We're getting used to the electricity turning off at any moment, sometimes for the whole day. Luck was with Jim getting a haircut when the barber using his electric rasor had finished about 90% before the electricity shut down. Good old scissors finished the job. Can truly learn the virtue of patience from the Ghanaians. Just wait, and things will eventually happen (hopefully!). Phone contact is a bit sporadic too but we purchased a cell which seems to do fairly well. Have been enjoying nice rice with tomato sauce & delicious fried plantains. May still need some time to acquire a taste for the traditional "TZ" (pronounced tee/zede) made of maize/corn or millet and "fu-fu" made with yams. Both are served with either a ground-nut sauce or stew-like mixture. Dessert is always a wonderful bowl of fruit, usually sweet watermelon and scrumptious mango.
We're in the rainy season. Generally a quick downpour but sometimes quite heavy. The rain is good & much appreciated, - one negative being the mosquitoes it encourages so it's comforting to crawl under our trusty sleeping net at night.
Using the internet -Ghanaian style- is just like it was at home for us before Jim, John, Beth & Steve threatened to stop visiting Kearny NJ until we switched from dial-up to broadband. See? We were simply preparing ourselves for our new lifestyle. Please don't send us any pictures as they take forever to download. Actually, broadband has come to Tamale and we've found a good internet cafe using it when we can get there.
As Ghana was formerly a British colony, English is the official language. However, Jim & I are hard at work trying to learn the local dialect of dagbani. It's a slow but fun process as we try to master the tone and pronunciation. Jim's dagbani rivals his previous attempts to speak French so we often give the Ghanaians a good laugh.

First Week

Exciting to be on African soil for the first time! On Wed, July 11 we were met by a driver from The Good Shepherd Home where we stayed while in Accra. Spent one day at Korle Bu Hospital and have seen various sections of this capital city. First impressions of Ghana include a warm welcome, friendly people, the paved roads filled with cars & congested with traffic and most side roads unpaved, ensuring many interesting bumbpy rides. Local sights include a multitude of road-side stands selling everything imaginable, goats and chickens leisurely crossing where they please, and a mixture of both African and Western dress. Jim blends right in with his usual attire; I have a bit of work to do in getting rid of my subtle beige and olive greens to try instead the colorful Ghanaian prints and fabrics.
Arrangements for Jim's container to be transported up north seem to be in order so we departed for Tamale on Tues, July 17 after spending all day at the airport on Monday only to learn the flight was canceled. No complaints from me, however, as there was a heavy rain in Tamale & some wise person decided it would be best to wait until it subsided. Given the small 15 to 20 seat passenger plane we flew, I was very content to fly in the sun the next day.
We're now staying at the Archbishop's residence in Tamale which is wonderful. Jim is at the Teaching Hospital today and hopes to learn about the status of our own housing. More from the Northern Region soon.....

First blog post - Test One. I'm setting this blog up for my mother, who is venturing off to Ghana in just a few days to accompany my father on his lifelong dream. Isn't she a trooper? I tried to title this blogsite as www.crazywife.blogspot.com but believe it or not, the name was already taken. I guess there are a lot of "crazy wives" out there. Either way, I'm excited to read updates from my crazy (but wonderful) parents as they begin their journey in West Africa. I hope you are, too!
-- Beth Murphy, 24, New York, NY