Jonas K. is reporting

We’ve already been on a few short trips; we went to a reggae party, a market and the beach. The beach is in the neighbouring town of Kokrobite. With its many palm trees and small fishing boats, it is really beautiful.

On these journeys we also had our first experience of Ghanaian traffic where some traffic rules are “interpreted” slightly differently. On country roads, as many cars will drive next to each other as the width of the road permits. Every centimetre will be used. On the other hand, a parking car, pedestrians or a heap of sand may interrupt journeys on trunk roads. The indicator is only a nice accessory but has nothing whatsoever to do with the direction of travel, and a horn is as important for travelling as a steering wheel or brakes. But I will still report about the traffic in Ghana in greater detail.

Power cuts are another integral part of life in Ghana. They have become so common for me by now that you stop counting how many there have been to date. Especially at lunchtime, electricity is hardly ever available. The first power cut was on the evening of the second day and still something unusual for me. Everybody you met laughed and said “This is Ghana” or “Welcome to Ghana”. For my job as a teacher I’m currently in the process of deciding which subjects I want to cover, as there isn’t any set curriculum for German in place here. Apart from my- at times stressful – lessons, life is usually relaxed here. You get cared for and waited on. But we have also already made ourselves useful and have helped to paint two classrooms. And even painting the walls was turned into a little party with music and dancing. You generally get to meet singing and/or dancing people at every corner.

Finally two more things I was very often asked about: Weather and food. The weather is nowhere near as unbearable as you might imagine. Apart from the midday heat, temperatures are pleasant and I do no longer feel the humidity. Currently (both humidity and temperature will still increase), it is not all that different from a summer’s day in Germany. The differences are considerably bigger as far as food is concerned. A dish always consists of the same parts: something nourishing (rice, pasta etc.) with a sauce. A lot of the food isn’t known in Germany, e.g. banku, fufu or yam. Anyway, I like the food. But even the dishes which especially for us have been made less spicy, are still very hot. And for those of you who are worried about it, yes, you will get plenty of food. I could easily fill further pages with my impressions so far but will have to leave a few things for my next reports.

‍