| Sunday, November 12, 2006 |
| Highway to Hell |
November12, 2006
Let's just say that I enjoyed Accra very much, but I seem to have less than smooth experiences with the STC station in Accra. On the 10th I was on a dairy kick, and ate cheese, yogurt, and mutter panneer at the Indian restaurant. I think my body said 'how dare you overload on dairy! I don't care if you haven't had it in over a month!' because I woke up and felt like garbage. My stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots and I was running to the bathroom every 10 minutes. At the bus station the situation wasn't much better, and to top it off we had to wait in line to get our bags weighed, wait in line to get our baggage paid for, and the bus station is undergoing renovations. I think I lost about 4 litres of water just from sweating and using the toilet at the station, and felt like I was going to pass out. While I was in the toilet the last time before boarding the bus, I missed the porters putting the baggage in the boot, so when I came out the driver just said, 'take the bags on with you'. So, there I was with my bag in the middle of the aisle, my backpack above me, and my purse on my lap. Not impressed.
The bus ride took a very long time. Maybe it felt longer because I wasn't feeling 100%. But then, just outside of Kumasi, it seemed like everyone on the bloody bus, except Jeanine and I, felt like they had to buy huge bunches of plantains! And guess where they stored them? On the floor of the bus. So aside from my baggage, getting around plantain bunches turned the bus into a Survivor obstacle course.
We arrived into Tamale around midnight, so about 15 hours on the bus, and on the way to the guesthouse I got propositioned by the taxi driver. I don't know if I have 'gullible' written on my face, but situations like these happen too much. Jeanine never gets this kind of grief!
Today I still felt like hell, so I was slow getting up. I went to the G bar and had spaghetti mollonaise, which turned out to be this strange stirfry'ish sauce with green peppers and carrots. Let's just say I ate the noodles, and left what I could of the sauce. I also downed about a litre and a half of water. I am still feeling like hell, so I went and picked up some rehydration salts, ibuprofen, and I'm going to get lots of water and fruit juice. I am also going to track down SEND's doctor and talk to him. |
posted by angelina @ 5:38 AM  |
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| Friday, November 10, 2006 |
| Accra and other happenings |
October 25, 2006
Today I left for Kpandai in the afternoon, so I had a lot of things to buy in the market. But I got up too early and out the door before the market opened, so I walked around for a bit. I was walking by a shop and there was a woman sweeping with her friend, and she looked up at me and said obolo (fat). I looked back at her and said chingilingi (skinny). The look on her face was priceless! She looked so surprised, then her and her friend started to laugh, and they ran back behind the shop. I could hear them telling more people in the back. I don’t think she expected me to know what she said.
I checked more emails, then went to some shops to buy some things. I stopped by the SEND Youth office and Laurentia came with me to the market to help me buy some shoes for Stephanie. On the way back to the office these two men started talking as we walked by and Laurentia started to laugh. I asked her what they were saying and she said that they were arguing about whether or not I was half-Ghanaian. It was probably because my hair is so dark.
Vasco and Saphia gave me a ride to the bus station, and I saw that Daniel was going back to Kpandai that day too. He was in Tamale to write some tests to get into medical school. Thank goodness he was there, because I probably wouldn’t have gotten a seat on the bus without him there. Apparently you have to put something on the seat to reserve your place. I didn’t realize this on the way into Tamale because I just sat on the bus until it left. But in Tamale Daniel told me that it wouldn’t leave until it was full, and that could be a few hours until the passengers came. I didn’t want to sit on the bus for that long!
This bus was a lot better than the one we came to Tamale on. It was smaller, the seats had more room for my knees, and it was much quicker. It was nice to have Daniel to talk to on the ride as well. The ride back to Kpandai was pretty uneventful, except that at one of the police checkstops past Yendi the cops started to talk to me, ask me how I was, where I was from, etc. I was a little nervous about that, expecting them to ask me to show my passport or something, but they were just being nice. I was so thankful to get to Kpandai at a decent hour, and to get to my bed!
October 26, 2006
I was a little out of it today because the traveling took a lot out of me. The power was on, so I did some work at the office, but I spent most of the afternoon at Delphina’s visiting with her. These girls were walking by and selling freshly roasted groundnuts, and I’ll tell you, they beat Planter’s peanuts any day of the week!
There’s this Spanish soap opera called My Sweet Fat Valentina that airs on GTV on Thursday nights, and I’ve gotten a little into it. So I was a little rattled when the power went off half way through the show!
