Obama Excitement Grows in Ghana

Ghana Log 7

While wandering around Green Court, an area close to Labadi Beach, I met a 22-year-old student named Lovelace Telleh. I noticed that he wore a cross around his neck and we found out that we were both Catholic, so from that point of reference we started to hit it off. It turned out we shared an interest in music, writing, and talking about girls.

I was a bit nervous, at first, that Lovelace might not be as genuine as he seemed, but I was wrong. He helped me travel all around Accra, translated for me during interviews, took pictures for me while I interviewed, and taught me a lot about Ghana.

At the end of the day, I gave him some money for a taxi and he wouldn't take it! But, then I insisted and he finally took it. So, not bad for a Ghanaian. Anyways, he was an awesome guy and we will hang out again soon.

EXCLUSIVE: Baboon Risks Death in Harrowing Escape!!!!

Ghana Log 6

In a blatant disregard for his own life, a baboon known only as "Fred", runs across the highway in this exclusive clip obtained by The Mid-Twenties.

Little is known about Fred other than he is, in fact, a baboon, and was given his name by a mysterious and good-looking red-haired reporter.

WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Nightlife in Accra

Ghana Log 5

If there is one thing the notoriously slow Ghanaians are fast at, it is handing you a beer.

The nightlife in Accra, Ghana is vibrant and growing. I still have so many places to go, but here are some of the ones I have gone to thus far:

1. The Chelsea Hotel and Jazz Tones - Located in my neighborhood of North Labone, the Chelsea Hotel hosts a variety of musical acts ranging from jazz, to soul, to reggae.

Beers are about GH¢ 1,50 - 2,00. A large Star beer (a local beer that tastes a bit like Heineken) is only GH¢ 2,00.

The service here is pretty bad, so I would recommend buying two Stars at once.

2. Reggae Night at Labadi Beach - My favorite thing to do, so far, is to go on Wednesday nights to one of Accra's most famous beaches for reggae night.

I always thought of reggae as a Jamaican thing, but everywhere you go in Ghana there are amazing reggae artists.

Labadi Beach is right on the Atlantic Ocean and although locals tell you not swim in there, it is a common occurrence (at least when this reporter is there).

If you are a girl, don't go there alone. Ghanaian men, in general, are very aggressive and the only chance of them leaving you alone here are if you are with a guy.

3. Ryan's Irish Pub - This bar in Osu is nothing but white people.

As expected, the prices are also just for white people. The food is really good, but spending $12 (USD) for bangers & mash doesn't sit well with me.

I guess, maybe, if I am having a "Ghana overload" I would go there, but if I wanted to hang out with a bunch of chain-smoking, drunk, obnoxious Americans I would just go to Ace Bar on E. 5th Street back home.

4. Twist - One of my American friends invited me to this North Labone bar our third night here. It's small, and expensive, but the DJs are great and it has the best mix of ex-patriots and Ghanaians that I've seen.

I could sit here writing about all the details, but there is only one thing that matters about this place: every time I go I have a good time.

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A Haiku for You

Ghana Log 4

I wrote a haiku about life in Ghana using three metrical phrases of 5, 7, 5 moras (sometimes I veered off).

"Monday in Accra"

Accra's sun is strong
Rain comes to a stubborn end
The O'bruni is red

Lizards move swiftly
Frogs croak in rain puddles
Crows eat on the roof

Street kids hustle goods
No school for these poor chaps
Can you spare a cedi?

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Hearts of Oak Soccer Match

Ghana Log 3

Yesterday, I went to a soccer match at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra.

I'm working with the students on a whole package about the match; We are going to have a slideshow, a video, and a print story on Africa Dispatch.

I have posted a video below of the Hearts of Oak player, Eric Gawa, scoring the winning goal against Eleven Wise FC.

The Hearts of Oak is the top team in the Ghana Football Association.

Settling In

Ghana Log 2

Ghana is the greenest place I have ever been.

As soon as we walked off the plane we were surrounded by huge palm trees, hundreds of trees and plants that I have no idea what they were, and vines covering everything.

Driving to our apartments we saw streets so packed with people that they were spilling out into the street, cabs (colored with orange panels in the front and back) driving crazier than NYC ones, and Ghanaians selling everything you can imagine in the middle of the road.

The first few days are a bit of a blur.

My ears were severely clogged coming off the plane and my cold was pretty bad that first day. Luckily, as can be expected, my cold went away very quickly. It must have been my nerves. Each day I woke up feeling better and better.

