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June 28, 2006
Thank you: Jonathan; IRP; Jesus
In that order. First to Jonathan, a fellow journalist visiting Ghana to work on a book about the country's 50th birthday. A tremendously resourceful photographer and traveler, Jonathan welcomed me to his swanky hotel on the beach (employer-provided), boozed me up and sent me on my way with his spare supplies in my bag.
I met Jonathan because we are both former IRP fellows, an association that has tapped me into a great network of kind, open journalists in his mold. Competition being what it is, I am often amazed to have these accomplished and talented individuals willing to share their time, expertise and sources, and to meet me in developing countries and give me their extra toilet paper.
Getting to and from the hotel safely was another reason to give thanks. My first cab ride in Ghana-to the hotel-was exciting and fun-filled. It involved nearly 20 minutes of driving, of which about eight were in the right direction. After several days in the wealthier parts of Accra, it was a good dose of reality to spend some time bumping down narrow, rocky streets, between rows and rows of open-air stands selling beer, toiletries and phone cards beneath harsh fluorescent lights.
When we pulled over to ask an old lady for directions, though, I sensed something was amiss. With increasing aggressiveness, I questioned aloud whether the driver knew where he was going. His English was not great, but I am pretty sure that he said "We will ask Jesus." And not much later, we arrived, though the final minute of the trip was spent reversing back toward the hotel past which we'd just screamed, down one of Accra's major streets.
My driver on the return trip was less enthusiastic with his horn and a better driver. He also knew where he was going. But his English was also not great, and he was either drunk, toothless or quite possibly both. Thus in his enthusiasm for the upcoming soccer match, he produced sentences such as "Ok happy small" and "better chop money."
The use of the car horn here, by the way, appears to be an act of friendly communication, much like dogs sniffing one another as they pass on their travels. "Hello," a horn says, "I am here." "Hello." "Hello." Occasionally it means "You, walking on the side of the road, would you like a ride?" Or sometimes the more traditional "Please pull over now so I can go faster."
A toot on the way into an intersection is sufficient communication to alert traffic that you are coming. Once you have announced yourself, further yielding is not necessary, and, if you don't hear a response honk from cars that might be affected, it is apparently appropriate to proceed without slowing down or looking around.
Posted by Adam Graham-Silverman at June 28, 2006 01:25 PM