mtn'ed
Brilliant. I guess.
Cell phone providers fight for advertising space in Ghana. This isn’t much of a television watching culture. So they take over billboards and storefronts, and pepper the streets with banners and flags. In any given week, Tamale may be adorned head to toe in red (Vodafone), bubble bee yellow and blue (Mtn), or my favorite, Barney purple and green (Zain). To the misfortune of those living on the main road, (the one that stretches the whole country) they will probably have their house painted, in exchange for cell phone credits and t-shirts by one of the providers. This is especially the case in the south. I have a feeling they don’t mind the free coat of paint, but we PCV’s think it’s a little ridiculous. We like to play, would you rather be mtned, vodaphoned or zained? (Zain, all the way)
Passing through Sankpala while traveling with Krista and Ciana, I discovered, to my utter horror, that a number of homes had been mtn’ed in my community. Martyn’s house! The tailor’s house! Come on! Abukari’s shop, Latifa’s shop… Wait, no, not the mosque! Is anything sacred? Oh Gawd, Alhaj. Don’t tell me.
Yep, our entire compound: bubble bee yellow. A dozen mtn emblems stamped everywhere. I guess it was only a matter of time. That’s what happens when you live on a major road. So if you ever find yourself in Northern Ghana and need a place to crash, I’m in the mtn house.
And I didn’t even get a t-shirt.
Cell phone providers fight for advertising space in Ghana. This isn’t much of a television watching culture. So they take over billboards and storefronts, and pepper the streets with banners and flags. In any given week, Tamale may be adorned head to toe in red (Vodafone), bubble bee yellow and blue (Mtn), or my favorite, Barney purple and green (Zain). To the misfortune of those living on the main road, (the one that stretches the whole country) they will probably have their house painted, in exchange for cell phone credits and t-shirts by one of the providers. This is especially the case in the south. I have a feeling they don’t mind the free coat of paint, but we PCV’s think it’s a little ridiculous. We like to play, would you rather be mtned, vodaphoned or zained? (Zain, all the way)
Passing through Sankpala while traveling with Krista and Ciana, I discovered, to my utter horror, that a number of homes had been mtn’ed in my community. Martyn’s house! The tailor’s house! Come on! Abukari’s shop, Latifa’s shop… Wait, no, not the mosque! Is anything sacred? Oh Gawd, Alhaj. Don’t tell me.
Yep, our entire compound: bubble bee yellow. A dozen mtn emblems stamped everywhere. I guess it was only a matter of time. That’s what happens when you live on a major road. So if you ever find yourself in Northern Ghana and need a place to crash, I’m in the mtn house.
And I didn’t even get a t-shirt.
Comments
I loved your piece about Aze; it was very touching.
Had a great weekend at Tuscarora and it was fun to see and hang out with your four youngest brothers a bit. John and Steve are getting tall! Had fun on the tennis court partnering up with your dad, against my husband and the speaker, who is a professional!
I send my love and prayers,
Katie