Teaching in GhanaTeaching in Ghanahis blog details our day-to-day lives, thoughts and ideas, and observations and challenges during our year at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, West Africa. If you are planning an extended trip, a semester abroad, or are just curious about life Articles
Unshaven bums
2008-02-09 12:23:00 I’ve never been one to shave everyday — every other day at most and usually three times a week. As soon as I got here, that slowed to twice a week and since I’ve stopped teaching, it’s closer to once a week. I think I kind of like the Grizzly Adams look… Actually, the real problem ... More About: Travel , Medical , Author , Stephen
Cars that bug me
2008-02-08 17:40:00 Back home, there are few things that bother me more than seeing people drive SUVs in the city. They?re little more than gas guzzling air polluters. Why anyone would need them to navigate perfectly smooth concrete is beyond me. I?d be interested to look at the percentage of SUVs that actually make it off road. ... More About: Ideas , Cars , Author , Terri
Creating a culture of silence
2008-02-08 17:36:00 Since we’ve been here in Ghana, people have been quite open in telling us about corruption and other financially wasteful (mal)practices. The locals have talked to us quite casually about things like government looting, how administrators like big contracts (because it allows more funds to be reallocated), how departmental surpluses end up in people’s pockets, ... More About: Culture , University , Teaching , Creating , Author
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, I miss you!
2008-02-07 12:34:00 Stephen?s been on the toilet for a while today after eating suspect cookies last night. We were hungry, so we purchased a box of chocolate chip cookies from the corner store. The expiry date was nearly a full year away, so we hungrily chomped our cookies without further concern. I will never ... More About: Medical , Food , Agency , Canadian , Author
Pineapple Bruschetta
2008-02-06 14:22:00 I made this one morning for brunch as some friends were coming over and I longed for some semblance of home. Pineapple is always available whereas tomatoes are seasonal. Tomatoes were in short supply when I decided I wanted bruschetta. It turned out quite tasty. Sometimes you can get dried herbs if you know where ... More About: Travel , Food , Author , Terri
Recycling in Ghana
2008-02-06 12:42:00 Ghana doesn’t so much recycle as it reuses. Everywhere we go, there are things being reused. All sorts of food stuffs (e.g. palm oil) are sold in disposable water bottles, Milo tins are turned into kerosene lamps, and Terri and I even use all of our old jam jars as sugar containers. Part of why Terri ... More About: Travel , Recycling , Ghana , Author , Stephen
Don?t let this represent Ghana
2008-02-05 14:40:00 As we are getting closer to leaving, some of our friends are concerned that our negative experiences here have ruined our image of Ghana . Please, they implored, don?t let this represent Ghana. One rotten apple should not be allowed to spoil a barrel. Certainly we?ve had a good time overall, and more importantly we have ... More About: Ideas , Author , Terri
Conservation is real
2008-02-05 14:16:00 Back in undergrad, a South African classmate turned off the tap while I was brushing my teeth. He scolded me about the need to conserve water — the world’s most precious resource. In Canada, we use a small fraction of the fresh water that flows to the ocean, so other than the energy required to ... More About: Ideas , Conservation , Author , Real , Stephen
Kyoto and Development
2008-02-04 15:46:00 I am ever so curious about the actual fine print of the Kyoto Protocol. This is not at all to support Prime Minister Harper’s claim that it is a “socialist scheme”, but rather I wonder if it is a capitalist scheme. “Poor” or “Developing” nations are exempted from carbon caps on the principle that they ... More About: Development
Bank charges
2008-02-04 14:33:00 I just got my Barclays bank statement, and it shows that I’ve been dinged for 10 Cedis in service charges — about a dollar per transaction. Wow, and we thought we got ripped off in Canada! A dollar in Canada is barely a donut, but a cedi in Ghana is the minimum wage…for an entire ... More About: Bank
Project Update
2008-02-03 13:55:00 The fruit preservation project has almost completed phase 1. It took a long time because our carpenter went on Christmas holidays leaving me out to dry. When he came back I inquired why he did no work for me for three weeks whilst ignoring my phone calls. His excuse was that he didn?t know when ... More About: Project , Author , Update , Terri
Beware of Voodoo
2008-02-03 13:43:00 Apparently, I’ve been hexed by Voodoo . I didn’t know it at the time — I was just trying to figure out why I was being whined at. That racket is apparently Voodoo. And, if you don’t respond to it, you are a wicked person and nothing good will ever happen to you. Once, Terri and I ... More About: Travel , Author , Beware , Stephen
Exercise
2008-02-02 11:30:00 I need a good workout — I haven’t had many since I got here. The heat doesn’t help. If you’re a morning person (which I’m not), the morning is the ideal time for a quick jog or a decent bike ride. It’s still pretty hot in the evening, and the bugs start to come out ... More About: Travel , Medical , Exercise , Author , Stephen
Exasperated
2008-02-01 14:11:00 Sometimes I feel really bad because of how exasperated I get. I try to cut people slack because things that we consider rude aren?t considered rude here. For example, having ?obruni? hollered at me incessantly isn?t a thing people consider impolite in Ghana, but it irritates me quite a bit. I don?t mind children that ... More About: Travel , Author , Terri
The world is your garbage can
2008-02-01 13:29:00 There is a lot of romanticism associated with the nomadic lifestyle — live off the land, roam from place to place, leave a small foot print on the environment. The less glamorous side truth is that you also don’t build sewage systems or trash disposal infrastructure. I have already talked about using the world as ... More About: Travel , World , Author , The World , Garbage
