and what did you do today?

i get that question a lot. either someone at home or a new friend on the tro tro will almost always ask any combination of the following questions: are you american? are you christian? where do you worship? and dun, dun, dun: what did you do today? and despite some variation, my days are beginning to fall into certain patterns, yet i still have a hard time answering this very question.

today, i decided i would finally take my computer in to that specialist in osu (also known as oxford street). i spent an hour or so at the internet cafe researching CODEO (coalition of domestic election observers) because i had an interview will one of the members scheduled for 2pm. after my internet binge, i changed my last $100 US dollars and decided to walk to the big United Bank of Africa to find out whether or not they will take a debit Mastercard. Note to all future travelers in Ghana -- the guide book is not kidding when it says only VISA is accepted. i have been here nearly 4 weeks and i still have yet to use a credit or debit card. however, i have used up the stash of cash i brought along and i am keeping my fingers crossed that i will be able to find a bank somewhere that can accept MC...

so, i decided to walk to the next town, teshie, to avoid traffic and stop by the bank. it was no real surprise that the bank did not accept mastercard, but was able to suggest a handful of places that they thought "might" accept mastercard. the scavenger hunt continues.

i hop on a tro tro and head into accra. i stop in Osu, which is one of the two Accra neighborhoods covered in my guidebook. it is popular with the ex-pat crowd and rumored to be extremely overpriced. they do, however, have koala grocery store where one can allegedly find any and all of the western goods they could possibly desire. i, myself, have done without truly "american" foods and goodies for so long now that koala holds absolutely no appeal. truth is i am actually counting down the days till i will be preparing my own food and can frequent the numerous plantain stands along osu. the street is a hub of activity and i might as well get to know it as it will be my new home starting next sunday eve. (yes, i am moving AGAIN)

it was a quick jaunt to the computer store. the store was stocked with all the most modern electronic devices and the friendly, professional sales people outnumbered the customers by far. a sweet girl at the help desk remembered my call from the day before and told me to take a seat while she found a technician. while i waited, i decided to take out my computer and attempt to turn it on. to my complete and utter astonishment, the screen lit up. my computer works after all. it is extremely slow, which according to the technician could be a virus, memory problem, or a sign that the operating system is on its way out...whatever the culprit is, i feel as if i got a new lease on life (or research at least). although this time around, i will be backing up DAILY.

after my mini computer miracle, i met matt for lunch at one of my favorite street stands. i have eaten there 3 or 4 times, and i feel as if i have made friends with the 3 ladies who work there despite there lack of english and my lack of twi. matt had yams, katumbire, palava and a hardboiled egg for a mere 1.10 cedi and i had boiled plantain with palava sauce for 70 pesewas (about 50 cents). food is really cheap, tasty and loaded with carbohydrates. i think i could become extremely obese were i to stay in ghana forever -- either that or turn into a plantain.

after lunch, i headed off to "bola," a muslim neighborhood in accra where i had never been before. i was supposed to find the muslim school called research to conduct an interview. of course, sheikh, my interviewee, did not give me a specific address, but told me to ask around and i would find it. there really are not addresses from what i have gathered in ghana. directions are based on landmarks for the most part, which can at times be problematic. in my particular case, my asking around got me to another islamic school quite a walk away from where i was apparently supposed to be.

i ended up taking a taxi cab back to the "bola" neighborhood and wandered around until i could find the school. i was nearly 45 minutes late in the end, which is apparently not so bad according to ghanaian standards. i met with Sheikh, a member of CODEO, and he was a wealth of information. i was there nearly 2 hours just soaking in all that he had to share. he considers himself a member of the zongo muslims in ghana, a group of muslim that settled in ghana centuries ago, yet still seems to view themselves as settlers. he told me that "bola" means the area where refuse is dumped, which was pretty evident on my walk out of the neighborhood. the bola neighborhood is primarily muslim and it is reflected in the impromptu prayer shrines, echo of prayer and arabic store names. i was definitely the only obruni wandering around, but that no longer makes me uncomfortable.

after my interview, i hurried home to say goodbye to my new british friends and former housemates, emma and jess. as i write now, they are mounting a plane and are just 12 hours away from warm showers, a fresh salad and truly clean clothes. ok, there may be a twinge of envy, but now that my computer is fixed, my research is advancing and i am headed to cape coast for the weekend, i would not even consider exchanging my month left in ghana for a seat on that plane...