Halloween in Tamale

We worked our Peace Corps contacts and landed an invite to their annual Halloween party in Tamale, the largest city in the northern part of Ghana. Tamale is about two hours south of Navrongo, so it was well worth the effort on our part to travel down for the party. We also were excited to have our first tro-tro experience.

Tros aren’t exactly public transportation, since they’re not state-regulated and you barter a price, but they’re not exactly private either, as they run between established and extensive tro stations. I guess tros are analogous to busses... only in the type of disrepair you only see in junk yards in the States. They’re the size of your typical 12-person Georgetown vans, although the interior is ripped out and refitted to fit over 30 people (we counted 35, but some of those were babies). It’s not uncommon to see tros were the doors need to be tied shut with rope, or where doors are missing entirely. And it’s almost a given that there will be animals. The roof of our tro to Tamale was packed with chickens, who squawked most unhappily when we hit a bumpy patch in the road. However, we only paid 5 cedi for the entire trip, which is a pretty good deal.

Tamale, the “NGO Capital of Ghana,” is rumored to be the fastest-growing city in all of West Africa. There are a lot of foreigners and investment, but this also means that the crime rate has gotten really bad, especially targeted attacks against foreigners. However, it’s a fun city and we had a great time. Besides meeting up with the Peace Corps kids, we met another of Ceci’s cousins who attends medical school there. She took us out for great Chinese food, and showed us around the city a little before we left on Sunday, and we were disappointed to have so little time to explore. Never fear, though, we’re headed back this weekend and will hopefully get to see more this time around!

In Tamale, we also had our first brush with Ghanaian homophobia when Mary and I were, somehow, accused of being lesbians. Despite its reputation as a progressive African nation, Ghanaians in general are very conservatively religious, either Muslim or Christian. Nationwide, homosexuality is illegal and completely unrecognized. “That doesn’t happen in Ghana” is a frequent explanation. The subject has become particularly sensitive in this past year, as several prominent politicians (especially in the North, away from the Western influence of Accra) have called for gays to be rounded up and arrested and have asked neighbors to “report” on suspected homosexual behavior. There’s been huge backlash to Britain’s statement that it will cut off aid to countries who do not recognize gay rights: Ghana’s president just this past week publicly vowed to never legalize homosexuality in Ghana. Unofficially, Peace Corps members are working to support the underground gay rights movement, but it’s clear that Ghana is really far away from equal rights.

All in all, it was a really fun weekend away from Navrongo. Because of all the crime, I didn’t bring my camera (this seems to imply that I value my iPhone over my life, and I’m not really sure what to say to that), so I don’t have pictures. However, if you picture me in whiskers standing in front of a mosque, that just about sums it up.

Hospital update: Was called in at 6 this morning to observe a C-section. Gross and fascinating. Not posting details to preserve Kilbride's fragile sanity.