Boxing Day 2006

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all.

This is a picture of me with a new smock that I received from one of the schools where I have been helping them get their computers straightened out. What made this gift so special is that it was totally unexpected. I had actually gone to this event to celebrate with another volunteer who had been teaching at this school for more than two years. It is a lovely smock and when I wear it I become "Bolga Naa" (Bolga Chief).

Christmas has passed by now. It is Boxing Day. And here I am at work. I found out that Christmas is not such a big deal in Ghana, at least not in the Upper East Region. I think that when poverty is so high, there is no disposable income and so Christmas becomes just another day. In fact, I think that just about every store and every street vendor was working yesterday, and again today. That was good for me, as I rely on them for most of my food. And I had a small problem with my motorcycle that required a mechanic over the weekend.

The chain came off my motorcycle on Saturday. Then the kickstarter broke in half. I was able to borrow the kickstarter from another bike and I got the chain tightened. But the next day it was making a horrible noise. I took it to my mechanic, who happened to be working on Sunday and we decided that the chain and both sprockets needed to be replaced. I knew it was coming but not this soon. I was glad that people were working because I rely heavily on my transportation. And I have had to visit him Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to get everything working right. After the major repair, the last two visits were just for some minor adjustments.

Christmas was quiet for me since almost all of the other volunteers have travelled for the week or longer. I had a visit from a Ghanaian friend. I got a call from my parents and my friend in Simcoe. And I talked with my daughter in North Carolina. It didn't feel much like Christmas here with the weather so warm and the sky so clear. It was still good to talk to folks back home.

2007 promises to be a busy year for me, even though I have not decided what I will do for sure. If I decide to leave in February, it is now time to start wrapping things up. If I decide to stay longer, I need to find out what that will mean for the work that I am doing. I am trying not to think about that too much over the holidays. I hope to have a conversation with my programme officer early in January so that I can make an educated decision.

Keep coming back. I will try to write from time to time. Be careful on New Years Eve. There are a lot of people out there that won't be as careful as I know you will be. 

Merry Christmas

It seems too early for Christmas to be so close. It is especially hard to realize when the temperatures are so warm and there is no Christmas music in the air. But it is here nevertheless.

This past week I was invited, along with many other Canadians in Ghana, to lunch with the Governor General of Canada. She is on a tour of Africa and Ghana was one of her stops. She visited Tamale during her five days in Ghana and about 80 Canadians were invited to lunch with her. I was selected to join Her Excellency at the head table.

I enjoyed meeting her and found her to be genuinely interested in development issues. I felt that she is a good representative of Canada - very outgoing and friendly. She made a big hit when she danced to the local drummers as she was greeted on arrival in Accra. Her stepping outside of the bounds of protocol and showing off her dancing skills made a big hit with the local people.

I decided to stay a few extra days while I was in Tamale to give some peer support to another volunteer stationed there. We made a day trip to Kintampo Falls. The first picture is part of the smaller upper falls. It was very picturesque. The second picture is the bigger lower falls. The people in the picture are nursing students from the Nurses Training School in Sunyani. They were there to enjoy the day playing in the water.

The falls were lovely and very approachable. I found the water to be quite cold, mostly because the spot was sheltered from the sun. I enjoyed watching these young people playing in the water and having a generally wonderful time together. I got wet but did not play so much, realizing that I am older and maybe a bit more fragile than these young people. Several spent time talking with me - about nursing, about Ghana, about their hopes and plans for the future, etc.

It was a good day, but a long one that could have been improved by spending a night. Kintampo is about three hours from Tamale so the travel took most of the time.

As far as work goes, I am busy travelling about Upper East Region. I am often doing two trainings at different locations in a day. It is still a bit sporadic, but all the districts are on board now and I am keeping busy. I still have to stay flexible with my schedule as planned trainings are often cancelled at the last minute.

It has been a while since I have updated here. It is because our internet access has been sporadic and I have been out of the office much of the time. However, it is time to wish one and all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

End of September 2006

Still no pictures! It is not because there is nothing to take a picture of. It is that I never remember to take out my camera until it is too late. And that usually means that when I do remember the batteries are dead and then I can't take the picture. Soon I hope I will get my act together as there are things that I would like to remember in pictures.

I have been doing some training over the past few weeks. So far, Kassena Nankana (Navrongo) has been the only district to move ahead. The others are still delaying getting the computer rooms operational. When asked, the answer is always that there is no money available. Ghana Education Services has just finalized the budget and apparently did not come through with some of the anticipated funding. Somehow there is money for some things, but this has taken a back burner for some reason. Teacher salaries is another issue. School has just resumed, and already the teachers are planning to strike for an increase in pay. Like most places, teachers are not paid what they are worth, when considering the impact they have on the future leaders of the country and the world.

Last week I was in Accra to meet 23 new volunteers as they begin their time in Ghana. It was interesting to be the one answering questions instead of asking questions. In talking with each volunteer, both individually and as a group, I always encouraged them to take whatever I said with a "grain of salt" and to make their experience here their own. I know that it is possible to be too influenced by what others say, and I feel that it is important to develop one's own relationships and feelings about the experience.

They all seemed to be quite enthusiastic and appeared to enjoy their time in Accra together. I helped with taking groups out to one of the big markets. Each group had a shopping list and a small amount of money. The challenge was to get everything on the list, and to come back with as much money as possible. The team that did the best found everything and spent about 20¢ doing so. We also helped them to get to the market on public transport, a first for them. It was a good day. We, the helpers, were able to enjoy some time on the beach while the newcomers were on their shopping expedition.

They will be in their new homes by this weekend. They all seemed excited to get started, though a bit nervous about what it would be like away from each other and away from the big city. I think they will all do well. And I enjoyed spending time with all of them.

