German Visitors at TTH

For the past two weeks, a medical team from Germany has been visiting Tamale Teaching Hospital performing various surgical procedures. Jim has been working along with them, rarely getting home before 9 or 10 PM. Last Sunday evening, we invited the group to dinner at Szamnandzo's across the main Bolga Rd. We can usually order ahead with the owner, Agnes, so that we don't have to wait an hour or so for our meal. Tonight it took a bit longer to get there with the back dirt roads left in bad shape after the finish of the rainy season. Afterward, everyone came back to our house for banana cake and chocolate ice cream. Our night watchman, Abdulai, captured the Germans' interest as he faithfully sat guard on the veranda with his bow and arrow.

Shopping in the Market

Generally, I do the marketing in town on my own, but occasionally when I foresee the need for an extra pair of arms to carry a variety of purchased items, Veronica accompanies me. Like her fellow countrywomen, however, she uses her head to shoulder the load. The skill of balancing such a heavy container on top of one's head continues to amaze me. A bag that I can barely lift is gingerly hoisted atop of Veronica's head, arms free at her side. More often than not, a baby is usually wrapped securely on a woman's back as well.

Induction Ceremony

My friend, Barb, and her husband, Sam, invited me to attend the investiture & induction for the new Vice-Chancellor at the University for Development Studies. Sam's brother was the out-going Vice-Chancellor. Professional speeches were accompanied by traditional drums and tribal dancing, followed with refreshments at the Getfund Hotel on campus.

The local area's chief and his entourage of elders were sitting directly in front of us during the ceremony. For two hours, non-stop, a young man of about seventeen years of age had the full-time job of respectfully fanning his revered chief. Ten consecutive swipes of the fan with a three-second rest in between.

The University for Development Studies (UDS) was established in 1992 to blend the academic world with that of the community. It has steadily grown over the years and now operates four satellite campuses spread out in the three Northern Regions of Ghana.

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Jim's headlight comes in handy for cooking and/or washing dishes in the dark.

Chargeable Illumination Box

Jim is the pancake expert of the house - much better than yours truly. Saturday morning usually finds him busy flipping on three burners. I get clean-up duty which is fine although a slight challenge when power is out for the day since that affects the flow of water too. At the very least, we are well fed.

Back in the Swing of Life in Tamale

Veronica

Wedding Celebration

Re-acquaintance with Veronica, whose little one, Blessing, now attends pre-school; attending the wedding of a young doctor from the hospital; traditional Sunday lunch with friends, this time at Luxury Restaurant; re-organizing my clothes and the kitchen; re-acclimating to frequent "lights out;" a generous population of bugs and consistent hot weather. All in all, life is good.

Interesting Arrival

Instead of expecting to see my husband waiting to greet me at Tamale airport, I had already heard that he would be at the hospital working. It seems a well-known Ghanaian VIP who I choose not to name at this point (to protect his privacy) was flown up here via a military transport plane which was now sitting on the tarmac. The VIP had requested to be examined by Jim. Quite an interesting event for Tamale Teaching Hospital.