On a brighter note from my last post, I've recently taught Rita how to make banana cakes - she enjoyed learning how to make them, and she would take them around to all the other workers here so they could try her cake. She was quite proud of herself!
Rita is always thinking of "new business" - that is, ways that she can make more money. So she's decided that selling banana cakes is going to be good business! Today she had two people ask her to make cakes for them, and they pay her 15 Cedis (about $10 Australian dollars) per cake!! It costs her about 5 Cedis to buy the ingredients so she's making 10 Cedis profit per cake - not bad I say!
Now she wants to learn more types of cakes to make so she can open a cake shop!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Sad/Happy News
Well - it seems our time in Ghana is coming to an end - oh! Warren's contract finishes in early April so we had to decide what we were going to do next. He was sussing out other options, and was offered a very good job back in Perth. So after considering all our options, and for various different reasons, we decided it was time to go back to Perth. Which is good and bad....
We'll be happy to get back home and get settled in our little green house again. Believe it or not, I'll be happy to go back to work again!! Having an extended period of time off has been great, but the past few months I've been feeling the need to get out and do some work again - who would have thought! We'll also be happy to have our friends and family around regularly, because you can definitely feel a bit isolated here at times!
On the other hand, we really have enjoyed our time here. Its been a great life experience, and I would do it again in a flash! We've met lots of excellent local Ghanaian people, and have had an insight into their cultures and lifestyle. Its been an eye-opener at times, and we will never take our life and lifestyle for granted again.
So it will be sad to be leaving here in about two weeks time. I told Rita the other day that we were leaving, and she cried and then ran out of the house!! She's been miserable ever since.... Baby Jacinta's mother Asha (Rita's sister) also cried and hugged me repeatedly, and her mother apparently didn't eat for a whole day afterwards! Oh I felt terrible.... Their family has been very good to us, and has made us feel very welcome here.
So not looking forward to saying goodbye in a couple of weeks....
We'll be happy to get back home and get settled in our little green house again. Believe it or not, I'll be happy to go back to work again!! Having an extended period of time off has been great, but the past few months I've been feeling the need to get out and do some work again - who would have thought! We'll also be happy to have our friends and family around regularly, because you can definitely feel a bit isolated here at times!
On the other hand, we really have enjoyed our time here. Its been a great life experience, and I would do it again in a flash! We've met lots of excellent local Ghanaian people, and have had an insight into their cultures and lifestyle. Its been an eye-opener at times, and we will never take our life and lifestyle for granted again.
So it will be sad to be leaving here in about two weeks time. I told Rita the other day that we were leaving, and she cried and then ran out of the house!! She's been miserable ever since.... Baby Jacinta's mother Asha (Rita's sister) also cried and hugged me repeatedly, and her mother apparently didn't eat for a whole day afterwards! Oh I felt terrible.... Their family has been very good to us, and has made us feel very welcome here.
So not looking forward to saying goodbye in a couple of weeks....
Antz in ya Pantz!
I'm a bit tired of ants - these tiny little critters are everywhere! I don't know where they come from or why they appear to be following me around. But they crawl all over my computer screen and keyboard, they get into apparently sealed air-tight plastic containers, they always try to get into my cakes. I've even found them in my bed! And when you squash them you get that lovely ant smell on your hands. Grr.... ants!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
A quiet happy birthday
Last Wednesday was my birthday - a fairly quiet affair - well I was trying to keep it quiet because I didn't want to draw attention to the fact that I turned 36!!!! Horror of all horrors! Where did all the years go?! I only feel like I'm 24!
However at least 36 is a nice number - I have this thing about "prime number" birthdays - I don't like them! They're so random and messy. I like nice neat numbers - so 36 is actually a really good number - divisible by 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 24... So I'm not really looking forward to 37 - its got nothing!
I think I should stop now - because that's sounding really weird....
So for my birthday - I made myself a cake, and then had a few visitors during the afternoon to help me eat it. I got a present from Comfort (who runs Mercy Mission) -shown in the picture above. Its a traditional African style, loose fitting dress and scarf. The girls here laughed and danced when I tried it on (Rita was rolling on the floor!), and said how beautiful I looked! Personally I don't think scarves are really my thing.....
Warren cooked me a delicious dinner - Indian - and he gave me a Sony e-reader for a present - which is very cool! Now I can download books from the internet - cheaper, more convenient (especially here in Ghana where there are no bookshops!) and better for the environment! I thought perhaps I wouldn't like the fact that you don't have a book to hold and open, but actually its very easy to hold and read so all good.