The rains are about to end here in the north. The crops are pretty well harvested by now and soon everything will be back to brown dirt. It has been amazing to see the difference in the landscape once the rains started, and it is hard to remember how brown and dusty and hot it was when I first arrived in February. The heat has started to increase and it is already becoming hard to remember feeling cool in the evenings. There is still Harmattan (cool, dusty winds off the Sahara) to come, and I have been told that I will actually feel cold at night then. I can almost believe it.

We are currently experiencing power sharing in an attempt to conserve water. 99.9% of Ghana's power is hydroelectric. Currently the water levels at the dams are below the minimum set for full power generation, and the rains have been less than anticipated for yet another year. So, for now there are rotating 12-hour power outages throughout the country. This happens from 6-6, so sometimes there is no power throughout the day and sometimes throughout the night. Either time is an inconvenience. My hope is that conserving now will help to provide full power when the hot season is finally here. It is now cool enough at night that I can sleep okay without a fan. When the temperatures go above 40C, I don't know if that will be possible.

Look forward to pictures again soon. Until the next time, though.

Mid-September

It has been a month almost since I last posted here. I won't try to detail all that I have been doing since the last post. As you can tell, I have not yet taken any more photos, so this is just a written update.

I have started training at one district. I have finished working with all of the computers brought in by VSO. I am anxiously waiting for the remaining districts to finish their computer rooms and get ready for training. It might still take some time.

The rains have been pretty heavy lately and it feels more like the rainy season that I was expecting to experience. For some days it has rained quite heavily throughout the day and the night. The skies have been cloudy most of the day. It is hard to predict my travels so I now include the caveat that it depends on the rain. So far, I have not been caught since that first week when I got wet three times.

Unfortunately the rains have not been heavy enough and so the water levels are low. Most of Ghana's electricity is hydroelectric, and with the water levels low there is a need to conserve what is there for the rest of the year. Currently we are experiencing rotating load sharing, which means every three or four days different areas experience 12 hours without power. That might happen from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM or 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. I am not sure which is better. During the day it means very little work gets down. At night, it means cooking, eating and entertaining myself in the dark and that generally means going to be before 9:00 because there isn't much else to do.

The good news is that the weather has been quite a bit cooler with all of the rain, so even without the fan it is bearable at night. I have even worked in the office a couple of days without turning on the air conditioner.

This week I will help out with motorcycle training again as well as continuing with the planned training schedule. Next week I will be in Accra for a few days to welcome a new group of volunteers into the country. Maybe I will even get the chance to take a few photos again. I will plan on taking my camera with me at least.

And with that I will close until next time.

Computer Frustrations

Sorry but I have no pictures again this week. In fact, it seems like I have not had much time for doing anything other than work for the last couple of weeks. After spending 5 months wondering when I would start working on my project, I now wonder when I will find a bit of free time for myself.

Monday I went to Bongo to work on one of their computers. It is a fairly old computer that someone had upgraded to Windows XP. It does not have the power to run that operating system well, so I suggested taking a step backward to Windows 2000. I probably should have suggested Windows 98, but that might have been too far back. They agreed and so I came to do that installation. Imagine my frustration when I discovered that the computer could not be made to boot from CD. I was finally able to use another computer to make boot diskettes so I could complete the install, but I was not very happy with the performance afterward and wonder if I made the right recommendation. I had to return later in the week to get the printer to work. I had not even thought about that when I did the installation. Printers just work. But I had to download the installation software from the internet in this case and make an extra trip to set that up for them.

I spent two days at a Teacher's College in Navrongo. The first day I spent some time working on the teacher's personal computer that he had compromised by uninstalling his virus protection incorrectly leaving the computer in an unstable condition. I was able to resolve that after more effort than planned. Then I set up the three VSO computers that I had come to work on. One computer would not boot so I reinstalled Windows. Then I started working on some other computers that had been donated sometime in the past. In this case, the computers came from a Ghanaian firm in Accra. They were brought and plugged in but never tested. I had looked at them before but did not have any tools at the time to help much. Now that I had some tools I was ready to give them another look. Of 16 computers, only 5 worked. In many of them the hard drive had failed. In others, the systems would not bootstrap to the point of even determining what else might be the problem. One only had 8 MB of memory - how many of you can remember computers that small? I was able to piece together one more computer from all the others ones, making 6 working computers from that donation. Along with the three from VSO, he now has 9 computers to teach 200 student teachers with. Does that sound challenging?

I spent much of the weekend working in the VSO office. The office is networked but the original installers laid the Ethernet cable along the most direct path. That meant that many of the cables were in pretty bad shape because the direct cable path was usually across the path for foot traffic. The way the cables were laid also made it difficult to reorganize the layout of the office. So I had been tasked with rewiring the office.

In Canada, I would have gone to the local computer store to get pre-built cabling of appropriate lengths to do what I wanted to do. The longest patch cable that I have found here is 2 meters long, so was of no use to me. So, I had to build my own cables. In brief, the cable consists of 8 individual, colour-coded wires that are run through a sheath in 4 twisted-pairs. The wires are inserted into a clip in a specific order. The wires are so fine, and the opening to the clip is so small, that it is hard to keep the wires in the right order. Once the wires have been inserted into the clip, they are crimped into place. This has to be done before plugging them into any connection. And it is only after crimping them that you are able to test the wire that has been built. If it doesn't work, the connector or clip is cut off and a new one is used. So, each unsuccessful test wastes at least one connector. Saturday, I wasted 8 or so and finally gave up because I was tired and too frustrated to see clearly.

This morning, after some advice from a friend in Canada, and with fresher eyes and hands, I was able to finish what I started on Saturday, so the office is wired more neatly now if nothing else. I plan to add a couple more cables to make it more user-friendly for the volunteers that come in with their own laptops, hopefully allowing them to be more productive at home and minimizing the need for pen drives and floppies in the future.

