I suppose I shouldn't have been suprised to see a goat in our garden when I got up on Thursday morning! My brother-in-law had been given it along with some yam and tinned fish and meat. It was quite a cute-looking thing but there was no point in getting sentimental as I knew it was destined to become Christmas dinner!
I'm not a vegetarian and also am not squeamish about killing an animal - as long as I don't have to do the killing! I remember as a small child seeing my dad kill a variety of animals for our dinner and he also dressed hens and turkeys at Christmas to sell on the market so I am quite aware where food comes from and realise that is why it is being raised. I do object to the way animals are kept on intensive farms, but that is another subject!
Fortunately the guy who helps us around the house was quite willing to kill it and prepare it, so a couple of hours after it disappeared from our garden, its carcase was hanging in our laundry room ready for preparing the next day.
I can only hope they killed it in a humane way as I still have memories of some teachers in Papua New Guinea setting about a pig with baseball bats trying to kill it for some feast!
I can tell you that the goat tasted great! We had roasted goat leg on Christmas Eve and light soup with goat meat for Christmas lunch!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Ghanaians can fix it!
Getting things fixed in Ghana seems easy after waiting for a visit from the typical British workman who rarely comes at a time they have promised - usually days from when the problem started and then charge the earth just to look. Here there always seems someone on hand who can fix whatever it is needs fixing.
When we were here in February buying things for the house we bought a washing machine only to find it didn't fit in the laundry room. Off went Kobe to find a workman who returned in minutes, took off the door, in went the machine and the door was back on in no time at all.
Getting a car fixed is just as easy. My brother-in-law had bump in the car and it was only off the road a matter of days before it was reutrned looking as good as new.
There is a downside however as unless you actually stand over the workmen you can never be sure they are fitting the correct part or really know what they are doing. My husband's car had a problem with the aircon and instead of fitting the correct part they botched
up the job with one that was far too powerful and when the engine was idling the car would shake violently and often the engine would cut out so it meant turning off the aircon when we were stopped in traffic - the very time we needed it most! Eventually he had to have it replaced - an added expense to the amount already spent with the first 'repair'.
And this seems to be another problem - you get something fixed only for it to break down again shortly afterwards and then the repair has to be repaired by someone else who had a different idea as to what is really needed.
But for the most part I have been impressed by the speed and efficiency of the Ghanaian workman and their willingness to help.
When we were here in February buying things for the house we bought a washing machine only to find it didn't fit in the laundry room. Off went Kobe to find a workman who returned in minutes, took off the door, in went the machine and the door was back on in no time at all.
Getting a car fixed is just as easy. My brother-in-law had bump in the car and it was only off the road a matter of days before it was reutrned looking as good as new.
There is a downside however as unless you actually stand over the workmen you can never be sure they are fitting the correct part or really know what they are doing. My husband's car had a problem with the aircon and instead of fitting the correct part they botched
up the job with one that was far too powerful and when the engine was idling the car would shake violently and often the engine would cut out so it meant turning off the aircon when we were stopped in traffic - the very time we needed it most! Eventually he had to have it replaced - an added expense to the amount already spent with the first 'repair'.
And this seems to be another problem - you get something fixed only for it to break down again shortly afterwards and then the repair has to be repaired by someone else who had a different idea as to what is really needed.
But for the most part I have been impressed by the speed and efficiency of the Ghanaian workman and their willingness to help.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Plastic Bags
Today there is a discussion in Ghana about the disposal of rubbish which is becoming a big issue as there doesn't seem to be an effective policy. The rubbish that is collected in just dumped into a big hole with no provision made for different types of waste.
One thing that struck me on my last visit to the UK was the lack of plastic bags. Where once everyone had lots of plastic bags around their homes taking up drawer and cupboard space now it is very difficult to find one even when you need one.
How different from here where they are handed out in profusion and the checkout girls look at your very strangely if you refuse one. We have a couple of cupboards full of the things already after only a few months in the country and I have no idea what to do with them.
