Each new city is unique and requires developing mental maps of a geography, developing a sense of (the) place. This is especially true for an international move.
How do you know you are becoming familiar with a city? Partly, when you are able to get around, when you understand the patterns of movement and travel, when you can correctly estimate the time required to complete unfamiliar tasks. So it was with some trepidation that I set off on a day full of errands.
My tasks: (1) bring payment to Danestrol Auto Centre for Tracy, which I did after dropping Catherine at school. After a very steamy 4-mile run, I (2) paid my registration fee at Standard Chartered bank for the upcoming conference at which I will speak, (3) withdrew some family cash from a campus ATM, (4) picked up family laundry from Star Wash, and (5) exchanged some Calvin dollars at an Okponglo ForEx bureau for Tracy.
We and the Calvin students are looking forward to some exciting experiences in the next few days. On Thursday, we will attend the Ghana-Mozambique qualification match for the Africa Cup of Nations. On Saturday, we’ll participate in the 11th annual Ghana Paragliding Festival.
Thus, I (6) went to Osu to visit the Ghana Tourism Authority to obtain tickets for Mark and me to fly at the weekend.
My trepidation turned to satisfaction as the day of errands (many of which involved unfamiliar activities and places) went off perfectly: no wrong turns, no bad traffic, always in the correct lane and queue, appropriate documents in hand, enough money in wallet, and back to the flat in time to turn around to pick Catherine from school.
I am becoming familiar; a hard-won victory in Accra.
—Matt