Does that sound like enough work for one week? The good news is that I have been able to do all of this without getting wet. It rained one day while I was working in Navrongo. I think I might have already written about that day. My work took long enough that the rain had finished before I left for home. I am learning to look ahead for rain, and to alter my travel plans when it looks like I might get wet. Ghanaians understand the rainy season here, and understand not travelling when rain is threatening or when it is actually raining.

Keep posted. I plan to travel some this weekend, so maybe there will be some photos next time.

09 August Update - Just Because

This is just a short entry with no pictures this week. I have been busy but without doing anything exciting or different.

The best news is that I have not been caught in another rainstorm. I have taken the time to listen to the locals and follow their advice. I have learned that when they scurry for cover, it isn't long until it will be too late to scurry for cover. I have spent a couple of afternoons doing more work at a locale than planned, just so that I could stay under cover until the rain stopped.

Yesterday I was in Navrongo, for example. The sky looked rainy all day. I made it there and worked for a few hours before the storm hit. When it did, there was one flash of lightning that I only say out of the corner of my eye and it was followed immediately by a crack of thunder that shook the entire building. Then the rains came to the point that it seemed that everything would flood. The power went out for about 1/2 hour, and I though I would have a pretty dull afternoon - unable to work and unable to leave. The power soon came back and I was able to finish my work. And about 5:00, when I had to leave for home, the sky was still cloudy but it didn't look like rain anymore. Getting out of the parking lot was an adventure, as it had been turned into a mud pit. Both back and front wheel went in their own directions at various times and I was sure that I was going to fall over. I made it out okay but then sprayed myself with mud as I picked up speed on the paved road and the dirt came off the tires.

That was my adventure to report this time, and it didn't even happen last week. Statistically, there are 31 VSO computers that I have worked on in the past few weeks. I am happy to report that only three do not work at all, and that parts from those three have been used to either get other computers working or improve the performance. So it has been a better result that I originally feared when I first started looking at them.

And from here I can begin to do the training that is part of the project. That will be basic introduction to computers and to the hardware, maintenance, Excel, Word, PowerPoint and the use of the spreadsheet we are providing for analysis by the district statisticians.

And I am also looking forward to doing more travelling in the future and to enjoying what I can while I am here in Ghana.

Gambaga Escarpment, July 2006

The past week was a busy week and also a relaxing week, if you can imagine that. I travelled to Bongo on Monday and worked on computers at Bongo Senior Secondary School and Gowrie Secondary/Technical School. At Bongo SSS I had to postpone what I wanted to do because they were busy with finishing off the school year. I had learned my lesson earlier about keeping people from their work. They are too polite to tell me that I am holding them up, and I work along oblivious to their anxiety. At Gowrie I was able to do what I wanted to do. And I made the whole trip without getting wet. After the previous week that was an added bonus to any travel.

On Tuesday I went to the Bolgatanga Municipal office but only for a short time, again doing what I needed and wanted to do and getting back to the office without getting wet.

Wednesday I stayed in the office and did some updates to the computers here. Mostly I stayed around to have lunch with the two volunteers in Sandema who are getting ready to return home. It was still a busy day.

Thursday I travelled to Sandema. They had brought back four computers from Accra. They were the last to pick their computers so got the remaining keyboards, and there were only two. Since I knew this I brought an extra keyboard with me, strapped to the back of my motorbike. I didn’t think about the result of riding across the rough road to get to Sandema, so was a little surprised to find out that I had lost 10 keys during the trip. It was still good that I brought that keyboard because the ones they had been given did not fit any of the computers. Even with the missing keys I was able to do what I needed to do and headed home about mid-afternoon.

On the way home I stopped in Navrongo to do the work that I had planned to do on Friday morning. When I stopped there, I saw that I had lost another dozen keys. That keyboard is now useless I would say. And stopping in Navrongo on Thursday was a good thing because Friday it rained while I would have been travelling.

Saturday I decided to do something different and so I got up early and went for a motorbike ride. I went through Wulugu, Walewale, Langbinsi, Gambaga, Nalirugu, Nakpanduri, Bawku, Zebilla and back home. This traversed the entire Gambaga escarpment. The ride took about 6 hours and covered almost 300 kilometres. The morning started off cool and pleasant. It wasn’t until I stopped in Bawku around noon that I realized how warm it now was, and that my arms and legs were a little sunburned. Probably more than half of the trip was on dirt roads or mud track.

This is a picture of a house that I saw as I was leaving Nalirugu. The design of the plaster is what caught my attention and I thought it was worth a picture. I saw one more house, a little later, with the same design. Other than that there is nothing spectacular about the house.

Leaving Nalirugu I had to cross a stream. I came down a hill and saw that the only bridge was barricaded and I didn’t see an alternate route. Someone passed on a bicycle and said it would be okay to cross. He went and looked more closely and assured me it was alright. I wish now that I had taken a picture of that bridge. It was still connected to the road surface, at least half of it was. The other half was an open hole with the surface slanting down towards it. I thought about it and didn’t see an alternative so made the decision to go for it. It really wasn’t as bad as it seemed like it would be as I looked at it and thought about sliding off into the ravine below.

Nakpanduri is the highest point on the escarpment. This is a picture taken on the road as it begins its descent to the valley below. It is a pretty dramatic descent and a nice view.

There were times during my ride that I felt that I could have been anywhere, and it didn’t really feel like I was in West Africa. It was an enjoyable experience, and one that was probably better now while it is cooler than during the hot dry season. It is interesting to see that the temperatures at home in Ontario are currently higher than what I am experiencing here in Bolga. Last night, in fact, the temperature went below 26C overnight and I slept without a fan.

