Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Travel

I know I just posted yesterday but I'd like to share another travel experience. Site visit came to a close today so I made plans with my 4 fellow Eastern Region trainees to meet at the Koforidua bus station at 10am this morning. The plan was as follows:

5:30- Wake up and ensure that I'm properly packed and ready to go.
6:00-7:00- Breakfast and help with any odd chores that need doing.
7:30- Go with Dorothy (host site Mother) to the Sekesua market where she sells eggs and other goodies every Wednesday.
8:30- Board a taxi from Sekesua to Koforidua to ensure that I'm there by 10am (the ride shouldn't take more than an hour)
10:00- meet with my fellow trainees and wait for the Kumasi bound bus.
2:00ish- arrive at the Kumasi sub-office for a nice afternoon of R&R. (Please don't think that I expected every aspect of this plan to go smoothly)

Actual travel day:
5:30- Wake up and ensure that I'm properly packed and ready to go.
6:00-7:00- Make 2 trips to the borehole down the road to fetch water. They're starting me out with the small bucket. It's maybe 1/3 the size of the normal bucket. I tried Ghanaian style on the second trip and put the bucket on my head. I'm proud to say that I only spilled a little and not at all until taking the bucket down from my head. The small spill was still enough to soak my clothes from naval to knee. During this time I also enjoyed maybe a half dozen impromptu language lessons.
7:00-7:30- Prepared and ate breakfast
7:30-8:20- Spoke with my supervisor/site father about prospective projects for the next two years while waiting for the Sekesua car to arrive.
8:20-8:40- joined the Sekesua car and travelled the 2.5 Km to the market. YES, it took 20 minutes to travel 2.5 Km due to the stops and the cramming of people/foodstuffs.
8:40-9:10- Helped Dorothy set up her market while struggling to greet people in Dangme before rushing off to get the Koforidua car.
9:10-10:25- Sat by myself in the Koforidua car while waiting for the car to fill. Sweat completely through the front and back of my shirt.
10:25-11:05- Travelled in a taxi (think VERY compact car) while sharing the back seat with 3 Ghanaians. The woman to my immediate right was quite large and had 4 live chickens sitting on her lap!!
11:05-1:00- Sat with my 4 co-trainees in the Kumasi bound bus until it was completely full.
1:00-4:00- Travelled from Koforidua to Kumasi with minimal disruption.
4:00- Finally took off the t-shirt that was STILL drenched with sweat.

From what I understand, this is a successful commute. I just wanted to give a few details. No matter how well prepared I am for any particular day, I'm still in Ghana and time/urgency is not the same.

3 comments:

Hands Full said...

Hahahahahaha. This might be my favorite entry so far. I laughed out loud in my office 3 times. My big accomplishment for the day is getting my Inbox down to 14 emails. Yep. Good times. Keep up the vivid, wonderful writing.

Unknown said...

Hey Ira - glad I wasn't on that quest with you. I'm just back from Peru and that was quite enough. San Francisco is TOTALLY fogged in tonight, all the way to and through SOMA. It's low lying and dense. I can see about a block outside my window (I live near Union Square) and it feels like it's misting when you're out in it. I love this time of year, especially since it's not raining! (I'm Terri's friend in case you're wondering who the heck left this comment.)

maxsmc said...

well cuz i just received this blog site from janeto and i am looking forward to many more entries to get me through my days, which are of no comparison to your experiences that you have touched on in these entires....great stuff cuz keep up the great work and these blogs.

love you big guy