Tyzdne 4-7

Co noveho v Ghane – tyzdne 4-7

Mili priatelia! Tadaaa, opat sa hlasim z dalekej Afriky s infoskami co noveho :)

KDE A AKO BYVAM
- byvam hned vedla prace, ten isty pozemok
- moj “domov” je maly podlhovasty domcek s piatimi miestnostami s oddelenymi vchodmi: kupelna s WC, 3 izby pre nas stazistky a kuchyna
- vdaka tomu, ze byvam hned vedla prace, staci mi vstavat rano “neskoro” – to znamena okolo 7 – 7,30, ostatni kolegovia Ghancania vstavaju strasne skoro kazde rano, kvoli zapcham na cestach im to trva aspon hodinu, dve kym sa sem konecne dostanu
- momentalne su obsadene iba 2 izby z troch, byvame tam dve stazistky – ja & Anna z nemecka, Ioana z Rumunska skoncila staz pred tyzdnom a uz je znova doma
- okolie je velmi pekne, mame travnik a par metrov od nasho domu je letny altanok so stolom a stolickami. Palmove stromy vsade naokolo su uz pre mna samozrejmost, vdaka obdobiu dazdov je vsetko krasne zelene, skoro ako u nas doma
- pre firmu pracuju dve upratovacky – umyju a pozametaju firmu aj nas dom kazde rano (a rano pre Ghancanov znamena o piatej!! Ich hlasne rozhovory priamo pod nasimi oknami ma vacsinou rano prebudzaju, Gifty a Matilda su ale velmi priatelske a mile). Umyvaju tiez vsetky riady a nase oblecenie – vo vacsine ghanskych domacnosti pracku nenajdete. Podla mnohych Ghancanov je rucne pranie ovela lepsie ako to v elektrickej pracke
- mame troch soferov, ktori pracuju pre firmu a su k dispozicii nam zamestnancom s dvoma autami pocas celej pracovnej doby (od 8 do 17)
- nemame vysavac (tiez zriedkakedy najdete v ghanskych domacnostiach) a teda som nutena moj koberec v izbe “vysavat” kratkou ghanskou metlou z prutia
- zabudnite v Ghane na teplu vodu.. Odkedy som prisla sprchujem sa v takej aku mame ako jedinu – a ta je studena. Vacsinou sme ale radi ze mame aspon studenu, lebo velakrat voda nejde, z nejakeho dovodu ju vypinaju a potom znova - za par hodin alebo niekedy dni - zapnu
- v nasich izbach nie su sklenene okna. Okna su potiahnute iba sietkou proti komarom a zvonka su zelezne mreze a drevene okenice
- moja izba ma dve miestnosti: malu verandu kde mam chladnicku a stol na potraviny a druha miestnost, kde byvam. Mam svoj koberec, siroku postel (ale zato kratku.. :(, jedno kreslo, stol a TV s dvoma kanalmi. Na oblecenie pouzivam kufor s ktorym so pricestovala a zlomeny dreceny vesiak kde sa snazim povesat vacsinu oblecenia na plastove vesiaky
- v kuchyni mame plynovy sporak, takze si mozeme varit (ak zrovna je nejaky plyn v plynovej bombe..), stol, 3 stolicky a celkom v pohode kuchynske nacinie (aj ked vacsina hrncov je aluminiovych)
- zvonka je pozemok firmy obohnany murmi s dvoma vchodovymi branami, ktore sa zatvaraju velkymi zeleznymi pakami zvnutra. Mame dvoch “security” strazcov, je uplne normalne mat sekuritakov tu v Ghane, ma ich vacsina firiem aj sukromnych domov. Ak chce auto vojst do domu, trubia na sekuritakov zvonka, ti im pridu otvorit a zase za nimi zavru. Na taketo vytrubovania z celej ulice si zvyknete a po nejakom case ich prestanete vnimat. Sekuritaci prichadzaju okolo 5 pooobede a zostanu vonku pri brane celu noc az do rana, vacsinu casu prespia, na stolicke alebo na zemi pri vchode

KORENIA
- Ghancania su jednoducho zblazneni do stiplavej papriky (v anglictine pepper, vyslovuju to “PEPA”). Bez papriky sa proste neda varit, jest, prezit! Pridavaju ju do vsetkeho, vratane sladkej ovsenej kase. Ghancania zboznuju stiplave jedla – a ked im nieco chuti, povedia ze je to “sweet” (sladke) – napriklad: “Vyskusaj toto, je to taaake sladke!”

