Get used that they will be placed always here:

www.picasaweb.google.com/klepo.ghana

enjoy

PS: try also picasaweb.google.com/klepo.pakistan and picasaweb.google.com/klepo.slovakia

Saturday the 20th of September at 21:00 I have arrived to Accra in Ghana for my one year long internship in Capital Group.

I know I should write about all the culture shocks I had after arrival now… like NOW.

But there is one problem… there is not too many

FINE, I will try to list some interesting stuff:

• people are black – (no rasist comments, all right?), how shocking, isnt it? well what You dont get is the problem that as I am not used to it, I am doing pretty bad in recognizing people and as soon as mostly boys turn around I am lost – all of them have the same hair cut… or rather call it hair shave
• Jesus loves You – again, please hold before making judgments about how I make fun of religion! I dont, its just that I had a lot of smiles after seeing quotations from the Bible on the most random places… e.g. “No Jesus, No Live” on a pencil with Ghana flag, “Gods time – best time” on a van, “Jesus loves You” on a box with snacks (looked like samosas) balanced on the head of a girl walking the street, a shop called “Jesus’ love beauty saloon” and LOTS of other like this. Its just fun to see such messages on the most random places
• food is kinky – a Ghana pun Kinkey (or something like that) is a … something, try reading about it here, but You will not get it. Its not even possible to describe how it tastes like, its something between a burned oak meal and something else First encounter was not that positive, but looks like it was just badly made (and with pure chew-meat), with fish and spicy sauce it tastes pretty good.
• looks like holidays – You know there is something about living in a personal mini-flat with white walls, fan and palm trees, birds and some-strange-bugs making car-alarm-like-sounds outside and easy to bare summer temperature that makes me feel like its holidays still… lets see when full workload comes
• paint is good – all shops from smallest to biggest have hand painted pictures/billboards on them, even a shop that sells “large scale digital prints” had its banner hand painted. Most of the pictures portrait people, peoples faces, mickey mouse or the product… Some of them are pretty bad and it looks like a poster of new Resident Evil but its surely fun and grabs attention (which is the purpose I guess)
• they said English – people on streets are mostly supposed to speak English, I guess they are, in a way… its a mix of local languages and English with a result that I feel that it was easier in Pakistan where a guy knew 20 English words but I understood what he means easier At least the guys in office speak a classical English but whats on the street is a linguistic riddle for me…
• forget about “cheap country” – hello no! prices are rather high. 1 Ghana Cedi is like 1 USD. At least the street-food-sellers still calculate in old Cedis (1 new = 10000 old) thus they sell for reasonable prices and make it sound like an expenditure and not tip

Its pretty fine till now, the interns from different companies live in separate houses that are some distance away from each other, so I have not met anybody else yet, but I have been told that Sundays are going-out times. So lets see how will be next weekend. Till than let me check out the work and early go-to-sleeps (sun sets at 6 pm!).

I didnt take nearly any pictures (I came at night and didnt see much till now) but as soon as I have some fun stuff I will post it, ok?

For now, good night!

I am going to Ghana soon, to work for one year in Capital Group – an HR agency in Accra, the capital, to work on this TN.

I still dont know when I am leaving, only one thing is for sure – soon. The company would like me to come in less than a month… Lets see if I can manage.

Looks like I should speed up with my “Slovakia travel” plans