I decided after this trip that I am a better traveller than a sightseer. I enjoy going to points of interest and seeing what is there. But I probably enjoy more the travel to get there. On this journey I enjoyed moving and seeing the land and how people live and work, and I was happy just to keep on going without stopping.

I did take a picture of farming in Africa but the picture does not do justice to what I felt as I saw it. Picture a short-handled hoe that requires the user to bend double or more at the waist to use. Picture a row of corn or millet that stretches for ½ km or more, and a field that covers more than a hectare. With that hoe and in that posture, the farmer will weed the field by scraping away the weeds and piling dirt around the corn or millet stalks. It seems like an unending task. I thought back to my assignments as a young boy in the small backyard garden at home. I did not like that task and found some way to do it poorly enough that I wasn’t asked too often. I think I ended up pulling the vegetable plants instead of the weeds, perhaps my subconscious finding a way to get out of the task. I hope that you can imagine this because the picture just doesn’t show it well.

I have written enough for this time and so I will close. There are more stories to tell, but not this time. 

A Stormy Week

After a restful, mostly, week in Accra I returned to a very busy schedule and spent the week traversing Upper East Region. All of the computers have now arrived and I have most of them working now. Training is the next step and that will involve even more travel. And the rains will affect my travel. I would have liked to have posted a picture of me looking like a drowned rat after riding in the rain (read on for the stories) but did not get a chance to take a photo.

The VSO Volunteer Conference was good. The sessions were meaningful, for the most part. The venue was relaxing. Being able to swim each night was wonderful. Being on the beach meant that the temperature was comfortably cool, though I am sure that when I first came I would have said that it was hot. The trip home was long and tiring, with a wait at the bus depot before leaving, some long stops on the way, and a flat tire on the taxi that I got when I arrived in Bolga. After leaving the hotel in Accra at 6:00 AM, I finally arrived at my house at 4:00 AM the next morning. I was tired to say the least, but still did not get to sleep a lot on Sunday.

Monday I went to Zebilla to work on their computers. They have not yet set up a computer room, so I just went through their computers to see which ones worked, what was installed, and which ones might give me problems later on. I worked non-stop that day, until I got a phone call about 2:30 in the afternoon. It was only then that I saw how dark the sky was. I shut things down and got ready to leave. I looked toward Bolga and the sky looked lighter there, so I thought I would beat the storm. I was wrong, though. I rode about 35 km in a downpour. A good thing about the storm was that there was no other traffic for me to worry about, and the animals were smart enough to seek shelter so I didn't have to watch for them much. But, I would prefer to not ride in the rain. I returned to Zebilla on Wednesday and worked on some other computers at one of the Secondary Schools. I ended up working until almost dark so had a bit of a ride later than I would normally be out. There was a bit of rain that night as well, though not enough to really get wet. The most concerning part about that trip was that I seemed to be almost out of fuel and rode almost the entire 45 km on reserve. That meant that if I ran out of fuel along the way, I would be walking into Bolga to get fuel. At least motorcycles are easier to push than cars. I made it without running out though.

Another day I went to Bongo to work on their computers. I left for Bolga later in the afternoon and got caught in the rain again. It rained so hard that Bolga experienced flooding. The drainage ditches are as clean, after that storm, as they ever will be I suppose. I am not sure where all the garbage and sewage ends up, but it smells a lot fresher than before the rains. And it is an indication that the serious rains have arrived, there could be rain every day, and when it comes it comes hard.

Friday I worked in the office all day, just to take a break from running all over Upper East Region. And then I celebrated my birthday with several of the volunteers in the area, including a friend visiting from Tamale and a colleague visiting from Wa. Susan even had a birthday cake made for the occasion. It was a nice treat, though maybe not quite as tasty as the ones that Aunt Myrna has made for special occasions in the past.

Saturday I went with Susan and her boyfriend to visit the volunteers in Sandema. We left a bit later than planned and I was looking at the sky ahead for the whole ride, wondering when we would get into the rain. As we came into Navrongo, there was an obvious line where the rain started, with one side completely dry and the other side a total downpour. We turned back a ways and took shelter while the storm passed. After about an hour it seemed to have slowed so we started on again. We got to through Navrongo before the rain started again. We had talked about going on even in the rain, but it was so hard that it would have been almost impossible to keep going. We found shelter with someone on the side of the road and spent about an hour in the entry to their house. We finally had to leave, even though the rain was not completely stopped. It had slowed enough that it wasn't impossible anymore. But it was getting dark so we had to go or our options would be to spend the night with our new friend in the shelter of his house, return home in the rain and dark, or continue to Sandema in the rain and dark. Anyway, we moved on to Sandema. It was chilly riding, but we arrived safely and were welcomed with open arms.

The volunteers in Sandema had prepared a lovely meal. And at the end they brought out a chocolate cake and a lemon meringue pie and sang Happy Birthday to me. They had even found a sparkler to celebrate with. It was an enjoyable night with good company. These two volunteers are leaving in August and I will miss having them nearby because they are always so positive and cheerful. Sunday I got up early to return to Bolga. It was pleasant to make the ride back with the sun coming up and no rain. It seemed like a different road almost. The drive into Sandema is quite beautiful when the weather is nice.

Now that the rains are settling in, the garden is growing quickly. The temperature is considerably cooler than it was, and I have even sat in my living room reading without the fan on. But it also makes travelling more of a challenge, as I can honestly say that I don't particularly enjoy riding in the rain. For getting around, dry season is so much better. But I know that the farmers need the rain or there would be no food. I mentioned the garden above. The corn is about 2 metres high and the cobs are starting to fill out. The tomatoes are producing well. I can see the peppers on the pepper plants. I thought they were sweet peppers, but now that I see them they look like they might be pretty spicy. I would say that the groundnuts are progressing nicely, but I have no idea what they are supposed to look like. I can only take Akolgo's word that things are progressing well. He said that after he harvests the groundnuts, he will plant corn in their place so we will have a second crop of that. We will share the produce with him, since he has done all the work. All that Susan and I did was provide the money to buy the seeds and the land to plant the seeds in. Susan said that she has seen mangos in our tree, and even a pineapple growing in the yard. These seem to disappear, though. When I first arrived, the tree was full of mangos. I finally had to pick what remained while quite green or they would have all disappeared to the neighbouring children as they take advantage of us both being away from home at work.

