Round 2 (Q &A)

We want to have someone in Ghana make our family traditional Ghanaian clothes. How much did this cost?

This is an excellent idea and an excellent question. You will be able to find a variety of people and places willing to make items for you. The material will vary in price. I am sure one of your fellow adoptive parents could give you a lot more detail on choices in fabric, but we were a fan of "batik". However we did have clothes made out of "regular" material too (whatever that means). Due to a language barrier my 3 daughters each own 3 matching dresses (vs. one dress each). This cost me 140 GHC, which is about 100 USD, which put the dress right around $12 USD each (and totaling 9 dresses). They are very well made and were measured for an exact fit. Keep this in mind as there won't be much room to "grow into". I paid about $17 GHC for a Man's shirt and I think about $10 GHC for a boys. I would say in general it appeared to me that we were paying about 3-5 GHC for the seamstress and the rest was the cost of the material. I would plan for $20 GHC for each child shirt/dress and about $30 GHC for a man's shirt and about $40-$50 GHC for a full length woman's dress. Now... these prices are slightly higher than I paid, however, I felt that the person making the clothing for me was a very close friend by the end of our trip. So I cannot speak to the charges of other seamstresses. Also, the cost of the material will vary day-to-day and customer to customer. We made the mistake of needing additional matching fabric and the store owner increased the prices knowing we were in need of the fabric. All that said, here is what I wrote in my journal for costs all in Cedi: (sizes are estimated as all clothing was made to exact measure)

Man Shirt 18 (xxl)
Man Shirt 18 (xxl)
Large piece of fabric not sewn 35.00 x 2
Medium/Large size woman's dress 37
Large/Extra large size woman's dress 37
Woman's medium shirt 15
Boys shirt (med) 10
Woman shirt (med) 18.00
Calf length woman med dress 18
Womans med skirt 18

Also, how much money would you recommend taking for touring and souvenirs?
Of course this varies by family. And after spending a month in Ghana any number over about $100 seems foolish and selfish. But I imagine that's not the question you are asking. Just for taxi, touring, and souvenirs: $500 should be pretty good (not including food and hotel).

However, I bought my girls Kente cloth for a future wedding gifts and these two sets of cloth cost me $320 GHC.

Also, if you are not careful your taxis can get costly, one driver will charge you 1 cedi, the next 10, and the next will tell you to pay as you feel the Lord leads you, all for the exact same route. I recommend that you find one driver that you are able to stick with for longer trips and plan to pay by the hour. I found some excellent drivers and I decided on 10 cedis per hour. These drivers stayed with me and shopped and ate with me and I bought their lunch/dinner. I had two drivers and I'd be happy to share their names and numbers. In any case, I wouldn't expect any outing to last you less than 5 hours. So it all adds up

I did not tour to any outlying areas which required a driver, I cannot speak to cost.

FRUGAL FRUGAL: You can stay at one guest house for $15 GHC, you can go where you need to by tro-tro (hot, cramped, long, but cheap) and you can find street food and buy just a few nice souvenirs and be there for a whole week for less than $500. I wouldn't recommend this route if you have means for better accommodations, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do! I used this method only for week one, before moving on to something a little more accommodating. So you can do it for a week if you needed to. Find a local to buy your souvenirs, you can give them a couple cedis for the job and still save yourself a small fortune and a lot of time.

Spendy, Spendy: I think the hotels really add up if you stay at the more westernized places. I will tell you I went overboard on the souvenirs. I personally would not like to limit souvenirs to under $700 and more like $1000 if I plan to buy a round of traditional clothing for the family. Again, my souvenirs include items for birthdays and special occasions as the girls grow up. Yes, I plan to travel to Ghana again, but it doesn't mean Samuel, the Kente weaver, will still be there weaving Kente Cloth when I get back.

I would be happy to answer any questions off-line about the amount of money I used for the entire month.

