Accra, Day 2: Going to the market!

On the second day, we went to two very overwhelming and popular places: Makola Market and the Arts Center. Makola Market is a huge place where people not only sell goods, but can buy pretty much everything. It's like a swap meet and Walmart made a baby and that baby was Makola Market. We were mostly on the lookout for fabric because it is very common to see a seamstress and get things custom made. And there were lots and lots of fabrics to choose from! Something else I should mention is that bargaining is something that is very common here. So whenever buying something hand made or goods, or even a taxi, you most always bargain to get a good price. But we were told that fabric was usually sold at the right price, so we shouldn't bargain for that in Makola Market.

This is the outside of Makola Market. 

More Makola Market. People were everywhere!

Inside (where it's all dark) is where we went to get fabric. 

The outside of the market.

Going into the market was very small spaces, darker and extremely hot. It was easy to get lost. A lot of people were a little unsure to let us take pictures (Africa in general has gotten a bad rep because when tourists have taken pictures, they have been used in in a context that doesn't put them in the best light. So the people are very cautious of where their pictures are ending up) so I didn't get many pictures inside the market. Plus, it was extremely busy and pretty overwhelming so I was more focused on getting what I needed to get. 

Some of the fabric in the market. This is not even close to a fraction of how many fabrics there were. 

After Makola Market we went to the Arts Center. The arts center was much more spread out and in more open space, however was even more overwhelming then Makola Market! As soon as the bus pulled up, people were already waiting for us, greeting us, wanting to know our names and see their shops. One girl, Alex, had met some people who worked there and they had agreed to give drumming lessons and let us look (buy) drums. So a swarm of guys took us to the section of the arts center where they carve wood and make drums. We got a drumming lesson (where I found out I more rhythmically challenged than I thought) but after, they would not leave us alone until we bought something. And every time I asked a price, he would change the subject and show me how he makes drums. It was also a little uncomfortable because the men would say "come to my shop and see what I do" which would mean I would be alone with them (side note: the people are extremely friendly and have offered us to stay in their houses and use their phones, so I'm sure it was very innocent but I still had to keep my guard up). So I stayed in the open and had my eye out for my friends because it was really overwhelming and I did not want to get into a strange place with a strange man. After the drumming encounter, I went back to the bus and just wanted to leave! Also, I didn't take any pictures at the arts center because so much attention was already drawn to us and I really didn't want to stand out even more!

It was a strange experience in the markets, especially haggling the prices. It actually reminded me a lot of Tijuana where you have to bargain to get a fair price. In Makola Market, at least they let you shop and browse, but at the Arts Center it was really hard to shop. I definitely want to go back to the Arts Center and get other things and look more, but I'll have to be better prepared! 

After the markets, we went to lunch at Melting Moments (really good with a NYU discount!) and then class. We had a guest lecturer who was a mid-wife and she explained the family structures in Ghana. Basically, in rural areas, there is a lot of extended families living together and they all help each other out. In the city, it is more common for people to live with people who are not their families. She also said that when someone has a disability, it is the family's duty to take care of the person with the disability. So it was interesting to hear what roles the families play and how different it is in the city and in rural areas. 

We then had dinner at Sunshine which was also interesting because they served some Chinese food! So I can say I ate Chinese food in Ghana! Then we went back to hotel, drank some wine and went to bed! A pretty overwhelming day, but still enjoyable!