Cape Coast, Elmina, Accra and back to Bolgatanga

Last week I was able to do a little tourism stuff. All of the volunteers in Ghana were invited to a conference in (or I should say near) Accra. So I took advantage of being in the south to do a little exploring, along with two Indian volunteers.

We arrived in Cape Coast on Sunday afternoon and went to Elmina Castle. This castle had passed through Portuguese, Dutch and English hands before becoming a Ghanaian heritage site. I am not sure whether any of the Europeans were better or worse than the others. We had the chance to experience being closed into a slave punishment cell, and it would not have taken me very long to have panicked if it was a real occurence.

Monday we went to Kakum National Park. It is known for its canopy walk, which is a series of 7 suspended walkways as high as 40 metres from the forest floor. It gives the tourist a chance to see the forest from the top. The walkway was built by Canadians from Vancouver. It was a bit scary while still feeling pretty safe. There were no animals to be seen or birds either, probably because we went later in the day and after other groups had been through making all their noise, etc. It was enjoyable and a worthwhile experience.

That afternoon we returned to Elmina and went for a swim in the ocean. I wasn't sure we would get a chance so was glad that we did it after we got there. The water was quite warm. The waves were pretty wild. After about an hour in the water I was ready to get out and relax a bit.


Following the weekend we returned to Accra for the conference. This is the swimming pool at the hotel we were at. It was right on the beach as well, but the rocks made the beach unusable for play. The swimming pool was a nice alternative and was used by most of the volunteers each afternoon.

The conference was very positive. The planners arranged for topics that dealt with Ghanaian culture, corruption, first aid, etc. and was structured so there wasn't so much time for complaints. That was saved until the last day, and by then most people were more relaxed and their complaints were no longer foremost in their minds. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.

The trip home was another story. I left the hotel, along with three others, at 6:30 in the morning to report to the bus station at 7:00 for an 8:00 departure. Our bus finally arrived about 9:30. Then there was a crush to get luggage loaded. as there is nothing like a queue at this point. Then people got on the bus that were stopping in Tamale, rather than Bolga, and were taking seats from people that had legitimate tickets for the entire journey. We finally left Accra about 10:00.

Stops were scheduled every couple of hours. While travelling, Nigerian movies were on constantly. The Ghanaians would rather see a Nigerian movie than an American one, and they would often be laughing at something that I either didn't get or couldn't understand what had been said. It was okay. But after a while, even that can get too old to enjoy at all. We finally reached Bolgatanga at 3:00 AM. There were only a couple of taxis at the station so I started walking home. I found a driver watching television along the way and we agreed on a price, though he didn't seem to remember that when we finally got to my house. Before that, we had just pulled away when the car made a terrible racket. He had a flat. He continued on a couple of kilometres to a 24-hour tire place and had it repaired, but that added more time to an already too long trip. I finally got home at 4:00 AM. My housemate, who had chosen to travel on another carrier starting sometime after lunch, arrived at 6:30. It was pretty tiring.

So far this week I have been to district offices each day. In Zebilla two of five computers started without a problem. A third one is almost working after a lot of effort on my part. And I left Zebilla about 2:30 with a storm coming. I thought I could outrun it but I was mistaken. I rode about 35 kilometres in a downpour and have to say that it was not much fun. Today (18 July) I was in Navrongo and accomplished most of what I wanted to do there. I will have to go back to finish up on one computer and do some corrections on another installation that I started there.

In the meantime, I have contacted the five offices and all the computers are now here or will soon be here. That is good news, but also bad news as I see how truly awful the computers are. It is definitely a challenge. I hope to get them stable enough that they don't require repairs every time they are started. I am not overly confident that it will be possible to achieve that goal.

Anyway, I am busy working now and I am feeling a bit tired because of the travel. But it is a good feeling too.

See How My Garden Grows

Here are two pictures along the west side of the house that I share. In the foreground of the first picture you see groundnuts, with corn in the background. In the second picture, you see more corn in the back of the house as well as more of Susan’s side of the house. The tree in the background is a mango tree, which produced some lovely fruit eaten back in April and May. As you can see, the house is quite nice and the garden is growing well, thanks to Akolgo our night watchman.



The past week was pretty slow again. The big excitement in Ghana has been the success of the Black Stars in the World Cup 2006. This is the first appearance for Ghana in this prestigious football championship, and they have so far made it through the first round robin portion of the tournament, against some tough teams including the USA, and are now in the Round of 16. The next match is this coming Tuesday, and I imagine that everyone who is able will be glued to a television somewhere for the two hours or so of the match.

Ghana won two of three games in the first round, against the Czech Republic and the USA. I happened to be riding through town shortly after the first victory and so was confronted by a massive celebration that had traffic almost at a standstill. I have to admit that I was a little nervous in my exposed position on the motorcycle when I had to come to a complete stop for a minute or so. The crowd was pretty rambunctious, but well behaved. After the second victory, I had a couple more hours before leaving work so the celebrating had died to almost nothing by then and it was no problem getting through. Since Canada has not yet qualified to participate in the World Cup and I am currently living in Ghana, I feel honoured to be able to support the Black Stars, and hope that they will continue to win. They have played very well in every game so far.