This week in the budget there was a levy introduced on plastic items but no mention was made of plastic bags.
I only hope it won't be long before there is a charge made for each plastic bag used as was done in Hong Kong and there people started using alternative bags for their purchases without any negative effects on their shopping habits.
Cutting down on the use of plastic bags will have a positive effect on the environment with very little effect on daily life.
One thing that struck me on my last visit to the UK was the lack of plastic bags. Where once everyone had lots of plastic bags around their homes taking up drawer and cupboard space now it is very difficult to find one even when you need one.
How different from here where they are handed out in profusion and the checkout girls look at your very strangely if you refuse one. We have a couple of cupboards full of the things already after only a few months in the country and I have no idea what to do with them.
This week in the budget there was a levy introduced on plastic items but no mention was made of plastic bags.
I only hope it won't be long before there is a charge made for each plastic bag used as was done in Hong Kong and there people started using alternative bags for their purchases without any negative effects on their shopping habits.
Cutting down on the use of plastic bags will have a positive effect on the environment with very little effect on daily life.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Driving
I am getting mentally prepared for my drive to the bank today!
I've never really enjoyed driving and just thought of it more of a necessity and it was quite a relief when I was first posted overseas to leave the car behind. I didn't actually drive again until I returned to PNG in 1994. My partner and I got a small Suzuki and I used to drive down to Lae, an adventure in itself as the route was down a winding mountain track which sometimes became impassable when rains caused landslides and the rivers changed to become raging torrents which washed away bridges and altered their path overnight.
From there I went to Kundiawa and was often seen travelling up and down the Highlands Highway to collect my partner who came for his fieldbreak. Although this wasn't recommended, especially for women travelling alone, I was lucky and nothing untoward happened.
In Porgera, my driving usually consisted of going to the store to stock up once a week, although I sometimes helped on the drive down to Mount Hagen, a 5 or 6 hour drive which enabled us to visit the stores and have a night out at the club.
One of the benefits of living in Hong Kong is the fantastic transport system which is cheap and efficient. I lived above an underground station (MTR) and just by going down in the lift I had access to most places and those I couldn't get to by MTR I could reach by bus, as most of the main routes were accessible just a few steps away from my building.
Now driving has become a necessiby again and if you can imagine any big city at rush hour, that is what it is like going from here to Accra - only worse! Not only do you have to face traffic jams but some chaotic driving practices. The main offenders are the trotro (minibus) drivers and taxis who pull in and pull out of the lanes of traffic with little concern for other road users. Apart from them there are the vehicles which break down causing other cars to have to negotiate them by weaving in and out of the lanes. They always seem to break down at junctions or traffic lights causing even more difficulty.
Many hawkers take the opportunity to ply their wares to the stationary traffic and offer everything from toilet rolls to bottled water. They carry their wares on their heads as they move between the cars and can often be seen running after a moving vehicle to make a sale.
Some times are worse than others and rush hour is the worst. Some people have to get up at 4 am just to make it to work for 8 am. and coming home is just as stressful, so we are lucky that we are not ruled by the clock and can try and plan our visits when the roads are a little quieter.
Well, I can't put it off any longer and need to get behind the wheel and go to the bank. Wish me luck!
I've never really enjoyed driving and just thought of it more of a necessity and it was quite a relief when I was first posted overseas to leave the car behind. I didn't actually drive again until I returned to PNG in 1994. My partner and I got a small Suzuki and I used to drive down to Lae, an adventure in itself as the route was down a winding mountain track which sometimes became impassable when rains caused landslides and the rivers changed to become raging torrents which washed away bridges and altered their path overnight.
From there I went to Kundiawa and was often seen travelling up and down the Highlands Highway to collect my partner who came for his fieldbreak. Although this wasn't recommended, especially for women travelling alone, I was lucky and nothing untoward happened.
