I had a title for today's post, but then I forgot

Today was the first day of survey collection, and I am feeling quite exhausted. We're actually still in the process of collecting, but I am taking a break in the port library. I think I've read through the past week's worth of Ghanaian newspapers--which leave much to be desired.

The good news: I've collected about the same number of surveys as at Tema. The bad news: there's still 140ish more to collect next week. Ahhhhh. Also, I think my hotel may be getting suspicious of my daily activities, and are wondering why this fair-skinned guy won't take advantage of their laundry "service." (remember the tumbu flies?) And my research assistant got a better room than I did at the hotel. Apparently my room's fan spins backwards, making the room hotter, while he has a functioning mini-fridge and hot water. That's just not right. At least it's the university's money...

Today I picked up my first kente-woven shirt! I still have to try it on, but it does look excellent. I think I will be going back to have some more stuff tailored. Which means I'll have to buy another suitcase here in Takoradi. But that shouldn't be a problem: at the central market, they have a "suitcase district", and you can even get the fancy hardback Samsonites with the swivel wheels for really cheap. In other words: man, I love arbitrage. It's also cool to watch the suitcase vendors bringing in the new stock in the morning--they stack a few of them on their heads and dodge in between the taxis and minibuses. Quite epic.

Last night the BBC ran a story on this Chinese acupuncturist who was putting 200+ needles in his head representing the different countries to celebrate the upcoming Olympics (he's planning to put in 2008 needles during the actual Games, no joke). After the story wrapped up, the anchorwoman made the following, absolutely effortless comment: "Well, I think he's quite the pinhead."

It was beautiful.

Addendum: Tomorrow I'm taking a tro-tro trip to Elmina to see the slave castle as well as the shrines and other cool things! But I need to brush up on my Twi since I've heard that tourists are increasingly getting harassed over there. Maybe I should wear the kente shirt, too.