For the love of salsa

Shake your skeleton, shake what your mama gave ya. Whatever you want to call it, I love to dance!

Since arriving in Accra, I have been learning and improving upon my Azonto dance moves. The Azonto is the latest dance craze in Ghana and I have been hitting the streets and local bars to learn the hottest moves. I especially love Azonto dancing because the accompanying music is utterly amazing. Where ever you happen to be in Accra, you will hear the same songs on constant replay, yet somehow, they never grow old!

As much as I love improving my Azonto dance moves, I will forever be a sucker to salsa dancing and Latin music and it makes me so happy that I can find a salsa community anywhere I travel to. I'm not sure how or even when my love of salsa dancing started but I appreciate that I can continue learning the moves in Accra. Every Wednesday night I have a free lesson at Coconut Grove Regency Hotel which is followed by 2 hours of dancing where you get whisked around the pool side dance floor by Ghanaian men who know their salsa moves. As long as you remember your basic salsa steps (1-2-3, 5-6-7) and find yourself with a partner who knows what he is doing, two hours can seem like 10 minutes!

Salsa at Coconut Grove has become very popular and it's now known as a place for the some of the best salsa dancers in Accra to showcase their moves. If you find yourself slightly intimidated by the stellar moves of Ghanaian salsa dancers, you can always pull up a chair next to the pool side and watch as partners twirl each other around, secretly wishing you had the same talent, or even half of it!

Oil in Takoradi

After a long bus ride to the Western Region, I arrived in the capital city of Takoradi later in the evening on Thursday. It was really nice to visit Takoradi again for a few reasons, namely that I have not been back since I spent my first 5 weeks in Ghana in October, 2010 but also, to see the improvements in the city since the oil find.

Since the latter part of 2010, Ghana joined the ranks of one Africa's oil producing countries: Friend or Foe? There is anticipation and expectation that the country will benefit immensely but will tensions rise when competition for oil money raises between foreign oil corporations, local government and the local economy? The government is forecasting economic growth to more than double, from 5% last year to 12% this year. It is hopeful that the oil will benefit without tension as Ghana is one of Africa's best governed states.

By spending only a few days in Takoradi, I was able to see improvements made to buildings, roads and new infrastructure in general. However, since the influx of the oil economy, the cost of living in Takoradi has also increased and residents are seeing an influx of tourism, traffic and an increase on rent and food prices. People are expecting to see benefits to their pocket from the oil but this may not be the case, leaving people to uncertainty as to who will gain and who will loose.

The NGO I am currently working for, YES-Ghana (Youth Empowerment Synergy) just finished a project in the Western Region entitled "Youth for Good Oil Governance" where 60 young leaders (Youth Advocates) were chosen from across the Region to receive capacity building and other assistance in order to lead the implementation of project objectives in their communities. The overall goal of the project was to increase youth led strategies for strengthening Ghana's good governance and sustainable development pursuit, focusing on the oil economy.

Throughout project implementation, the Youth Advocates brought together other youth, local authorities and key stakeholders in the industry to raise awareness on the direct and indirect benefits of the oil, debunk job entitlements in the oil sector and the myth that you can only benefit from the oil money by working on the rigs. The Youth Advocates will continue to play a key role in advocating for good oil governance in their communities by keeping dialogues open and making sure that people know they can have a say in the development of their country's economy.

Me with some of the Youth Advocates during a workshop in Takoradi

Read more from the Youth Advocates themselves on their blog, "Youth for Good Oil Governance" or follow them their page on Facebook - Youth for Good Oil Governance in Ghana

It seemed inevitable

I knew it had to happen sooner or later. After all of my time on this continent and all of my long bus rides, I have been rather fortunate in the fact that a) I have not been in a bus accident and b) the bus has never broken down.

I finally experienced the latter yesterday.

I was travelling from Accra to Takoradi for work and I arrived at Carnation station in Accra to catch a bus in the afternoon. I think the entire day stated off on the wrong foot as it was unbelievably hot, I had to meet up with colleagues among the masses of people not to mention ward off those who were trying to entice me to buy their goods or take their bus to Takoradi.

