A Day in the Life at 5.6° N 0.0° E

A very brief Social Studies lesson: Tema, Ghana is the nearest city to the geographical position of 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude. While not exactly at the crossroads of the Earth, as proclaimed on some billboards (it is actually 5.6° N 0.0° E ) it is, nonetheless, a bustling and vibrant place. Tema began as a small fishing village, and grew expotentially largely thanks to the vision of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who foresaw a great port and industrial town, and arranged for the city to be designed in such a way that the workers would have their own homes and communities and shops within which to live, work, play and worship. Most homes are bungalow styled, with alley ways separating the smaller streets. Currently, there are 25 Communities in Tema; we live in Community 8 and are building our new home adjacent to Community 25.

But I don't want to talk about leaving my house today to explore Tema. I want to tell you what it's like right from our little bungalow, here in Community 8. Right along side our home is a smallish alley way, not intended for vehicular traffic but rather for pedestrians. Now, most homes, even if they have a yard, are surrounded by high walls. There are very few homes that have picket fences. If your hearing is poor, you will have missed out on a lot.

Our day starts very early, usually by 5:00 a.m. By 5:30, we hear the call to prayer from a local mosque, situated in a house about a block away, the prayers and songs continue until about 6:00. Shortly after this, the parade begins. The first calls of "tea bread" are heard, and there are several ladies who pass within feet of our window, offering bread and butter for sale, carried in a large flat box which is covered by cloth to keep away the flies. This, like most things, is carried on the head. The trays are usually so unwieldy, that the seller needs help to remove it, and to put it back up. Tea bread is a very soft doughy bread, slightly sweet, that the kids like to dip. At about 60 cents for a large baguette shaped loaf, it is quite a bargain.

A little while later, you will hear the rat-a-tat-tat of the shoe shine boys, who carry their wooden boxes over their shoulders, and alert you to their presence with a rhythmic drumming, which they do in time with their footsteps. They are loud enough and pass by frequently enough, that even if you miss one, another is sure to be on his way past with very little wait. They can glue a loose sole, sell you new laces, restitch a purse, even fix a pair of flip flops. Prices are negotiable, but very very reasonable.

Later in the morning, the vegetable ladies will pass. They sell tomatoes, onions, garlic, okra (okro), carrots, spinach (kontomire), yams, plantains, mangoes, papaya (pawpaw) and some other things I don't even recognize. There have been many lunch hours when I thought how nice a red onion and sliced tomato would be with my tuna sandwich, and before long, I hear the longed-for words, "tomatoes... onions." Of course, in the local language, which is (phonetically) amoaah and gyeene.

"Oh darn, I can't believe I ripped the hem on this dress. I did so want to wear it today." Has that ever happened to you? Not to worry. Just listen for the clink of the shears that the traveling tailor carries, as well as the old fashioned black Singer pedal sewing machine. Yes. Carried on his head.

Imagine, it is late afternoon. It's hot, you're sweaty from hanging out your clothes on the line. What could be better than a nice cold ice cream. Wait! What's that you hear. An old fashioned bulb type bicycle horn? It's the Fan Ice guy with his portable icee chest atached to a bike! Yep! Ice Cream and frozen yogurt, and sometimes little cakes or spring rolls. Yummy! I always get the Fan Choco, which tastes like chocolate ice milk; the kids opt for Fan Yogo, which is strawberry flavored. I try to steer the kids away from Fan Ice which is supposed to be vanilla ice cream, but I have some major reservation about what the HELL could be in anything that won't freeze! Hmmmm?

Hungry for a nice piece of juicy sweet pineapple. "Es pine-up!!" is what you've got to listen for. These young men sell their fruit from a wheelbarrow, and for about 60 cents each, he will cut it and slice it for you, and put it into a little baggie. Delicious!

Maybe you've got too many glass jars in the house, because the mustard, mayo and ketchup all finished at the same time. Ghana does not have official "recycling" so I'm loathe to just toss them into the trash. Again, all you have to do is listen. You all know the sound of glass when it's struck by something, it makes you wince, doesn't it? Well, there are some very industrious young men who walk through the neighborhood, who gently clink their glass jars together to alert you to their presence. They will actually buy the empty glass bottles and jars from you (though I just give them freely, and ignore the strange look they give me for doing so), and then resell them in a secondary market.

Growing up, one of our favorite "crude" songs that we kids liked to sing went like this, "Stranded. Stranded on a toilet bowl. What do you do if you're stranded, and you have to go? Just to prove you're a man you must wipe it with your hand. Stranded. Stranded on a toilet bowl." I know you know it. Well, that doesn't have to happen here. "T-Roll" is the cry, and the rolls are sold, either individually or by the 10-roll bag. Of course, I'd like to think that one wouldn't really wait til the last minute for this particular item, but if you know you're running low, it's nice to know it will make it's way around to you.

The tinkle of a small hand held bell heralds the arrival of the ladies who sell used clothing. Most of the clothes is carried in a bowl on her head, but she typically carries a few of her "better quality" clothes from a hanger. These women never took Marketing 101, but they're savvy enough to know you've got to put your best stuff in the window. And some of the ladies specialize! It's not unusual to see a woman who appears to be wearing several bras like a veil, since they are draped over the bowl and the cups cover her face as she walks.

The shear variety of items sold by street sellers in my neighborhood is simply amazing. While not all make pronouncements as to what they are selling, if you could sit and watch the parade pass you by, no doubt, you will have enjoyed the show. Among the things you can buy, right outside your own gate, are watch batteries and costume jewelry, shower sponges, wooden matches, coconuts, musical instruments, sandals, light bulbs, baskets, dish soap, wax print material, packaged cookies, wooden student desks, chickens (live ones), boxes of tissues, clothes lines and curtain rods, sanitary pads and diapers, CDs and DVDs (pirated, of course), bibles, school notebooks, socks, crates of fresh eggs, bed spreads... you get the picture. And you can buy a picture, today, just as soon as Alex and I walked out of the gate to go to the store (for her penny candy, no less, one of the few things NOT sold by local hawkers) a seller passed by carrying weeping Jesus framed prints.

Not everything passes by on a given day, some days it's relatively quiet and you'll only get the Fan Ice guy. But one thing is certain about living in Tema, good things come to those who wait.