Morning commute

I think I’m having some strange nostalgia for my morning commute from East Legon to Osu since moving two blocks from my office this past week. I’m not sure why the thought of sitting in traffic, with diesel billowing around me while being squished between two people should excite me but there something about my morning and evening commute from the quiet streets of East Legon to my office in Osu that I really enjoyed.

I left the guest house at 8:30 every morning. We used to leave earlier but after much trial and error found 8:30 to be less busy and catching the tro much easier. I walked down the short unpaved road called Dakar Ave, although it would never be described as such because no one cares for street names in Ghana. As I walk this short distance I greet school children in uniform and men and women carrying things on their head or talking on cell phones. When I reached the main road I crossed the street minding the meandering tro tros and vehicles come from all directions. I stood and watched for a tro tro to come my way and for the mate that hangs his head from the side window announcing which direction he is heading. I look for a mate that makes a circular motion with his hand, yelling “soy-cul, soy-cul, soy-cul” which really means “circle, circle, circle”. I repeat this action so the mate knows to stop and pick me up. This tro will go all the way to Nkrumah Circle but I will get off half way at “37” to transfer to another tro to Osu.

The tro pulls away and joins the rest of the traffic. More often then not, the driver takes a detour from the main road to avoid traffic before joining the main road that adjoins the Liberation highway. I hand the mate 30 Gp…about 25 cents as the driver hurtles through eroded road ways, over numerous bumps and trenches. We make our way towards the highway and the tro slows down while cars attempt to merge on to the highway. Men selling gum and newspaper walk up and down the small aisles between the vehicles. When we reach the highway, the tro makes a stop to pick up more passengers. Then we pick up speed and a cool breeze comes in through the windows. The traffic is only light momentarily. At every traffic light, women selling papaya, doughnuts and water walk between the cars, yelling out their wares. I am amazed at their skill. A young woman can run alongside a tro tro in flip flops with 10 L of water in sachets on her head in a bowl with her hand outstretched making a transaction of water for 4 pesewas.

We reach one the major tro tro hubs, “37” and I get off. I have to cross the highway at this point which is often a challenge, even at the crosswalks. When I cross I walk along the sidewalk where stalls are opening up for the day. They sell everything you could need. Shoes, clothes, cosmetics, radios, fish, food…and most importantly peanut brittle (so delicious). I cross another street to catch a tro tro heading to Osu. I pay a similar price, only 25 pesewas. I sit with other men and women on their way to work and I wonder who they are and what they do. I don’t have to get off until the last stop so I can sit and gaze out the window at the morning activity on Oxford Street. I arrive at work about an hour after I leave East Legon and walk the short distance from the stop to the office.

Don’t ask me why I fancied this time, but I think it's because it was a good time to be left with your thoughts. There is a certain rhythmic pattern to it that I can control from one day to the next, especially when I can never know what to expect at work. It’s almost like commuting in Toronto on the subway, the lull and sway of the subway. Just as I knew every morning I would be standing on the subway with a coffee in one hand and crossword in the other, do I know that I’ll be sitting on a tro wiping sweat from my brow and greeting the morning in Ghana.

p.s. Some of you may remember that I took a short jaunt to Victoria in early May. I was at Environmental Justice Camp hosted by the Anglican Church of Canada’s eco-justice committee and the diocese of British Columbia. Here is an article I wrote about the camp and some of the issues we discussed during that week. http://www.ontario.anglican.ca/docs/dialogue/September%202007.pdf

The article appears in the September issue of the Dialogue, the newspaper of the Anglican Diocese of Ontario.