I have a pretty sweet collection of foreign currency. It’s one of the things I especially love about traveling– seeing the colorful cash and coinage in each place I visit. In Ghana, the money here is called the Cedi (pronounced like “CD”), and one US Dollar is equivalent to 1.5 of them, which makes it a fairly strong currency as far as African nations go.
What do things cost in Ghana? That depends on how you want to live- like a local or a foreigner. My apartment in Accra has running water, electricity, a small kitchenette, and the Internet, so I’m living large here even if it’s a noticeable shift from my life in San Francisco.
Many people in Ghana lack indoor plumbing, and that has significant implications. Water must be collected daily from a well and transported over considerable distances using plastic jugs or metal pots just so that people can cook food and and clean up every day. Laundry? It's typically done outdoors in a creek. Brushing teeth? Also outside. Showers? Outdoors, often involving a bucket, a ladle, and a makeshift structure.
As for toilets, having one is a luxury for most, and I wish more people back home could be aware of how fortunate they are. There's a drainage ditch that runs alongside of the streets here that often gets used as a bathroom. I assure you it’s nobody’s first choice, and it obviously contributes to poor sanitation and waterborne illnesses, so that is a whole other story that I invite you to read up on separately. But often I imagine just the lack of privacy and human decency that billions of people on our planet have to endure, and that also makes my heart hurt.
But onto happier topics please, because there are many of those to share with you! One of my favorite marvels to witness while traveling is seeing the incredible ability for humans to balance massive items on their heads! People often carry cargo on their crown without using hands, and can move their heads to survey traffic while walking accross the street. It’s just amazing!
Most locals in Ghana buy their food and household items from one of two places: A roadside market or from the top of a human being.Luggage? Metal dustpans? Couch cushions? These items can readily be purchased from someone’s head. Bread? Produce? Likely sold from the head. Eggs? If they are raw, you will find them along the roadside, but if they are already cooked, they’re on someone’s head. Brooms? Mops? Along the roadside. Donuts? Toiletries? Clothes? Somebody’s head. Only suckers like me shop in a supermarket.
There are three major supermarkets in Accra, but you have to have more money than I do to shop there. A faded box of Frosted Flakes cereal will set you back about $12. A bottle of Listerine mouthwash? $20. And, I can’t remember what I paid for some Oreos once, but it wasn’t pretty.
Each day, I buy a mango from a lady’s head. She makes house calls to my office, just for me. Not only does she sell me a mango for a great price, but she expertly slices off its skin with a machete, cuts it into bite-sized chunks, and gives me a stick to eat it with! They are hands down the best mangoes I’ve ever eaten, and I’m not even exaggerating about that.
My co-workers love to ask me questions about my life back home in California, and I adore the things they ask me. "Lauren… do you know how to cook with firewood??? Lauren… have you ever killed a chicken???"
One day at work, my three co-workers and I were discussing money, and I mentioned my collection of foreign currency. They were interested, and even disappointed that I hadn't brought any along for them to see. Remembering right then that I randomly had 75 cents of American coins in my briefcase, I reached in and handed each of them a shiny, silver quarter. They examined it with a tremendous sense of awe, rolling their fingers along the serrated edge, and reading its impressive engraving, saying "Wow" a lot.
"How much does this buy?" Elsie asked enthusiastically. "Does it buy a Coca-Cola??"
"No," I answered. "Actually, it doesn't."
"Oh. How about an apple?" she inquired.
"Hmm… No, not so much," I replied.
Confused, she asked, "What about a candy bar?"
"No," I explained. "Definitely not a candy bar, though you might be able to find a small piece of candy for a quarter."
Her smile quickly turned to disinterest as she looked at the shiny quarter with dulled enthusiasm. "Oh. Well then what do I want this for?" she wondered out loud. I laughed, having been reminded that out of all the currencies and coins in the world, mine is actually one of the least exciting to look at.