And I thought I was a city girl.

I love cities. I can do the trail mix outdoors-y vacations, sure, but in the end, I'd much prefer visiting a city. Or so I thought.

This weekend I went to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region and Ghana's second-largest city after Accra. It was a 45min tro-tro (bus) ride from Effiduasi. There, I finally met Douglas, my ICYE contact and go-to guy in Kumasi. He's been calling/texting to check on me ever since I arrived. He has worked with volunteers for years and has answered all my random questions including "Where do I get a bus to Ejisu?" and "Are there homosexuals in Ghana?" (Answers: 'Roman Hill' and 'Not openly'). Fellow volunteers Sally and Katharina also came to Kumasi from Accra so we could be tourists together.

Saturday was packed with sightseeing and a lot of wandering. We started at the National Cultural Centre, a walled-in, serene area nestled in the Bantama neighborhood. It had some shops with traditional African ware as well as a tourist office which was closed on Saturday morning (because that makes a lot of sense). Next came the massive Kejetia Market composed of ramshackle stalls hawking goods ranging from butchered animal parts to tailored clothing to kitchen supplies. We, of course, managed to enter at the meat section - a rank, stinky, fly-riddled area that we unfortunately had a hard time escaping. My traveling buddies were thoroughly horrified, but thanks to my many experiences in Chinatowns across America, I was only mildly disgusted.

We then cabbed our way to Manhyia Palace where the current Ashanti king lives. We toured the museum and learned Ghanaian and Ashanti history. For being a king's palace, I found Manhyia very unassuming and rather modest. After lunch, we wandered to a supermarket to buy water. Our next stop was Kumasi Fort and since Kumasi is nearly devoid of streetsigns, we resorted to taking cheap cab rides rather than venturing it alone. We told the driver "Kumasi Fort" but his acknowledgement was dubious. When we arrived, he insisted it was the place so we got out and it immediately became obvious that we were NOT at Kumasi Fort. After much confusion with three different drivers, we finally got another cab ... that brought us to Kumasi Fort about two blocks away from the supermarket we just visited.

Ultimately, I had fun in Kumasi, but I realized a few reasons why a large Ghanaian city may not be the best for me:

1. As mentioned, Kumasi has no street signs and some streets do not appear on my map. This makes navigating the city on foot very difficult. And I believe walking a city is the best way to explore.
2. People are seedier. Though expected, I hate being overcharged for something just because I am a foreigner. I also do not like being touched or grabbed by men as I'm walking down the street.
3. Some givens in Western cities just do not exist in Ghanaian ones. For example, we had to hunt down a coffeeshop which was on the other side of town. No Starbucks imperialism here. Also, I was in Kumasi for less than 48 hours and the hotel lost power twice and the water stopped running about halfway through. At least in Effiduasi, something like that is expected.
4. The city is noisy all the time. There was some kind of parade, complete with drums and shouting, that went right under my window ... at 6:30am on Sunday.

Nevertheless, I will have to befriend Kumasi one way or another as it has a number of resources that Effiduasi does not. I expect each trip to be just as eventful. In fact, I am finding that everything is an adventure here.

On another note, I've received a few questions about my general living standard and what modern conveniences I am doing without. Here are a few that I can think of right now:

1. I do not have toilet paper. Instead, we use old newspapers.
2. I do not have a pillow but I think that's just me. Ghanaians have pillows, I just didn't get one with my bed. But I'm still sleeping well.
3. I do not have a washing machine. I do laundry by hand which means that the cleanliness of my clothes is questionable. I did find out, however, that my family hires a woman to do the wash and I'm welcome to add my stuff to the load.
4. The house doesn't have a functioning sink so I brush my teeth and wash my face in the shower.
5. Tampons are not sold in Effiduasi. To find them, I have to go to Accra or Kumasi.

And then, of course, there are the heavy-hitters that you should have figured out if you've been reading my blog:

6. I do not always have running water.
7. I do not always have electricity.
8. I do not have internet at home.
9. I do not have AC.

This is not to be confused as a list of complaints. In fact, I really like living here and I've adjusted swimmingly. I've sacrificed some in terms of hygiene and comfort, but overall, my life is simple and pleasant. It's very liberating to learn what I can live without.

(I know I've promised pictures, but my connection here is so slow that I don't think I'll be able to put them up. They will have to wait until the next time I go to Accra or Kumasi where the internet is faster. Apologies.)