Signs of the Times

This is our Branch President's daughter at church.  I thought her dress was beautiful and just wanted to show a typical style for church.  They always look absolutely glorious!

For this blog we wanted to showcase a couple funny signs we've run across and some typical Ghanaian sayings.  We ran across this first one the other night while attending the BYU Idaho Choir concert in the National Theater.  Loved it.  I guess it keeps the gum off the chairs!  The concert was a success.  We had a huge turnout from the hospital come and enjoy the evening.

Instead of "No Entrance"... they use "Out of Bounds"   Here are 2 signs in a hospital directing patients to the Herbal Unit.  The Ghanaian people use lots of natural remedies for illness because of the shortage and expense of doctors.  All the doctors in Ghana right now are on strike and have been for a month.  Our hospital here is very quiet with hardly any patients.  If you have an emergency, you must go to the military hospital here in Accra.  They are overwhelmed.

We have a student, Ronald, who always has a picturesque way of talking.  He is brilliant, but makes us laugh.  

Prof...who is trying to sabotage us?  (He asked this after we were denied training for students on the new medical vans brought to Ghana)

I am leaving in sadness....(After another setback)

Prof...there are potholes in my study guide!  (Unanswered questions)

These are typical statements.  To "dash you" is to give you something extra.
"It is finished"- Means it is broken, or we are out of it.  The other day at the market we asked where the flour was.  Is is finished was the reply...no flour.

Not little by little, but "slow by slow".
When giving his students an exam, John does not get someone to "proctor" the exam, but he has someone come in who is called a "vigilator".

Not only do the Ghanaians let you know which houses are for rent or for sale, but which ones are not!
I actually thought this said "house toilet" when I first saw it.

To the right is my favorite sign.  I think of our daughter in law, Brandi Lyn every time I see it.  It is just the processing factory, no tours.  But we have finally found a dark chocolate bar here that is made by Cadbury that is wonderful.  Most of the chocolate is exported.

We only wish the above was true.  The Ghanaians scrub the tread on their car tires, but throw their trash and garbage on the roadside.  We mentioned in the food blog that we do not eat the fish here.  The reason is in the above photo.  These are big tanker trucks that gather raw sewage from around the city and then drive to where the river empties into the ocean.  They then dump the sewage into the ocean right where all the fishing boats put out to sea from Jamestown.  You can see where the water is a brown color out about 1/2 mile into the ocean.  Yuck!

Personally my favorite sign (above).  This means we are home!

Every time I go by this little "box" we think of our daughter, Kristina, our librarian.  It is so small (room for one book, maybe) and surrounded by barbed wire.  It's a social statement, really, since the only way the children here can lift themselves out of poverty is through education.  The government does not make it easy on them.

There are lots of signs like the ones below.  It is not unusual for just about anything to be talked about and advertised.

John got to participate in a symposium at the University of Ghana in the College of Religion  The topic was the "Merits and Demerits of Loud Music in Church Worship Services."  Since our students had been doing some testing already in 3 different churches, their findings came in quite handy.  Two professors from the Psychology and Religion departments also spoke.  There was quite a large crowd.
We are really looking forward to our USU students coming next week!

This is what John thought of when I told him I was doing a blog on signs... http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/five_man_electrical_band/signs.html