Batikin'

February 22, 2011

Yesterday, Confi and I went to Tema to pick batik supplies for the youth group.  I woke up at 4:15 so we could leave the village by 5:30 am.  We were going to Tema (before you get to Accra) because Kafui said we could get the supplies there cheaper than in Accra. So, armed with a phone number and directions that included, “drop at the Tema roundabout, pick a car to Community 2, drop at Adom FM, call the number.”  OK.  So we arrive in Tema and drop at the round about; Confi has never been to this place either, so we ask random people how to pick a car to Community 2.  Ok, stand here and wait.  Holla. So we get a car to someplace and from there we are told to catch a line taxi.  Ok. So now we drop in front of the radio station and I call the number to ask for directions.  “I’ll send someone to get you.  What color dress are you wearing?  Are you Chinese?”  “No, I’m a white lady.  My friend is wearing...” “Oh, no problem. If you are white they will be able to see you.”  It’s true.

So we get to the place and the lady is being less than helpful (the person on the phone was a very nice man who was at the bank and not at the shop to help us) and they were out of fabric.  DAMMIT. We just went through 45 minutes of backwoods car picking to get here and no fabric!  “Is there anywhere else?”  “Oh, they are having a container across from the police station.  Walk that way.”  So we start walking and Confi is getting pissy.  So she goes and asks someone where the police station is and they point that we have to turn right (lady didn’t mention this little fact).  So we go right and ask someone else…walk through this little building walkway…ask someone else… “oh, go beyond those trees and there is the police station…there is a container there…that must be what she was talking about.”  Confi is bitching about the women giving us bad directions and she doesn’t like going where she doesn’t know.  “Confi, this is my everyday life in Ghana.  Unless I’m in the village or HoHoe, I have no idea where I’m going.  I have to keep asking and asking, and walking and walking…and people make fun of me because I’m white and talk funny…that’s why I hide in my house for 2 days after I travel…I’m pissed at the world!”  She starts laughing.  We get to the container and they only have shitty quality fabric.  So we go back to the first place to pick the dyes and chemicals and decide to go on to Accra to pick the fabric.  So the women is once again less than helpful…we pick our stuff and head back to the road to ask for where we need to stand to pick a tro to Accra…big tree…got it.  So we pick a tro to Accra.  It takes about an hour due to all the stops along the way; but we drive a direction I’ve never been and I had no idea where we were, so I was entertained.  We drove along the coast and I got to see the guys dragging in nets, and big ocean fish on road stands for sale (not the crappy river fish we usually have) and even a couple octopi!  It reminded me of one of the best meals of my life: grilled octopus in olive oil in Athens…I smiled. 

We finally arrive in Accra and we have to pee. So we go to the urinal at the bus station, ie, a cement stall with a trough cut in the floor…you go multiple people at a time and I always manage to pee on my feet (cement??? Come on…splashing!!).  They thought it was hilarious to see the obruni’s white shiny ass…don’t care, ladies. So we then head to the market to pick the rest of the supplies.  The market we go to is one I’ve never been to.  It’s super crowded and covers blocks…all kinds of stuff for sale.   After we pick our stuff, I go to the station to pick a car home and Confi stays in Accra to do something.  It takes an hour to get out of the city due to traffic; I stick my Ipod on and spend the 4 hours in a state of happiness.  I pick a tro in HoHoe and arrive back in Todome to drop the supplies off at the shed around 7 p.m.  Long day, yet fun.  It always surprises me the things that make me realize how grateful I am to be here.  Today it was driving down a coastal road in a hot, stinky tro…and maybe it was seeing Confidence get aggravated at the lack of information and multitude of delays.  Apparently the bad traveling attitude is not just me; it’s human.

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