I haven't read a newspaper in a week or been on the internet. I have no idea what's going on in the world. I'm currently sitting by myself in a rather nice burger joint on Oxford Street in Osu, the old Dutch settlement and part of town favored by foreigners. I escaped the joke of a cooking lesson going on at SYTO offices right now. Cooking makes me angry and unpleasant normally and especially so when I'm not getting proper instructions and I have no idea what the ingredients are.

We make a big joke about "Ghana Time" here but there is something very sad about it. And it goes just beyond my cultural upbringing and understanding of things. This laid back pace of life is very nice but it cannot be applied to everything. There has to be some correlation between such a loose interpretation of time and the lack of development and progress. Most things are left unclear and open to interpretation. I hate to sound like such a capitalist but how is it possible to do business, develop, or compete in an environment like that. For instance, I've been sitting at this table for 30 minutes and my waiter hasn't returned since seating me. Not only have I not ordered, I don't even have a drink. I'm not annoyed because I'm in an air conditioned room overlooking the street with my own water, a journal, and a book to keep me busy. But for reals. What is going on. And this is not unusual.

Tomorrow I leave for the north. We leave at 4am, ugh, and will be spending all day in a car getting to Tamale [pronounced TAH-MAH-LAY with equal emphasis on the syllables].