"The Recap" - August 30th - September 1st

I am realizing at the moment that I am typing this that I am too far behind in my blogging than I should be. So I am going ot do my best to combine the last two legs of my journey, since unfortunately there wasn't much adventure.

So I bought a bus ticket for 120,000 cedis to Sunyani from Wa, which isn't too far away. Anyway, I should have asked for a refund. I was sitting in the very back of the bus. I had no leg room. I couldn't sit with my back against my seat because the man sitting next to me was too large. (Let me explain the bus has a line of seats along each window with an aisle in the middle except for in the back row where it sat five people all the way across uncomfortably) Also, the A/C didn't work at all, but instead blew hot air. Fortunately for me, there was a window that opened right next to me. This came in handy once we got to the unpaved road. Almost as soon as we began down this long stretch of unpaved road dust started filtering in through the front of the bus. Before long, everyone was coughing, wiping their faces with handkerchiefs, or just complaining. Luckily I could send some of the dust out my back window, but I was covered with it.

Anyway, after a brief stop for refreshment and another stop to aid a broken down bus. A man sitting in front of me began to talk to me. The usual quesitons at first, "Where are you from? What are you doing here?" But then it got bad...really bad. I noticed that he was reading the autobiography of Malcom X and knew what was coming. He started asking me if I have traveled to other countries and I mentioned the ones I have visited. He then told me that he thinks I am Mexican. He said he could tell by the way that I talk. I couldn't believe it. I told him that I was born in the U.S. and have Irish heritage. "No. I think you are Mexican." His confident response was infuriating and hilarious at the same time. I hoped that he would stop talking to me, but then he dropped the bomb. "Do you know who this man is?" , pointing to his book. "Yes I do." And from there it went wild. This foolish man was telling me the history of my country and making even more ridiculous statements. I will tell you a few. "Lincoln cars in the states because they have the name Lincoln." "A Lincoln Navigator costs $500,000." "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a hypocrite and nothing compared to Malcolm X." "What country will be the next world power? AFRICA!" "Robert Mugabe is the best African leader since Kwame Nkrumah!" and last but not least "The U.S. is colonizing Japan."

This abusrd argument ended abruptly when I screamed at the bus driver to stop nd let me off. We were in Sunyani. The bus was going to continue all the way to Accra, but not me, not with that fool on the bus! Of all the things I wanted to say to this man all I could think of was,"Keep on truckin'!" I laughed out loud as I stumbled down the aisle and off the bus. I didn't look back once, but made my way downtown and eventually into a taxi.

I decided to stay an extra day again in Sunyani with Br James and Br. Raymond. We had a good time chatting about my trip and all the adventures. On my last day with them we went to mass and then I was off on a 207 to Kumasi. From Kumasi I would have to find another car going to Cape Coast.

The trip into Kumasi didn't take long at all, but once we got into the city our driver stopped every minute to drop someone off. I yelled out loud,"This is ridiculous!" I grabbed my bag and jumped out of the bus and ran for the nearest street corner. The man sitting next to me joined me and we grabbed the first taxi to Kjetia Station in the middle of the city's booming market place.

30 minutes later I was on my way back to Cape Coast packed into the very middle seat of this giant purple bus. All the way back to Cape Coast without being able to lean back in my seat. All the way back to Cape Coast down the horrible road that was still being constructed. I LOVED IT ALL OF IT!

I remember finally getting off the bus at Agrey Junction and looking around at the familiar scene and thinking to myself, "You did it." I had just completed one of the most memorbaly experiences of my life!