No he didn't try and clean my sink with the toilet bowl cleaner?

The other day,I had to chase the housekeeper to clean my room before I left for town. He appeared 15minutes later with dirty mop, bucket, raid spray and an un-identified bottle in hand. I was about to tell him that I didn't have a insect problem but thought to wait and see what he planned to do. While I sat outside my room,I heard him scrubbing something in the bathroom. You see in my room the stand in shower and sink are separated from the room that has the toilet. When I stepped back into the room the housekeeper was in the shower where my sink is cleaning. I kind of nudged my head in through the door curious to see what he was scrubbing with, because a sponge nor brush seemed to be part of the cleaning tools he brought along to use. It was to my shock and amazement that I found him using the toilet bowl cleaner to clean my sink. I quickly went out and told one of the managers, that this was unacceptable. She laughed and said the he should use a brush to clean the bathrooms which I agreed with. But I could see that she wasn't as surprised as I had been by this incident. Because I had to leave I didn't get to speak with the housekeeper. When I finally caught him the next morning to tell him that what he did was wrong he stood there and told me that he used a brush to clean the sink. I was kind of thrown back by the bold faced lie and asked what brush? He said the one he brought and had placed in his pocket. I just walked away. I just couldn't handle it anymore and was sullen for the next couple of days trying to figure out whether I should move to another hotel. Until finally they agreed to buy new mop and sponge to clean my room.
Sometimes its really frustrating here because people do all sorts of crazy and unimaginable things and when you try and correct them, they act like they suddenly don't understand you. But they can convert USD's to Cedies in their heads before you can. I'm learning a lot of patience here. Honestly, I don't have much of a choice.
It rained on Sunday. While I was thankful for the rain and cooler temperatures, it was a moment of short lived happiness because the following day I saw that homes had lost roofs, electrical polls were throwing across the road, and entire homes were destroyed, flipped upside down and broken. I was surprised by how much damage 30 minutes of rain could cause.
Being here is really humbling, whenever, I find myself getting ready to get an attitude or lose my cool, something about life here makes me realize that what I'm fussing about really isn't that serious. For instance,I was so annoyed with the housekeeper, but he was one of the villagers who lost his roof and had to stay at the hotel Sunday and Monday night. I was kind of embarrassed as he explained that he was literally trying to keep the roof from flying away with his bare hands when he realized that he was being pulled by the strong winds and lost his grip. Two days later there are still several homes without roofs which means that there will be even more people sleeping on the ground if they don't have relatives near by with which they could stay. I can't believe something so simple as rain could cause so much devastation.

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.

Black out, Dirts and Goats

It's day three and I feel like all I've been doing is eating and sleeping. I'm staying at a hotel on the beach in Kokrobite which is in West Accra the capital of Ghana. I've spent the last couple of days trying to get settled and adjusted to life here. For instance my lights black out after 10pm, there's hardly running water in the morning, and I feel like I've eaten at least 8oz of dirt so far. I can't seem to stop washing my hands. The goats roam the streets like tax paying citizens and are obstinate when crossing the streets. Scrawny neighborhood cats chase the skinny goats in the morning and I wake up to several roosters singing some version of a concerto. All this to say that my adjustment has been fairly smooth. Althought there is not much of an infrastructure, everything is ordered and people manage. I love that everyone is a business owner and selling everything you can imagine from a boxed store, reminds me of my Grams. It's quite interesting.

One week Count Down!

A week from today I will be on a plane to Africa. I still can't believe it. I'm not sure that I am able to describe how I feel yet. It's more than excitement, anxiety or fear. I feel like I'm standing at the floodgates to something that was once out of my reach and now I'm finally close enough to pass through the gates. Like life is finally opening up in a way that makes sense.
I had cocktails with a good friend this evening and he asked me if I was running away from something here in NY and what was I hoping to find in Africa? I'm not sure that I have a simple answer for either question, but I think it could be found in Africa. At least that is my hope.