Destination: South Africa

A model struts her stuff during the Ghana Goes 2010 fashion show in Accra, Ghana (Photo by Anjali Nayar)

Accra, Ghana - "How are you?" I asked Samuel, as I clambered into his taxi, ball, camera and all.

"Small-small," he responded, using a local expression I have become very fond of. "Everything in Ghana is small-small: work small, earn small, live small," he added.

We were going through the winding lanes of Accra's Pig Farm neighbourhood in an attempt to bypass Accra's almost impenetrable afternoon traffic. Through the cracked windscreen of the taxi, I watched soccer players pass our row of stalled fuming cars; the players were on their way to local dirt fields for a daily dose of pick-up soccer.

I, for once, wasn't headed to a field, but to a fashion show called "Ghana Goes 2010," the first of a string of events being put on by Accra's funky arts scene in the run-up to the World Cup.

It was a beautiful event, with the catwalk suspended over the courtyard pool of one of Accra's upscale hotels. The line-up included couture but also poets and musicians.

The main attraction was the launch of the World Cup Maksi clothing line by the event organizers and local fashionistas Nana and Abynnah Seykiamah. (Check out my photo essay). The show also presented veteran designer Nallem's World Cup-inspired line.

The connection between soccer and fashion, you ask? David and Victoria Beckham aside, soccer unites people in African countries in a ways nothing else can.

For example, in neighbouring Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba was instrumental in bringing the country out of civil war. After impressive wins leading the team to qualify for its first World Cup final in 2006, Drogba is said to have fallen to his knees and begged his countrymen to lay down their weapons.

They did. Throughout the fragile peace process, over and over, the Ivory Coast national team took control where their politicians failed. They brought the country together by winning top games not just in Abidjan but also in Bouake, the capital of the country's North and once rebel-held territory.

The power of soccer spans to countries across the continent - when the players step out on to the field, the following 90 minutes are free of political, religious and ethnic divides. It's really this sense of unity and peace through soccer that inspires artists, musicians and even fashion designers.

I think that for many African entrepreneurs, musicians or otherwise, the World Cup is also an opportunity to be seen on the international stage. It is one of the first times the West has turned to the continent for anything other than war stories. I couldn't have said it better than local film-maker Mantse Aryeequaye

"People coming to the World Cup from other parts of the world, who don't know anything about Africa, will be blown away," he said. "I invite you to see for yourselves that it's not all horrible - it's not disease, famine and war. Africa is beautiful people, beautiful music, art, lovely food and vibrant culture."

I agree. We in North America have such a distorted perception of the "dark continent." The comments on my blog are testament. But when I look around, I see vibrant people - students, artists, musicians, sportspeople -- with dreams, like anywhere else in the world. Walking around in the night markets isn't a death trap, it's just like walking around on the streets of any Canadian city, but hotter, with better music and tastier food.

I say that, because last night I walked through the night market near my hotel in Adabraka, hoping to get away from the heat (a power failure in the hotel) and find some local eats - a peanut soup known as hkatenkwan and fufu, which are balls of boiled cassava and unripe plantain.

I was guided through the black streets by the little spotlights of roadside shops that illuminated heaps of DVDs of the latest movies (not even out in cinema in Canada yet), frilly Chinese-made underwear and cleaning products.

As I got deeper into the market, the place came alive, there was music booming from every shop - dancehall and hiplife (you can get a taste of it from the grandfather of hiplife himself, Reggie Rockstone). I think I even heard some Celine Dion.

On the centre walkway, multicoloured Converse shoes were stacked like Jenga blocks. I had to be careful as I browsed so I didn't fall into the gaping open sewer. Accra's walkways are a bit of an obstacle course.

Though we might call Accra and other African cities "behind" in terms of infrastructure and basic amenities, it's clearly not behind in other ways. Along the dirt roads, young people sit on makeshift furniture watching clips of the television programme So You Think You Can Dance and checking their Facebook profiles "every five minutes."

I've never actually been to a more Facebook-addicted city. I did a morning show interview on Ghana's top radio station Joy FM the other day, and half way through my description of my journey, one of the presenters piped up: "That's really interesting, but what's your profile name? I can't find you on Facebook."

Lack of basic infrastructure (provided by governments) has bred all sorts of interesting entrepreneurial technology across the African continent - including ways to send money, pay bills and even buy farming insurance over a mobile phone. Of course mobiles here in this market seem to be mostly used for checking Facebook.

I was sweating by the time I got back to the hotel and the power was still off. Sigh.

"How are you?" asked the front desk man, sitting outside in the dark to escape the heat.

"Small-small," I responded.

Follow me on Twitter for more updates at http://twitter.com/anjalinayar

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Canadian journalist Anjali Nayar will travel across Africa by train, bus and foot (and when necessary by plane), and will arrive in South Africa just before the World Cup. Along the way, Anjali will tell the continent's stories through its favourite sport: soccer.

For the trip, Anjali will bring only the essentials on her back (camera, flip video, computer) and in her hand - a soccer ball. Every day, Anjali will play soccer, whether she's on the beaches of Accra or stuck in one of Lagos' impenetrable traffic jams. Sometimes she'll play with children in the sprawling slums and refugee camps, other times she'll play with adults in the rich diplomatic quarters of major cities.

Through her Destination: South Africa blog, Anjali hopes CBCSports.ca readers will discover Africa and what the World Cup and the game of soccer means to the continent.