Food!

The food here is absolutely amazing! Fresh mangoes, pineapples, watermelon, soursop, coconuts... Ok I'll stop. It's safe to say that I have been having my fair share of fruits and veggies! I LOVE the red red (it’s basically like beans in a stew like a semi-spicy tomatoes based stew--hence the name) with fried plantain, and kontomire (spinach) stew with bayere (yam)... [I'm gaining fluency in written and spoken Twi by the way ;-) ]. It is great! Overall the food in Ghana/Accra is fantastic I love it!

Cultural point so I don’t get killed. My family here is sooo nice! They took me EVERYWHERE because they didn’t think I knew my way around (the routes are pretty simple :-p, at Legon and the way home). I know how to get around. The other day though, we ran out of eggs at the house and usually make egg sandwiches when I go to the Bank of Ghana, etc. for interviews. There weren’t any left, so I told my cousin, not to worry! I will just buy some food “off the street” aka street venders selling fried yam etc. He gave me blank stare, and then began to chuckle. Wait, you are kidding right?

Me: About what?

Cuzzo: You know there is Typhoid in Ghana right?

Me: Yea! I got the vaccine for it before I came.

Cuzzo: Don’t ever buy food off the street. You don’t how it’s been prepared. Only take food from the house. A good friend of mine, who is rich and everything just died of typhoid this past weekend, not to scare you or anything.

Me: Oh, wow. Right, I will just take some jeloff for tomorrow.