KEBAB
- Ghancania zboznuju maso! Kebab je jedno z ich oblubenych jedal. Velakrat najdete kebab pripravovany v podnikoch, kde ho jedia ako my cipsy. Kebab to su grilovane kusky masa (vacsinou kozieho) na palicke, niekedy na striedacku s cibulou a paprikou no a samozrejme to obaluju na kila v ich stiplavej paprike - “spicy pepa” :)

MASO
- najcastejsie najdete tieto druhy masa: ryby, kura, kozie maso, hovadzie a parky/klobasky. Zvieracie koze su tu povazovane za absolutnu lahodku a preto ich najdete plavat v takmer vsetkych omackach. Africanom to naozaj chuti!

DROGY, ALKOHOL, CIGARETY
- naozaj pramalo Ghancanov fajci alebo pije, maximalne si daju prilezitostne pivo, z drog som pocula iba o marihuane, ze vraj sa k nej da lahko dostat ak ma niekto zaujem

GHANSKA FAUNA
- Sliepky, kohuty, kuriatka – su uuuuuplne vsade! Doslova vsade! Pobehuju si len tak po uliciach, po vsetkych pozemkoch, dvoroch domov, dokonca ich najdete pobehovat v niektorych obchodoch a takmer vzdy sa vam motaju niekde pod nohami. Vcera sme s Annou videli sliepku s kuriatkami priamo v kanali pri ceste!
- Kozie stada – par kusov alebo naozaj velke, uplne vsade!
- Komare – sietka proti komarom nad mojou postelou, to sa stalo mojou kazdodennou rutinou – vecer pozastrkovat okolo celej postele a potom rano zase poskladat a prehodit dohora. Podla statistiky vas musi postipat 500 komarov kym natrafite na toho, co prenasa malariu. Tak v priemere ma postipe 5 komarov denne. Komare vacsinou stipu za usvitu a ked sa stmieva, takze vtedy sa snazime byt pod mosketeriou, alebo aspon na seba nakydat kopec repelentu. Pre Ghanacanov je malaria uplna samozrejmost a normalne ochorenie, mozno ako pre nas nachladnutie. Ked ma clovek peniaze na to, aby si kupil lieky ked malariu dostane, vacsina foriem malarie sa da lahko vyliecit. O par dni ste zase zdravi.
- Vtaky – su obrovskeee (ako nas orol a este ovela vacsie), poletuju kade tade po nasej zahrade, nad ulicami. Je tu mnozstvo takych druhov, ktore som v zivote predtym nevidela. Niektore su aj trochu strasidelne, ked tak rozprestru kridla az s rozpatim jeden meter..
- Zaby – teraz v obdobi dazdov mame v okoli domov vela ziab. Volam ich megazaby, nie kvoli tomu ze by boli take obrovske, ale ked zacnu kvakat (vzdy vecer a potom celu noc), znie to ako z megafonu. Nechapem ako mozu byt take male a take hlucne…
- Jasterice – najdete tu mnozstvo jasterickiek. Tiez jeden specialny druh zvieratka podobneho jastericiam, volaju ho wall dzeko (alebo tak nejako), tieto zvieratka ktore vyzeraju ako jasterice si lozia po stenach a dokonca aj dole hlavou po stropoch
- Moja prva opica – videla som prvu naozajstnu opicu (no teda okrem tych v klietkach v ZOO). Ta opica proste len tak sedela na pleci chlapikovi co isiel po ulici. Jej dlhy chvost sa jej hompalal na jeho chrbte :) Pocula som ze v Ghane su miesta, dediny kde zije mnozstvo divych opic priamo s ludmi. Dufam ze ked budem cestovat tak na nejake natrafime! :)

OKNA
- Ghanske okna su zlozene z horizontalnych sklenenych tabiel, ktore ak chcete otvorit tak treba posunut packu, ktora tieto sklenene tably vyklapa az do horizontalnej polohy- na zabezpecenie domov vacsina okien ma zvonka zelezne mreze (velmi podobne ake som videla aj v Tunisku)

