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Published: February 10th 2009
My House!
Not bad eh?!Hey all!
Many thanks for all your lovely messages and comments from the last couple of blogs - keep them coming! Sorry it has been so long... I hope to post a blog at least twice a week, but work and crap internet connection means that I haven't been able to do that recently.
So, settle in and take a deep breath, cos this one may take some time... but there are pictures :o)
Saturday 31st January
Strangely woke again at about 4am... it is the quietest I've heard this place since arriving - not for long! By the time I got up at about 10am there was a tonne of noise outside, but it was Saturday and I was pooped and in need of some recuperation time!
Had the usual for breakfast, but did a peanut butter and jam sandwich this time,... much easier to swallow! Mooched about in the morning, read some of my book, blogged, and washed.
Late morning I set off outside the security of the house, for the first time by myself... the stinky smell really hit me again, glad that it doesn't make it as far as the
Back garden
Not quite like home... but less maintenance! house... wandered down the road, past the man who claimed he was 'my friend' and that he had a question to ask me (smile sweetly and keep walking...) Jumped on the first tro tro going to Circle... gave the mate a 50 peswas coin and got 30 change (this doesn't mean that my return journey was going to be the same I soon learnt...)
Took about 20 mins to get to Circle. Hopped off before all the commotion, and the bus turned around in the middle of the road, which left me in the middle of the 'road'... you could say dual carriage way, or how would you say it if there were 4 lanes of traffic snaking across the road in each direction? Anyway, made it across... and wandered down the road to the internet café. WOW, I'll be spending a lot more time here... it's air conditioned :o)
After an hour, walked to the stop outside where I'll be working and hopped on another tro tro to Danqua circle. Stopped there for some supplies... crisps, wet wipes (!) and sweets... well, you know how I said there was half the population on the streets trying to
Pets!
Not as friendly as Maggie! sell you anything and everything, well they weren't bloody trying hard enough to sell what I wanted... grrr. So I took a longer than expected walk down the road, which was all the same interesting, and turned a couple of corners onto the back streets in the hope of finding some crisps! I saw a tiny little shack selling bits and pieces and requested some nuts. The random man sat at the side of the shack said that I should also buy him some (!?) riiiiight... I gave the counter boy 10 peswas and took a little bag of nuts, again 'my friend' said 'buy me some'... er.... no (smile!) 'you should buy me some' he said again... er... why?! 'Well, because I am your friend'.... yes, of course you are... before I left, he then decided that I should take my money back and he would buy me some.... I kindly declined his offer and walked on... the hunt for crisps and sweets was still a priority over making friends like that!
Finally gave in to shopping in the Westerner's supermarket... grrr... picked up some crisps, cherry chew sweets and wet wipes - brilliant! Quiet expensive by comparison
My street
Featuring the local corner shop... should you need ANYTHING in the world! tho... However, I know that this Country deserves more credit than it gets... and I can now survive no matter what... because... they have... PINK WAFERS!!! woohoo! Ooooo... and 2 for 1 pizzas on a tuesday … and ice cream next door :o)
Picked up a tro tro with a mate who was clearly having a bad day and requested that I get dropped off at Jokers (my stop near home)... well, when we were getting near and there was no sign of him slowing down I said to my 'mate'... 'jokers?'... little reply that I heard or could see from his scowling brow... then when we whizzed past, I said, 'hey mate, jokers stop for me'... yeah whatever, I think his head jerk meant... so I resorted to tapping him on the shoulder repeatedly until he stopped another 20 yards down the road to let the annoying white girl off the bus... he'll not do that again!
Got back in the afternoon and finished reading my book, good job I always carry 2! Snoozed a bit - the heat really is making it difficult not to have an afternoon nap every day... lets hope I can last
Local produce
Stuff to make Banku/Fufu... should I ever feel the urge... whilst I'm at work!
Had dinner at about 5.30pm... so not used to eating this early!!! Had a spring roll to start, some spaghetti/noodles (?) with veg and meat in a tasty sauce... of some variation, and lots of fresh pineapple again for pudding - absolutely stuffed!
Sunday 1st February
Woke early... again... when will I get a lie in!?
Got up to make some breakfast. As I was constructing a wicked peanut butter and jam sandwich I got chatting to Mr Wulff who was also in the kitchen... I should have got stuck into my sandwich there and then, it would have given me an excuse to not be able to reply to his constant questions!