In Porgera, my driving usually consisted of going to the store to stock up once a week, although I sometimes helped on the drive down to Mount Hagen, a 5 or 6 hour drive which enabled us to visit the stores and have a night out at the club.
One of the benefits of living in Hong Kong is the fantastic transport system which is cheap and efficient. I lived above an underground station (MTR) and just by going down in the lift I had access to most places and those I couldn't get to by MTR I could reach by bus, as most of the main routes were accessible just a few steps away from my building.
Now driving has become a necessiby again and if you can imagine any big city at rush hour, that is what it is like going from here to Accra - only worse! Not only do you have to face traffic jams but some chaotic driving practices. The main offenders are the trotro (minibus) drivers and taxis who pull in and pull out of the lanes of traffic with little concern for other road users. Apart from them there are the vehicles which break down causing other cars to have to negotiate them by weaving in and out of the lanes. They always seem to break down at junctions or traffic lights causing even more difficulty.
Many hawkers take the opportunity to ply their wares to the stationary traffic and offer everything from toilet rolls to bottled water. They carry their wares on their heads as they move between the cars and can often be seen running after a moving vehicle to make a sale.
Some times are worse than others and rush hour is the worst. Some people have to get up at 4 am just to make it to work for 8 am. and coming home is just as stressful, so we are lucky that we are not ruled by the clock and can try and plan our visits when the roads are a little quieter.
Well, I can't put it off any longer and need to get behind the wheel and go to the bank. Wish me luck!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Great Expectations
We are expecting a big event some time this week - the delivery of my partner's personal effects from Papua New Guinea! He left at the end of March and after languishing on a dock in Port Moresby they finally began their journey a couple of months later before getting held up again in Australia. They arrived in Ghana on 11th November and now we are just waiting for them to actually leave the port, but it shouldn't be long!
It will be like an early Christmas present unpacking all the boxes and then trying to find somewhere to put the things in our house. We are a bit worried about the state of the items as another person who had their things sent from PNG found that most of their goods were mouldy.
It reminds me of some friends in PNG who had sent out a box from the UK before taking up their posting. It took ages for this box to arrive and when it finally did they decided to hold a Box-Opening Party as they had forgotten what they actually put in the box. Everyone duly arrived and the moment of the opening arrived. They found that they had packed lots of toilet rolls - a commodity that was readily available in Dogura!
I just hope my partners things are not as disappointing!
It will be like an early Christmas present unpacking all the boxes and then trying to find somewhere to put the things in our house. We are a bit worried about the state of the items as another person who had their things sent from PNG found that most of their goods were mouldy.
It reminds me of some friends in PNG who had sent out a box from the UK before taking up their posting. It took ages for this box to arrive and when it finally did they decided to hold a Box-Opening Party as they had forgotten what they actually put in the box. Everyone duly arrived and the moment of the opening arrived. They found that they had packed lots of toilet rolls - a commodity that was readily available in Dogura!
I just hope my partners things are not as disappointing!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Hot Showers
It is interesting how things that you take for granted in countries where electricity and water are a normal fact of life become indulgencies where they are not.
One of these things for me in Ghana is hot showers. This is strange, as in the previous places I have lived, and when I was in Ghana for the first time, I never even thought about them and was grateful just to have water and was not concerned about it being hot.
In PNG in my first posting to Dogura in Milne Bay Province we were lucky to have water for most of the year but there were certain times when we would have to make the trek to the river and bathe there as well as doing the weekly wash. This developed into a social event and I loved spending the time with the girls from the school.
In Ghana my water supply was a drum filled by the students everyday and I bathed in just a bucket for over 3 years.
Back in PNG I lived for around 8 months in a bush location and my shower room was a thatched hut overlooking the ravine where the water came, via a pipe, from the local water supply. The views were fantastic but the water was often cold and bracing.
Now here in Ghana we have the luxury of having hot water in our bathroom, but to me using the system is an indulgence as it is hot enough to bathe in cold water, but I look forward to my one hot shower a week, usually on Sunday.
The strange thing is that my partner used to relish hot showers and even in my PNG posting we had a portable solar shower system that you left in the sun and then hung it up and it provided a hot shower when you wanted one. In Porgera in the Highlands were it is cold he had long hot showers every day. Now here he is quite happy showering in cold water and rarely puts the heater on as he doesn't think it necessary.
I have just had my hot shower and look forward to next week!
One of these things for me in Ghana is hot showers. This is strange, as in the previous places I have lived, and when I was in Ghana for the first time, I never even thought about them and was grateful just to have water and was not concerned about it being hot.
In PNG in my first posting to Dogura in Milne Bay Province we were lucky to have water for most of the year but there were certain times when we would have to make the trek to the river and bathe there as well as doing the weekly wash. This developed into a social event and I loved spending the time with the girls from the school.
In Ghana my water supply was a drum filled by the students everyday and I bathed in just a bucket for over 3 years.
Back in PNG I lived for around 8 months in a bush location and my shower room was a thatched hut overlooking the ravine where the water came, via a pipe, from the local water supply. The views were fantastic but the water was often cold and bracing.
Now here in Ghana we have the luxury of having hot water in our bathroom, but to me using the system is an indulgence as it is hot enough to bathe in cold water, but I look forward to my one hot shower a week, usually on Sunday.
The strange thing is that my partner used to relish hot showers and even in my PNG posting we had a portable solar shower system that you left in the sun and then hung it up and it provided a hot shower when you wanted one. In Porgera in the Highlands were it is cold he had long hot showers every day. Now here he is quite happy showering in cold water and rarely puts the heater on as he doesn't think it necessary.
I have just had my hot shower and look forward to next week!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Dancing
My partner and I went out for our Friday night drink at our usual spot - a new hotel on Spintex Road. Last night the live band was playing hi life because there was a promotion for some new beer. If you have never heard hi life then you don't know what you are missing as the beat is infectious and it is impossible not to want to get up and dance.
What struck us was the difference between Ghana and the UK as, unless things have changed in the last 30 years since, here it was the men who were dancing!
I remember my dancing days and then the women danced in a group around their handbags and the men propped up the bar until they were drunk enough to join the women. Last night most of the men there seemed to be supporting the promotion in some way and there wasn't a drink in sight on their table and yet they were up enjoying the beat and dancing together in a totally unself-conscious way and thoroughly enjoying the music.
British men take note!!
What struck us was the difference between Ghana and the UK as, unless things have changed in the last 30 years since, here it was the men who were dancing!
I remember my dancing days and then the women danced in a group around their handbags and the men propped up the bar until they were drunk enough to join the women. Last night most of the men there seemed to be supporting the promotion in some way and there wasn't a drink in sight on their table and yet they were up enjoying the beat and dancing together in a totally unself-conscious way and thoroughly enjoying the music.
British men take note!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Short Break in the UK
On visiting the UK in November I realised how fortunate I am to have decided to retire to Ghana. It was so lovely to feel warm without the central heating and be able to go outside without wrapping up like an eskimo and it wasn't even that cold!
The 3 weeks seemed to pass quite slowly and when I got back I felt that I had been away for ages until I looked at the schedule on the TV and saw that it was almost the same as when I left.
When we decided to settle here we made sure that we installed a back up solar system for the power to compensate for the frequent powercuts. These are particularly bad at the moment and it is strange to look out on the estate where we live and see the other houses in darkness and all our lights on. It is annoying to have to keep going outside to switch from one source of power to the other but not as annoying as not having power for hours on end.
Now that I am back I am looking forward to really settling in to a life in Ghana and establishing links with different organisations and getting involved in life here as there seems to be a lot going on and it is an exciting time to be here.
The 3 weeks seemed to pass quite slowly and when I got back I felt that I had been away for ages until I looked at the schedule on the TV and saw that it was almost the same as when I left.
When we decided to settle here we made sure that we installed a back up solar system for the power to compensate for the frequent powercuts. These are particularly bad at the moment and it is strange to look out on the estate where we live and see the other houses in darkness and all our lights on. It is annoying to have to keep going outside to switch from one source of power to the other but not as annoying as not having power for hours on end.
Now that I am back I am looking forward to really settling in to a life in Ghana and establishing links with different organisations and getting involved in life here as there seems to be a lot going on and it is an exciting time to be here.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Smoke or talk?
One big difference I have noted from my previous time in Ghana is the relatively few Ghanaians who smoke these days. In the 1990s there were kiosks on every corner selling cigarettes. People bought them in ones or twos. I remember my partner, who smoked then, was a rarity when he bought them by the packet.
Now the cigarette sellers have disappeared and in their place are the sellers of mobile phone cards. These proliferate and many people seem to earn their living by dodging traffic to wave a variety of cards at people stuck in the numerous traffic jams.
I presume the advent of the mobile phone has meant that people have a choice - spend a few cedis a day on a mobile phone card or buy cigarettes, and it looks like the phone cards have won out!
I suppose the next question is, are Ghanaians now safe from lung cancer only to have to worry about brain cancer?
Now the cigarette sellers have disappeared and in their place are the sellers of mobile phone cards. These proliferate and many people seem to earn their living by dodging traffic to wave a variety of cards at people stuck in the numerous traffic jams.
I presume the advent of the mobile phone has meant that people have a choice - spend a few cedis a day on a mobile phone card or buy cigarettes, and it looks like the phone cards have won out!
I suppose the next question is, are Ghanaians now safe from lung cancer only to have to worry about brain cancer?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Perceptions
One of the headlines in the press today is 'World Bank Paints Ghana Black'.
Apparently the World Bank used photos in a display which seemed to indicate that Ghana was making little progress.
Often people do have a negative image of life in Africa and consider it a place of conflict, hunger and poverty. And while those things are to be found, the other side of the coin is often overlooked.
When I first became a volunteer and went to Papua New Guinea people would ask me if I wasn't afraid of being eaten as their only knowledge of the place was of cannibals.
In my first few months there I found myself living in a beautiful setting, cruising the coast on the school boat and eating fillet steak brought by some pilots who would come for the weekend. One of the other voluteers 'complained' to the VSO field office that they had painted a very different picture of what to expect as a volunter from the life he was living and the field officer told him she could supply a hairshirt if he really wanted to suffer!
Yes, there are problems in PNG but in my time there I met genuinely nice people who liked you for who your were and not what you had. There were times when there was no water or no electricity and you couldn't just go out and visit the mall or the cinema but there were so many other compensations those things didn't matter.
I often wonder what perceptions the student I was teaching in Hong Kong before I came here have of my life in Ghana. Some of their comments or questions were quite telling. One wanted to know if I wasn't afraid of all those black people. Another was surprised when I was chatting to him online as he didn't believe I could use the internet in Africa.
There is still a lot of suffering in Ghana and people have to work really hard to scratch a living. People who live in rural Ghana have little in the way of services but it isn't the only life here and I think the officials were right to complain about the photos as they only gave one side of the story.
Apparently the World Bank used photos in a display which seemed to indicate that Ghana was making little progress.
Often people do have a negative image of life in Africa and consider it a place of conflict, hunger and poverty. And while those things are to be found, the other side of the coin is often overlooked.
When I first became a volunteer and went to Papua New Guinea people would ask me if I wasn't afraid of being eaten as their only knowledge of the place was of cannibals.
In my first few months there I found myself living in a beautiful setting, cruising the coast on the school boat and eating fillet steak brought by some pilots who would come for the weekend. One of the other voluteers 'complained' to the VSO field office that they had painted a very different picture of what to expect as a volunter from the life he was living and the field officer told him she could supply a hairshirt if he really wanted to suffer!
