Mixture of Colors and Culture

Before leaving Ghana in mid-December to be with our family for the Christmas holidays, our landlord asked us to choose any colors we wanted for all the rooms in the house so he could have them painted while we were away. Happily rushing off to the paint store in town, we pointed to one selection after another only to be told that it wasn't available. When we were down to one bold blue, one neon green and one yellowish shade called "Broken White," we instructed the painter to mix a lot of  "regular white" with the bold blue, even more "regular white" with the neon green and to stay with the "Broken White" for yellow. We then left town hoping for the best. Success! Every room turned out great and makes the house so much brighter.
Another more important mixture very evident in Tamale is the peaceful and friendly existence of diverse cultures - specifically those of Muslims and Christians. Unlike the prejudice, distrust and misinformation seen in various other parts of the world, here people of different faiths live and work harmoniously together.

Photos of Nov/Dec 2013 in Ghana

Lighthouse in Old Accra

Atop the lighthouse overlooking the Jamestown section of Accra

Aburi Botanical Gardens

             

 School for the Deaf in Mampong

 

 

 

 

 

Our screened-in front porch in Tamale

Dinner at home with our German guests

Jim in his office at the hospital

Renovated and New Hospital Buildings

 

Walking via shortcut to the chapel at the hospital

Mass at Chapel on Hospital Grounds

Electrical Circuit Box Post-Explosion

Celebration of the End of Medical School Exams

Gathering of Friends at Woodin Coffee Shop in Tamale

2013 Annual Meeting of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra

Thankful and Hopeful

Already looking forward to our return to Tamale, we are preparing to depart for the one-hour flight to Accra on Sunday where the week-long annual medical meeting of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons is to take place. Tuesday, Jim is presenting a lecture on the Prevention of Aspiration of Foreign Bodies. He certainly has had plenty of experience surgically removing all sorts of small objects that patients - primarily young children - have swallowed (coins, groundnuts, etc.). At the end of the week - a flight to the US in order to be together with our family for Christmas.
Living with a number of inconveniences does not in any way diminish the absolute "PLUS" factor of life in Tamale. Sometimes I think I have to be outside of my usual comfort zone in order to better experience what I would otherwise be missing. I am very thankful for the special friendships that have grown here and am ever hopeful that one can find true happiness anywhere.

A Night To Remember - One For The Books!

The rainy season was supposed to have been finished on this late November evening, but a torrential Ghanaian downpour decended from the sky with a vengeance. Lying in bed under our mosquito net, somewhat ill at ease hearing the thunder and lightening, but enjoying the unaccustomed coolness in the air, I think of people living in houses much less sturdy than ours - dirt floors and mud huts constructed with materials very likely to collapse under the heavy drenching of rain.
Then, BOOM!!! A deafening explosion much too close for comfort. Within minutes, Abdulai, our night watchman, runs into the house screaming in Dagbani to get out (no translation necessary from the level of panic in his voice)! Smelling smoke, enveloped in darkness, and having been sleeping "au naturel," Jim pulls me from the bedroom, through the hall, into the living room and towards the front door. As I plead to no avail for some clothes, and Abdulai and the watchman from next door are yelling at us to get outside, we jump into the driving rain.
The decrepit looking electrical meter box on the exterior wall of our house is the culprit. It now hangs limply in its disintegrated form.
Someone hands me Abdulai's old, gray sweatshirt to hold in front of me as we slip and slide hopping over the muddy gravel in our front yard to seek shelter in the house next door. There, Jim and I are given some clothes, a glass of juice and a bed for the night. Power is out, but we are alive and well and all the better after a few good laughs.

Colorful Contrasts on a Sunday Morning

Leaving the house around 6:45 AM, we hail a taxi on the Bolga Road. Already in the back seat is a young mother with an adorable little boy of about nine months old fastened on her back. After the usual Dagbani greetings, she asks me a question in which I happen to recognize one word - yidana - which means husband. Pointing to Jim & then to her baby, the message and realization comes across that Jim had recently taken care of this child at the hospital. Smiles all around because the boy had recovered after having been seriously sick with an abscess.
Passing through the center of town, one sees the bustling Sunday clothes market in full swing. Mounds and mounds of used clothes are laid out for potential buyers to sort through and inspect for purchase.
Alighting from the taxi near the vicinity of the hospital, Jim leads the way via his back road shortcut to the "Blessed Sacrament" chapel on the hospital grounds. For several minutes, we are walking on a litter-filled dirt road covered with discarded plastic bags and other debris, and in the next we are seated at Mass midst the beautiful sounds of a youthful choir singing and swaying in their burgundy colored robes.

Variation To My Daily Routine

Am considering future inquiries for teaching again when here for a longer stay, but for the time being, my days have generally been occupied with the household chores of marketing, preparing meals, etc. Our house guest returned to the US, so other than some entertaining of friends, I'll basically be cooking for two for a while.
A welcome variation to my usual routine is to sometimes accompany Jim to the hospital either to attend a lecture or to help him with some clerical tasks. With the recent building renovation, he now has his own small office space complete with desk, computer and A/C. This little oasis provides me with a pleasant place to hopefully assist him in some way or to simply do my own reading or writing.
Jim's "To Do" list is a mile long and constantly growing with the care of his patients taking top priority. Between making rounds, seeing consults, trying to accomplish the necessary preparations for the Operating Room, performing surgeries, overseeing the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, lecturing medical students, being available for emergencies, arranging a weekly medical meeting and dealing with daily staff frustrations/problems, his day is more than full.
On the way home, we struggle with the Ghanaian system of banking at the SG-SSB, then manage to stop at the market to pick up some eggs, vegetables, pineapple, and Pau Pau.

Wooden Bakery & Coffee Shop

Took a short walk yesterday to investigate the new coffee shop that opened nearby. Set back from the Bolga Road, the Wooden Bakery is pristine in its appearance with no less than six young Ghanaian employees standing outside waiting for potential customers and another six inside doing the same. All are outfitted in a freshly minted uniform - black slacks, light yellow shirt with "Wooden Bakery" stitched on the upper left side, a crisp cocoa brown apron and a semi-pouffed chef-style hat to complete the ensemble. Over a delicious cafe latte, I perused their menu of pastas, salads, sandwiches and pizzas - any choice guaranteed to be ready within a few minutes time (we'll see...) according to the Lebanese manager. Pastries are flown into Accra from France and then transported up north to Tamale. Looks like it will be a popular spot and as it happens, a short walk from our home. Nice addition to the area!