The Flight and Arrival

On the flight from DC to Accra, I had the pleasure of sitting next to an older Ghanaian man named Sam. He is an engineer in Texas and goes to Ghana for about half of the year. He was telling me about the dynamics of life in Ghana. It was interesting to get his perspective on politics and finances. He said that, in his opinion, Ghana lacks a middle class. When you are driving along, it is not uncommon to see lovely houses juxtaposed with the homelessness and shambles that some people are forced to live in. Additionally, he was complaining about the view many people have of Africa as a continent of corruption. He pointed out that corruption takes place on both ends of the act, the giving and the receiving. While it is true that in some countries the politicians receive bribes for awarding certain contracts, that is not any different than lobbying in the United States. The difference lies in the institution that was set up to exploit these countries of their natural resources. Since the colonization of Africa, the transactions were set up so that the western world would win. Today, the “winning” comes in the form of organizations that on the outside appear to be helping the situation, when they are really just perpetuating the problem of the system. His take on this and the development of Ghana was very interesting to hear. After landing, I had to navigate my way through the airport. It was more intimidating than I anticipated. Luggage claim took forever. Eventually I got out and found Eric with my picture. I also met my roommate for the next month, a Yale MPH student. We drove from Accra to Kasoa and stopped for lunch along the way. There are points along the road that remind me of the US. The highway we drove on was actually named after Former President Bush. At other points, it is hard to process all that is occurring. At every stopping point, people are trying to sell you stuff. So far, everyone has been friendly and welcoming. I start real work tomorrow.