What are some contrasts and similarities you see between Ghana and Ethiopia?
Ethiopia vs Ghana... that's hard. How is Canada different from America?
Ethiopians are very proud people rich in culture and history. Since they were never officially colonized their traditions are hundreds of years old. Being there is a time warp into the past, an amazing and beautiful place. I love Ethiopia and her people. In Addis the elevation is very high and the temperatures are cooler and it makes staying there very comfortable. And as a local-turn-friend told me as we discussed the very high elevations, "In Addis you are closer to God and he can hear your prayers." I felt bad to feel bad for people; they all seemed so happy and even the poorest seemed to live a rich life. From my American perspective, they didn't have much, they didn't need much, and they didn't want much. All of the areas outlying the capital were just fields and huts. You could drive for miles and never see any kind of store or hospital or even another car, but there were always people walking. So many people.

In Ghana, the people are so amazingly friendly. They seem to watch out for their fellow man, but in a way different than we would do it in America. I can't describe the actions, but the spirit of it feels like we should all maintain some level of equality and fairness. I think I'd need another six months there in research to explain that any better. To add confusion, I would also say hierarchy is very important. People want to know you, they want to know about you. They want to spend time with you. My experience was that the people are very humble (there are exceptions). I think the people of Ghana all have the right intentions for their country, people, environment, politics etc... they just haven't had the time or opportunity to demonstrate their potential. Ghana is full of opportunity, it may not be easy to grab onto the opportunity but it exists. I think for my American eyes, I saw more of the "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" than I saw in Ethiopia. But it's all American concepts applied by an American to a non-American culture. Maybe life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not all that they are cracked up to be. But I am an American and I believe in those founding values. It's hard for me to see the world any other way.

**** having said all that: I was in Ethiopia for one week, in Ghana for four. My adoption agency for Ethiopia had heavy control on my time and activities in Ethiopia and unless I requested to do an activity on my own, it was done as a group. In Ghana, I was pretty much on my own, unless I asked for help or assistance from the agency. So my view of these countries is completely skewed by the relationships with my adoption agencies. Both agencies have many pros and cons depending on your experience with foreign travel, adoption, parenting, and general expectations. For me, both agencies were perfect for me in the time we worked with them. But I would be giving an unfair review of the country without telling you about the agency filters that are included in the experience.


What things did you took that you wish you wouldn't have?
I am so glad I brought all my techie toys to keep in touch and record my time in Ghana... but those same items were constantly a struggle with the children. They always wanted to "play" with them and they are not toys.
Next, my blow drier, I really had no intentions of using it, I didn't use it. And the person who did use it (ahhem) blew it up!
Next, a small fan that blew up. And let me explain "blew up" as in heat, fire, sparks and burst! I am not kidding! This is not likely to happen if you think about what you are plugging in, but I didn't think, I just acted.
Chocolate, it liquifies in the heat. If you need it that bad you can buy it there (I even found my favorite, KitKat)
Other sugary treats that attracted ants.
My number one answer: Any clothes that were hard to hand wash and dry!!! If you plan to wash your clothes while you are there and re-wear them (and I recommend you do) please consider attempting to wash them at home in a small bathroom sink and then attempt to dry them in the same small area with only wire hangers as tools.

What did you forget that you wish you would have brought (or brought
more of)?
I am a bit of a freakish packer... I don't know if there was anything I didn't have that I wanted. Maybe a generator? Definitely a de-humidifier!
A garbage can? Garbage cans are in short supply in the Ghanaian culture. I'll leave the rest up to your own experiences on this topic.
And if anyone knows my blog from Ethiopia, I cannot believe I am going to say this, but I should have brought more ziplock bags. If you are adopting an infant, a large supply of these is probably a good idea, but any trip requires a good portion of ziplock bags. I countered my previous suitcase full and brought only about 5. It wasn't enough.
I would recommend bringing one or two flat sheets (twin or full). I can think of many uses for these: covering the bed to easily remove the large amounts of sand you bring in, a bedroom dress on a hot day, a towel that will actually dry before your next use, a blanket if you get cool from the a/c, a blanket in case the place you stay fails to provide you one before leaving for the night (hmmm, would something like that actually happen? YES).

During my last week I asked Trent to bring some post cards from our home town. I recommend you get a small stack and fill them out with an email address that you can give out. People will ask you for your contact info and I personally found it difficult to decline (another post on this will come in the near future). Many people asked for my phone number too, it would have been easier to show them the picture of where I am from and give them an email address, I could have avoided a few uncomfortable situations around phone numbers.


Any other questions?