Ghana Notes

Ghana Notes
Originally uploaded by borderfilms (Doug).

I'll add more detail later, but I have some Ghana related tidbits.

- I bought the DVD of the BBC series "Geldof in Africa." It's a fascinating travelogue/history lesson by Bob Geldof about Africa.

Episode two was pretty much dedicated to Ghana. I now have a better idea of what the coast, Accra and the roads of the country look like.

All I could think was: I can't wait to shoot pictures there (and train journalists, of course).

With that in mind I have decided to buck up and buy another lens for the camera. A 80-200mm zoom that is fast enough for low light conditions. It's not cheap but absolutely necessary.

There was good news from my accountant. It appears as though I will get a tax refund for 2005. Enough to buy the lens, methinks.

More good news too from one of my JHR colleagues in Takoradi. I have a place to live. And it's cheap. Allow me to quote huge passages from Kari's email Tuesday morning:

"First of all let me just tell you that you're one of the lucky ones. The placement at Skyy [television] is great. Things are quite organized around here and the staff are a great bunch of people."

That bodes well. Here's more:

"As for Takoradi it's a nice balance. It's not too city, but it's not too rural either. It's just right in the middle."

Reminiscent of porridge. And speaking of breakfast, it looks like I have some flatmates:

"As for living situation I live in a five bedroom house and share with three others . The house is quite nice. It's fairly close to Skyy so you can walk to work. It'll take you about 15-20 min."

So... how much?

"The rent is ridiculously cheap. You should be paying 314,000 cedis a month for your room. That works out to be about $60 cdn."

There's more, but that's the basics. And Wendy (in Accra) has offered to sell me some things that I would have brought from home.

As each day passes, there is one less thing to worry about. Good thing, as I'll be in Africa in 33 days.

Cheers!