Tradition and modernity – there`s such a great mixture of them here, in Ghana. On one side, they have so many things that some people in Europe wouldn`t think, they have. Especially in the center of Accra, and around the airport there are even skyscrapers, they have a big shopping mall (Accra Mall), which looks just like a European mall, there`s even cinema in it, and everything:
You see? :) Oh right, and number one fact about Accra, that you wouldn`t think: THERE ARE TRAFFIC JAMS!! Like really, you can be on the roads and going by like 10 km/hour because there are so many cars there. Then when you are leaving the center you are also leaving the flat roads with asphalt on it and the few skyscrapers. That`s what I saw like the real Africa: the roads with some holes on it and people walking around with baskets on their head selling their goods.
Then, by African modernity I also mean some very interesting scenes like these: the kitchen staff is making fufu which is a very popular food here (I just tried it today and it`s great! :)) and they use a huge stick (like 2 meter tall) to mix it and in the middle of that a cell phone rings in the window, where there are like 5 other cell phones, too. Or another one: they have a TV with a pretty big screen (at least it`s bigger than ours in Hungary), and a bit fuzzy picture, which sometimes you have to push from the side so that you get a better picture. (I have already watched a few Ghanaian movies anyway, which are pretty much fun. They are a bit like Latin American movies and series: with a lot of drama, and an evil person who wants to kill all the goods – at least this is what I`ve seen so far.) But getting back to African modernity it could be nicely summed in a scene that I just saw the other day. We were sitting in a car, going to the center of Accra. It was a pretty big road and in the background there were some skyscrapers that were just being built. And in front of these skyscrapers a woman was just walking among the cars, with a huge basket on her head, and selling her goods. It would have been such a great picture (I just couldn`t take it), it would so nicely symbolize traditions, while in the background modernity is being built.
You see? :) Oh right, and number one fact about Accra, that you wouldn`t think: THERE ARE TRAFFIC JAMS!! Like really, you can be on the roads and going by like 10 km/hour because there are so many cars there. Then when you are leaving the center you are also leaving the flat roads with asphalt on it and the few skyscrapers. That`s what I saw like the real Africa: the roads with some holes on it and people walking around with baskets on their head selling their goods.
Then, by African modernity I also mean some very interesting scenes like these: the kitchen staff is making fufu which is a very popular food here (I just tried it today and it`s great! :)) and they use a huge stick (like 2 meter tall) to mix it and in the middle of that a cell phone rings in the window, where there are like 5 other cell phones, too. Or another one: they have a TV with a pretty big screen (at least it`s bigger than ours in Hungary), and a bit fuzzy picture, which sometimes you have to push from the side so that you get a better picture. (I have already watched a few Ghanaian movies anyway, which are pretty much fun. They are a bit like Latin American movies and series: with a lot of drama, and an evil person who wants to kill all the goods – at least this is what I`ve seen so far.) But getting back to African modernity it could be nicely summed in a scene that I just saw the other day. We were sitting in a car, going to the center of Accra. It was a pretty big road and in the background there were some skyscrapers that were just being built. And in front of these skyscrapers a woman was just walking among the cars, with a huge basket on her head, and selling her goods. It would have been such a great picture (I just couldn`t take it), it would so nicely symbolize traditions, while in the background modernity is being built.
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