Day 59: Witches, Wee Biscuits, and Watchye

Accra - Today Brandi and I slept in until 8:30, it being Saturday when no breakfast is served at the Guest House, and after morning devotionals we went to the Marina Mall because Adeline needed bread for the kitchen.  Since we were at the mall, we had breakfast at D'Cafe, one of the top three coffee shops in all of Ghana.  Brandi had mozzarella, tomato, and pesto sauce panini with water and coffee while I had turkey and cheese with water and coffee.  We had bofos for desert.  We were in the mall by 9:30 and at that hour on Saturday there are not many people around.  Stores were just opening and most of the customers were O'brunis.  Having finished our breakfast, Brandi went shopping at Aftershock, a London boutique.  She didn't buy anything but Aftershock sells some high end dresses, accessories, and handbags for those shoppers among our readers.  Stores like this in Accra sell to a very thin market of upper class people so, as you can imagine, markups can be pretty high.

With just two days to go in Ghana, we got the bread and moved on the Goethe Institute, a German cultural center, where Brandi tried to return two books she'd previously borrowed from the library.  Since they were closed, we'll have to go back there on Monday.

On the way back to the Guest House we stopped to buy newspapers.  At the time, it was looking like rain and we were thinking of staying in to read.  In Accra there are four major newspapers and we bought one of each for only ¢8.  The Daily Graphic is the best source of international news but it's owned by the government so most stories are slanted to keep the ruling party in the best possible light.  Their headline today was "Workers to go on strike Thursday: But govt calls for Dialogue."  See what I mean?  The Mirror is a very social newspaper with the best entertainment, celebrity, and pop culture coverage.  Their headline was about Dr. Bettina Ama Boohene-Andah, the first female physician to the president of Ghana.  The Spectator is the sensational paper, most like the National Enquiror.  Their lead stories included "Cargo Driver Wanted - Kills Grandmother for Allegedly Being a Witch" and "Tragic End of One-Year-Old Baby."  Finally, my favorite paper and the smallest is The Ghanaian Times.  Here, today, I found factual coverage of "Pastor Causes Pupil's Saking - for allegedly spreading witchcraft" and "Wee biscuit on the Market."  Apparently witches are a hot topic these days and Rev. Benson of the Obuasi community complained to the headmistress of the Presbyterian Primary School because he felt his daughter was being harassed by another girl at the school who claimed to be a witch.  The accused witch has been suspended from school while the school board conducts an investigation.  And wee biscuits.  Wee biscuits are crackers made with marijuana.  They are illegal but are being sold in local stores, particularly in the Ashaiman community.  The Narcotics Control Board has taken notice because, the report says, some school children bought some on Friday.

Having saturated ourselves with everything going on in Ghana, Brandi made some watchye for lunch.  We washed it down with pineapple flavored kool aid from Mega Mart.

Brandi at D'Cafe, Marina Mall, Accra

Aftershock London, Marina Mall, Accra

With no laws in place to protect copyright, American celebrities are regularly used in advertising here without, I'm sure, the permission of the famous person.  This sign outside the Dubois Center uses Denzel Washington to advertise visa photo service.  The shop is also one block from the U.S. Embassy.  Other celebrities seen regularly include Beyonce, Rihanna, Little Bow Wow, and Ludachris is everywhere!  It's also common to see Disney and Looney Toones characters advertising everything from toothpaste to home insulation.  Knowing how protective Disney is of it's image . . . really?  Do they know what's going on here?