Halfway There...

I've been told I haven't updated my blog in a while, and I just checked and its been 10 days, sorry about that. I've been busy...kinda. The other volunteer that lived in the house with me left on Saturday, so now I'm all alone in the house. I've actually never been all alone in the 4 months total that I've lived here. Its really quiet.

Right now is the halfway point. I leave Kumasi on the 29th of September. I can't believe I'm half done my trip. But I guess I can't stop time, as much as I want too.

As you might have noticed, I've been kind of running out of things to write about. So I've decided that today will be a market blog. The market in Kumasi is one of the biggest in open air markets' West Africa. And truthfully if you haven't been here, all my explaining will not describe it accurately. But I guess I'll try. The market is (from what google is telling me) 12 hectares (or one site said 25 hectares) of craziness. If your like me and have no idea how big that is, just think really big. Or go to Google Maps and type in Kejetia, Kumasi. Its hard to miss. It hold 10,000 traders in it.

I go through the market pretty much everyday. Well, kinda through it. I don't go down into where all the roofs are, but I do walk through part of it. Probably the busiest part of it. You have to watch where you step, or you'll step on someone's feet, or a hole in the cement, or the shoe's that they have layed out that you can look at to buy. But you can't just watch your feet, you have to keep your head up and look out for people carrying things on their heads, which are everywhere. I got hit in the head a couple of days ago with something because I wasn't paying attention.

If you actually go through the market, right into it where the heart of it is, there is no way that you cannot get lost. You will take one turn and have no idea how to get back out, but just ask as someone is sure to help you out. It looks like there is no order at all. But actually there kind of is, you will walk by different sections, like the fabric section, spices sections, and if your unlucky, the meat sections (it smells really stongly).

After walking through part of the market, everyday I take basically the same route up to Adum, where I am now, where the internet and the banks are. You have to cross a couple of streets, which means taking your life in your hands. Then walking by some of the street sellers, which is usually not to bad, they'll yell at you "Obruni" every so often, but your so used to it that its not to bad. Until you get to the one part, you have to walk up the sidewalk right by all the street vendors, and in this one part they all seem to be 20-something year old guys selling clothes. So naturally I'll be really lucky if someone doesn't grab my arm and say "hey, my wife/girlfriend". You just have to ignore them and pull your arm away from them. I'd say there is about 40-50 of these guys on the one part of the street, and you can't avoid them at all. So its an adventure everyday.

Usually after getting to the internet/bank/supermarket or wherever I was going, I'll walk down back to the market, past all the same street vendors, and back through the same path in the market to get a tro-tro back home. I've always wanted to get a video of where I have to get a tro from, but don't want to get my camera out and have people yell at me, because they will. So I'll try and explain it, which can only do so much. After walking all the way through the market, and past the taxi's, you get to where some of the tro's are. I say some, because there are alot more that don't park there, they park in a different area. But where I go, is the same. You have to keep a look out to keep from getting hit by tro's that are coming or leaving. Because there is a little hill, they have to take a run at to make it up it (when they are leaving).  The Asabi (the one I catch to get back home) tro is always in generally the same spot. So you just have to walk down the one side and you will inevitably get asked where you are going. So you say Asabi and they will point down the side more. Until you get to the general area, and you have to actually get in the right one. The tro-tro drivers and mates (the person who collects the money) will usually be standing in front of their tro yelling where it is going. If there not, you just have to ask anyone and they'll usually point you in the right direction.

Overall its really quite fun, after you get used to it. For my first month here last time, everytime the market came into view, I would just dread having to go through the market. But once I got over that, it turned into quite the experience. Its not even to bad.

So there you have it, what I go through pretty much everyday. But like I said, if you haven't been here, all my expaining can only get you so far. I haven't gotten any pictures of the market yet, but if you google Kumasi Market, you will get quite a few. There is even the odd video on youtube of the market. Although I believe some of the videos are a couple of years old.

I hope this will make up for the lack of blogs in the last week or so. Now I'll just have to think of something else for my next one. Any suggestions/questions you may have about anything here are welcome.

Until next time, keep fit and have fun! (haha, anyone remember what that's from)