Tro-Tros and Shopping - July 4

This morning we were charged with our first independent (without direct assistance from our extremely knowledgeable advisors) group task:  to use the city transportation to once again reunite with our advisors by 8 am.  There are several ways to get around in Ghana, most of which do not include having our own personal driver; we had been very much spoiled throughout the first days of our visit.  The streets of Kumasi are bustling with taxis, buses, and tro-tros.  The latter option, tro-tros are re-purposed vans that make frequent stops along the main highways and can transport upwards of 10 passengers short distances around the city for extremely reasonable fare.  Because we were interested in transporting all five of us a short distance to our meeting point, we chose to travel by tro-tro.  When we decided to leave during morning rush hour, however, we quickly realized it would be unlikely for all of us to commute together. 

A tro-tro junction near KNUST

Two of us  (Mollie and Chelsea) hopped in the first available tro-tro and, just as the two began to worry about the others, the remaining three (Clayton, Helena, and Mike)-who had had to wait a while to find a tro-tro with enough room- were dropped off by a second one.  Both groups successfully communicated the stopping destination; therefore we completed our first independent mission--and all for a cost of 30 peswas (in USD, approximately 15 cents) per person!

On our final day with our advisors, we again had a full day mapped out.  First, we travelled by tro-tro to downtown (or, in Twi, “adum”).  There, we had beginning lessons in bargaining.  In Ghanaian markets, there is no such thing as a price tag.  Rather, when you ask “how much?”, sellers are likely to give you (especially if you are an obruni—the Ghanaian term for a white person), a starting figure of as much as 10 times a reasonable price.  Having been first informed of a reasonable price range, the five of us bargained for masks for our advisors. 

Then we met our advisors at the CSIR Basic School to meet the classes that we planned to work with the next day.  Since we planned to teach science lessons to the students, we went into town with Godwin, one of our trusty drivers and Cornelia, a new friend of ours from FORIG.  We tracked down supplies like Vaseline, vinegar, baking soda and kebob sticks from the outskirts of Kumasi’s Central Market, the largest market in West Africa. 

A colorful booth in the market

The streets were overwhelmingly crowded with customers and vendors of all sorts. In order to get the kebob sticks, we asked a vendor selling kebobs where to buy the sticks.  A woman near the stall tried to explain to Cornelia where to get them, but ended up leading us to them herself.  It was quite an adventure trying to keep up with the woman with the six of us trailing at varying distances behind through alleys, through a market on the train tracks and back through twisty-turney alleys again.  The eventful chase was well worth it, though, we were able to get our kebob skewers! 

In the market Helena, Mike, and Mollie bought some fabric to make into custom shirts and dresses too.  And the group bought bread, peanut butter, and bananas, which we later ate for dinner.  After dinner, Mike and Helena bought some snacks at a local gas station, where Mike also had his hair cut for 5 cedi ($2.50)!

A fabric store near the market