October 27, 2006
Today Reverend Moses came through Kpandai on his way to meetings in Bimbilla for the weekend, so he stopped in to say hello. He is going to be traveling into Tamale the week of November 6, so he said he would take me into Tamale with him, and then I can meet up with Jeanine and Rod, and travel into Accra with the both of them. I am getting excited about going into Accra, seeing Adowa and Idrissa again, and finally getting my Coffee Crisp bars!
Town was pretty quiet today, but I had some visitors to the office. Silas came by and chatted for a bit, so did Samuel and his mother Cecilia. The lady who would come by the office to sell me oranges stopped in as well, and I had fun trying to chat with her in French. She’s from Gabon, and I think she enjoys having someone to speak French with again, even if I’m so bad at it! She was telling me that town is so quiet because so many of the Muslims are probably ill because of Saalah or the celebration at the end of Ramadan. I could see that happening, because two days of feasting after a month of fasting would wreak havoc on anyone’s digestive system!
Lelewu came back from Salaga today, but I won’t be seeing Raymond until I go into Tamale in two weeks. Lelewu gave me a lift home on his motorbike and I repaid him by snapping one of his rear lights as I got off. I felt really bad about that! He said that tomorrow he would take me to his house. I am looking forward to meeting his family!
The power went off at 6 so I brought Stephanie and Desmond some glow sticks when I went over to Rosemary’s for supper. I’ve never seen anyone so excited. The kids really liked playing with them, and I think that Gladys and Fosty liked looking at them too!
October 28, 2006
This Saturday was pretty quiet. I came into work a little later than usual, which made some people remark. I read and typed most of the day, and called Stevie to wish him a happy birthday. When I headed home I watched a movie with Rosemary. The power went off right at the end, which left me rattled again. There was a wicked thunderstorm tonight around 3 in the morning which frightened me a little, haha. I think it was the combination of no electricity and the storm.
October 29, 2006
The power came on at 5:30 in the morning but then it went off again at 6. Today I went to church with Rosemary because Kate was having a naming ceremony with her little girl. She named her Barbra. Church was pretty much the same as when I went with Rosemary last time, the service was in Twi and Kokomba, and Rosemary translated the sermons and testimonies into English for me. That is where I appreciate going to the Roman Catholic church, because the priest speaks in English.
After church I hung out with Rosemary, across the road from the house, under a bunch of mango trees. We watched people as they went into town to the market. I got to try some sugar cane for the first time, it reminded me of very watery watermelon. You peel the outer bark off, chew the inside until it runs out of water, and then you spit the remainder out. I had quite a mess in front of me by the time I was finished. I called Clint to wish him a happy belated birthday, and then Mom and Kyler called, and I beaked Kyler a bit.
Supper was fufu with light soup, and we had some ‘minerals’ (pop) after. I tried Krest lemon bitters, which is bitter (duh), and tastes a little like licorice. I finally got to finish the rest of the movie that we started to watch the night before, and it was a good ending! The man and woman lived happily ever after!
October 30, 2006
Business was as usual at the office. I was a little late getting there though, I really didn’t feel like getting up! I am getting excited to travel to Accra to see Adowa and Idrissa, and to be somewhere big, until I get sick of being in a big city again.
Delphina celebrated her birthday tonight, which was on Saturday, and she invited me for dinner, with some other people, including Father Flavian. He didn’t ask me why I wasn’t in church on Sunday, which I was happy about, because just about every other Roman Catholic I saw today did. Dinner was rice balls with groundnut soup and chicken. And I also had two Malta’s. It’s a non-alcoholic beverage, I can’t really describe it, but it isn’t too bad, just very filling. I felt very very full when I got back to Rosemary’s, so I groaned a little when I saw that Fosty had made us TZ for supper!
October 31, 2006
I went to the market today and bought a couple of brooms, and some nailpolish for Delphina. It’s hard to buy for birthday presents in Kpandai, especially since I don’t know what to get for Delphina! I wasn’t feeling very hungry today, in fact my stomach still felt full, but my TZ from the night before was what was for breakfast.
I visited with Lelewu for most of the afternoon, which was nice because I never get a chance to speak with him. His motorbike was broken down so he couldn’t travel to the villages today. We discussed the differences in dating and romance between Ghana and Canada. I really appreciated the talk because I still get thrown a little off when men come up to me and say that they love me and want to marry me on first sight. Lelewu explained that men say they love a woman to show that they are serious about them.
