Let's talk about goats baby!!!

Hello everyone!!

Sorry for the delay but getting regular internet was a bit of a challenge.  It's all good now so I should be able to give you at least one post per week.  

 (Goats, goats everywhere!!!)

Let's talk about goats baby!!!  They are EVERYWHERE.  They hang out under cars, near shops, in the ditches, on the road.  Really truly everywhere.  I asked Mohamed, a guy who works with Ben (our country coordinator) if the goats belonged to anybody and he said "Oh yeah!" the next natural question was "How the heck do they know which goat belongs to who? None of them are tagged and they roam everywhere"  Answer - "They just know.  At night the goat owners roam around and collect them.  Some goats even head home on their own"  And its true after dark when you walk the streets all the goats are gone.  Strange!  I will investigate this further.   

(more goats )

I have been in Ghana two weeks and so far I have stayed in two hotels and I'm on my third hostel.  Some are nicer than others let me tell you!  And, this is the thing about Ghana, no matter how fancy the hotel or hostel electricity, water and toilet paper are never guaranteed.  So I've come to realize how important it is to keep my computer charged and to remember to keep a head lamp with me for the black outs.  Week one lesson about always having toilet paper is coming in very handy.  

(hostel one) 

(a little reminder on the door in our first hostel)

(outside at our first hostel) 

(hostel two was kind of a dungeon glad we didn't stay there long)

(hostel two - oh yeah washrooms are as bad as they look) 

(hostel three) 

(hostel three)

(hostel three - where I sit as I'm writing this)

Last week we were in Bolgatanga for a Farm Radio International workshop.  We got to spend three days with the radio people and the agricultural people we will be working with during our time here.  It was great.  They are lovely, enthusiastic about the project, knowledgable in their respective fields and fun to be around.  That's reassuring because let's face it I'm learning just as much from them as they may from me.  Quick note about Miss Lydia, Elizabeth and I's new Ghanaian momma.  From what I understand she owns the radio station in Bolgatanga.  She is quite amazing and has a fascinating story as well.  I hope to get the chance to sit with her and talk and photograph her as well.  I'll keep you posted.  

(some of the people we will be working with - Lydia is unfortunately not in this photo) 

We spent four days in Bolgatanga but are back in Tamale now and thank goodness because there are restaurants here that serve a variety of things.  Ghanaians mostly eat chicken and rice, fufu and tuo zafi.  I've eaten A LOT of chicken and rice.  The fufu is a white doughy ball that does not really have any flavour (according to sources because i haven't tried it yet) and it is served with meat that is in a kind of soup that is very oily and very spicy.  Tuo zafi is very similar.  As I have mentioned before, I'm taking baby steps when it comes to food so that I don't get sick.  When said fufu and tuo zafi is eaten I will update. 

(Tamale)

(woman with baby - Tamale)

The pop here is almost always Coke and it has a slightly different flavour than Coke in Canada.  I feel like it isn't as sweet.  What I do know is, if I have it when I'm too hot it means instant heart burn so I'm trying to stick to water and juice as much as possible.  At night when it cools down I'm able to indulge sometimes.  There is also this Malta stuff (see photo) made by Guinness.  Ingredients are water, barley, malt, sugar, caramel E150(c), hops and vitamins.  It's non alcoholic.  Weird!  

(Malta by Guinness - Goodness - Energy - Vitality)

We are working on finding a permanent place to lay our heads and hopefully by the end of the week we will have something pinned down.  That will surely make a huge difference in our daily lives since we'll be able to finally settle and make Tamale our home.  So far we've had tons of drivers and restaurant time and people helping with every detail so its difficult to imagine being independent and functional.  Living out of a suitcase isn't very fun either.  We will settle soon.  Elizabeth is much better than me at remembering names and making friends and I admire her for that.  One of my goals on this adventure was to get rid of some of my anxieties and so I'm looking forward to learning that openness from her.  

(Elizabeth going to run some errands) 

(The Canadian Feed the Children office where we will be based in Tamale)

(road to the Canadian Feed the Children office)

Ouff so many things to share.  Quick fire observations:

-besides goats there are cows, chickens, donkeys and pigs that roam free
-the Ghanaians that are employed in offices wear pretty formal clothes to work 
-men's shirts often have french cuffs and they looove their fancy shoes
-many places I have been play country music.  That's right Dolly Parton's Jolene blaring at the gas station
-coffee here is instant :-(
-nobody says bye when they hang up the phone so there is always a little moment of confusion at the end of the call
-May 25th was the 50th anniversary of the African Unity.  It is also a long weekend in Ghana.  On the news the headline read "Is Africa unity a reality?"

(pigs roaming)

(cows roaming)

I will leave you with this for this week.  Below you will see a BEAUTIFUL picture of my dirty feet than of ME after a walk to work in the morning.  Its really hot here.  I was, and am very very often, completely sticky from sweat, and anybody who knows me understands to what extent that is a challenge for me.  Learning to let go... On the up side I think i'm loosing weight :)  

(dirty, sticky, stinky, dusty and a little bit tanned even though you can't see it FEET)

(oh yeah I posted that photo of me - it's freakin' hot in Ghana)

P.S Happy birthday to my sister Nat - Je t'aime xo