Crazy things that have happened while riding in a TRO TRO or Taxi...
1. After hopping into a taxi, apparently the door was not closed (I had got in the other side) and after we picked up speed and tried to make a right turn, my door flew open and Diana had to pull me back in! Woa! Dodged another bullet! Thank you Diana!
2. Scene: 4 hour long cramped tro-tro to Kumasi one weekend at night in the pouring rain, narrow, bumpy road. All of a sudden the MATE (guy who rides in the tro-tro, the driver's partner, he is responsible for collecting the money and opening and closing the sliding door, sometimes he has to hold it closed because it swings open on its own, he really has a demanding job!) (I am sitting behind him) starts taking his clothes off and I am wondering, What is going on??? He gets all the way down to his boxers the driver pulls over and the mate hops out into the heavy rain... I am thinking this guy is nuts! Well, apparently he needed to use the bathroom and of course did not want to get his clothes wet so off they went. He gets back into the TRO soaked and takes the same towel his has been wiping the seats off with and procedes to dry himself off and his clothes do go back on! It was the most amusing part of the whole ride!
3. A random Ghanaian who has helped us get on the correct Tro-tro paying for the ride. This has happened about 3 times. They are sooo kind! (keep in mind at one time there maybe about 15 tro's lined up. The tro's have no signs saying where they are going, the mates yell out the destination so you have to keep your ears wide open.)
4. While out in Accra in a overloaded taxi, we were pulled over by the police and instead of the police writing the taxi driver a ticket, the driver paid him off (about $2 US). This happens ALL THE TIME in Ghana and makes me think if the police can't even obey the law how can you expect the people to? There are police barriers all over main roads to other towns and you must stop. The police come to your window, gun in hand, and look over the car. Most of the time they just wave you by. But if they do stop you, they have a right to ask you (of course) for your license, etc. If the driver does not want to bother with this procedure, then you give the police $1 and away you go. The police will keep you stopped for as long as they feel like it so many Ghanaians and Obrunis just "pay them off!" The police are making some good TIP money here!
5. Stopped to ask a guy directions the other day near ADA (east coast side) in my friend's car and the guy was wearing a black Baltimore Ravens polo shirt. I said, That's my team! Go Ravens! He had no idea what I was talking about!
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1 comment:
you will have an amazing collection of stories when you get home!
Paul has shared your blog w/ his computer classes at St. Joe :-)
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