New Apartment!

I wrote this post last Friday, but there was no internet connection, so I am posting it now:

The internet is down at work, so I can’t do any work and I decided rather than stare off into space, I would write a new blog entry. After a week of spending 2 hours a day on tro tros back and forth from work, I now I have a room within walking distance of the office. It is really the lap of luxury for Accra. I have running water, hot water, a/c in my bedroom, a kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator, and a living room. I am planning on scheduling an appointment with MTV Cribs. There is a married couple that I work with who is also renting a room with me in the house. The house is FAR more accommodation than I need, and definitely not how I had planned on living while I was here, but was the only reasonable thing I could really find. The only cheaper places I could find were unfurnished, and I figured I would spend more on a bed and fan than the extra it would cost me to live in this house. Anyway, it’s a LOT less than paying a hostel every night.

Last night Atsu came by to visit and check out the new place, so I hung out with him and we talked to the owner of the house for a while. The owner lives somewhere else, but I think he stops by some nights for a couple hours on his way home just to miss the traffic. Three other interns live opposite the road from me and they decided to go check out the Accra “mall” last night. Yes, apparently Accra now has a mall somewhere. I decided I did not need to see the mall and instead went to bed early. Party animal.

Work has been going well, although it’s impossible to get anything done without an internet connection since most of what I do is research. I have been assigned to the Parliamentary Advocacy Project and a good governance project that works alongside a German political organization. I have spent most of the week researching the processes in various countries for introducing Private Member’s Bills. In parliamentary governments PMBs are bills introduced by backbench or non-government minister members of parliament. Sounds exciting, right? I am also starting some research on whether a law permitting the Minister of the Interior to declare a curfew violates provisions in the Ghanaian constitution. I could go into it more, but I imagine it’s really boring for anyone who is not…me. So far it’s been really interesting, and all the other interns are a really good time.

In other news, Declan, the Irish kid who I stayed with in the hostel, left for the central region today. He will be working somewhere outside of Kumasi, and I might try to make it up there for a weekend at some point. Today for lunch I had Waayke and fried plantains. Wayke is mixed rice and beans with spices and a black pepper sauce, and is really delicious.

This weekend all the other interns are heading to Cape Coast. I will probably go with them, but Yusif had offered to take me through Osu tomorrow, so I will have to see what his plans are.