On Thursday my housemate left for Accra. She has been suffering from malaria and a dodgy stomach for more than two weeks prior to the decision to travel. She was going soon to meet people coming to visit her, and decided that she would go early to take advantage of better medical facilities there. So, I currently have all the house to myself for the next three weeks. It isn’t really any different as the halves are totally separated. But we have enjoyed the opportunities to sit and chat often in the evenings, so her absence is noticed.

Thursday night I ate some “western” food that I wasn’t used to and went to bed feeling ill. When I woke on Friday morning, I was really sick. Luckily a rainstorm came about the time for leaving for work and so I was able to stay in bed for an extra hour or so. I finally went into the office out of obligation. I am still acting as the office admin person, and I knew that Celina, the cleaning person, would be there waiting to be let in despite the rain. Sure enough, when she the rain was coming she hurried in to work to be there before the rain started. I thought of the same thing, but wasn’t feeling well enough to rush about.

I actually spent the day in the office sleeping on the office couch fighting stomach problems. I ate nothing that day and came home a little early that night. I went straight to bed and slept almost constantly from then through the morning. Saturday I was feeling some better and went to town for breakfast. But I decided when I got home, that the best thing for me to do was to rest. So I spent the day on the couch sleeping, reading, and watching videos. Sounds pretty luxurious, doesn’t it. I am glad that it hasn’t been quite so hot, so the day under the fan was bearable.

And I am glad to report that the problem seems to have been related to the food that I ate and not to some mysterious parasite or bug. I am on the mend and eating my normal “Ghanaian” food again and feeling stronger by the minute.

I continue to do a little work with the local education office on the computers they have, both from VSO and their own. I am ready to start training so have decided that I will use this team as my guinea pigs and will finish setting up their computers and start their training this week or next. So next week I hope to provide an update on training, as well as other activities.

19 June - Pikworo Slave Camp, Paga, Upper East Region

This past weekend my friend from Tamale stayed over. He was in Bolgatanga to conduct some workshops for his employer on Friday and Saturday. Because our time was limited, we were only able to visit the Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga after he finished on Saturday afternoon. Though I had been there before, I enjoyed the second visit and seeing it through the eyes of someone from India who has a different perspective even from my own.

This is the music rock. The men bang on the rock with different size stones and sing along. It turns out to be quite melodious. We were told that he song that they sang was telling the slaves to be happy because they were going somewhere that would provide them with new jobs. The slaves were held in a field below this musical rock and were forced to dance and sing along, whether they wanted to or not.

This was a little further along in the tour. As you can imagine, the slaves often tried to escape, but the slave traders were very watchful and did not lose many slaves to running away. When a slave was captured, the slave would be bound to this rock where our guide, Simon, is sitting. A chain would fasten their legs to their arms and they would lie on this rock face up from dawn until death, in most cases. They would be beaten and would not receive any comfort, food or water while the sun beat down on them. The base of the rock is worn from the movement of the chained prisoners. When I first saw this, the temperature was above 40C and I couldn't imagine surviving long. This weekend the temperature was a more enjoyable 33C or so, but I still cannot imagine that very many slaves lived through the ordeal.

We had a good weekend and enjoyed doing something different. The weekend ended with rain on Sunday morning that cooled things to a cool 26C in the house, and some of us wore fleece jackets to keep warm (not me, by the way). It was cool, for sure. At church, the Ghanaians closed the windows against the breeze because they were chilled. And I found it quite comfortable, which shows how much I have adapted to the higher temperatures here.

Work is still slow as the districts are struggling to bring their new computers from Accra to their own offices. I contacted most of them and they promised to have the computers by the end of this month, so I hope to be busy in July. I also know that I have said that more than once. Eventually it will come true. I know the project teams are anxious to get started with the training as well.

16 June 2006 Update

I came home last night a little bit late and thought the electricity had been taken. The whole area seemed darker than normal, and when I got to my house the outside lights were not on. But other lights were. We had a huge rainstorm in the morning and I think that affected the outside light switches and Akolgo was not able to get the lights to work. I fiddled with it for a minute and the lights came on and I went in the house. I have had bugs accumulating on my bedroom window at night and I think it was because of the lights there. I showed Akolgo that without the lights there were no bugs.

A little later I went into my bedroom and heard something at the window. I looked out and saw that the screen was covered with these insects. I went outside to have a closer look and saw perhaps a thousand of these fluttering around on the wall, in the light, on the screen – just everywhere. I called Akolgo over to have a look and his first comment was that he would “chop” these. Sure enough, he came back with a bucket of water and started sweeping all of these bugs up and into the bucket. A neighbour came over later and said that these were edible. So Akolgo had a feast.

We left the lights out for a while and Akolgo said that the bugs would not return until the next time that it rained. The neighbour said that these were termites. They flew in, and then shed their wings and started crawling on the ground in pairs and triplets. It was very strange and interesting. This morning, when I left for work, I found two guinea fowl in the compound having a feast on whatever Akolgo had not collected the previous night. I am sure they will find their way out when the food is gone.
I asked the cleaning lady at work how to prepare these termites for eating and I will provide the recipe, in case any of you are interested in trying them. First you fry them without any oil because they have their own oil. Then you remove any of the remaining wings. Then you fry them again to dry them out. And now they are ready to eat, just like groundnuts (peanuts). I am not sure that I will try this, but might if Akolgo was to offer me some so that I would not offend him.

This is Akolgo. After the rain yesterday morning, the temperature was quite cool, by Ghanaian standards. I met people wearing their quilted jackets to go about town. People were wearing jeans and flannel shirts. I could sense coolness in the air, but I could also feel the humidity that kept me from actually feeling cold. This morning, the temperature in my bedroom was 27.4C, and that is probably the coolest temperature since I have been here.

Not much else has happened of interest. I planned to travel to Sandema this past weekend and Susan was going to go along for the experience. She had been diagnosed with malaria, though, and had some accompanying stomach problems so we decided that travel was not the best idea at that time. Her problems have continued through all of this week, and even today I will bring her to the doctor to check for any serious bugs that might be causing her stomach problems. She has not been able to eat hardly anything for more than a week now. That has been good for me, since she often offers me her leftovers. But it has lasted long enough to be a bit of a concern.
I am still waiting on the arrival of the computers. I have spent quite some time with one office and he is pressing me to start training his team. I have no reason not to go ahead, other than my thought that I would keep all of the offices in sync throughout the training. But it would be good to get started with the work that I came to do. Another office now has a couple that are here to support the Ghana Education Service, do some teacher and management training, etc. They will be an integral part of the interview portion of my project and they are ready to get started. One drawback is that the school year is about to finish so that might delay the collection of relevant information for the finishing school year. 

Tumu, Upper West Region, Ghana

On this past weekend, Susan and I made a motorcycle trip to Tumu in the Upper West Region. Susan had planned to go and thought about going by motorcycle but didn't want to make the trip alone. I remembered that my plan was to do a bit more travelling while in Ghana so that I wouldn't leave and wonder what I had seen. So, I decided to go along.

We left home about 6:00 on Saturday morning. I had been warned that the road was very bad, with potholes big enough to swallow a motorcycle. Susan had made the trip once before by tro-tro (mini-bus) and said that it took over three hours, assuming no breakdowns. Travelling on our own, we expected to make better time.

However, travelling on our own meant that we could stop when we wanted for as long as we wanted. About 70 km of the 140 km was dirt track. It wasn't as bad as I had been warned it would be, but we did have to slow down a bit to make the ride comfortable. We passed a couple of places that were filled with the flowers that you see above. They were just growing wild. We finally stopped at one field. The farmer came up and dug up a couple of the bulbs for us to take to Tumu to the volunteers there. It was good that we stopped here because it was the last field that we saw like this, and we didn't even notice the flowers when we returned on Monday.

If any of the horticulturists out there can tell what kind of flower this is from the picture, please let me know (david.perry.ghana@gmail.com). They were very pretty. We were able to pick up another bulb on the way home for our own house, so I hope that it survived the trip.

We stopped for a few pictures on the way home on Monday, even though we were more focused on getting back to Bolgatanga. This is a bridge over some small river before we reached the paved roads. It was really picturesque and the trip was enjoyable. The roads were not nearly as bad as I had been warned. I would not want to make the trip in the rain, though.

I would have posted a picture of Susan but did not feel right about putting someone else's photo on my blog. Susan followed me all the way, both going and coming. As a result, she got pretty dirty. From the picture you can't see much dirt on me, but my legs were looking pretty red from road dust by the time I got home. Susan's face was covered with dirt and her clothes were red from the dust she had picked up on the way. When we got back to the Bolga office, she had to take a picture of herself because she couldn't believe how much dirt was on her face.

So that was the weekend. As far as work is concerned, I am still waiting to get calls to work on the computers. I have spent too much time working on the three that I know are here. It has been a challenge because of their age, memory, speed, technical level, etc. One computer has now got a bad hard drive so is not of any use at all. It is hard to start training when I have to spend so much time just getting the computers to run. But, we are managing.

So, that is it for another week. I hope that everyone is enjoying summer, wherever they are. 

29 May 2006

Again I am posting an older picture, just to have something to put on the website. This is shortly after getting my motorcycle and is taken outside the compound of a friend. As you can see, the kids are quite excited - I am not sure whether it is by me standing there or by the bike. But I am enjoying my mobility.

This past week I started working on the VSO computers. I was a little saddened by what I saw when I first saw the first three computers to arrive in Bolgatanga. They are computers that were donated by schools in the UK. You can probably guess that if primary schools can't use the computers, they can't be very good. They are older models. Many will not have CD drives. They are slow with little memory and small hard drives. The challenge initially might be to get them up and running and stable enough to start training.

I also went to a Teacher's College in Navrongo to work in their computer lab. Someone in Accra had donated 16 computers, brought them, plugged them in and left. Eight of the computers would not boot. They were all Pentium machines. None had CD drives. The best part about them was the monitors. The instructor told me that some of his classes are as large as 60+ students. Sharing 16 computers would make instructing difficult. Doing it with 8 means little hands-on time for anyone. I did suggest that he remove the non-working PCs from the desktops so that students wouldn't be frustrated or distracted by them. That will also free some space on the desktops for the 8 or so people gathered around each computer.

There is corn, beans, green pepper, tomato and groundnuts planted in the compound now. The groundnuts have already started to come up. I have never seen them grow so will be interested to see what they look like, both as a plant and as a crop. There won't be a lot of anything, but it will be nice to have something growing there. I meant to take some photos of the compound this past week but was not feeling so well and didn't take the time. It will be more interesting when the plants have started to grow anyway.

It is hard to believe that May is already over and I am almost here for four months. It doesn't seem that it has been that long. At the same time, it is hard to remember when I wasn't here too. The temperatures are much cooler and it is comfortable for sleeping at night now. I have finally put up my mosquito net. I have not had malaria, that I know of, but I have plenty of insect bites. The mosquito here are not so large and noisy as Canadian ones, so I don't even know when I have been bitten until I start itching.

Take care, all. Have a good week.

David 

Rainy Season Is Here

This is an older picture that I took on one of the first rains since I arrived in February. I think this was sometime in the middle of April. It was interesting to watch people scramble to bring in washing and cooking and to get out of the rain. Then, after a few minutes, the kids got back out and played around. Here they are making a game out of cleaning a sleeping mat or rug, and the rain has almost stopped.

The rain has cooled things quite a lot. I have found that in the mornings I need to get under my sheet and turn off my fan or my feet feel too cold. The temperature has been as low as 26C, which I would have called too hot if I was still in Ontario. But it is enough cooler than what we have been experiencing that it feels pretty cool. Some mornings I have almost wished for a jacket or long-sleeved shirt as I ride into town.

