goats and tro tros
yesterday morning we made our daily walk to the tro tro stop, which is about a 5 minute walk down a hill to the main road. the tro tro is essentially a chaotic minibus that constitutes the primary form of public transporation here. so far it has been a much, much more reliable method of transportation than the nyc subway system! yesterday morning i saw a super tro tro for the first time, which is essentially a larger minibus that fits more people than the smaller counterparts, more like a small bus. the tro tro riding system is typically ghanian and therefore slightly insane. the tro tro guy hangs out of the door, which is usually open as the vehicle is moving, yelling for people to hop on as it stops. most of the tro tros have seen better days, stalling as if on their last breathe. i very seriously question the safety of tro tros, but they really are how ghanians get around here. we got onto the minibus, moving to the first empty seats in the back. it helps to be strategic about where you sit, because if you are in an outer seat, you have to get up and climb out of the van to let people out at each stop. anyway, the two other volunteers and i set off on our way to amassaman in the super tro tro yesterday, me daydreaming and not quite awake yet. suddenly right behind me is this very loud BBBBBAAAAA. the surprise made me jump out of my skin! i turned around to see what had produced such a loud noise, only to realize that the man behind me is holding a good sized live goat! this was not quite what i was expecting to see. he held the goat by the shoulders, so that the creature was essentially standing up on its hind legs. the goat was not very happy to be on the tro tro, and loudly made this known. the man and his goat stumbled over the seats to get to the aisle, making their way briskly off the tro-tro as it reached their stop. as the man passed me, the goat's very generous male genitals were in full display, pretty much at eye level since i was seated. it is safe to say that this goat was hung like a horse. once the man and goat stumbled past me, the man behind me catches my eye. he leans towards me and, as if by way of explanation, says "that is a he goat". to which i reply "yes, that was very obvious!" just another day in ghana...