Back to Accra

Tomorrow we head back to Accra. That way, we'll be ready for Embassy visits on Monday and/or Tuesday. We will post some photos from Accra, so you can see the stark contrast between the relatively sleepy fishing town where we're staying and the capitol. Much of Accra is what we would consider slums (think of the townships in Johannesberg, South Africa). We haven't taken many photos there because it feels a little bit voyeuristic ("Hey, look at those incredibly poor people, let's take a picture!). You know? Although we've spent most of our five weeks in Accra, our photos are primarily of our happy little "vacation" spot in Elmina. So, it's back to the craziness and traffic for us.

This is not funny, but it's definitely telling. When we passed the Liberian refugee camp that is several miles out of town, you couldn't tell the difference between the refugee camp and the rest of Accra, except for the Liberian flag flying overhead.

We spent our afternoon having a couple beers with Percy. Here's a story he told us (about staying out of other people's business). Once there was a tiny robin. The robin owed the lion some money and everyday the lion came to the robin and asked for his money. Everyday, the robin told the lion, "But I am so small, when I grow bigger I will pay you." The antelope watched the lion going to the robin each day, and one day he asked the lion what he was doing. The lion told the antelope that the robin owed him money, but that he couldn't pay him until he grew bigger.

Important note: this story takes place in the "olden days" when lions did not eat antelopes because they were scared of the red insides of their mouths, which they believed were made of fire.

So, one day the antelope pulled the lion aside and told him he had something important to tell him. "The robin may be small, but he is fully grown. Go look at the robin's mother and grandmother, and you will see that he has been lying to you." So, the lion found the robin and was furious when he realized he had been lying. The lion decided to eat the robin, but the robin argued in his own defense. "Lion, there is no meat on my bones, but I have something to tell you." "The antelope has a lot of meat, and the inside of his mouth is not made of fire. In fact, it is the most delicious part of the antelope." So, as you may have guessed by now, the lion ate that antelope, starting a delicious trend.