6/19

The weather didn’t cooperate with us today, so the beach was postponed to tomorrow. Itching to get out into town, four of us headed to the National Culture Center. The Center is a big craft market that has the reputation as one of the best in Ghana. It lived up to its reputation. This market had much greater variety than the vendors we saw on Oxford Street. Although there was still some aggressive hassling—this must now be expected—it was a great experience to walk around and see all their was to offer. I bought a few things: another Black Stars jersey, a cool silver Ghanaian bracelet, and a dagger and sheath. I need to stock up on gifts for people. The hardest part is that it will be hard to part with some of these things because I want to keep them for myself!

What I try to do at these markets is look for things I haven’t seen before. There is a lot of repetition at some vendors, but every once in a while there is really something that stands out. I have seen a lot of the same trinkets that were on sale at markets in South Africa and while they are great keepsakes, I don’t want them—I want things that say ‘Ghana’. Some of these things are too big to take back on a plane: swords, beaded wooden lions, handbags made of lizard skin (head and appendages still attached). It’s been very encouraging to see all the crazy things for sale. I am sure that I will be able to find quality things for everyone on my list.

Bartering is a big part of most transactions in Ghana, and I did a lot of bartering today. It can be hard, but you really have to stick up for yourself so that you don’t get taken advantage of. It can be a game of wills: as a consumer, the threat of walking away from the deal gives you the upper hand every time, but it can be unnerving to exercise that edge. I have yet to pay the asking price for anything negotiated, so if I haven’t gotten total command of the art yet, I’m getting a better feel for it everyday.

The nearby Night Market is pretty clutch. There is little open on Sundays and all I had for dinner tonight was something I had picked up earlier in the city. Cesar, who along with Apostolos, Jerry, and Pascale had gone to see a Ghanaian church service instead of the market, had barely eaten all day so I went with him to the market. He was able to get the staple Chicken Jollaf (spices, rice, chicken), I got a loaf of bread, plate and cutlery, and Apo got a mango and a pineapple. All of this at very low prices. We had an unexpected feast. After today, I have a much greater appreciation for what you can find in a market if you really look around.