The Hood

At this point I have been in Ghana for over one month, how time flies! It has been wonderful to stay put in one place for an entire month and have the opportunity to fully adjust to my surroundings. Particularly, it has been a joy getting to know the neighbors and chatting with them nearly every day.

So first the house. The house isn't actually in the town of Cape Coast and is nearer the smaller town of Elmina. Elmina is about a 10 minute walk down the street whereas Cape Coast is about a 20 minute taxi ride. Elmina is a fascinating little village with several large old churches and an old slave castle. Maybe that will be another posting. Rumor has it that the old, concrete house was a brothel at one point. However, I try to avoid thinking about this as I come home for the evening. We are lucky enough to have two locals living with us. Ellen, actually lives in the house and takes care of stuff during the day. She will do the dishes, clean, and even do our laundry for a small fee. We share the kitchen so it is often interesting to smell and see what African cuisine she is cooking up. Appiah is our nightwatchman. He is older and has a family of his own in Elmina. Despite this he tends to hang out at the house a lot during the day as well. He has a small shack in the backyard where he lives and I believe he sleeps on the porch during the night. He has a small plot of corn he farms in the yard and maintains the coconut and banana trees. Additionally, we have several chickens that run around the yard, however I am still unclear of their purpose, they don't lay eggs! (that or Appiah is eating them all).

The neighborhood itself is pretty quiet, with the exception of the Silver Cup in front of the house. This seems to be a pretty popular local hangout where there is alcohol, food, and a fella who grills fish along the road. The music is blaring all evening and it is hit or miss whether it is pleasing music or not. Although, last night we were spoiled with endless Bob Marley. Across the street is the Elmina Beach Resort (should be "Beach"), a resort that caters to the wealthier. The next couple of weeks are going to busy around there, I understand that Obama's crew is starting to pour in there. And of course, there is Eli, who lives down the street and cooks us dinner every night. She is an amazing cook who can cook up anything perfectly from grilled cheese to mac and cheese, to local dishes like fufu and red red. There are so many others that make the hood the hood, like the banana girl and of course One Stone, but I have to stop somewhere.

The rainy season seems to be in full swing here, it seems like nearly forever since I have seen the sun. The good thing is that it has cooled off some, I managed to survive an entire night without the fan on! I hope everyone is doing well. Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Our simple, not drafty enough house

Our nearby slice of ocean front heaven (I am not being entirely sarcastic, it is interesting)

The all too rare sunset

Weekend football match in Elmina