Finally, we all meet up and it was decided that we would take a nice looking, bigger bus, as that seemed "more safe" as one of my colleagues said. I have learned that better looking things do necessarily mean better quality as I have taken some pretty beat up buses with no issues. I should have fought for my instinct.

About an hour outside of Accra the nice, air conditioned bus that we were on made a weird noise. The driver acknowledged the noise but proceeded driving. About 30 minutes after that we were pulled over on the side of the road. Most of the men got off the bus in attempt to find out and fix whatever the issue was. About 30 minutes after that we were on the road again...driving about 30km/h! As I watched cars and buses whiz past us, my only thought was that at this pace a 4 hour trip will take all night.

Finally the driver pulled over and we all disembarked from the bus. At this point it was about 6pm, the sun was fading and I wasn't sure how long we would all be standing on the side of the road fighting to get a seat in one of the buses passing by. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long when an empty bus pulled up. As usual, there were some elbows thrown in attempt to get on the bus but I sucked up my Canadian politeness and pushed my way on!

Thankfully, we made it to Takoradi. I will be co-facilitating a 2 day workshop here Friday and Saturday then heading to a near by beach for some relaxation.

Take the good with the bad!

Wedding Crashers, Ghanaian Style

This weekend I traveled to Winneba, about an hour west of Accra, to crash my second Ghanaian Wedding. I use the word "crash" as I obviously wasn't on the invitee list. Mind you, the guest lists at weddings here are much more flexible than ours in North America. Basically, if you attend the church of the bride or groom or know them in some way or through a friend, you will be welcomed to help them celebrate their marriage.

In Ghana, the church service is similar to ours in the sense that the couple takes their vows in front of friends and family and then proceed to the reception where the bride and groom take photos with guests, cut the cake, pop champagne and of course, dance! The difference in the church ceremony is that, at this time the couple is already legally married which happens during the engagement ceremony a day or two before. The church service is to simply have the blessing of a Priest in front of God.

Fred's car decorated for the Bride and Groom

Taking vows

Dancing in church

Two obruni's and the Bride and Groom

Cutting of the cake

Entertaining the children with our dance moves!

Bride and Groom share a dance with friends

Sachets of Things!

One of many things that I love about Ghana is the ability to purchase certain items from any given location.

Picture this: you are in car or tro tro and stop at a traffic light, more probable in a traffic jam, and find yourself dying of thrust from the hot Ghanaian sun. An easy fix is to simply get the attention of one of the sellers by hissing and they will come to your window and sell you a sachets of ice cold pure water from a container on top of their head. Price: 10 pesewas (about 5 cents), Experience: Priceless!

Water Sachets:
If you can't find a water sachet from the top of someone's head, another key indicator is to look for a blue or brown cooler on the side of the street as they are sold on almost every block. I find this very convenient because I don't like carrying around a water bottle plus, by the time I am ready to drink the water from the bottle it is too warm. Sachets waters are conveniently sold in 500mL bags and all you do rip into one of the corners with your teeth and down it back.

Ice Cream Sachets:
The FanMilk company sells delicious vanilla (FanIce) and chocolate (FanChoco) ice cream from sachets along with strawberry yogurt (Fanyogo) and citrus juice (FanDango). These FanMilk products can also be purchased at random during your daily routine. There are a few options for purchase, the best I like to call the FanIce dic-a-dee, which are guys that ride around on FanMilk bicycles and honk their horns to notify you that you can buy a refreshing treat. The other option, like the water sachets, is to purchase your treat from a tall box balanced on the top of someone's head.

Liquor Sachets:
Another favourite sachet option is your choice of liquor in a sachet. I like to opt for sachets of gin which can be purchased for 50 pesewas each (about 40 cents) and mixed with a cold coke or sprite from a bottle. This is my favourite option aside from Ghana's popular beer, Star.

Coffee, Tea and Milo:
Something I've just recently discovered is coffee to go which means it is poured into a plastic bag for your "convenience". You can also purchase tea and Milo (hot chocolate) in to go bags on your morning commute if you find yourself with a lack of time for coffee preparation. When drinking coffee from a plastic bag there are two main things that you should take into consideration before ripping into one of the corners like a water sachet: 1. the bag and its contents are HOT and 2. the bag is very flimsy allowing for ample room to spill all over yourself; proceed with caution.