Accra Quest

On the 3rd day in country we went on a little thing called Accra Quest. Basically everyone is divided into groups of two or three. Each group is given four or five objectives to complete in Accra before returning back to Valley View. We had six hours to complete this, and yes, it took us the entire time and then some. From Valley View to Accra it can't be more than 15 miles. HOWEVER, in Ghana, things tend to move a little slower.

First we had to wave down a tro tro, or tro (Tros or taxis are the main form of transportation in Ghana).  This was a task all on its own. The moment we got to the road a passing driver yells out "Are you rich?" As an American, everyone here thinks we are wealthy, but as a PC Trainee, this made us laugh. Since we make very little... equivelent to about $4.00/day.

Anyway, the tro driver never stops. He has the Mate do all the talking for him.  So here we are, three white girls (or better yet, three "Obrunis") chasing down a troasking for it to take us to the next town. When we finally got on one, it was packed tight. Every seat is filled and they are still taking more. What woul normally hold about 13 people in a standard church van in the states, holds about 30 people in Ghana. But the fair was cheap so we didn't complain. Next we got dropped off a the tro station in a busy market area.  It is pure Chaos! People are everywhere with buckets/baskets on their head. They sell everything from bananas, maps, to candy. You name it, they have it! At one point I even saw a girl carring a desk and chair on her head, going to school. Ha they love school that much!

We couldn't understand anyone and had never been to a tro station before. We were utterly lost.  Luckily the Mates on each bus knew exactly where we needed to go and literally pulled us to the correct tro. Ghanaians are so helpful! After an hour we finally reached Accra. Our tasks were very simple and took about 2 hours...a lot easier than we expected. But apparently nothing that easy comes free. The next tro we took dropped us off in the middle of another random market...not even at the correct station. We had no clue where we were AGAIN or how to get home. We asked many people but got different answers every time. SO FRUSTRATING! We spent the next 1.5 hours on the same street trying to figure out what to do next.

After all that time, we came to find out that there were two tro stations in town, an old, and a new...hence all the confusion.  By this time we were sweaty, tired, sunburned and covered in dust. By the time we finally found a tro to take us to campus we were exhausted and filthy. As we rolled into Valley View we noticed we were not the only ones that had such a rough time.

One group had a tro break down on the way to Accra (when vehicles brek down here they are stuck on the side of the road until someone can get out there to fix them). Another group had their tro rear end another vehicle on the way back to campus.  All in all Accra Quest was a great learning experience. But we have since heard that what we saw that day happens on a regular basis in Ghana, so be prepared to head more stories related to bad driving!