Life Half In The Bag

As I noted before, things are a little different here in Ghana...For example, most or all of the shopping is done at small booths... kinda like the size of a small self storage unit. From these “shops” you can get all the important things you need to run a house. Laundry soap (keep in mind that laundry is done by hand, and you buy a bar of soap to wash your clothes), rice, cans of tomatoes, eggs and bread. Yeah, that’s about it... except for the cheap candy from China. Everything else you get is from market. That is where you get your fresh produce, chairs, house hold times and kitchen supplies. I am starting to get acquainted with my market but there are still days I am surprised at what I find. Yesterday I went to market to buy things for my first dinner I was making in Ghana (Jollaf Rice with Chicken). Come with me, in your mind’s eye, as I take you to the market. We get off the main street and walk through an alley way to get to the shops. Keep in mind, when I say alley way or market, throw away all you might be thinking of what this might look like, for I guarantee that it is nothing like what this is. To cross from the main road to the alley, we pass over a plank that spans the width of a cement ditch. Everything runs into this ditch, yes everything. I thank God that it is now the rainy season, which helps to keep these gutters, well I’d like to say clean, but let’s just say clearer of debris and things. I am not looking forward to the dry season, from December to March when it does not rain. The things that will be in the gutters at that time, could be used for chemical warfare. So, now we are in the alley. There are no lawns here in town, and no real yards. Outside the houses (which in most cases are a mud hut or concrete building) are a small area where they cook, do laundry and pound fufu. Outside of this area is where we walk. We have to watch our steps as we go, for there are large rocks that can trip us up and we have to be careful not to step in the waste water (and worse) that is coming out of the houses as it makes it way down to the ditch. When we get to the market area it’s a bunch of stalls that have wooden planks that serve as shelving, scattered in some type of pattern. I have yet to figure out this pattern but there has to be some type of pattern to the way they set this up right?!? Mostly children and women are running their businesses. It seems that whatever is not grown or made here locally, comes from China. We pass one stall that has large metal bowls full of several varieties of dried beans, different kinds of rice and ground nut paste. Ground nut paste is sort of like peanut butter... once you’ve been here for a few months, it tastes just like peanut butter. The next lady is selling onions, peppers and mmmmm garlic. The next stall is a person selling yards of fabric, next to them is a guy wearing a Rafa Ghana hat, making sandals out old tires, while Bob Marley is blaring from a set of old but surprising loud speakers. (No offense Tom, there is nothing wrong with old speakers!) Beside Bob is a line of tailors, all working with sewing machines that are probably older than me, making pants, shirts and dresses. As we get closer to the end of the row, we hear all this banging and pounding. Turning the corner we see something that puts all our senses on overload. The pounding is coming from butchers that line the next passage on both sides. With large butcher knives in their hand, they are cutting up a recently slaughtered cow, goat and lamb. Now, our senses that are on overload; Visual- This is not Hannaford. On the same kind of boards and stalls as previously mentioned are all parts of the cow; from head to hoof. All laying right there as we walk by. audio- aside from hearing them chopping through bones (Ghanians don’t like much in the way of choice cuts, the more bone, fat and gristle in their meat the better), you also hear the buzzing of flies having a feast on this yummy smoargageboard. Touch- as we pass by dodging and swatting at the flies, we must take care that we don’t get hit by a flying piece of bone that comes off the chopping block. Smell- well, I will just have to let your imagination run away with you on that one.... Needless to say, I have not gotten my nerve up to buy anything from the “butcher shop” yet. I have been told by other PC Volunteers, that you can get a very good piece of meat if you are willing to show them what you want. They will look at you like you have four heads, because you aren’t wanting the fat or bones, but you can get a pretty good price on tenderloin and the like. All this time, people are staring at us, kids calling out to us, because we are the only white folks in the market. And if we respond to them in Twi, they will laugh hysterically and repeat what we just said to everyone next to them, which in turn starts them laughing. It’s a crazy maze we have entered, random chicken, goat and sheep walking past as we go. It’s very easy to get turned around and not know how to get out! Ahhh, Shaw’s and Hannaford, eat your heart out! Now, the bags. Remember the bags? (It’s the title of this blog silly). Everything that you could possibly want to buy comes in a bag. Here are some examples: Shopping: Because of the poverty level, a lot of people can not afford to buy a box of rice, or a container of salt. So instead, the vendors will put things in bags. You can buy little bags, .05 peswa’s ( about .03 cents), of spices. Ground nut paste comes in a bag, all produce will be bagged. Dessert: Yes there is dessert in Ghana. Ice Cream!!! See previous blog. This is sold in a small plastic bag about the size of a sandwich bag; just bite the corner off and suck away! Booze: Yes, this would be a great idea in the US, except I am sure the authorities would not think so. Shots are sold in a bag. Rum, Gin and other alcohol is packaged into small plastic bags. Hic!! Water: Pure water sachets are everywhere. If you ever want a cold refreshing drink of water, you will find hawkers selling a large container of pure water sachets on their head, .05 peswa for one, and you will see people walking down the street with a sachet hanging from their mouth. Meals: Who needs forks, knives or even plates??? Just get your dinner in a bag! One of my favorites is a chicken dish. It contains rice, spaghetti, fish sauce, hard boiled egg and chicken. You first start by mushing it all up, tearing open a corner and enjoy! So what if you eat some of the bag, I am sure I’ve eaten much worse things here in Ghana, plus I need to get my roughage in my diet! How ‘bout breakfast? Porridge, night time meal egg sandwich in a bag. Once, no lie, I even saw someone carrying a live rooster with it’s head sticking out of a bag! Hopefully I have given you a glimpse into a small part of my life. Welcome to my world! Now I've let the cat out of the bag. Get it??? Oh, I do crack myself up!