that Ghana officially severed its ties to the English Crown. To celebrate we went to Aburi Gardens, a huge public park and botanical garden to the north of Accra. There was a ton of traffic on the way to the gardens and it took us about 3 hours to get there. The garden was packed full of people celebrating, dancing and playing soccer. We had a nice time wandering the park and smelling all the spice trees and flowers. We had a nice lunch in the garden and then headed back to the city. That evening we headed out for the night and went to a local reggae night on one of the beaches right outside Accra. It was fun to dance on the beach and listen to the live reggae band. Today, we had a lecture on broadcasting in Ghana and now we have the afternoon to ourselves. Tomorrow, we are heading to the beach for the weekend and then will be back Sunday evening, so I won't update for a while. I'm starting my internship on Monday and I'm so excited. Love you all.

First Post from Ghana

Hey Everyone,

This is my first post from Ghana. I arrived safely. I have been having a wonderful time. Yesterday we explored the city of Accra and went on a tour of the University of Ghana, Legon. The day before that we had several introduction classes about media in Ghana. We had one of advertising in Ghana that I found very interesting. We also got to talk to an undercover reporter that work in the Ghanaian press. I have got to go now or I will be late for my Twi lesson. I try to get on the internet again tomorrow. Love you all.