Here I Am!

Today, I went to the beach with one of my roommates, Madison. We then went for lunch in one of our favorite restaurants in Osu, then ice cream, then pineapple (we'd been tempted by pineapple on the beach, but knew where we could get cheaper and better pineapple. Some people have favorite coffee shops - we have favorite pineapple vendors). On our way back, we were approached by a vendor trying to sell us orange mirrors. This caused us to have an entire conversation about things we've seen people selling.

Early on I started listing "interesting things I've seen people carrying on their heads":

• A large trash can
• Portable gas stoves
• Lamps
• Buckets full of fish
• Suitcases (FOUR OF THEM)
• Their purse
• Toilet paper
• Brooms
• A vat of snails

In truth, there are many more things. People usually carry things on their heads. People will also come up to your car and try to sell you things. This is actually a primary form of shopping, and certain streets are just crawling with vendors. One of our friends bought a miniature tro-tro (beat up minibuses that serve as public transportation) figure off someone on the street, and Madison and I both found this a little odd. If, I rationed, I wanted to buy a mini tro-tro, I would probably go searching for it at a craft place, as opposed to thinking, "Oh, maybe I'll come across a mini tro-tro vendor on my drive to Legon." A fried dough ball (BEST), sure. Madison agreed, noting that it makes perfect sense to buy food, phone cards, and other essential items off of people's heads out of the window of your car.

Then I stopped and said, "Wait."

"We have both come to the point where we think that it's perfectly normal to buy food off of people's heads out of our car windows while stuck in traffic."

A month a half in, and ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived.