Happiness amongst the Confusion

How is it possible that I feel so alive here? Life here is a mixture of happy bliss and constant confusion. Nothing is easily accessible, I'm constantly complaining about the heat, dirty roads, stuffy and smelly trotro rides, my mobile phone never works, taxis and food stands try and rip me off because they know I'm a foreigner and I've eating a least a dozen of small insects. At first I was freaked out by the bugs I found in my room or roaming my plate of food, at this stage, I'm no longer looking for a napkin to swat them away but am using my fingers. I'm now comfortable bartering and almost yelling at the lady who sells me bananas in the morning whose prices varies depending on whether I'm in a hurry or not. She knows I know she's trying to rip me off, but she does it anyway and I feel like a jerk fighting over 50 cents. But I swear it's the principle of it all. The Ghanaians are boisterous, yelling and wailing their arms to make a point, but then laughing and hugging each other as if a shouting match is normal behaviour. I'm now adjusted to men starring at me like I've got two heads, I don't even mind the my ankles are covered with mosquito bites. I'm living in Africa and I guess it comes with the territory and despite all the discomfort and things that sometimes irritate me, I'm happy. I feel more alive and present than I have in years. I don't know what it is about this place, but it feels right. I don't have an identity here. No one expects anything of me. I get to be whoever I want. Not to say that I wasn't in New York, its just that here there aren't any real rules to follow. I'm a wanderer here. No rules apply and I have to say its really nice. Aside from moments of loneliness I can say that life here it good. I'm learning something new everyday.
Ghana is truly a melting pot of several things, there is a huge disparity of wealth, I've seen both sides. I've been in a village where kids eat out of a tin bowl on the ground covered in dirt, barely clothed and seen people sleeping on a grass mat practically on the side of the rode. I've also visited with friends who live in a large, central aired home with a guard, driver, and cook who prepares pizzas, brownies and cookies during the day. These experiences make me feel like I'm time traveling, sometimes I don't know what to make of it or how to explain it. There really isn't a middle class here and so it just seems really odd to me that you're either really rich or really poor.
Another mind boggling issue here is marriage. Marriage here is just a statement, not necessarily an institution or contract between man and woman like we know and understand it to be. The men here have affairs with several women and call them their wives. It's only in name the men don't provide for the women or children. The women sometimes seem OK with it and don't mind providing for their offspring alone. I've met some who have been hardened by the experience and swear off men completely. The men seem to have the best of both worlds, being single and having constant companionship upon request, without much responsibility.
I don't know that I really understand the roles of men and women here, but I'm really intrigued by them and hope to gain further insight while here.

Almost A Month

I've finally found a place where the Internet connection doesn't take forever. Finally, I can download my pictures, the few that I have taken at least. It's terribly frustrating to begin a long email and then lose electricity. Living in a developing country takes a lot of patience and contingency plans. It seems that I shouldn't plan to do more than two things in a day and it's almost unheard of to travel to several parts of Accra in a day. In New York I could leave Brooklyn to go to Manhattan, possibly stop into Jersey if necessary and then back to the city for dinner and home in one piece without breaking a sweat, but here it's almost impossible. I feel like I'm time traveling. Like I'm trapped in the past. I've seen the future and that's where I'm from but here in the present everything is so old and in the past. The cars are old models, without air con, CD players or even airbags, at first I wondered why cabs had fire extinguishers in the front seat and bottles of water in the back, it's because the cars don't get serviced and are constantly breaking down. The roads aren't paved, there's dirt everywhere, and ditches. The majority of homes are shacks or little mud huts with corrugated roofs with outhouses. I was in town a few days ago and had to use the ladies room, the Internet cafe I was using didn't have it's own facility so I had to cross the street onto someones property, pay them to use a rectangular build brick formation to squat. I was shocked but didn't have a choice I really had to go.
Life here is really peaceful and the Ghanaians really like to chill have a good time. They work really hard. But they face a lot of challenges, socially, financially and educationally. Many of the people I've met speak some English, but can't read. Several of the kids I teach who are already 8-10 have never been to a doctor for a check out. I met a women a couple of weeks ago who was 8 months pregnant, she had not seen a OB GYN nor did she know the sex of the child. The govt provide a free clinic but people just don't go. One of my students had a really bad burn on his head caused by his mother mistakenly dropping a pot of hot porridge the splashed on his head. The hair was burnt off like a old man whose grown bald. There was blood and puss on his head for several days to the point where flies heavily pursued him as though he was fresh carcass. We walked by his house on the way to town and just saw him sitting quietly by himself. The initial question was why wasn't he in school, it wasn't until we approached him that we saw his burn. He had been like that for 4 days. Can you imagine? We took him to the doctor and he received treatment. Some of the things I've witnessed here are unbelievable. Indescribable. Kids playing in ditches, eating and chewing on sticks, running barefoot. Babies crawling on the ground, 2-3 year olds running around with really long belly buttons as if someone forgot to cut the umbilical cord at birth. I'm in a different world and don't really know what to make of it.

Independence Day

Yesterday Ghana celebrated it's 50th anniversary. Several dignitaries were present and after spending 20 million or so to prepare roads, buy jaguars for other presidents to arrive in and decorate Accra, I'm happy to say that the celebrations went on without a hitch. It was a jubilant day, with people dressed in national colors, singing, dancing, cheering on for their country pridefully. The excitement was contagious. The people of Ghana have more to celebrate than just being free of Britain's control, they have managed to carve out a place in Africa's history, as a leader of African development. The economy is stable, growing slowly but surely. The New Patriotic Party which is the current president's party stay positioned at the drawing board trying to design social welfare programs for its constituents. Universities are popping up left and right. There hasn't been a coup d'etat here in years and foreign money is pooring into the country. There a lot of good things going on here. I was very happy to be a part of the celebration. It was like July fourth but better. I'm getting a chance to see the development of this country from all angles and that is quite exciting.