November 1, 2006
Today I was noticing that my right leg was looking a little iffy. I had a blister from my trip to Tamale that looked infected, as well I had a strange looking rash on my shin that was getting puffy and wasn’t going away. I asked Rosemary to come with me to the Evangelical Health Clinic. They weighed me and took my temperature, outside the office in front of everyone else, but I had people laughing because I was telling them that I didn’t want to break the weigh scale. I talked to Timothy, the doctor, and he prescribed me some cream for the rash, and antibiotics for the blister.
I came into work today, but the power ended up being off for most of the day. I don’t understand why, because Stephen told me that the power authority reported that there would be no more scheduled power outages, apparently the lake now has enough water to power the hydroelectricity.
Anyway, I basically hung out with Stephen for most of the morning and afternoon, under a mango tree across from the credit union. There were some girls beside us selling candies, oranges and bananas. One girl was selling kola nuts (as in Coca Cola), and I tried to eat one. I couldn’t finish it, it was the most bitter thing I’ve ever tried in my life! I gave the rest to Stephen.
Lelewu was around in the afternoon, he had to wait for the CIFS driver to bring some surveys to him in Kpandai. So he took Stephen’s place under the mango tree and visited with me most of the afternoon. I got to meet some of his friends as they stopped by to visit with him.
The power came on at 4:00, but by that time I didn’t feel like working so I visited with the lady that sells oranges by the credit union, and the tailors that work beside the credit union. Beyaa was also at his shop too so I visited with him a bit. He is busy on his farm most of these days so I never get a chance to see him. He is preparing things for his trip to Togo to see about getting some work with his brother.
November 2, 2006
I found out today that Stephen’s wife had a baby boy the night before. He didn’t tell me that his wife was expecting! I bought the traditional baby gift, bars of soap, and gave it to him. I also made him promise me that he would invite me to the baby’s naming ceremony.
Beyaa was at his shop in the afternoon so I hung out outside of the office and visited with him and the people that came to see him. Today I tried to eat some palm nuts. I thought they were berries when I bought them, but I quickly found out that you don’t eat them, you cook them in soup to get the oil out of them. I gave them to Rosemary to cook with.
I also bought a bag of tiger nuts, which were edible, and very good. They’re very sweet, and kind of taste like evaporated milk. Beyaa also brought me fresh popo (papaya) from his farm. So I was full of food today!
November 3, 2006
Today was Father Flavian’s birthday, and I got invited to his celebration in the evening at the Mission. So I had to go find a present in Kpandai for a priest. I know he sweats as much as I do in church, so I bought him some handkerchiefs.
As I was shopping I stopped by Mike’s welding shop to say hi, as I hadn’t been there before. He was busy so I didn’t bother him too much.
Lelewu was traveling to villages today so the office was pretty quiet. I went and got some printing done, then visited with Delphina for a bit. I also went by the credit union and said hi to Stephen, Zack, Stella and her daughter Emanuella. Beyaa was at his shop in the afternoon so I sat outside and visited with him. Silas also came by to say hello.
While I was sitting outside a girl came up to me with a big bunch of bananas and said they were a gift from her sister. I asked her to show me her sister, and her sister came over. I thanked her, but I am still not too sure why she gave them to me. They were very good through, but I couldn’t eat them all, so I gave the rest to Chadrak, Rosemary’s brother in law.
I walked with Delphina to Father Flavian’s birthday, and it was a lot of fun! There was music, so people were dancing, and for food there was light soup with goat or chicken, and meat skewers. Father found out that I liked Star beer, so while everyone else drank Guinness, I got to drink that. Father Flavian also beaked me for not drinking faster! I had three beers, which may not seem like a lot, but these bottles are twice the size of bottles at home. Needless to say I was feeling good. They made me get up and dance with them, and then at the end of the celebration they asked me talk more about myself and where I was from. So some parts of the birthday were much more formal than I am used to in Canada, I don’t remember ever having to give speeches at birthdays. Then again, I don’t normally remember much of anything of what I did at my friends birthdays in Canada!
I walked back into the office because I forgot my antibiotics and other things. Mike was also closing up shop for the day so he walked me home. It was nice to have the company and to visit with him. He is originally from Accra, but moved to Kpandai because there was more welding work available for him, so next week if he has time, he’s going to come into Accra while I’m there and show me the hot spots in the city. It should be fun!
November 4, 2006
Today I got gifted with MORE bananas from the same girl! I gave most of them away though as I walked home. I didn't work today, basically visited with Delphina, Beyaa and Mike, and watched a movie with Rosemary in the evening. Over and out.