Except you don't get to put it up on your shelf like a trophy when you've finished, so that everyone thinks you're really smart and have read loads of books!!! Or pass it along to your friends - unless they also have a Sony e-reader?!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Happiest Day of your Life?
A couple of weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, we went to a "Naming Ceremony", which is like a christening, for a little baby who is the son of our gardener Joseph.
Joseph is a lovely man - he's very quietly spoken, but hard working and very sweet. He looks after our garden and also Roger's garden (the project manager). His wife had a baby in early January, and they decided to name him after Roger, so this little boys' name is (two African names which I can't remember)Roger Bannister Junior, and he'll be known as Junior.
The lovely part about this ceremony though, was that Joseph gave a very touching speech, and said that since he has been working for the mining company his life has been very blessed, and that Roger has been so kind to him so he wanted to name his son after him. And then he said that "today was the happiest day of his life" - that we would all come along to support him and his family. He had a tear in his eye....
I thought it was so sweet, and got me thinking "what was the happiest day of my life?"
I thought about it - and I have lots of times which have been very happy - I think I've had a pretty charmed life so far. But I'm not going to answer it in this blog - but maybe you can all think about "what has been the happiest day of your life?"
Joseph is a lovely man - he's very quietly spoken, but hard working and very sweet. He looks after our garden and also Roger's garden (the project manager). His wife had a baby in early January, and they decided to name him after Roger, so this little boys' name is (two African names which I can't remember)Roger Bannister Junior, and he'll be known as Junior.
The lovely part about this ceremony though, was that Joseph gave a very touching speech, and said that since he has been working for the mining company his life has been very blessed, and that Roger has been so kind to him so he wanted to name his son after him. And then he said that "today was the happiest day of his life" - that we would all come along to support him and his family. He had a tear in his eye....
I thought it was so sweet, and got me thinking "what was the happiest day of my life?"
I thought about it - and I have lots of times which have been very happy - I think I've had a pretty charmed life so far. But I'm not going to answer it in this blog - but maybe you can all think about "what has been the happiest day of your life?"
Japanese Game Shows
I've recently become addicted to watching Japanese game shows on TV - every afternoon at about 5pm one of the channels has a couple of hours of these scheduled. And man those Japs are crazy kids! The contestant are always dressed up in some wacky costume and then have to perform crazy games, usually involving them falling in water or mud (like Wipeout on American/Australian TV).
Our favourite however, is Ninja Warrior, which is a bit more serious. It involves four stages testing balance, co-ordination, speed and strength. And have funny commentators - although all in Japanese, so it's subtitled. They have ladies and men, and the men's course is seriously hard - I'm in awe of their strength. The ladies course - I secretly like to think I could do it!! (perhaps an overinflated sense of my own physical capabilities!!)
We've only ever seen one guy complete the final stage - to be crowned the ultimate "Ninja Warrior" !!!
Our favourite however, is Ninja Warrior, which is a bit more serious. It involves four stages testing balance, co-ordination, speed and strength. And have funny commentators - although all in Japanese, so it's subtitled. They have ladies and men, and the men's course is seriously hard - I'm in awe of their strength. The ladies course - I secretly like to think I could do it!! (perhaps an overinflated sense of my own physical capabilities!!)
We've only ever seen one guy complete the final stage - to be crowned the ultimate "Ninja Warrior" !!!
Boring!
This week has been a bit boring! I don't usually like to say that I'm bored, because I once heard this saying "only boring people get bored". And I don't want to be a boring person - so I'm usually pretty good at entertaining myself and finding something to do.
However this week, Warren has been away so I'm here in the house by myself (except for Rita). But because Warren isn't here (he's the messy one!!), and I'm generally pretty neat and tidy, and haven't been cooking much food - there hasn't been that much for Rita to do so she usually goes home by lunchtime!
Then - the teachers have been on strike because of a pay dispute for the past 10 days now, so I haven't even been able to get out and go to school for a while!
So I've been sitting at home, mostly on my computer doing an assignment for my OHS course - which is also dead boring!
I have been trying to go for a walk or a run every day so that I at least get out of the house at some stage, and have been doing yoga or pilates in the evenings because there's not even anything interesting on TV (except Ninja Warrior)!!
Thankfully Warren is back tomorrow afternoon - phew! Just in time, before I go troppo.....
However this week, Warren has been away so I'm here in the house by myself (except for Rita). But because Warren isn't here (he's the messy one!!), and I'm generally pretty neat and tidy, and haven't been cooking much food - there hasn't been that much for Rita to do so she usually goes home by lunchtime!