Yes, there are problems in PNG but in my time there I met genuinely nice people who liked you for who your were and not what you had. There were times when there was no water or no electricity and you couldn't just go out and visit the mall or the cinema but there were so many other compensations those things didn't matter.
I often wonder what perceptions the student I was teaching in Hong Kong before I came here have of my life in Ghana. Some of their comments or questions were quite telling. One wanted to know if I wasn't afraid of all those black people. Another was surprised when I was chatting to him online as he didn't believe I could use the internet in Africa.
There is still a lot of suffering in Ghana and people have to work really hard to scratch a living. People who live in rural Ghana have little in the way of services but it isn't the only life here and I think the officials were right to complain about the photos as they only gave one side of the story.
Food!
Living in Ghana for 3 years in the 90s gave me a taste for hot spicy food. I loved things like rice and beans with hot shitto sauce, okra and groundnut soup with snails and banku. Very rarely did I crave Western food which was a good thing as there wasn't any available.
Imagine my surprise when we came back as a preliminary visit in February to find myself eating chicken and chips! Fast food has come to Ghana and now there are chips and pizza and soon there will even be a McDonalds!
I have done a lot of cooking in the two months I have been here and still enjoy all the things I enjoyed before but am finding it difficult to invent different recipes with the limited range of ingredients. Every soup or stew starts with onion, chilli, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Sometimes we add garden egg(a variety of augergine) or okra but there are very few other options unless you are prepared to pay an exhorbitant price for European type veg.
I am still not tempted to visit the fast food places but need inspiration to create more dishes with what is available.
Imagine my surprise when we came back as a preliminary visit in February to find myself eating chicken and chips! Fast food has come to Ghana and now there are chips and pizza and soon there will even be a McDonalds!
I have done a lot of cooking in the two months I have been here and still enjoy all the things I enjoyed before but am finding it difficult to invent different recipes with the limited range of ingredients. Every soup or stew starts with onion, chilli, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Sometimes we add garden egg(a variety of augergine) or okra but there are very few other options unless you are prepared to pay an exhorbitant price for European type veg.
I am still not tempted to visit the fast food places but need inspiration to create more dishes with what is available.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Paradox!
Living in Ghana after 4 years of working in PNG was like being released from prison. Don't get me wrong, I loved working in PNG but after a time the constant worry over personal safety begins to wear you down. Security is such a big issue and leaving the house after dark is generally out of the question especially for a woman on her own
In Ghana I lived in a sort of compound house and the only lock was a bolt on the gate. There were no security bars on the windows and I never locked an internal door. In fact I don't remember there being a key! I could walk down to the town in the dark and loved the small kiosks with their kerosene lamps that illuminated the main street. Arriving back after a trip to Accra at 2.00 am held no terror - apart from passing the mortuary but that's another story!
Now after an absence of nearly 17 years things don't seem to have changed much. Ghana still continues to be a very safe place to live. Why is it then that we have an electric fence around our house? My partner has just bought another house for his brother and daughters and is going to put razor wire on top of the wall which has just been raised. As a precaution is also putting planks of wood on the inside of the doors so that it becomes more like a fortress.
I asked about our electric fence which is more for show than as a deterrent as it isn't on most of the time and it seems it is just what Ghanaians do! We have had to go out a couple of times leaving the house empty and we have yet to lock the door - in fact we haven't locked a door since I arrived.
At the gym people just put their phones and wallets and bags on open shelves with no concern about them being stolen and ladies leave their bags in the changing rooms while they exercise.
So the paradox is why is there the need for all this security when we live is such a relatively safe environment?
In Ghana I lived in a sort of compound house and the only lock was a bolt on the gate. There were no security bars on the windows and I never locked an internal door. In fact I don't remember there being a key! I could walk down to the town in the dark and loved the small kiosks with their kerosene lamps that illuminated the main street. Arriving back after a trip to Accra at 2.00 am held no terror - apart from passing the mortuary but that's another story!