November 5, 2006
So today was an interesting day. I went to church, talked with Mom and Dad, and then Father Flavian came and got me, and took me drinking. Yes, I went boozing with a priest. It was fun!
I had some drama in the evening when I discovered, after eating at Rosemary's, that someone had entered my room and my camera had been stolen. Long story short, after talking to Jokia, Evelyn, Kate and the kids, we quickly figured out that it was a boy that had been coming to visit me. So we went to the police, and they went and got the boy, and they got my camera back! But I didn't press charges against him, but his mother insisted that he spend the night in the police cell to learn his lesson. I was late getting home from the station, which meant that I was late getting ready to go into Accra.
November 6, 2006
Today I was a grumpy grumpy girl. Especially after getting something stolen from me the night before and then getting asked for money three separate times, in the morning. I think Beyaa noticed that I was a little down, so he bought me a coconut. He's so nice! He is travelling to Togo when I go to Accra so I'll miss his departure, and I'm going to miss him very much when he is away.
Revrend Bakar and Offei came through in the morning and got me for the ride into Tamale. On the way in we lost three different belts in the truck, and the truck broke down about 20 km outside of Tamale. It was already starting to get dark, so Revrend arranged a ride for me with this man travelling into Tamale to sell his corn.
WHen I got to the guesthouse, my room was almost given away, and that made me freak out a bit. It all got settled, and I went out on the town with Jeanine, Bernard, another SEND worker in Salaga, Raymond and his fiancee Vivian. IT was fun, and I really really needed the beer!
November 7, 2006
Today was a long day, as we were travelling into Accra. But this time at least the wait for the bus to depart wasn't so long! We left Only one hour and a half after the departure time. Better than the four hour wait in Accra.
The ride was pretty uneventful, except I quickly made friends with the driver after he discovered I could understand Twi small small. So anytime I got off the bus he would shout, 'Obolo, you get 15 minutes!'. I would yell back 'okay chingilingi!'
We got in late, and then went to the hotel right away. It's pretty sweet, it's in Osu, close to the government buildings and the ocean, and a little more upscale neighbourhood. The room is HUGE, and I have the biggest bed EVER. I think it's even bigger than Aunt Tracy's!
November 8, 2006
TOday was a pretty laid back day with Rod. We went and bought our bus tickets for Saturday, and then ate and checked internet. Dinner was at a CHinese restaurant, and it is my mission to not have ANY rice, yam, or corn this week in Accra. We also hit up the Koala market, which is expat heaven, and I bought shampoo and biscuits for the police in Kpandai as a thank you gift. The shampoo is for me though!
I also talked to Mike, the welder who is in Kpandai but from Accra. He was in Accra getting some parts, and I tried to see if we could meet for a drink, but it didn't end up working out. Next time!
November 9, 2006
Today we took the long trek out to the SEND office in Nungua, visited with Freeman and Rita, and got my things! Voellmecke is the awesomest friend ever, she sent me my Coffee Crisps, Cheesies, Oysters, Carnation Hot CHocolate (with marshmallows, no less!), and a smutty novel. I think I waited about 10 minutes before I tucked into a coffee crisp, yum.
We met Adowa and Idrissa for lunch, and then hit up a book fair at the National Theatre. I found a guidebook for Twi for the non-speaker, and I also picked up The Heart and the Darkness. I know it's controversial and I've always wanted to read it.
We also went to the CUA offices and saw where Adowa and Idrissa work, although the power was out. In the evening we went to an Indian restaurant, and I already broke my vow not to have any rice this weekend. Oh well, it was basmati rice, and pretty awesome. I also had Chai tea which rocked!
November 10, 2006
Today I pretty much went out to Nungua, and visited with Banahene and Cassandra, and saw Cassandra's hair shop. She made me promise to come to Accra and spend Christmas with her and Banahene, and she said she would show me the touristy things around here, like Cape Town and Labadi Beach.
This evening we're going to another Indian restaurant for supper, but Adowa and Idrissa are now at the hotel enjoying their privacy, in their own rooms. So tonight we'll have more time to visit! |
| posted by angelina @ 6:28 AM |
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| Me, Myself, and I |
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Alias: angelina
Where I'm at: Kpandai, Northern Region, Ghana
In 500 words or less: I am now done my schoolin' and you may all call me Master! I'm currently livin it up in a small town in Northern Ghana, and it's a blast being the only 'obruni' (white) in town!
Step into my mind, if you dare
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