Day 3 without water

Today marks day three with ZERO water. Usually we have to fill buckets from downstairs, but 2 nights ago it shut off. We have since found out that their entire neighborhood does not have water. When you look outside, people are walking with buckets on their heads - carrying water from other local neighborhoods. Everyone carries on as if normal, but us interns are mildy freaking out. This thing is, we never know what to expect. We have electricity, but it shuts off randomly; we have water, but it stops randomly; we have wi-fi, but its dial-up speed (for 10 people)...the list goes on.

If anything was constant, for example no electricity ever, we could get used to that. The uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring is what causes delays and confusion. We never know what to expect, so it is very hard to plan the next day's activities.

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On Friday, another AIESEC program had its kickoff party at one of the local schools. The program is called swITch and will teach kids about computers. There were several speakers, one from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and an American professor who teaches at a local college. Some of the facts he presented were outstanding...

- for the internet speed we receive in America we pay about $25, $30... here that speed would cost $400-1000 !
- the internet speed he has at the ENTIRE university is equivalent to that of the average american household
- all internet connectivity comes under the ocean on cables and arrives in Accra. From there it is shared to the entire country (this is controlled by 1 company called Vodafone)
- a few times a ship's anchor has been dragged across the cables and severed them, thus the entire country of Ghana was without internet for several days

Before Ghana will be able to advance in the 21st century, they have got to fix their infrastructure. Being without reliable internet will cripple the economy here.

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On Saturday I went to the Art Center. They had some really great masks, painting, fabrics and drums. I'm planning on having a small "Africa Shelf" in my new apartment and this place will be great for collecting some items.

Also, we met David the drum maker. He taught us about how to make African drums and then gave us a free drum lesson! First, we watched about 6 dudes in a drum session and then David taught us 4 simple beats and we played for about 30 minutes. By far, my favorite memory of this trip so far. Who would have figured that I would actually do some African drumming! The drums cost about 50 Ghana Cedis, or $35. It's a really cheap price, I just don't know how I would get it home... There are smaller ones, but they are just show pieces. The drums we used were performance drums and had a great sound to them.

Today we are heading to the pool. There we can shower and refresh a little bit. No idea when the water will come back on... and no one here seems to know/care. Life pushes forward here... an aspect of how to face each day that I wouldn't mind taking home with me at the end of this adventure.