Then - the teachers have been on strike because of a pay dispute for the past 10 days now, so I haven't even been able to get out and go to school for a while!
So I've been sitting at home, mostly on my computer doing an assignment for my OHS course - which is also dead boring!
I have been trying to go for a walk or a run every day so that I at least get out of the house at some stage, and have been doing yoga or pilates in the evenings because there's not even anything interesting on TV (except Ninja Warrior)!!
Thankfully Warren is back tomorrow afternoon - phew! Just in time, before I go troppo.....
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Frog in the Toilet
Last night I think a frog jumped out of our toilet!
I didn't actually see it, but it appeared jumping across the floor in the toilet room, and I don't think it could have come from anywhere else. There's no other drains or ways in or out.
Then it jumped out in to the lounge room and stopped there.
This morning it was still there - but now it was dead! Must have been a long and dangerous swim through the toilet pipes!!
I didn't actually see it, but it appeared jumping across the floor in the toilet room, and I don't think it could have come from anywhere else. There's no other drains or ways in or out.
Then it jumped out in to the lounge room and stopped there.
This morning it was still there - but now it was dead! Must have been a long and dangerous swim through the toilet pipes!!
Rita Goes to Accra
On Friday we went to Accra for a bit of grocery shopping which is a two day trip - drive down Friday, stay overnight, then shopping on Saturday morning and drive back Saturday afternoon. We usually do this trip every 3 - 4 weeks, or whenever the grocery supplies are running low. This time we decided to take Rita with us for a little treat.
She was pretty excited about it, she has been to Accra before but hasn't stayed in a hotel before so everything was new and exciting. Sometimes you don't realise how much you take things for granted....
For example, when we got to the hotel we went into the lift to go upstairs and Rita says "What's this little room? Oh we're moving!" She had never been in an elevator before! Soon afterwards we went to the swimming pool, and she had never been in a pool before in her life, and obviously doesn't know how to swim. But she is very game to try new things, so she got into the pool - clinging onto the edges for her life!! But she soon saw me swimming and said she wanted to try that, so promptly threw herself forwards.... and sank to the bottom of the pool. I had to quickly scoop her up, spluttering and coughing - and laughing!! So next we tried just floating with me holding her underneath, and kicking holding onto the side of the pool. While I don't think she'll be swimming any time soon, I give full credit to her for giving it a go. She loved it, and so we also went back the next morning for another swim.
After our swim, we went back to our rooms to have a shower - but a few minutes later Rita knocks on my door, wrapped in a towel, saying she doesn't know how to turn the shower on! It was a single lever swivel type which she hadn't seen before.
We went out for dinner later at an Italian restaurant, and Rita was disappointed that they didn't have banku with okra stew on the menu - because that's her favourite. But she settled for spaghetti bolognese. Spaghetti is a challenge for anyone to eat elegantly, and especially when you're not used to eating with a fork - usually they eat with their hands!
Anyway, with a full belly of pasta and a nice big bed all to herself - she slept very well, and tells me it was like she "went to heaven".
She was pretty excited about it, she has been to Accra before but hasn't stayed in a hotel before so everything was new and exciting. Sometimes you don't realise how much you take things for granted....
For example, when we got to the hotel we went into the lift to go upstairs and Rita says "What's this little room? Oh we're moving!" She had never been in an elevator before! Soon afterwards we went to the swimming pool, and she had never been in a pool before in her life, and obviously doesn't know how to swim. But she is very game to try new things, so she got into the pool - clinging onto the edges for her life!! But she soon saw me swimming and said she wanted to try that, so promptly threw herself forwards.... and sank to the bottom of the pool. I had to quickly scoop her up, spluttering and coughing - and laughing!! So next we tried just floating with me holding her underneath, and kicking holding onto the side of the pool. While I don't think she'll be swimming any time soon, I give full credit to her for giving it a go. She loved it, and so we also went back the next morning for another swim.
After our swim, we went back to our rooms to have a shower - but a few minutes later Rita knocks on my door, wrapped in a towel, saying she doesn't know how to turn the shower on! It was a single lever swivel type which she hadn't seen before.
We went out for dinner later at an Italian restaurant, and Rita was disappointed that they didn't have banku with okra stew on the menu - because that's her favourite. But she settled for spaghetti bolognese. Spaghetti is a challenge for anyone to eat elegantly, and especially when you're not used to eating with a fork - usually they eat with their hands!
Anyway, with a full belly of pasta and a nice big bed all to herself - she slept very well, and tells me it was like she "went to heaven".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)