Second Week in Ghana

No Sleep = One Tired Rita
Okay, so I officially started work this week after spending 4 days off to catch up on sleep and adjust to the time change (which is 4 hours ahead of Canada).  Apparently, 4 hours of sleep per night does not cut it, it will cause random fits of dozing off while in an upright position and will be followed up with sleeping for 12 hours for the next few days.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.” – Irish Proverb

Transportation
I am somehow learning to use the tro-tro system here, which are basically oversized mini-vans that are stuffed like a sardine can with people. To catch one, you stand on the side of the street and you wave your hand (fancy stuff huh?).  The trick is to listen for the “mate” which is the person who directs (not drives) the tro-try to call out the area you are going to. When you hear it you approach the vehicle and they pull over.  You jump on (literally) and off you go.  The price of two-tro’s is extremely inexpensive.  I can get to work in one to-tro and it costs about 40 pathways, which is about 22 cents CAD.  So far, I have bruised both of my knees on these contraptions called to-tro’s.  It’s rainy season in Ghana, so when it rains I totally wimp out and take a taxi, after all, it’s only 4 cedis, which is $2.22, that’s still less than the cost of the TTC (this is my justification that I tell myself to make it okay).

Work-Life
Ghanaians work very differently than North Americas. They take their time. They enjoy talking to their co-workers and my favourite part is they love to joke around.  Work feels very relaxed and I have spent the majority of my time there reading up on the education system in Ghana, which I have to say makes me pretty angry that it is so poor.  I am pretty glad that there are organizations like the one I work for, Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) that hold the government accountable for the things they promise to do for education.  My work will mainly be research.  To bring the darkness in the education system here to light, a ton of research has to be done, to show those in power what is really going on, with cold hard facts.  I feel fortunate and blessed to be able to contribute to the betterment of education here.  After all, we know that the one and only way to eradicate poverty in developing countries is to properly education the people.