PIDGIN ENGLISH (alebo tiez zlomena anglictina)
- velmi popularna najma medzi studentami na vysokych skolach. Naozaj to znie ako “zlomena anglictina” – ked nou niekto rozprava, stale mam pocit ze je to normalna anglictina, no s tym rozdielom ze je ovela tazsie porozumiet a len obcas pochytite nejake anglicke slovicko. Je to slang, ktory znie ako keby sa ludom nechcelo poriadne vyslovovat anglicke slovicka, dokoncit vety

OBLECENIE
- muzi zboznuju nosit veeeeeeeeelmi dlhe tricka, az po kolena, Afrika zije HIP HOP-om, HIP LIFE-om, R`n`B a to sa odzrkadluje aj na ich sposobe obliekania a tiez co sa tyka gest, pozdravov a podobne
- latky – nakupovanie latok sa tu tesi velkej oblube – kupite si latku, zanesiete ju “svojej” krajcirke (vacsina –najma- Ghanskych slecien ma svoju vlastnu krajcirku) & tie vam usiju vsetko co si len poviete – africke strihy su velmi pekne
- prekrytie celej lavej ruky kusom latky je ghanskou tradiciou, nepisanym pravidlom. Latka cez lavu ruku vam ako keby zabranuje tuto ruku pouzivat, povazuje sa za vrcholne nezdvorile kyvat lavou rukou, podat niekomu lavu ruku alebo lavou rukou jest – pri jedeni je lava ruka vzdy mimo stola. Dokonca aj ked si ruku umyvaju pred a po jedle (lebo tu jeme rukami), tak si namocia a umyvaju iba pravu ruku. Casto aj pri rozhovore s niekym komu chcete prejavit uctu, lavu ruku drzite schovanu za chrbtom

KLIMATIZACIA
- naozaj hroza! Fakt trpim! Ghancania su schopni nastavit klimatizaciu na 16 stupnov a spokojne si v takomto prostredi hoviet, ale akonahle je vonku teplota pod 25 stupnov tak sa stazuju ze aka je hrozna zima, no jednoducho trpia. Chapete to???

CAS
- Ghana je v pasme GMT + 0. Nulty poludnik prechadza priamo dedinou Tema – nedaleko od Accry

PREDPOVED NA DNES: ZAMRACENE
- teraz v obdobi dazdov je mnoho zamracenych dni, obloha posiata tazkymi mracnami, teplota je okolo 25 stupnov a takto oblacno je aj niekolko dni za sebou. Tieto dni bez slnka su dost smutne, asi si vacsina ludi rovnikove tropy takto nepredstavi.

New photoalbum released :)

Dear friends, ready for newest pictures? Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/petra.hausnerova/GhanaWeeks58

kind regards,

hausi

Weeks 4-7

News for weeks 4-7

Dear friends! here I come with updates about how my life goes here in faraway Africa..

WHERE & HOW DO I LIVE

- I live right next to the office of my work, the same premises
- My “home” is a small house with 5 rooms & 5 different entrances: bathroom with the toilet, 3 rooms for trainees and kitchen
- Thanks to living right next to the working place, I can afford to wake up “late” – this means around 7 – 7,30am, the other Ghanaians working in the company wake up very early, because their way to work lasts 1-2 hours in the traffic jams
- Currently only two rooms are taken, now we are 2 trainees in The Capital Group – me & Ana from Germany, Ioana from Romania left Ghana last week, since her traineeship was over
- In front of our home we have grass and few meters away there is a summer hut with table and chairs. There are palm trees all over and loads of green (now that we have rainy season)
- There are 2 cleaning ladies in the premises – they clean the place every morning (normally they come at around 5am and they are the ones who usually wake me up with their loud talking right under my window, yet they are very very nice and kind to us), they also wash the dishes and do our laundry – there`s no washing machine. Many Ghanaians believe that washing in hands is much better than washing machines
- There are 3 drivers – they work for the company and are at our disposal with 2 company cars during the working hours
- There`s no vacuum cleaner in our place, so I “clean” my carpet in the room with short birch
- Forget about hot shower in Ghana.. Since I came I take shower in the only water we have – a cold one. Yet we are happy that we have a cold water at least, because there are many stoppages of water here
- There are no glass windows in our place. Only mosquito nets, iron grates and wooden shutters from outside
- My room consists of small verandah with fridge and table and the second room: there is a carpet on the floor, wide bed (but short :( ), one armchair, table and TV with 2 channels
- In the kitchen there is a gas burner, so we can cook (if the gas bomb is not empty..), table, 3 chairs and quite ok kitchenware (they still use aluminum pots here)
- There are two gates in our premises, which are closed from inside. We have two security guards which is very normal here. If a car wants to get into the house, they honk from outside, security comes to open the gate for you and close it afterwards. The security guys stay out whole & every night, sleeping most of the time in front of the door

