Sea Urchin Hunters

These hunters are not diving into the sea for the sea urchins, a delicacy but rarely consumed by the locals. They are standing and bending over near the water level to quickly uproot the prickly creatures using a 6 inch iron stick with a hook in the top.

The waves from the Gulf of Guinea are strong and sometimes exceed the hunters height, as they were focusing on locating their "crops", they also had to make sure not being sucked away by the strong current. Another peril is the sea urchins themselves, as they can sting and make human skin itchy and hurt.

Coastal Erosion in Ghana

Yesterday I witnessed the first hand coastal erosion in Till's No.1 beach, a popular beach front getaway located 1.5 hour driving from Accra. The rocky formation is relatively new, as the last time I was there, around two month ago, the section was still sandy. However, possibly due largely to the prolonged rain season of this year, the sandy section has now become more of a rocky coastline.

According to Wikipedia, "On non-rocky coasts, coastal erosion results in dramatic rock formations in areas where the coastline contains rock layers or fracture zones with varying resistance to erosion."

Ghanaians working for Chinese

Yesterday was Friday, and I went to the Chinese Embassy in town to get a document done. While some embassies have already closed down shops around 12:30PM, the consular section at the Chinese Embassy opens until 5pm on every Friday. Their hours opening to the public are Monday, Wed and Friday, three hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening.

Entering the waiting area, two young Ghanaian ladies were manning the two windows, one on the left is for document submission, on the right is payment and collection. There were three people in total in the whole waiting room: two customers stood at the left. Was it due to the fact of Friday afternoon close to five or that less Ghanaian interests in going to China?

While since there are actually no seats available, so I flipped through a local Chinese language papers while on my feet. My turn came, and I walked up to the window and turned in my document. However, besides the files they listed on the website, the lady asked for additional documents, such as identification for my relatives, invitation letters. The obtaining of the documents will require substantial back and forth communications. I determined to present my case, remembering well it's a Chinese run facility and even she is a Ghanaian, after all, she is working for the Chinese.

After much explanation, and after she had to go back to her Chinese boss to explain my case, finally, the lady asked me to write a letter in Chinese, instead of the document. Something like an application but with all the information on where and how long for my stay, who I see and their address and contact information.

I then was told to pay a fee for the document, which is higher than the fee charged for the same document in Washington, USA. When I inquired about the extreme of the fee, given the income condition in the country as Ghana, the lady said, they charge more for people to go to the U.S. I have yet heard the reasoning. China is now the It place to visit, even for Ghanaians?

Then I realized that next Friday will be Dec. 24th, the Christmas Eve and here is very religious, 75% of population are Christians. Yes, I was told that the two ladies will be here and the office will be open, just as another Friday workday.

Wow, when did the Ghanaian working for the Chinese become so much more like Chinese, workaholic and effectively intense?

Gomoa Oguaa, Ghana Central Region

During the week of Nov. 20, a group of us set foot in Gomoa Oguaa, a town located in the Ghana's Central Region. The people entertained us as much as our presence entertained them. Kids were excited, following us around. The locals not only told us their folk stories, but accompanied them with songs and dance. The following video clip captured the scene.