Yo quiero Takoradi Bell

So I've been spending most of today running random errands (ahhh, that originally said errors ... too much R and Stata last night...) in preparation for my departure to Sekondi-Takoradi. I made about 12 phone calls this morning to contacts in Cape Coast and Takoradi who can help me deploy my surveys/could be generally helpful with my thesis. Having to make all those calls really makes me appreciate how we can just e-mail about appointments back in the US. Guess I'm getting a taste of real, old-fashioned fieldwork. But it's also kind of cool doing "cutting edge" statistical analysis out here in Equatorial West Africa. Or maybe the heat's just getting to me.

I also started mailing the pilot surveys back home today. Ghana Post leaves much to be desired (like flat-rate boxes, and larger stamps), but I've heard it's generally reliable, and not too expensive. The only thing is, they only seem to have stamps denominated in 25 (for letters) and 40 (for postcards) pesewas. So when I bring in envelopes holding 100 pages' worth of surveys that amount to 7-10 cedis (1 cedi = 100 pesewas), I'm getting like 28-40 stamps on an envelope. Yeah, these things definitely look absurd, with stamps going all the way around the addressing part and what not.

Which makes me wonder: Maybe they should just make envelopes out of the stamps? I mean, Jerry Seinfeld makes a great point on a (in my opinion) similar phenomenon:

Jerry: You ever notice how the only thing that ever survives the plane crash is the black box? They should just make the entire plane out of the black box!

Seriously, I think the envelope made out of stamps has potential. It can go places. Literally. And you'd save some trees.

Anyways, I'm off to Takoradi early tomorrow morning! I'm definitely excited for a change of scenery--Accra is exciting and all, but staying on the outskirts is kind of a drag with transportation. Takoradi is very compact, and I'll be staying right on the market circle. The ultimate African urban experience right there. Will update again once I've settled in.