We had a very VERY deep discussion/one sided conversation about what he'd done in life - like he'd moved to the UK in the 1960's for 6 years and had worked with heavy machinery there. He had also taken his wife and his eldest child (his son who is working as a doctor in the USA) he went on to talk about how he had also worked in Sudan, and found it very different and a difficult
Street
More of the street and a group of girls walking home from school way of life because of their religion. He went on to talk about the Ghanaian way of life - which was really fascinating - he spoke about how, when a man wants to marry a woman, she has to be accepted into the man's family, and there is a big meeting with all the family members on both sides, just to check out that they are suitable to be calling each other family, for example, if one side of the family has a relative with a mental health illness, this will usually alienate them and no-one will want to marry into the family for fear of 'catching' the illness! He also explained about their big celebration and how the man brings 4 pieces of cloth and drink and food for everyone to enjoy. They don't do 'silly things' like give each other rings, they just get on with it and then sign a piece of paper! It is at this point that the woman is accepted into the man's family and she takes his name and becomes like a sister to everyone. However, when she dies, her body and soul are given back to her people for them to care
Living room
Where we generally eat and sit on a evening... just needs a good dust and tidy! for and bury. They usually ask questions of her husbands family, like why did they let her die and what did they do to her to make her die?!
Mr Wulff then got onto asking the difficult questions... he asked me what I prayed for in life... woah... well, sometimes I pray that I pass my exam, or that I am successful in life or that all my close friends and family are happy and healthy... well, I nearly made the old man fall off his chair laughing!... He said that 'the English' have a very vague way of putting things... he asked if I had a boyfriend... errr... nope... which, I'm glad to say, the old guy found quite a shock! He said that I should be praying to find a man who will accept me for who I am. (yeah, sounds like a good idea!) Apparently it is wrong to ask for someone who is amazing and handsome (you mean, I may have to put up with a little man... no way!) and that I should just be grateful to find someone who will love me for who I am, 'warts and all'! Seemed sensible, just need
Local pub!
I doubt that the owner has ever been to the 'West end'... to do some serious praying now!
So, after my very grilling philosophical question time... I set off to go to the nice pool at the Shangri-la. Well, Mr Wulff could not quite believe that I was going to go out by myself and said that I should call on one of the other volunteers from across the road... but he didnt know that they were all away for the wekeend. I just explained to him that I would be fine, thanking him for his concern. But then he suggested that I go to the beach then, he did have a point here as it is closer and cheaper, but was I going to go alone. Well, yeah! Anyway, he gave me strict instructions not to take anything with me other than the money I needed to get there and back.
I hopped on the tro tro, going completely the opposite direction to the way I had originally planned, and headed for Labadi beach. God knows where I was going to get off,... it all looked like beach to me, but I had been told that I had to pay a small token to get onto the beach (anything
Local 'disco'!
This place is literally just across and down the road... and plays REEEEEEALLY loud music ALL night!!! But you have to give it credit for the name! to make money... 'selling sand to the Arabs' springs to mind...) so I didn't want to go wrong. Anyway, got off at what I thought was a good spot... but would have to walk back over to get to the beach, and this meant walking past one of only two 5star hotels in the Country. I'd done a little bit of research into the Labadi beach area and knew that this was a verrrrr niiiiiice hotel :o) The temptation was too much, I was practically dragged in,... yes kicking and screaming almost, arm twisted behind my back, really. Until I paid the little man to give me a towel and THE most comfortable sunbed I have ever experienced for the afternoon - sheer bliss!
Woke up a couple of hours later to find that I had only successfully managed to suntan one side of me, so turned over for the other side... lovely!
Just as I was packing up, I saw a HUGE lizard, well we're talking maybe about a foot long, the size of a small dog... not one of those piddly lizards you see climbing up the wall in Spain or Portugal, but a BIG lizard...
Crossing the road
Look left, look right... oh sod it... Just do as the locals do and RUN! Actually, this isn't the best photo... but I survived to show you! just wandering between the sunbeds, having a look around, checking out the talent... was hilarous!
Back at home the other girls had got back from their weekend, so spent the evening catching up with them.
I have added some photos here of my 'home' and the surrounding area... hope it's helping to paint the picture... it's a bit difficult to take photos discreetly, without someone wanting payment!
For those of you who are still with me at this point... well done and thanku!!!
Hope you're all well and over the snow (sooooo jealous!)
Catch up again soon
Clare x
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Fran
non-member comment
Dude!
I feel much better knowing you are getting your weekly in take of pink waffers - and you still have that loud music (club) to remind you of the hammers and your east end roots (links)! glads all going well hun, this is the first blog thing I have recieved, has there been earlier ones? Big hugs fxx p.s. snows gone