One of my biggest sources of anxiety since I landed in Accra was navigating the Tro Tro on my own. The Tro Tro is essentially a van crammed with people trying to get to their next destination. Instead of pulling a cord like you would on a bus in the United States, you call out to the mate where you’re going and when you want to get off. I’ve heard horror stories of past Media in Ghana participants not being able to catch a Tro Tro, getting on the wrong Tro Tro and getting lost, or mates forgetting to stop the van so they can get off at the correct stop.

This morning two of my teammates and I set off to the nearest Tro Tro stop to commute to work. It was really the first time that I would be catching one on my own – on my way home from work last night, one of my coworkers kindly walked me to my stop and helped me flag one down. When we got to the stop a number of vans pulled up calling out the names of the neighborhoods they were driving to. Cassidy and I were both searching for one to Accra. When one rolled up to the stop I asked the mate (the person who calls out the direction of the Tro Tro and collects the money) if they could take me to Water Works – the place my coworkers told me to get off. Instead of answering my question, they just laughed at me and motioned for me to get in the car. At that moment, I had déjà vu from a blog post I read about last year’s participant who worked at my internship. He wrote about the driver and mate dropping him off at the wrong stop and getting lost. I imagined myself wandering around Central Accra, without a clue of where I was or where I needed to go, calling Leslie to ask for help. I silently glared out the window and stewed over the mate’s lack of help (and because he neglected to give me my change). I kept an eye out for familiar sights, knowing that we were going the right direction but wondering when I should get off.

About 30 minutes in, I saw a sign for Kanda – the neighborhood my internship is located. I silently resolved to get off at the next stop… But the Tro Tro didn’t stop. Slightly panicking because I missed it, I called out to the mate that I needed to get off at the next stop. He acknowledged my request, and I thought about the long walk I would have back to where I needed to be.. But at the next turn off I saw a familiar sign: “Ghana Water Company Ltd.” Knowing in my gut this is where I should have been all along, I praised my good luck. I wasn’t positive that I was going the right direction, but I was on my way. On my walk toward the office, I thought I recognized familiar sights, but everything looks different in the dim morning glow, as opposed to the dusky golden light of evening. But here, I saw a familiar line of trees, whose branches created a canopy over the gravelly path I walked on, and there, I saw the same pale yellow building I saw last night. And eventually I arrived at work. 40 minutes early.