Letter 2, today

Charity, continuing with Letter 2:

So, where did I leave off…getting old and health. Ya. Fun stuff.

Let’s see. Busy – I went to Accra…and honestly, I did not care for Ghana, at all. Not really at all. Wait, I did fall in love with the Jolla Rice at KFC (they have KFC and Uber in Accra, and we would order from a food delivery service and have KFC brought to us in the apartment we rented, LOL). I developed a bit of a love for spicy food while there, and I did enjoy seeing another country, but the people there were not as kind as in The Gambia, by any stretch of the imagination. It was so interesting to see pure poverty right outside the “luxury apartment building” we were staying in. There was an empty lot next to us, and in front of that was a “story building” being built (probably a small apartment – it appeared to have 2 sides), and there was a family with about 5 kids living in a a put together shack to keep watch on the property during the night. Next to that were two other lots, neither of which had power or plumbing, and another lot behind those that also had no power or plumbing. I would watch the women cook out in the yard, and see people duck into another lot to use the bathroom, of which they didn’t have. It was insane to see in some ways, and so sad and depressing, but so very, very interesting at the same time. To see so much wealth all around and people without enough food right next door, or even running water. There were “slums” like you see in pictures, just across the street right off the freeway, too. No one seemed to be bothered by this. I mean, I get it, but it’s still a bit shocking to see with such honesty. Here, in the States, you know, we try to hide our poor as best we can.

Accra is incredibly Christian, and has a large amount of Baptist churches. When we went to the mall together, we were stared at – with looks of, “who are you and why are you here?” – I haven’t felt like that, literally, since Tallahassee in 1994. It was bizarre. People just weren’t as kind as in The Gambia, and didn’t seem to care if you needed something or not. It very much felt like every person was out for themselves, and they were trying to show the world they were up and coming and “impressive”. Uber drivers ripped us off. Grocery store check-out people ripped us off (scanning in things we didn’t buy), etc. It was just not good. But, I’ve now been to three African countries, and at least I can say that, right? LOL Still never been to Europe.

Okay, I’ll close this and start on Letter 3, shortly.

Love you, and I’m sending you tons of hugs,

Tracy