Now after an absence of nearly 17 years things don't seem to have changed much. Ghana still continues to be a very safe place to live. Why is it then that we have an electric fence around our house? My partner has just bought another house for his brother and daughters and is going to put razor wire on top of the wall which has just been raised. As a precaution is also putting planks of wood on the inside of the doors so that it becomes more like a fortress.
I asked about our electric fence which is more for show than as a deterrent as it isn't on most of the time and it seems it is just what Ghanaians do! We have had to go out a couple of times leaving the house empty and we have yet to lock the door - in fact we haven't locked a door since I arrived.
At the gym people just put their phones and wallets and bags on open shelves with no concern about them being stolen and ladies leave their bags in the changing rooms while they exercise.
So the paradox is why is there the need for all this security when we live is such a relatively safe environment?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
No Joke!
Yesterday was World Hand-Washing Day! I'm sure everyone knows the importance of washing hands and in Ghana where people eat with their fingers it is even more important.
Only the right hand is used for eating and for giving things to people as the left hand is used for more unsavoury things like cleaning the bottom.
I was aware of this and the implications of hand-washing but yesterday when I first heard it on the radio I thought they were refering to washing clothes by hand as that is how it is referred to in the UK. Also I had done a lot of 'hand -washing' in Hong Kong not having a washing machine in my flat and using the laundry service for bigger items.
Just at the moment I heard the term 'hand-washing' I was loading the washing machine and suddenly felt very guilty as I thought I should have been washing my clothes by hand.
It was only later I realised how studpid this was as very few Ghanaians wash their clothes in a machine.
I remember sitting in the yard of my house in Enchi with a huge bowl of water washing all my clothes and what hard work it was. I wasn't as hard on my clothes as a Ghanaian lady would have been as they seem to scrub clothes within an inch of their life and then ring them out and hang them in the sun. As a result clothes age very quickly. My husband made the mistake of handing over his clothes on one of his visits only to find someone had washed his suit! It was never the same again.
Only the right hand is used for eating and for giving things to people as the left hand is used for more unsavoury things like cleaning the bottom.
I was aware of this and the implications of hand-washing but yesterday when I first heard it on the radio I thought they were refering to washing clothes by hand as that is how it is referred to in the UK. Also I had done a lot of 'hand -washing' in Hong Kong not having a washing machine in my flat and using the laundry service for bigger items.
Just at the moment I heard the term 'hand-washing' I was loading the washing machine and suddenly felt very guilty as I thought I should have been washing my clothes by hand.
It was only later I realised how studpid this was as very few Ghanaians wash their clothes in a machine.
I remember sitting in the yard of my house in Enchi with a huge bowl of water washing all my clothes and what hard work it was. I wasn't as hard on my clothes as a Ghanaian lady would have been as they seem to scrub clothes within an inch of their life and then ring them out and hang them in the sun. As a result clothes age very quickly. My husband made the mistake of handing over his clothes on one of his visits only to find someone had washed his suit! It was never the same again.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Global Village
One of the first things we did on my arrival in Ghana was to register with accraexpat and view their classifieds for items to buy. Someone was advertising furniture and plants and had posted some pictures. We were interested but what was even more interesting was that in one of the pictures there was a piece of tapa cloth on their wall. Now not many people will know about tapa which is cloth produced from the bark of a tree in Oro Province in PNG.
In a former life I was a volunteer in Milne Bay Province in PNG and some of the girls came from Oro and I was given tapa as gifts and also purchased some myself to use as wall hangings.
I was intrigued by the tapa on the wall of a person in Ghana.
We went to see the items and of course the tapa was mentioned and it transpired that the guy was the grandson of one of the previous headmistresses in the school where I had taught in PNG. She had even written a book about her experiences and he was kind enough to pass on his copy as his family had more in the UK.
I spent that evening reading her book and reliving many of the same experiences and even knew some of the people she mentioned.
