Thinking Music Please

well
Accra has quickly gone up with delhi as one of the more oppressive cities i found to travel in, but like Delhi in 2004 seems i cant get away just yet. My 'visa touriste entente' for many countries isn't valid until the 26th so i have a couple more days here... so today's plan is to go back to the Date Hotel and update the diary and read some of the Order of the Pheonix with a plan to finish the book before it's out on film. Well it is a really long book. For a Harry Potter.

I've been wanting to write some sort of reflective piece for this blog for a couple of days. I even considered drafting it but then.... I didn't. It's very bizarre finally getting to Africa and finding myself reacting the way I have. Now the peanut allergy, for sure, has had a HUGE impact. For starters my diet has been well.. very limited out of paranoia. I have definately dropped a few kilos not from sickness, just have been eating not nearly as much as I am used. Bananas, bread and cheese, (bought a slice of ham today for around AUD 1.2o! can't wait to slip it into a roll) occasionally rice or pasta have been the diet. Did I mention I bought this very heavy electric stove? Still unused. But expect to use it when i am starving.... So the new route I'm taking is designed to keep me close (ish) to supermarkets.
I met an Australian last night and for some three hours we chatted about the region (he's sorta done my trip in reverse), cricket and tennis (Go Maria Sharapova!!!). Seems silly but thats what we chatted about and it was so nice to talk to an Aussie again. Only the second I've met here and the first lived her first 12 years in Canada. Travellers here are not that plentiful. The hotel has quite a few Nigerians, and there are a lot of Dutch roaming the country. But this isn'tike India or South East Asia in that respect, you do a lot of stuff on your own.
As you can tell with my frequent posting I've spent a fair bit of time on the internet. It's a bit of a haven really and I don't feel quite so isolated. Perhaps I'm not dealing with the stark reality outside the door, or maybe i just enjoy the air conditioning. It's really a situation where MOST Ghanians who talk to you in the street are after money from you. As a white person you are seen as a sign of wealth/money more than anywhere I've been.
Kids with the sheets have clearly been told to go up to foreigners and ask for money for their football club (You sign the sheet). The lack of actual shops means that a lot of stuff is just sold on the street, including Ghanian football guernseys (the African Nations Cup has justed started so everyone is keenly into that). The humidity is quite stifling though, but once I finally move north that will change. It will get hotter too, but a dry heat that will be easier to live with.
The (mostly) open sewers run along the side of the roads, also filled with rubbish as rubbish bins seem to be a rarity. Getting off the plane just over a week ago and into a taxi, whilst driving into town i had a beggar come up to me, i also had the same yesterday morning however that's been the only times. Generally the homeless seem to tired to beg.
Myself, with the humidity and lack of eating I feel tired quite a bit, especially today, but at least i can return to my hotel or fly out if i suddenly want to. And yet a great deal of the population are genuiunely friendly too. The tro tros are a bit of fun as well, when taking them around town. (less so over longer distances)
So there's a bit of thoughtfulness if anyone is reading. I know at least three people are thanks for commenting!!!! Still have to decide on Niger... also will TRY to get some photos up before leaving Ghana, if time permits and I can find a good place to do it!!!!