Jude's 12 compelling observations about Ghana

As my next-to-the-last day in Ghana winds down, I thought I would share some thoughts I recorded as I moved through various parts of the country.

1. Ghanaian  people are as friendly as advertised, and very pro-USA in particular.  And not just to promote tourism.  While other nations criticize the U.S. for our "involvement" overseas, Ghanaians like it. And they're not shy about sharing that.
2. Even as a woman traveling alone, I was warmly welcomed wherever I went and never felt threatened or like I was being eyed or anything like that. In fact, people seemed eager to go above and beyond to make sure the obruni was OK.
3. Ghanaians have an extreme gift-giving culture. On one hand, it can be endearing.  On the other hand, it can be annoying and frustrating.  People will give, but people also expect a little something just to get things done. Sometimes, people expect a lot of something.
4. Although I heard and read multiple warnings on this, no one on the street asked me for money or anything else. People wanted to sell me everything, however, from avocados to cheap rip-off dusty tupperware to smoked tilapia to Ghana coasters. Overpriced Ghana coasters.
5. The heat and humidity, at least this time of year, is unrelenting. I have been thirsty almost all the time and some days, I just can't drink enough water. Ghanaians love hot food - both in its spiciness and its temperature, and neither appeals to me when I'm bordering on heat exhaustion after searching a market at Noon for an spur-of-the-moment parent/teacher conference.  As uncomfortable as I was at times, I also realized it was relatively easy for me to buy water -- and that's not true for many Ghanaians. I don't know if native people simply are used to the heat, are used to drinking less water, or just suffer in silence because they have too.
6. The people in Accra seem to eat and drink pretty well and seeing this makes me think of the people of the Upper West -- particularly the children -- who don't eat well, or sometimes at all.
7. Littering is encouraged in Ghana. There are no garbage receptacles anywhere and certainly no recycling. Garbage is thrown in the open sewers on the side of the roads, or simply, wherever you happen to be.  In Wa, littering is encouraged because homeless children pick up trash in front of the merchant stalls in order earn a few pecawas for food.  I only witnessed this once and it was one of the occasions George asked me specifically not to take a photo. There are garbage trucks and weekly pickups scheduled but like everything here, "scheduled" doesn't have the same meaning as it does for us.
8. I didn't see a single mosquito or get a single bite.  Yes, I have taken my Malarone religiously anyway.
9. No snakes either. Plenty of goats, chickens, lizards, stray cats and dogs, a few sheep, pigs, 13 hippos, a Colobus monkey and a donkey. Oh and those flying worm rain forest thingies in Ho.
10. Muslims and Christians live side by side and it's no big deal. We can learn from them.
11. Plumbing rarely works as it should and no one thinks it's a big deal.  They can learn from us.
12. Bea is 53 years old - only 3-1/2 years older than me. George is 57. Both look at least 10 years older. Life is hard here.