It just goes to show that the world is a very small place and there are connections in even the most unlikely places. Who would have thought that one of the first people I met in Ghana would remind me of 4 fantastic years in PNG?
In a former life I was a volunteer in Milne Bay Province in PNG and some of the girls came from Oro and I was given tapa as gifts and also purchased some myself to use as wall hangings.
I was intrigued by the tapa on the wall of a person in Ghana.
We went to see the items and of course the tapa was mentioned and it transpired that the guy was the grandson of one of the previous headmistresses in the school where I had taught in PNG. She had even written a book about her experiences and he was kind enough to pass on his copy as his family had more in the UK.
I spent that evening reading her book and reliving many of the same experiences and even knew some of the people she mentioned.
It just goes to show that the world is a very small place and there are connections in even the most unlikely places. Who would have thought that one of the first people I met in Ghana would remind me of 4 fantastic years in PNG?
Ghana is home!
After talking and planning the move to Ghana I finally arrived in July. Since then I have been 'settling in'.
The difference between life here and in Hong Kong where I was previously couldn't be more marked. There I lived in a 'shoe box' on the 23rd floor by the side of a busy main road. My building was on top of the MTR so all I needed to do was to go in the lift and I could conveniently get to virtually any place in Hong Kong I needed to go.
Now I am living in a beautiful 5 bedroomed house with garden and the only way to get to it is via a dirt road from the notorious Spintex Road. I came in February to look at it and was terrified by the traffic. I never thought I would have the nerve to drive but I am slowly accustoming myself to nosing out into a stream of oncoming cars and negotiating the roundabouts. I have driven to High Street but am yet to really get my Accra bearings so am limiting my journeys to the Mall and the market.
I previously lived in Ghana in 1990 -93 and my life now couldn't be more different. Then I lived in the 'bush' in Enchi Western Region and I was a volunteer. At that time there was no electricity and my water was carried every day by the students from the college. I did have a kerosene fridge but most of my cooking was on a coalpot until my now husband came to visit and saw how thin I had got and bought me a two burner gas cooker! I ate a diet of local food and the only luxury was powdered milk which was quite difficult to get at that time.
This time I can't believe that things that are available here - at a price - and there certainly aren't the privations I experienced as a volunteer. Now I have a washing machine and a microwave and we have made sure we have a back up solar system for the power and extra tanks for the water so are not affected by powercuts and water shortages.
So far so good! I am enjoying my life here and know it was the right move for me.
The difference between life here and in Hong Kong where I was previously couldn't be more marked. There I lived in a 'shoe box' on the 23rd floor by the side of a busy main road. My building was on top of the MTR so all I needed to do was to go in the lift and I could conveniently get to virtually any place in Hong Kong I needed to go.
Now I am living in a beautiful 5 bedroomed house with garden and the only way to get to it is via a dirt road from the notorious Spintex Road. I came in February to look at it and was terrified by the traffic. I never thought I would have the nerve to drive but I am slowly accustoming myself to nosing out into a stream of oncoming cars and negotiating the roundabouts. I have driven to High Street but am yet to really get my Accra bearings so am limiting my journeys to the Mall and the market.
I previously lived in Ghana in 1990 -93 and my life now couldn't be more different. Then I lived in the 'bush' in Enchi Western Region and I was a volunteer. At that time there was no electricity and my water was carried every day by the students from the college. I did have a kerosene fridge but most of my cooking was on a coalpot until my now husband came to visit and saw how thin I had got and bought me a two burner gas cooker! I ate a diet of local food and the only luxury was powdered milk which was quite difficult to get at that time.
This time I can't believe that things that are available here - at a price - and there certainly aren't the privations I experienced as a volunteer. Now I have a washing machine and a microwave and we have made sure we have a back up solar system for the power and extra tanks for the water so are not affected by powercuts and water shortages.
So far so good! I am enjoying my life here and know it was the right move for me.
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