Tonight’s sounds

Drumming and singing at a nearby celebration. Sometimes one, sometimes many, sometimes just drums, sometimes voices.

A meowling cat, possibly in heat?

My neighbours’ movies and music played just loud enough to be distracting and occasionally annoying, but not loud enough to be recognizable.

Stray dogs barking, possibly fighting.

Gusty wind.

A man cackling just outside my window.

My Column

I was asked by the Observer to write a column about my impressions of Ghana for every Wednesday issue of the paper while I’m here. I’ll post my columns on the blog once they’ve gone live on the GO site (as well as a link to the site if you want to see the rest of the paper. My first column is online here, and posted below:

Ghana 101

I arrive in Accra from Canada on Tuesday night – my first time in Africa. Let the lessons begin.

For hours that afternoon I had marveled from the plane at the expanse of the Sahara until the early tropical sunset blackened my window. Movie after silly movie played on the screen in front of my seat, and still the desert rolled on below.

First Day at Work

My first day of work. Got started later than expected, when a 9 o’clock call from Ato (JHR’s Ghana country director) told me we wouldn’t be heading over there until 11. I overcame my frustration and did a little grocery shopping, then returned home and read until it was time to head out. Given how exhausted I was by the end of the day, I’m glad it ended up starting late.

This is going to be an interesting 7 months. The day started out with me explaining to my new boss that I wouldn’t be reporting on my own, but rather working with his reporters on human rights stories. As soon as I had explained that, he asked me to write a column for the paper about my first impressions of Ghana. I agreed only because I didn’t want to reject their first request of me. And, to be fair, it’s not as though any of their staff will ever be writing such a column, so it’s not technically violating JHR’s mandate. Nor is it exactly on mission.

First day in Accra

Well, after an intense week of training in Toronto (punctuated by lovely visits and meals with friends and family both biological and chosen) I arrived last night in Accra. There’s not turning back now! Both of our flights (TO to Heathrow, Heathrow to Accra) were uneventful except for small delays, and made extra pleasant by the company of my new friend/colleague Kevin, who will be working for JHR at a radio station in Takoradi (a few hours down the coast from Accra). We slept most of the trip to the UK, and spent our second flight in stitches from watching Blades of Glory and Hot Fuzz. I (in the window seat) punctuated both movies with glances at the Sahara. Two words: unimaginably big.

Night fell as we flew, and for much of the final hour the gods put on a pretty good show throwing lightning bolts at each other in the sky off to our east, causing me to coin the phrase “positively Norse” to describe the situation. I hope Thor was listening. When we landed I made sure to take a deep breath through my nose and savour my first whiff of Ghana. Strange to think that it won’t be too long before the smells of this place will be so ordinary to me that I won’t even notice them. Right now I feel bombarded by unfamiliar scents.

Home Sweet Labone

It’s my last day in Vancouver, and I’m methodically working my way through final to-dos: uploading ALL my music (and a fair amount of my mother’s) onto the still-exciting new laptop; visiting one last time with a few of my nearest and dearest friends, rellies, and cats; picking up insect repellent; taking photos of the house, my folks, grandfather, cats, etc. because cursèd UPS won’t be delivering my boxes (with my usual supply of pics) until after I leave; and, eventually, packing. I’m a little stressed, but not overly so, in part because I’ve been a machine the last couple of days, and in part because I had a relieving phone call to Ghana earlier today.