Random Rants on Ghana

I have arrived home safely and it feels sooooo good to be home. I often find myself slightly envious of others who have things I wished I had or had more of...i.e. 'spending' money, larger home, etc. but have realized I am so very rich in that I have a home--with a roof ---and walls. . I have full access to a variety of healthy foods--I have a variey of clothing to wear, mostly for vainity. I am warm when I need to be warm-obviously, not a huge concern of those in Africa, but you understand--I have my basic needs met without even trying. They spend thier day working to have basic needs met and even then it doesn't always happen.

There are many things that crossed my mind during my time in Africa and little experiences I would like to share so here goes:

• There are people everywhere...2.5 million in Accra (an independent census estimated it to be more like 3 million.)
• There are chickens and little goats everywhere--not to mention the random donkey/mule...
• The cab drivers...no pretty much all driving is crazy..not Mexico crazy or Chicago crazy...this takes on a life of it's own in Accra.
• There are no clocks...now I truly understand 'Ghana Time'.
  
• The sun rises and sets early--completely dark by 7 p.m.
  
• The value of the American dollar is a mystery. You get a better exchange rate for $50's and $100's than you do $20's. Don't bother with fives...and single dollars are about as valuable as green construction paper here, even though the dollar is stronger than the Cedi. For example, you would not pay a $50 tab in single $1 American bills--because they do not carry the same value but a $20 or $50 is great. Even the people in Ghana couldn't explain why the 'dollar is not a dollar'.
  
• The people of Ghana are amazing. They are very sweet and seemed to enjoy 'Americans' visitng and very graious that we want to help.
  
• The children of Ghana are in great need of everything!! Food, shelter, clothing, education..
• The night I left for home, I saw the nightly news at the airport--it indicated there was a death rate of 50% of children ages 1-5 in Ghana. Can that be right??
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