Accra
Well, technically I’ll come in briefly tomorrow morning to say goodbyes, but today is the last “official” day. Most likely I’ll spend it helping Princess with her lab work, then going home to pack up everything. It always feels like a miracle I can fit my life into a 55L backpack.
Today has not been great. I don’t like posting negatives, but sometimes I need an outlet. I also want to represent everything in my blog, even if it isn’t positive.
Feeling a bit like teenagers, Alex and I spent yesterday at the mall for a “lunch-and-movie” date. We saw Captain America, in the theaters that could have been anywhere in the world. It was a bit of a novelty, in part because we almost never go to movies in the US. At lunch, we watched the youth of the Accra elite wander around in their extremely western clothes, i-phones, and speaking exclusively in English. Most people alternate between Twi and English (often in the same sentence) and it seems that the ratio of Twi:English has a linear relationship to wealth. And like most developing countries there is a large income gap, though there is an emerging middle class. Apparently, luxuries like cars and many electronics cost about double what they would in the US (due to import regulations), so having a BMW is quite a statement regarding your wealth. For example, an i-pad here costs $1400 USD, a Honda CRV around $56K.
Colliding With The Earth 