“Korea?”

There is virtually no public transportation in Accra and so I rely entirely on taxis to get around the city. Sometimes it seems there are more taxis than people—so it’s not hard locating one…but getting where you want to go at the price you want to pay can be difficult. The taxis are not metered so each and every time you take one you need to tell the driver where you are going and then haggle over a price for at least a few minutes. The haggling continues until the driver gives you a very slight nod to indicate he’ll take whatever payment you’re suggesting or you decide to find another taxi for whatever reason. Although this whole situation is just about pure torture for someone like me who (1) avoids any non-obligatory contact with strangers at all costs and (2) can’t bargain to save her life, I’ve gotten used to it and even like the ritual. I feel like I’m getting to know my taxi drivers a bit before they whisk me off to places unknown, which is a good thing in a strange city.

Today, after almost completely depleting my supply of Luna bars in a single week, I decided I needed to get myself to a supermarket for some real food. Plus, I desperately needed water in larger quantities than .5 liter bottles…so I was off to MaxMart. I got there via taxi without any trouble and for a decent price, the hard part came when trying to get home. My guest house is in a mainly residential neighborhood—and as I’ve learned—unfamiliar to many taxi drivers. I should also note that although street addresses are assigned to each location in the city they seem to be entirely useless for all practical purposes; instead, landmarks are used to direct. For example, to tell the taxi driver how to get to my guest house I say, “in East Cantonments (the neighborhood), on the same road as the Korean Embassy, near NAFTI and Captain Hook’s.” This will generally initiate some hint of recognition and the necessary haggling can begin.

Most times that hint of recognition means the driver actually knows where he is going…most times…but not on the way back from MaxMart. It became clear about 2 minutes into the ride that my driver didn’t know where he was going and was expecting me to direct him. Moreover, he only spoke the local language (with very limited English) and didn’t understand anything that I was saying. He did catch “Embassy” though and brought me to an official-looking building adorned with European Union flags. I reiterated to him that I didn’t want to be brought to whatever this building was, but rather the Korean Embassy. Since we were already pulled over the driver started soliciting help from people walking by on the street. I don’t know exactly what he said, but all of a sudden there were at least 4 people standing around the taxi saying. “Korea?” To which I replied multiple times, “Korea.” I don’t know if they were confused because they didn’t know where the Korean Embassy was or they couldn’t imagine why I would want to go there. I caught myself wondering if this would be easier if I looked Korean. At long last someone knew the general direction and the taxi headed towards East Cantonments, close enough to the guest house and “Korea” so that I actually could direct the driver.