Trotro!
If you don’t have a car in Accra, there are two options for alternate transportation: taxi or trotro. A trotro is a bus, albeit smaller and more crowded than you would see in the states. I take a trotro to and from work everyday, and the characters and sounds surrounding the hustle and bustle of the morning commute never fail to entertain. There are a few random encounters, such as the guy with whom I had an in-depth conversation about washing clothes, and there are a few characters I see on a daily basis. They have become part of my routine. One such character is Audrey’s and my singing friend. At the trotro station, many venders approach your bus selling anything and everything. Our singing friend is a vender selling religious DVDs of young kids singing Christian songs. He plays the videos on a small DVD player and solemnly sings along with the kids. Early last week, Audrey had to go to a meeting in the morning so I took my first ever trotro to work alone. As I waited for the trotro to fill up, I noticed that instead of singing he was looking at me inquisitively. “Where is your sister??” Apparently Audrey and I were part of his morning routine as well: the two obruni ‘sisters’ riding the trotro at eight a.m. to Achimota.