Ghana Update, June 25, 2005

Joseph: Hey from the place that is hot, very hot, well not really but hot enough to make you sweat. The plane ride wasn’t to bad I got to sleep some of the way, watch some movies, listened to the radio, bugged the person that was sitting next to me, which was usually my dad. I HATE TIME ZONES!!! When its like 5:30pm here its like 12:30pm in America. I am thinking my mental clock will need sometime to reset. The first day back here was tiring for me I slept like most the day. It gets dark here fast… and I don’t like it, grrrrrr. Well it gives me a reason to really call me an insomniac. There are a lot of lizards. I didn’t catch any of them today because I was really tired and didn’t want to move but tomorrow might be different. The traffic over here is fun! Its like a parking lot at the mall except instead of going into the mall and buying stuff the stuff comes to your car while you are stuck in traffic. There are some aggressive drivers over here. All they do to get into a lane is just put the front end of your car in front of the one car you want to get in front of and hope they don’t hit you. But my dad doesn’t do that to the big trucks though, I don’t know why, he just doesn’t want to do that. Two of the guys (Akorful and Amadu) that I have not seen in a long time were there to pick us up at the airport last night. And he was glad to see my dad but he remembered me to after 7 years. They remember when they were taller then me. But now I am the tall one, ha ha ha. The people at the central market place. Kind of like the mall cept out side and not as many lights and way more places to shop but they all mostly have the same thing… that might be a nightmare for most people. Any way they will say anything to you to sell you something. They are persistent people. You just walk by their shop and they will tell you how nice you look, for me that’s a given they don’t need them to tell me that, J they will still try to sell to you after you say no. Seriously some of the people will follow you to your car and keep bugging you as your pulling out of the market. They will run by the side of your car with something hoping you will buy something from them. Africa is becoming more and more like America. The reason why I say that is there is more electricity, a lot of places to shop, traffic jams, police every where, and the real reason why I thought is was getting more like America is that there was a sign that said,” lose weight fast.” They have no weight to lose so I think that business is going to go under fast. The windows here are not really push one open and all is dandy. Its like pull a lever and 8 narrow pieces of glass fold down and all is peachy.

The ice cream here doesn’t come on a stick or on a cone or in a plastic tub. But it comes in a little bag that u bite a corner off and suck it out… isn’t that awesome. I wish I would of thought of that. The water comes in 3 ways. And 2 of them are mostly sanitary. 1 is the river… not very sanitary. It’s not very sanitary because the river is used to wash clothes, and used as the bathroom. 2 in a bottle… sanitary if you think the bottle haven’t been used for something else. 3 it also comes in a bag. That’s right a bag. Its like the ice cream, just bite the corner off and let it flow into your mouth.

I found a new way to say bathroom. From now on I am going to call it the water closet. Sounds kind of fun to say. The worst part about having water closets here is that instead of flushing the W.C. (water closet) paper down the drain you have to put it in a little garbage can, because if it is flushed down the drain it gets clogged. Now get ready for something that is going to be really hard to believe… the stoves are not electric! They are mostly gas stoves. That’s right gas how many times have you seen a gas stove. I know it has been a while for me but you know something from the past has to be in the future sometime.

I feel a little bit sorry for Pat (the person that my daddy brought along this time) its been the first day here and I already gave her a headache… that like my all time recorded! And she has to be around me for bout 3 weeks. So all of you who are getting this message should probably pray for both of us. Her for not getting anymore headaches. And for me so she doesn’t do any bodily harm to me.

The fans over here are different. They are not connected to the light switches like America. There are 2 different switches for the lights and the fan. And the fan one is a little knob thing that you turn to the number of speed u want it to go and most the time it goes at that speed. There are no fast food restaurants, unless u call fast food rodents that people hit on the road. (And for those of you who know Jeff Foxwerthy… he hasn’t experienced it the way I have) But the restaurants here have way better service then over in America because the people over here need the money more and the better they serve the more they get paid.

Well I think I am going go now. This letter is long enough and I am tired of typing and thinking of stuff to say. I hope all of you reading this letter had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. And remember if you are tired of cold places sign up to go to Africa because when you’re here would want it to be cold

Joe Reinke

PS:  Tell Mrs. Fenrick her class really paid off for typing this letter and all the ones to come.

Pat: Reminder: car transmissions, may God help us all. How you lose money so fast in one day, and not buying anything, how you don't look hawkers in the eye, don't gawk while looking at someone peeing in the gutter on the side of the road, carry full mattress on her head, not many dogs cuz they taste good, john made her eat octopus

June 25, 2005 Greetings in the Name of Jesus! Well, I think it is Saturday, but I am not sure. Too many times zones and too many planes. But arrived here safely on Thursday night. Was amazed seeing 10 Ghanaians waiting for us to welcome us and help with the luggage and boy, did we have luggage!

Yesterday, my was my first full day in Ghana . We stayed at the Ghana Linguistic Center overnight and the couch was comfy. Fans were nice. Even had a shower; quick I know I will appreciate in time; yet my body almost had a heart attack with the cold, cold water!

My day seeing Accra , the capital of Ghana , was one of intrigue and of sadness. The culture is based solely on needs of earning enough money for the next meal. The driving techniques here are superb. The only thing you need to have skill-wise is to be bold enough to push your way in front of the line. Whoever has the loudest horn wins, I guess. Oh, yeah, I forgot to say that the roads are about the size of a one-lane road in America and they drive four cars wide on it and sometimes they drive the wrong way on your side!

Driving around Accra , I expected to see people carrying things on their heads but not to the extent I experienced. There were women that were carrying up to 6 full boxes of fruit on their heads. Can you imagine that weight? I also saw I woman carrying a full size mattress on her head and not even holding on. And you never see them drop anything! They learn this at an early age as most people will never have a car and the insurance is equivalent to $1000/year—impossible as most Ghanaians earn less than $60 a month.

Still haven't got the skill of the Ghanaian handshake. That's my goal for the day. And to learn two more Ghanaian words. I learned Good morning yesterday; but that is the only word that stuck. We went to the ELCG (Evangel Lutheran Church of Ghana office); which shocked me totally. It is not what I imagined! Very poor appearance with little furnishings. They do have computers! But the staff there was so warm and friendly.

We also visited the Cultural Center . I expected one building but instead I experienced about 100 10 by 12 shacks that were selling places for Ghanaian crafts, woodworking things and Ghanaian clothes. I learned how to barter. I also learned the exchange rate for American money. A big stack of bills here, goes very fast here as cedis rate is 1 dollar is 9, 100 cedis and there are a lot of things that cost millions of cedis; which would seem unreasonable here but normal here. Also, you can lose a lot of money here, and not buy anything, as it is a custom to pay/offer a dash for any kind of help. Because people struggle so much financially, and need dashes; they are extremely friendly.

Most of the Ghanaians are very poor. Often living in conditions beyond description. There is a sewer system, but it is an open sewer system (which acts as the public bathroom). It is natural for both women and men to go to the bathroom out in the open. And if there is a private bathroom anywhere, and if there is toilet paper, you just don't flush it down the sewer system.

Oh, yes. I asked why there weren't many dogs here. The answer I got back is (1) how can people feed dogs if they can't feed their families and (2) dogs taste pretty good! Yuk! I think they eat cats too!

I also tasted octopus yesterday and survived. Looking forward to the challenges today.

Pat