Warning-May Be Too Graphic for Some!

I was thinking the other day, as I was walking down the streets of Accra, about how when I first arrived in Ghana the new things I saw daily shocked me but now that it's been a few weeks, I rarely notice things out of "my" ordinary.

So, I'll get the graphic stuff out of the way so that Mom and Megan can enjoy the rest of the post. :)


The smells (Megan, I have most definitely found the WORST smell in the entire world!!!)  Just think of any and all of the smells that have made you gag and then combine them into one area but you have to make sure the wind is blowing in your direction to gain the full effect!!!  Even the guy I was with gagged when we crossed this bridge and he's from Accra!

In third world countries, toilets are almost a luxury.  So, when you don't have the luxuries, what do you do?  You use the street as your toilet.  It doesn't matter if you are male or female, if you have to go #1 or #2, if you're young or old, you use the street as if it is your own private bathroom.  When I first arrived in Accra, I always had to take a double look because I thought for sure that I didn't just see a
nicely dressed woman drop her drawers on the side of the street.  Now, I don't even think twice about it.  However, when it does register into my mind what I just witnessed, I get a little grossed out.  More-so than that, I try not to look into the gutters if I don't have to.  Otherwise, the gag reflexes are in full force!

 Which leads me to my next item; all of the rubbish everywhere!  I can't say that I don't notice it ever because I actually do when I see someone just throw their trash to the ground.  If I pass by trash that has already been tossed then it doesn't phase me but when I see it tossed, I get so sad.  We are trying to teach the children at school that God gave us this beautiful world so we need to respect it.  The only problem with that, the teachers need to lead by example....hmmmm.  In America, there are trash cans everywhere but here, I am lucky to find even one on the public streets.  As if the gutters aren't gross enough, there are chickens and goats eating out of them.  Ghanaians love chicken!!!!  Where do they get the chicken they eat?  I have yet to be okay with eating chicken here.









However, they do have a KFC!

The bugs-they are everywhere!  I don't even check my plate anymore or the table where I set my drink because it's a given that there will be tiny little creatures crawling around.

Using the street as your tissue...I don't need to describe what I'm talking about other than two words-Farmer Blow!  Men and women!  In addition to that, they burn their rubbish here so there's always a smell of burning trash no matter where you are.  This causes a lot of chest congestion so most will dispose of whatever is caught within them whenever or where ever they are....fun.

Men (I haven't seen any women yet do this) bathe themselves using the gutter and then air drying.  Yep, he's hanging completely loose!  However, these men are still very much living a Tribal life while trying to survive in the city.  Only ignorant people, such as myself, who haven't witnessed this in the past are surprised by a naked old guy leaning up against the fence.

Here are a couple more pictures of the body of something that has the most wonderful smell protruding from it...just in case the first couple of pictures didn't paint the picture for you.

Trust and believe me, this post is just for fun.  There are so many things I experience here that I hope never to grow tired of.  I will list some of them in a later post because they deserve a post all of their own.