Saturday Feb 3, 2007
[ still having difficulty linking images here -- go to flickr for corresponding pictures for the stories below ]
Week two is now in the history books. And what a week!
The first health issue has finally appeared. Using my medical degree from the online University of InstaDiploma, I have diagnosed the problem as "prickly heat".
What's that, you ask? It's a condition that extra-large white folks get when they sweat all the time. I won't go into the details, but I must say that I've not itched so much since I drunkenly ran naked through a campground at the height of Manitoba's mosquito season many years ago.
Luckily relief came in the form of Wendy. She and her husband Jason have just returned home to Winnipeg (and the balmy -30C weather) after six months in Ghana's capital, Accra.
Throughout this whole process they have been an incredibly valuable source of information and suggestions. The latest: using mentholated dusting powder to treat prickly heat. Wow! Talk about relief. I've gone from itching the night away to feeling cool and minty fresh all night. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
*** Meanwhile back at the plant ***
I spent the week working with SKYY reporters on various stories. I'm slowly getting a fix on not only how they report the news, but my new hometown. I find that without a car, it's not easy to get a sense of the Takoradi area. In my two weeks here, most of my non-work related travels are from home to the central market area by taxi.
On Friday I followed along on several stories. One of them took me to the old slave fort of St. Sebastian in the town of Shama, a few kilometres east of Takoradi.
Ghana turns 50 next month and slavery is a big topic of discussion and one of our reporters, Christian, is doing a several stories on emancipation.
Fortress St. Sebastian is mentioned as a tourist attraction in my Ghana travel book, but in reality, the building actually used for office space and a post office.
We ventured into many parts of the fort, including rooms where slaves were held. However, this fort is much smaller than the others that dot the coast and the dungeons here pale in comparison.
The manager of the fort showed us chains that were once used to shackle the slaves. He also let us examine bones recovered from a mass grave outside the fort. When we visited that area, Christian was able to dig up barely covered bits of human bone.
I was shocked that the mass grave area is a heavily used pathway. In fact, judging by the pile of speakers and amps on nearby, the area would soon turn into a dance floor. I would have expected the spot to be considered sacred, but apparently this is not the case.
When we were finished shooting the story, we wandered around Shama. I drew the attention of at least a dozen kids who seemed shocked to see a white man in person. This happens constantly -- and I still find it surprising. The kids don't want anything other than for me to say hi or perhaps let them touch me.
*** Of cassava and three-legged goats ***
Our next story was also in Shama. It concerned the local production of a paste made from cassava. Within sight of open sewers and a smoldering garbage dump, women peel piles of cassava. Another group mashes the cassava into a pulp before placing it in a bag. The bag is placed on a press that is used to squeeze out all the water and the paste is then used as a staple for cooking.
The focus of the story was the cleanliness of the production process and what, if anything, could be done about it.
As we were wrapping up, a group of men walked up to Christian, asking him to follow them. They were anxious to show off a three-legged goat, which had recently been born in the neighbourhood. Christian told me that people love seeing these kinds of things on TV.
*** Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown ***
One thing I've noticed when visiting rural communities is the lack of grass and plants. Other than the odd tree, most yards are little more than dirt. This seems odd, since the surrounding countryside is lush with all sorts of tropical plants in a million shades of green. But villages tend to be dusty places where, except for the odd tree, the ground is bare.
When I asked Christian about this, he told me the reason is because people sweep their property every day. Apparently spirits come out at night and the next morning townsfolk sweep their yards to remove any traces of the spirits.
Because of this constant sweeping, it is easy to identify the age of most structures by how high about the surrounding ground they stand. The foundations of many older buildings are clearly visible due to years of constant sweeping. The exposed ground is generally hardened red clay.
*** Baaaah! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! ***
Back to the goat.
Several people had gone off to find the three-legged goat as Christian and I waited. By this time the sight of a news crew PLUS a white person attracted nearly two dozen onlookers.
Eventually the little darling was found and paraded before for us. I managed to get some great video of the goat as he escaped their clutches, running an obstacle course through the legs of all assembled. It was hilarious!
I'm still working on getting video posted and hope to have the goat video soon, as well as some video of my colleagues and my home.
*** Live News ***
It was getting late by the time we returned to the station and I decided to sit in on the 6 p.m. radio news. I was shocked to see most of the reporters in the studio waiting to read their stories LIVE to air. Rather than pre-tape their stories, they write the script, cue their clips on mini-discs and do the whole process live.
They've been doing it this way for years, explaining it takes the pressure off the newscaster. I didn't get into efficiency issues.
*** Pooped ***
I find that I still return home each night exhausted. It's the heat, the heavy food and a bit of culture shock.
I had planned to go to the Green Turtle Lodge for the weekend, but decided that I have too much to do before I head out next week on my month-long road trip. However, I did call the owners of the lodge to confirm prices and how to get there.
During our conversation, they mentioned that they come into Takoradi quite often -- so I asked if I could get a ride if our schedules matched up. No problem, they said. Sweet!
My weekend plan is get all the remaining things bought for the house Saturday. On Sunday I have to create a budget and itinerary of the road trip for the boss. Because I'm going to be working nearly 30 days straight, I've decided that I'm going to take a couple of days off in the middle of next week -- and hopefully get to the Green Turtle. I need a couple of days to decompress.
*** Inter-Not-Yet ***
I'm told by the I.T. manager at SKYY that we should be able to get broadband at the house. He said he'd know more by Monday. Apparently there is already a phone line installed -- though we don't have a working phone. Still, that means it should be easy to get the connection hooked up.
I'll have to buy a modem and pay something like $60 a month, but despite the relative high cost, the time savings will more than make up for it.
The I.T. guy also told me that the internet should be functioning at work next week. If nothing else, that means I should be able to cart my laptop to work to synchronize my mail and upload pictures and videos. We'll see.
That's about it for now. It's beginning to heat up again and I need some more miracle powder to relieve the itching. Good times!
Cheers!
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