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More Things to Know
Ghana is located only 5 degrees north of the equator. Forgetting this fact initially, I was surprised when the sun set around 6:20 (it's dark by 7:00) in the evening during late July. As a resident of the New York metropolitan area, I am used to longer summer evenings. However, Ghana's proximity to the equator means that the length of day there is more uniform throughout the year. That is, sunset may be 6:20 in July, but it's also around 6:00 in January. Ghana does not observe a daylight savings, and at a mere 0 degrees 13 minutes west of the prime meridian, they are in GMT. The lack of a daylight savings means sunrise is early, just before 6 AM in July. For reference, New York has a 14 to 15 hour day throughout July, but less than 10 hours of daylight in January.
If you know you are going to be doing a fair amount of walking on a given day, make sure you wear good sandals instead of socks and shoes.  Simply, avoid socks.  Many side roads are unpaved and the soil is a rick brownish-red color.  It does not take long for the ground to dry, even after a good rain, and dust will soon be kicked into the air.  I found my socks were often permanently discolored after a few hours of walking around.  Additionally, the side of the house we were at and its balcony were often blanketed in a fine dust from the cars that drove up and down the road.
The movie industry in Ghana functions in a markedly different manner than its counterpart in the United States.  Quite simply, they are low quality and strictly seen as an money-maker for those who make it.  Ghanaians will tell you there preference is for American, European, or Nigerian films.  Ghanaian films are often recorded with the actors speaking in Twi, with English subtitles.  Since the entire filming and editing process is done in a matter of weeks, mistakes are laughably common.  The subtitles are missing or incorrect in certain spots.  Special effects are poor, and not at all realistic.  Plots are thin, and stretched out to make sequel after sequel.  We were told that one movie in particular was divided into 12 parts (often one hour each), with the last minutes of one part and the first ten minutes of its successor featuring the exact same material!
Traveling within the country varies greatly from city to city. Accra is a traffic nightmare. It took close to three hours to travel from our residence in Dome to Bojo beach. This trip should have taken one-fifth that time had the traffic been light. Bear in mind we made this trip on a Sunday afternoon. Road construction does not help the situation. There is major highway development and construction taking place within Accra. Almost every citizen I spoke with denounces the Mills government on this point. There are accusations that promises of better infrastructure are not being kept, are taking too long, or are falling victim to corruption. Kumasi is markedly better, as is Sunyani, Berekum, and Koforidua. Side roads throughout Accra vary between unpaved and ridden with potholes. Anything that isn't a main road in any city is likely unpaved. If you are traveling during the rainy season, expect mud.
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