Friday January 15 Ghana

Today, Jim woke me early. Seems his biological clock is already on a Ghanaian time. For me it was 3:30 AM., toooo early!  After  breakfast,  we caught a cab into the centre of the old town and the State building. The head office for tourism was supposed to be behind the State building. The security police had a long animated chat about where the tourism office was. Eventually two of them drove us there. Definitely the tourism office doesn't often get a tourist. One brochure from 2012 was  marked do not take. Then Jim and  walked to the national museum. It doesn't really operate either. So we each had a beer in the museums shady restaurant. Then we walked to the museum of science and technology. We paid our 10 CDs and a guide showed us a phonograph, a television, a film projector, none of which were made in Ghana. We also saw the first tire made in Ghana in 1967 and a small stone from the moon.  Then more walking in huge heat and we finally found the Ghanaian cultural centre. We found that it also does not operate  but there were a zillion stalls selling drums, paintings, carving. Everyone was disappointed as I refused to buy anything and have to lug it for the next two month. I did get a great drumming lesson and stuff got cheaper and cheaper as I balked at paying 200 CDs for a tiny painting that  I didn't like. Finally I gave Isaac five CDs for the drumming lesson and escaped and found Jim. We did have a good lunch and more beer in the cultural restaurant. Then we started walking again. We could see the water behind a huge garbage dump and Jim asked me if I  wanted to go down the alley to see it. Of course I did. In the alley was a large group of partying people, mostly women, dressed in their finest, drinking beer. A woman  asked us to join them. So of course we did. It was a wake for their "uncle" Daniel, aged 57 a beloved business man. I gave Joyce (her Christian name, African name is something like jobaha) the necklace of Danica's that I was wearing and drew her picture for her. Just even seeing the food and how it was eaten was interesting First of all soap and water for hand washing. Then everyone got a bowl of veggies or fish and another ball of some doughy stuff. With the fingers the doughy stuff is picked up and then it is pitched around some of the fish or veggies. The casket went paraded by and we allied cheered Daniel. A day that started off sort of dismal, ended up being wonderful. I am left wondering how you raise a nation to be truly friendly instead of afraid of strangers.