My New Normal

It amazes me how almost anything can become normal. 

I have neglected posting in my blog for most of this week because I just thought that nothing of note had really happened. Yes, I rode in trotros, experienced another stormy day, did some work, tried some food, and our water ran out...but all of a sudden these things are not of note as they once were. This is not to say that everyday is not thrilling - it has just become very (strangely) routine!

While everyday does have the same general structure, it does not mean that I have stopped learning from this trip by any means. This week alone I have learned that if there is not mate in the tro to take the money, passengers will work with the driver to secure everyone's contribution to the ride and make certain that everyone gets the correct change. I have learned that I am more partial to the darker plantain chips (the ones that were riper at the time of cooking). I have learned that while each and everyday I think I cannot physically make it up the last hill before home, I always manage. I have also learned that Mondays are the busiest transit days in the whole week, and leaving an hour earlier than normal is sometimes necessary. 

I continue to be amazed at the tradition mixed with modernity that Accra embodies as it attempts to make its name among major world cities. On Fridays in particular, when 'African dress' is encouraged in the workplace, it is always a bit funny to see people dressed so traditionally, talking into their modern cell phones with purpose. Though it may sound strange, there is also a tree (that I keep meaning to take a picture of) on the way home that I think is a good example of this phenomenon. Its roots wind among themselves before entering the ground, and it looks as though it has seen many lifetimes. This tree is not in a major city centre, but it is surrounded by shops and vendors which make it look as though it is the one out of place, even though it has most likely been there at least decades before the concrete structures that surround it.

Though they have become "normal", there are occurrences that I look forward to everyday. The sweet yet unidentified smell that always fills our nostrils as we exit one tro on the way to another on the way home. The smile and wave from the lady that sells us mangoes near our work. The smiles and waves we receive throughout the entire day, and those awesome moments when you find a trotro with ease. While these experiences, though small,  were once jaw-dropping, they have now become the simple pleasures of life. I am now enjoying this trip in a new way because of that, a way that makes me see beyond the things that are initially shocking (like children darting through cars or women carrying enormous tubs of fruit on their heads with incredible balance), or at least consider them in a different way. 

Next weekend we are planning a visit to the Volta Region, and I am so looking forward to seeing a whole other side of Ghana. Accra is a bustling city which I do love, but I am eager to compare the attitudes and lifestyles of those here to those living in the Volta, let alone to experience an entirely new landscape.