A little about my weekend.

One thing that is a little unsettling about Ghana is all of the trash everywhere. Ghana has a trash disposal system, but it isn’t efficient. There are very few trash bins in public. When you do see them, they are very small. I’m also going to take a wild guess and say there isn’t a law against littering. This is why it made me so happy to learn about the NGO called Trashy Bags that takes shasay water bags and sews them into reusable bags. I would say of all the trash, shasay water bags are what you see the most of. It’s something similar to the amount of plastic water bottles that are used in the U.S., but worse. You need to add in the fact that you can’t drink water from the facet here, so every time you are thirsty you drink a shasay. Also factor in that you have to drink the whole 500ml (that’s 8oz for Americans) or just dump it out because there is no cap to screw back on so you can throw it in your bag for later. They don’t only use shaysay water bags though; they also use fan ice, and other similar plastic castings. They make more than just reuseable bags too. They make things like wallets, hats, and laptop cases. Here is a link to their website, I feel like they can do a lot better job explaining the process than I can..

http://www.trashybags.org/

I also had an interesting experience at a bead workshop put on by a friend of Theresa, our resident director. We were able to make our own necklaces using beautiful glass beads. We learned all about the culture of beads in Ghana. When a child is born they are given beads that are attached around their waist. It serves multiple purposes. They given by family members to show the community that the child has someone who loves them. Also, because the bead is attached around their waist it shows if they are growing or losing weight. It was interesting to find out that when Obama was in Ghana his wife and children did this same exact workshop. The woman who runs it is known around the world for her collection and knowledge of beads.

We went to Makola Market, a large market in downtown Accra. It was my first time going, but I've been told it is always crowded with people and chaotic. Well, we went on Sunday morning at about 10am. There was hardly any booths, and nearly no people walking around. I think it shows just how religious Ghana is. It was nice to walk around the market leisurely but I want to go back and experience the chaos. Because the chaos is what makes Ghana… Ghana.

I witnessed my first Ghanaian car accident this weekend. A moped crossed an intersection without stopping or looking both ways and was hit by a trotro. The man on the moped was tossed at least 10 ft in the air. His helmet went flying off; I’m amusing it wasn’t strapped on. When he landed, he laid there for a second, and then jumped right back up. I think he was affected by the shock because then he fell back down. I’m not sure what happened after that because a large group of people surrounded him. It made me really wish I was going to school to be a Doctor. An ambulance never came. Neither did the police. I am pretty sure the man was taken away in a taxi. I’ve always gotten a little queasy when driving by car accidents on the interstate back home, but for some reasons this made me a lot queasier. I’m not sure if it was because I actually watched it happen, or if it was because I’m learning how Ghana works and have seen the hospital.