Travel

Last year, when I left Ghana in the fall, Jim had the arrival of our daughter, Beth, to look forward to in December. This year, two of our sons, Jim and John, plan to visit him in early November. Stephen will miss the trip as he is working knee-deep in election mania out in Nevada. After about seven days in Ghana, Jim, Sr., Jim and John will all board a flight to Casablanca. John is to continue directly on to the U.S. whereas Beth will then fly from New York to join Jim and Jimmy for a week of adventure in Morocco. I plan to skip this jaunt but hopefully we can select an interesting destination at which we can all meet sometime in 2009 (New Jersey is not Jim, Sr.'s first choice). Any recommendations?
Thanks for reading our blogs. Please look for photos to be posted in the near future.

Pizza, Ice-cream, Seminarians and COLWOD

After a traditional lunch at SWAD with Rick and Mmathuba, I transported my "take-out" order of three veggie & Hawaiian pizzas back to the house in preparation for the seminarians who I had invited over for a farewell party at 4 PM. Figured they may have had their fill of jollof rice and yams so an American feast of pizza and ice-cream made up the menu. Four of the young women from COLWOD also joined us and midst tears, smiles, and lots of photo taking, we had a great time. A highlight of the afternoon was our son John's call on SKYPE. The seminarians and the girls all took turns speaking with him and thoroughly enjoyed seeing one of the persons I'm always talking about live on screen with the computer's video camera. John's comments provided some great reactions and laughter and it was truly a special experience for my guests.

Guests For Dinner

Archbishop Gregory, Rick and Mmathuba came for dinner here on Tuesday. And, among the stories told, we learned from the Archbishop that Jim's unpopular regulation of making all patients wait their turn before being seen by him in the clinic (hospital staff are notorious for squeezing into the schedule a variety of relatives and friends) was even in place 30 years ago when Jim was working in the Upper Region West. At that time, Gregory was Bishop of the Wa diocese. He was having a problem with his ears and had heard about the new young doctor up in Jirapa. When Gregory arrived, the Ghanaians were thrilled to have their Bishop visiting and swiftly brought him right over to be examined by Jim. And then, - "the rule" went into effect. To the utter dismay of the hospital staff, the good Bishop was made to wait his turn like everyone else. Evidently, the incident did no damage to the relationship because they've both kept in touch throughout the years.
For the meal, Godwin outdid himself in the kitchen and a combination of Ghanaian and American cuisine was enjoyed by all. I tried to contribute a salad made with "peelable" produce - cucumbers, avocado and sliced onion - but ended up with just the cucumbers. The avocado was spoiled, and the "sweet" onions I thought I bought at the market were so strong that I was afraid people would hesitate to even open their mouths to talk after eating them. Nonetheless, the dinner was a success and included mashed yams with a vegetable cream sauce, and boiled plantains with palava sauce (a mixture of spinach-like greens and local beans). Cordials of Takai and Amarula topped off the evening.

Generators and Shoes

Time to consider getting a generator for power outages - at least one with enough capacity to back up the refrigerator and a bedroom air conditioner. We haven't had to use anything but ceiling fans for the past few months but one says that A/C can be a definite priority in the dry season. And, although electrical power has generally been better this year, it does go out periodically - one recent night from about 9PM to 6AM. On another evening, it went just as we were getting dressed to have dinner at the home of friends (who happily do have a generator). We left the house with flashlight in hand but I arrived stylishly wearing one black and one tan sandal.

Rain but No Water

Last week was a rough one for our friend, Damien. He slept at our place Sunday night as he was flooded out of his own home earlier that morning. The plains in his area simply gave way to the overflow of the river from all the heavy rains we've had. He had to trudge through waist-deep water to re-enter the house in order to retieve some of his clothes and personal belongings - this after battling an episode of malaria for the previous five days.
At the same time, usable water has been in short supply around us. The weekly delivery to the poly tanks in our back yard has actually been pretty consistent but unfortunately for many others this has not been the case. Our shower was open to guests. It's difficult to understand why an efficient system is not in place to take advantage of conserving the large amount of precipitation that occurs during the rainy season - especially when facing the very hot, dry months ahead.

Approaching Another Farewell

The date for my return to the U.S. is fast approaching and as with last year, I have conflicting emotions. One difference, however, is this time I leave Jim living in our own rented home, and more entrenched and well accepted by his colleagues at the hospital.
The other evening we attended a farewell dinner for four Cuban doctors who are returning to Cuba after completing a two-year assignment in Tamale. Several hospital personnel - physicians, nurses, and administrators - came up to me and sang Jim's praises. He was even encouraged to say a few words to everyone and like a true Ghanaian, followed a speech with one of his tried and true jokes.
We are now in the middle of Ramadan and sometimes the Islamic call to prayer seems louder than usual. Actually, I think I'll miss the assortment of sounds in Tamale - the hypnotic Muslim chants, the beautiful singing and playing of drums during Mass on Sundays, the ever-reliable roosters waking us up each morning, and the amazing variety of bird calls during the day.
Life here in the Northern Region of Ghana continues to be alluring in its own exceptional way.

Jim Makes Progress with Dagbani

Jim remains diligent in his effort to learn Dagbani. Early every morning before our night watchman leaves for the day, one can hear Jim practicing his numbers and reciting the days of the week for Mumuni's (we used to call him Mahama but I think we finally got it right) approval. And a taxi ride with Jim can be pure entertainment (we have yet to purchase a vehicle of our own). The most serious driver stares in amazement as my husband tries to communicate some thought or request in a fractured combination of syntax and pronunciation. Fellow passengers (the taxi usually picks up at least four people before moving) are sometimes convulsed with laughter but at the same time compliment and congratulate him for attempting to speak the local language. Acually, more often than not, he makes himself well undersood. We arrive at the correct destination, receive the right change, and are rewarded by a genuine smile.

Two-Way Learning Experience

My love of the French language and the interest of Mmathuba to learn it have provided us with an ideal opportunity to develop a welcome friendship. We have a one-on-one tutoring session on weekday mornings and, in addition, always manage to squeeze in some news of our children, facts about Mmathuba's native country, Botswana, and frequent trips into town. We can commiserate on the length of time it takes to prepare fresh vegetables in Ghana and can appreciatiate the ease with which we are able to prepare the same meal "at home."
My previous background knowledge of Botswana has only been limited to what I've read in the popular "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series written by Alexander McCall Smith. Now I am learning first-hand about a nation that shares the same continent as Ghana but which is very different in culture, customs, and progressive development.
It is a win-win situation for us both.