Currency redenomination
2008-01-31 17:40:00 Ghana’s currency redenomination is complete — the new “Ghana Cedi” has replaced the old Cedi. (I’m surprised/impressed that the old bills and coins completely disappeared on time — with so many vendors/hawkers without formal banking service, I was expecting the old currency to float around for months.) Since the new Cedi is almost 1-to-1 with ... More About: Travel , Currency , Author , Expenses , Stephen
One Pot Gumbo
2008-01-30 15:57:00 This has easily been Stephen?s favourite meal here - possibly because he only has one pot to clean afterwards. Tomatoes were in season when we first got here so it was a challenge figure out how we can creatively eat tomatoes without getting bored. Finding meat was a challenge at first (especially since we didn?t ... More About: Food , Author , Terri , Gumbo
Long live the harmattan (January weather)
2008-01-30 14:39:00 We had two waves of the harmattan which each lasted a little more than a week. The full harmattan leads to quite cool days and very cold nights, but the edges of its effects lead to very comfortable weather — cool nights, cool mornings until about 10 am when the sun rises over the clouds, ... More About: Weather , Travel , January , Live , Author
Crime
2008-01-29 11:04:00 Crime in Ghana is generally low. Part of the reason we chose Ghana was because it was one of the few sub-Saharan countries that didn’t have a travel warning about crime. I saw in the news that citizens will lynch thieves if they manage to catch them. There’s a distrust of the police and judicial ... More About: Crime
Terri, the sports fan
2008-01-29 10:56:00 Terri always harasses me when I want to watch a Pittsburgh Steelers game. “How can you watch that silly game?” “Aren’t you going to do anything else today?” “How could anyone care who wins or loses?” Terri didn’t live in Pittsburgh… Terri just doesn’t know what it’s like to live in a place that lives and ... More About: Sports , Terri
Mowing the lawn
2008-01-28 18:18:00 A lot of the lawns here aren’t well-manicured, so you can’t really use a push mower on it. However, you still have to trim it down to discourage the snakes and scorpions from moving in. Thus, it is mowed down by machete. The grounds keepers just hack away at it all day. ...
Plantain and pineapple pizza
2008-01-27 14:06:00 I made this while craving for a taste of home. The thought of pizza just hit the spot. Sometimes I’ll put chicken or fish on it too. Enjoy! Pizza dough (I just used a 2 cup pizza dough recipe I found online) 2 cups flour 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon sugar 1 cup warm water 1 package yeast (you can ... More About: Food , Pineapple , Author , Plantain
Secret Recipes
2008-01-27 14:04:00 Or perhaps not so secret… When we first arrived, we had a very hard time finding 1) variety of food and 2) food that didn?t intimidate us. We now are much more used to the food (both local and imported), so getting most things isn?t a problem. Stephen thought I should share some of my ... More About: Food , Recipes , Author , Secret , Terri
Getting ripped off
2008-01-26 12:22:00 My neighbour and I went into town together a few days ago and we decided that the most wearisome thing about living here is constantly getting ripped off. In fact, it?s so wearisome that it is stopping me from going into town and getting more clothing made. The biggest problem is with the taxi drivers ... More About: Author , Expenses , Terri , Ripped
Living without the penny
2008-01-26 11:52:00 There is a lot of talk about phasing out the penny in Canada and the US. In Ghana, the penny (or 1 peswa coin) exists, but it is rarely used — most prices are set to 5 or 10 peswa increments. When you manage to make a rare purchase that isn’t set to a 5 ... More About: Living , Travel , Author , Expenses , Stephen
Beach Resorts
2008-01-25 16:29:00 There are two high-end beach resorts in Elmina, about 10 minutes west of Cape Coast. Elmina Beach resort and hotel is a sprawling three-story complex where international calibre rooms cost around $100/night. Coconut Grove is a gorgeous “Florida-style” compound where private chalets can cost up to $200/night. Both have very good restaurants ... More About: Travel , Events , Photos , Author
Stephen’s worms (part II)
2008-01-24 16:03:00 Don’t ask me how, but Stephen has worms yet again. We share all our meals together so I have no idea how he’s come down with worms twice. (Thankfully, I’ve been spared the ordeal… knock on wood). For a few days his stomach felt “off”, and after dinner the other night he complained of feeling ... More About: Worms , Part
Currency exchange, part 2
2008-01-24 15:24:00 For our trips to Togo and Cote D’Ivoire, we had to get CFAs. With Ghana cedis, the best place to get CFAs is at the border. On both sides of the border, there are people walking around with huge wads of cash. If you know the rate that forex bureaus will give you in Ghana ... More About: Currency , Exchange , Part
Ants in the Furniture
2008-01-23 15:46:00 The other day Stephen and I were playing Oware (a unique African game) when I noticed that there was a congregation of little red ants on the cushion. I quickly wiped them up and sent them down the drain. A little while later, another congregation had formed a few inches up the couch. ... More About: Furniture , Author , Ants , Terri
A Deal is a Deal
More articles from this author:2008-01-23 15:45:00 Its a lot easier for foreigners to travel in Cote D’Ivoire (minus the remnants of the civil war) than in Ghana because of one key factor — we found they didn’t try to rip off the foreigners as much. For example, when we got back to Ghana, the first taxi driver at the STC station ... More About: Author , Deal , Expenses , Stephen 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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