I've been here five days and love it.

The people are so friendly it is sick. I'm met with an unbelievable curiosity everywhere. I can seriously walk out my apartment and not see a single white person all day. Everyone stares - which sucks a bit - but they all are extremely eager to be interviewed (a huge contrast from reporting from in NYC).

Two days ago I got lost in our neighborhood in Accra, North Labone, and I met two Ghanaians, David and Juice, who helped me get to a restaurant. I had been lost in the blazing sun for over an hour and was extremely stressed out. They decided to stop what they were doing and walk 20 minutes with me to the ChocCheese (the weirdly named restaurant). They didn't ask for anything in return. It was amazing.

I have a gigantic apartment to myself and love my job. The undergraduate students are really cool and we are quickly becoming friends. My job is extremely rewarding - helping students work on stories and report actually rivals my experience teaching in California.

The main thing I needed to get used to was the unreliability of things. The water goes off, the internet is almost never working, the power goes out at least four times a day, and food at restaurants takes about an hour to come out - if you're lucky. Still, I find it kind of refreshing; I feel like my mind is becoming clearer without so many distractions.

I want to stay longer than I am set to be here. In fact, I've already been asking around about extending my flight.

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The photo in this article is by my friend Stephen Zook. Check out his excellent Dateline Accra blog.

On the Road Again

Ghana Log #1

I can't tell you why moving this time around freaked me out so much. Maybe it was because I was going farther from home than ever before. Maybe it was that I was going to a new place with an actual job to do. Or, yet still, I knew that spending two months in west Africa would be the greatest challenge I ever had.

The night before I left I started coming down with a cold. This is pretty typical of my nerves taking over. The same thing happened to me the day I moved to London and Chicago (for some reason, I was spared this when going to SF and NYC) so I tried to not let it bother me.

To make things worse, I have a feeling that the bugs in my apartment know when I'm nervous. (If you know anything about this phenomenon, please write in the comment section below).

Let me tell you a quick story...

On a hot September night last summer, I nervously prepared for my first day of class at NYU. I ironed my clothes, set my automatic coffee maker, and programmed my alarm clock for three hours before I would have to walk 15 minutes to NYU.

When I woke up the next morning I felt really odd. I couldn't stop scratching my skin, and I could barely open my eyes.

I had been ferociously attacked by a swarm of bugs in the night.

I had bites all over my face and hands, one huge welt on my cheek, another on my nose, and my eyelids (evidently bitten) were near swollen shut.

I went to my first day of class looking like I had been up all night getting my ass kicked.

Back to the present...

Complete with a now very swollen throat, I was awakened around 4 a.m. by a mosquito flying around my face. Now ever since that first day of class, my roommate Nathan and I had gone through great pains to protect ourselves from the merciless bug farm known as "Avenue B Community Garden." But, as if those heartless scum could tell I had a big day coming up, they struck again.

I woke up Friday morning with over 20 bug bites (I counted) and my left eye horribly swollen. To say the least, I was disappointed. I had spent the last month and a half almost exclusively getting ready for Ghana. I was working out four times a week, setting up freelance gigs, getting shots and visas, etc. This is not the way I wanted to arrive in west Africa.

Regardless, I managed to finish packing and get to the airport. It was my job to find the NYU Journalism in Ghana students and make sure they got on the plane. The only problems were one student temporarily not getting her boarding pass (credit card problem) and three students not showing up at the last minute (one student was so late that we didn't see her getting on the plane and thought she missed it).

Luckily, all the students were really cool and it calmed my nerves. Still, I didn't sleep the whole 11-hour flight. I stayed up blowing my nose, watching the in-flight movies, and daydreaming about Ghana.

I thought hard about all the new things I would see, all the friends I would make, and hoping our apartments were near the beach.

Pedestrians in Times Square

In New York City, it's the little things that matter. Last week, I was thrilled to experience Times Square opened to pedestrians. 

A stretch of Broadway between 42nd and 47th street became a haven for tourists and curious New Yorkers to sit on beach chairs and really soak in the famed square. My mom and I (see above) sat for close to an hour near 42nd street. It was as if, for once, you could enjoy the place. 

Walking around Times Square is usually havoc; the streets are so packed that people often spill over into roads filled with out of control Taxi drivers and tour buses. I must say, I'm impressed, for the first time, with something the local government is doing here. 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he will decide in December if the closed-off areas will become permanent. Well, this New Yorker hopes they do...but that doesn't mean I'm voting for Bloomberg.