The phone rang at 7:30am asking what I wanted to drink for breakfast. I went back to sleep. At 8:30 breakfast arrived and I realized that the AC was off...in fact, ALL the electricity was off. I waited for the electricity to go back on, but alas. I fell asleep and woke every hour or so to a hotter and stuffier room. Since the water heater is electric, a shower was no good.
At about 11:30 Zak called; he was shocked that I was still sleeping and I told him that there was no AC so I didn't sleep well...plus, jet lag. Additionally, someone was enjoying morning reefer (that's marijuana) outside my window and I was basically hot-boxing since there was no real ventilation. Well, Zak officially lost his mind with indignant rage because I was so uncomfortable.
He arrived a few minutes later and I was dressed. I met him out on the patio where I was told to pack up my stuff; I was changing hotels. Well, once we had someone let us back in to my room (the keycard automatically resets each day at noon regardless of the reservation--mine was for 16 days), I threw everything back into bags and we shuffled everything down to the taxi.
The new hotel, Mascot Hotel: Experiencing Real Hospitality, was fine and had a pool! Finally, some use for the 8 swim suits I brought. Plus, they run their generator all dey except from noon to 6pm, so I would never have to sleep in hot again. Woohoo!
We dropped everything off and paid for the night (120 GHC - Ghanaian Cedis), which is equivalent to just under $40/night a full $10/night cheaper than the other hotel.
We went to go meet Spero at his office; he is a naturopath by trade. On the way we stopped to talk to this woman who was selling fabric. She was very friendly and asked if I liked fufu. Ummm, no. But she said I had a nice smile and that since I was with Zak she recinded her previous offer to give him her daughter. We brought lots of fabric in our container and are going to take home souveniers of Ghanaian made clothes. She is the woman who will hook us up with a good tailor.
Now, let me just expound upon Spero's medical training; he has NONE. He is very nice and knows a little about anatomy and biology, but realistically tells people to clean out their bodies of "toxins" and eat veggies as a cure for almost ANY ailment. For example, while we were there one of his "assistants" (also, with no medical training) was packaging up a few bottles of concoctions (they looked like green tea) for a patient. Zak asked what it was for and was told that the patient has a stomachache. Zak followed-up with, "so, if she had a headache would she get the sme thing?" Yep!
Spero's clinic is located in the center of one of the large shopping districts. It is convenient for people to stop in, get a "diagnosis" and treatment, and be on their way; fee for service. The entire outfit is cash only, no records, no tax liability, no license.
Zak went to run an errand so I stayed at Spero's office. While I was waiting a woman came in to see Spero. There are clearly no HIPPA laws as I was right there in his office for the entire visit and was eve enquired of my medical opinion regarding the case. Umm, I'm not that kind of doctor. The entire visit was in Twi, which I don't speak, but can understnad a lot of and usually follow a conversation due to sporadic, key English words.
I could tell that this woman wanted another course of treatment for her ailment, but hadn't done what "the doctor" had prescribed initially. Then he asked me if one could fast if they had an ulcer. Ummm, WHAT?!!? Sure, I suppose so. If my stomach hurts, I don't want to put food into it. And since I was fairly certain that there was no science behind the diagnosis, it could have just been a sour stomach or acid reflux, my answer was as reliable as any mother's intuition.
The initial course of treatment was to eat 6 small meals a day, but he wanted her to cleanse her system which required fasting. Relying on my medical training (at least, I am a certified lifeguard and was once a certified EMT), I said, "if a doctor tells you to eat 6 small meals a day, but then asks you to fast for a test or procedure, then that is probably okay." I relied heavily on that "if" and felt okay about it.
I went back to my phone and Spero went on to quote the bible about the Law of the Fast and how if Jesus fasted as a mortal and we are mortal, then we should fast, too. Again, not a lot of science involved. Spero preys on the ignorance of an uneducated people, he treats mostly self-limiting issues with some herbs (a magic solution), and a cost of 100 bucks (which is an enormous amount of money for most of these people).
Zak told me later that the reason Spero asked for my opinion was so that he could tell the patient, "see, even the nice white lady agrees with me," and the patient would be able to tell her family and friends that the doctor AND the white lady said it was okay. Oh, Boy!
