Sending Signs of Life

Awkaaba (this is "welcome" in Ghana) to our blog. We've known this word for two days and feel inclined to use it and show off our quasi-acculturation. We aren't yet sure how to pronounce the word, but can say we have felt incredibly welcomed in a country, and continent, that we had little desire to visit, or be a part of before accepting jobs. But, we will get to that part in a minute.

Some of the advice we'd gotten before moving abroad was be able to take things in stride and adjust when your plan does not go accordingly. We didn't know it would happen so fast. This international Martinez duo got to start our abroad experience with an unexpected layover in London for one night. Maybe you're thinking, "they probably hit a pub and ate fish and chips." Maybe we did, and maybe we are touristy and predictable. The details are none of your business, unless you're reading this. The part that may be less predictable is that our dear friend, Beth, happened to be in London as well. Gasp!

I know what you're thinking. This is already a long ass blog... get to the Ghana-damn point.

Fine. Only because we like you.

Our departure from Heathrow left us with little knowledge other than that we would be arriving in Accra with several other teachers and being greeted by our expediters to get us through Ebola checks, Yellow Fever vaccine verification, screening, baggage, and eventually customs to gingerly arrive at our new digs in West Africa.

We learned a new term. WAWA. West Africa Wins Again... write that down.

You understand the process of getting off the plane by rows, walking to buses (people movers), and then expediting the process luggage by standing in orderly lines. So do we. However, Ghanaians abide by the true rule of 'firsties' and we realized that being incredibly polite was no longer an option.

Thunderdome, my friends...

The aforementioned process eventually brought us and our 11 bags (9 of which were labeled 'heavy 25+ kilos') ((Andy is making me add two parentheses and educating me (((don't try and convert kilos. Ask Siri, who doesn't know English very well.)))))

So, we got our bags, tetrised that shit sky high on two carts, and headed down a steep ramp. At this point, we thought we'd have been found by the expediter to speed up our process. No such luck. Lugging our bags down this ramp caused some trouble. Two total cart spills by Andy, who had 8 bags, and watched in concern by Bayli, who had a mere 4 bags. We were basically waived through customs because they were so embarrassed by our performance they wanted us to leave.

Just to set the record straight, we are not complaining. This, by far, has already been wonderful and we are looking forward to exploring our new surroundings and getting to know our new colleagues. The picture we are trying to paint is that we looked like a couple of idiots hauling our 11 bags, while they are falling over, with no idea where we are going or who we are looking for. Nearly 100 taxi drivers offered a red carpet escort and opportunity to get to our new home. Flattering, busy, and exhausted, our 11 bags in the care of local drivers, we set off into the Accra infrastructure. Short story long, we were found by colleagues from the school who got us situated with rides to our new flat (apartment), where we were given a tour, and handed some cedis (pronounced CDs), the local currency, for settling in. Offered a piece of pizza for the ride and held over by a chunk of airplane chicken, we figured that going to bed the best option as we had finally arrived and settled 11pm UTC (5pm MST).

Jacked. Excited. Unsettled, we made the decision to start unpacking our new home. We won't bore you with the details and questioning why we brought some stupid stuff, but we will show you pics of our new, third story penthouse suite :) (after typing this and in the edit phase, we realized we don't have the pics we want to post, so that is coming).

The next day, we were picked up to go shopping at some home goods stores similar to IKEA, the dollar store, and super Walmart...and also a nicer liquor store upon request. This is an important ritual in developing a welcoming culture for new teachers to Accra. Traffic and driving is a bit different, with fewer rules than New Mexico, but we made it to our destinations and were pleased to see we can get everything we would need, or want. There are street side furniture, garden, beer, and clothing vendors. We were told not to buy the warm beer.

In the midst of our shopping, we ate lunch with two colleagues, one of whom is a native Ghanaian. We asked him what is important to know about Ghana. His response was not what we expected, but loved it. On Fridays, it is tradition in Ghana to wear clothing with traditional fabrics. These are bright and usually patterned. This does not go for just the school, but for everyone. Ghana has spirit day on Fridays! Not surprising is that Andy is on the hunt for some kind of blue and orange spirit shirt, because, Go Broncos!

We feel incredibly lucky to be here and are grateful for all the support we received from family and friends back home who are curious about our journey, and inspiration for us to write you all. We have been kindly received by our new friends in Ghana over dinners, coffees, and sporadic school tours (which is about 12 steps from our home). We are excited to keep you updated on living in Africa and our travels.

Love to all,

Andy and Bayli