SPICES
- Ghanaians are crazy for pepper (they pronounce it “PEPA”). Pepper is simply a must! They add it to all the dishes, including sweet porridge. Ghanaians love spicy food – if they like it they call it “sweet” – for example: “Try it, it`s so sweet!”

KEBAB
- Ghanaians are meat lovers! Kebab is one of their favorites. They chop it in the spots – like we do with chips. Kebab means pieces of meat (normally goat meat) cut into pieces and put on the stick, sometimes with onions and fresh pepper and then of course loads of “spicy pepa” :)

MEAT
- most common are these: fishes, chicken, goat meat, beef and sausages. Animals` skins are considered as a delicacy and so skins are to be found in most of the sauces. Africans really like it!

DRUGS, ALCOHOL, CIGARETTES
- Ghanaians rarely smoke or drink, from drugs I heard a lot about African wheat, they say access is easy if somebody wants

ANIMALS
- Chickens - are everywhere! Literally, everywhere! You`ll find them running around on the streets, courtyards of the houses, even in some shops and around your feet
- goat flocks – everywhere!
- Mosquitoes – mosquito net above my bed becomes part of my everyday ritual before going to sleep and after waking up. Statistics say that every 500th mosquito carries malaria. On average I got 5 bites a day. Mostly mosquitoes are biting and the dawn and at the dusk. For Ghanaians to have malaria is something totally normal and if you can afford to buy drugs you can easily heal it. At least mostly it is so.
- Birds – are very big (like our eagle and bigger) and many kinds that I`ve never seen in my life. They`re a bit scary..
- Frogs – now during rainy season there are many frogs in our place. I call them megafrogs because almost every night there is a concert with frogs` singing. They are very noisy…
- Lizzards – there are many lizards, too. There is another animal similar to lizard, they call it wall jacker (or something like that), these small lizard-like animals climb the walls and ceilings
- my first monkey – I`ve seen my first real monkey (apart from the ones from ZOOs). The monkey sat on the shoulder of a guy walking the street. Just like that! :) I heard there are some places in Ghana with many wild monkeys directly in the villages. I hope I`ll see some! :)

WINDOWS
- Ghanaian windows are cut into horizontal glass panels and can be opened while pushing the lever down – they open up to horizontal position
- as a security on most of the houses you can find iron grates (similar to the ones I`ve seen in Tunisia)

PIDGIN ENGLISH (also called broken English)
- most popular among university students. Sounds really like “broken English” – when I hear it I still have an impression that I hear English, yet is like a slang, like if ppl are tired of talking, finishing sentences

CLOTHES
- men love loooooooong t-shirts, up to their knees, Africa lives for HIP HOP and this reflects also the way they dress
- fabrics – very popular here – you buy fabric & you go to “your” taylor who sews the African dresses for you
- traditionally the left hand is covered by the piece of cloth or often hold behind the back while greeting or while eating away from the table, since it`s considered as not clean

AIR CONDITION
- Awful! I`m really suffering! Ghanaians are able to put AC on 16 degrees and feel totally comfortable like this, while when there is 25 degrees outside they are freezing and suffering badly. Does it make sence???

TIME
- Ghana is GMT + 0. Greenwich meridian crosses the village called Tema – nearby to Accra

WEATHER – CLOUDY DAYS
- because it`s rainy season now, many days the sky is full of heavy clouds, these days without sun are sad and colder