I met Zak's youngest brother, Shaibu, while we were there. He lives in Koforidua with his mom and is attending university. He came into Accra to give Zak a debit card for an account he had set up for his Ghanaian dealings. We spoke for approximately 33.7 seconds, but he seemed nice enough. He looked like a younger, thinner version of Zak. We will get to see him, and Zak's mom, this weekend.
Just outside Spero's office is this grand market. Everyone selling fruits, vegetables, water-soaked dried cowhide (they put it in soup and eat it), and all kinds of goods. Women would carry their wares on their heads and their babies/toddlers on their backs. I rarely heard a child cry, and that was only in the hotel when the toddler was clearly tired. Young childrem, maybe as young as 7, also sold goods; many I spoke with indicated that they could not go home until everything was sold. These people really live hand to mouth in the most literal way imaginable.
Spero bought me these things called Tiger Nubs; I have no idea what that means. They are tiny tubers that you chew up, suck out the juice, and spit out. They taste like fresh coconut; I liked them! Their purpose reminded me of American sunflower seeds. You chew on them to pass the time and relax. I also had a FroYo. The yogurt comes in little bags and are frozen. It was quite delicious!
We went to Spero's house for "dinner" (the apostrophes to be explained momentarily). He lives in the West Hills, just west of Accra. It is an up and coming area near the West Hills Mall, the largest mall in all of western Africa including Nigeria. The Ghanaians are quite proud of their accomplishments.
The road to Spero's was like forging through a desert and a jungle. Seriously. He would turn into tall, tall grasses and bushes that went straight up a hill. I thought, "where is he going? Doesn't he know that his late model BMW 323 is not a lifted 4x4?!?" But some how we arrived at his home, muffler and engine still intact, to a brood of very happy kids.
Spero's wife, Raita, was so friendly! She had made dinner for her family; it was a dried fish and giant snail soup with fufu. I cannot express to you how awful it looked and smelled. Zak said that it was delicious....umm, sure it was. As is tradition in Ghana, the men-folk eat first. Once they are done, then the kids and the women eat. I did not partake.
The kids all kept yelling, "Abroni! Abroni!" I didn't know until a few days later that this means, "white person." Apparently, I was a treat to see. Some of the kids had never seen a white person before. I can make any kid's day great by flashing them an Abroni smile and a wave. So cute!
We went to the West Hills Mall to get me some dinner. I was very hungry, but had been promised "Sizzler" so I was holding back on consuming my emergency Clif Bar. Turns out that the Sizzler was really this place called, "New York Sizzler." They supposedly served all sorts of American fare, but when we got there two things collided that would forever change my course.
First, it was the end of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday of fasting. The mall was packed with people eating and dancing. It might be equivalent to a 4th of July parade jubilation. Second, the electricity went out. This is, unfortunately, a fairly common thing in Ghana. There are rolling black outs daily; the only question is which part of the day will have no electricity. With all the craziness, we opted for Pizza Inn. They were out of pepperoni and mushrooms, so I opted for chicken pizza. It was going to take 25 minutes to bake, so we went in to check out some of the stores.
The quality of the stores and the items within the stores was unremarkable, except that the prices were astronomical! For example, a pair of no-name leather flip-flops were $120 and a K-Mart quality polo shirt was $40. Spero wanted to go to a particular store to get some shoes. His request: Payless Shoe Source. I kid you not! The prices were equivalent to US prices, but there was no BOGO promotion, so everything was full price.
Zak, who has been converted to the ways of the Goodwill and very nice, high quality brands, told Spero that he could not stand for $45 to be spent on a pair of fake leather oxfords at Payless. "You could get much nicer shoes at the Goodwill for $6!" I love that guy.
The pizza was "okay," which Zak has learned means "not good" to an American, and he called me on it. He wanted me to eat something that I would enjoy. Frankly, it wasn't very tasty and didn't really remind me of any pizza that I've ever had in the States; Little Caesars would have been more delicious. But I was very hungry and was grateful that I could eat something.
Bring me some tiger nubs. Do you think you could get them through customs??
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