The night watchman has been pretty excited and active lately around the compound. He has his own farm where he grows millet, corn and guinea corn. But he sees our open compound and says that he will plant tomato, green pepper, corn, beans and groundnuts. So, we will have a garden surrounding us, without having to do any work. It is nice to see him excited about it.

Most of the district offices have now paid for their computers, so the delay is transporting them from Accra to their offices. Different ones have started that process so I expect to be busy with computer stuff very soon. I have said that so often now that I am even getting tired of it myself. I did get a call from one of the schools today asking me to come to help them with some hardware problems, so I will travel to Navrongo tomorrow to work with them for a few hours.

Last week the office assistant broke his leg in a motorcycle accident. He was transported to Accra to be cared for by a specialist. In his absence I have been put in the position of doing some of his tasks around the office. His accident was a reminder to me to be extra careful when I am riding. From what I have heard, a car stopped immediately in front of him and he clipped the bumper with his leg as he tried to avoid crashing into the back of the vehicle. People here don't seem to always care what is happening around them, but will stop or turn whenever and wherever they want.

Not much exciting happened since the last update. We had no internet for over a week so I did not get to say anything last week. But with the internet unavailable, it seemed like there wasn't much that I did either.

I hope to have a picture of the green fields next week and hope to be able to report exciting developments and/or activities. But until then, everyone stay safe. 

8 May 2006 - Widnaba

The first picture is the base of the baobab tree that I talk about a little later. The opening would have been a bit larger when it was being used to store slaves. As it is now, I would not even try to go through it. It would not have been a pretty sight. The guide said that some tourists do give it a try.

The top of the tree is open, so there was a flow of air so they would not suffocate. However you look at it, though, it would not have been a very humane way to treat people. In fact, I would not think that we would even treat our livestock in such a manner.






The second picture is the outside of the Widnaba Welcome Centre. In front of it are my bike and Susan's bike. We were glad to get there, after travelling down a very tricky dirt road/track for 11 km.

Following is what I hope will be my weekly update. For those that receive the email from Yahoo!, this will be a repeat but with pictures attached.

01 May was a holiday here in Ghana, as it seems to be in many places in the world other than North America. It was Workers Day and was celebrated here in Ghana with various marches and speeches, including one from President Kufuor saying that there would be changes in pay structures and retirement plans. Overall it was pretty low key.

I took advantage of the morning to go for a motorbike ride between Bolgatanga and Bongo. There is a dam there that people had talked about as a place to go for relaxation and a picnic and I thought I should see it since it is close. Rather than going the direct route, I decided that I would explore. I did eventually find the dam and it does create a nice lake. The water level is pretty low right now, as it is very near the end of the dry season and hasn't rained any significant amount for several months. I was glad to see it. I continued cross-country from there to Bongo and got further and further into the country. I thought I was going in a big circle, but I don't think that was what happened. And then I started to run out of fuel. I switched to reserve and finally started asking for directions and for petrol. The directions I got but there was no petrol that far out. The last time I stopped for directions I was told I was still 5 miles from Bolgatanga and I had no idea how much fuel I had left. So, I skipped going to Bongo and headed straight back to town, fully prepared to walk if I had to. I made it to the station and filled up without walking, which was a relief.

Later in the day, my housemate and I rode up to Widnaba, about 60 km east of Bolga. That included 14 km on a dirt road that soon became a track and was a bit of a challenge, even on motorcycles. Widnaba is another ecotourism site. I don't know how successful it will be because it is a little difficult to get to. I enjoyed the trip and enjoyed the tour. We were taken to the Hidden Place. The story is that the villagers all gathered in this open field when the slave raiders came looking for them. From the surrounding hills the raiders could see the villagers, but when they got to the field where they were hiding they somehow became invisible. So that has become a local shrine that the community still uses for making various decisions and for celebrations. We then went to the slave market. There is the remains of a British fort on a hill overlooking an old, large baobab tree. The tree is hollow and has a small entry in one side. We were told that the slaves, up to 40 at a time, were held inside this tree while waiting to be taken to their next destination. If you go to my blog (http://ghanadavid.blogspot.com/) I plan to post a picture of that tree there so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. What I get from these tours is a reminder, if I need one, of how cruel people can be to each other.

This week some of the district offices have made contact in order to get their computers. So I anticipate starting the installation and training portion of my assignment within the next couple of weeks. It will be good to start doing what I came to do. It might be challenging to fit in all of the other things that I have been doing instead, some of which were quite beneficial to the Bolga office. But I will manage somehow.

I will conclude with a couple of interesting things that I have seen or experienced this week.

Thursday night a storm came in through the night. It was awesome. The thunder rolled almost continuously throughout the storm that lasted from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM. There was one lightning bolt that seemed to burst just outside my window, followed almost immediately with a loud clap of thunder. It looked and felt like an explosion. The rain came down so heavily that it was not possible to sleep once it started. The temperature dropped more then 10C during the storm, and it actually felt cool in the morning, though it was still about 24C. And it is possible to see green in the fields already, after only the few storms that we have had in the last month.

Friday I finally got a wardrobe for hanging my clothes. Saturday I finally unpacked my suitcase, which had been lying open on the floor. As I was taking clothes out I saw something moving among my clothes. I finally recognized it as a tarantula. As I decided what to do, it kept rearing it's head towards me and looking for a dark place among the remaining clothes. I suppose that I should have killed it, but instead I trapped it in a pot that I had and released it outside of the compound. It reminded me that I need to look inside my clothes and shoes before putting them on.

The final story is about lizards. I was waiting to go out last night so stood and chatted with the night watchman for a bit. He pointed to the security light over my bedroom window. There were probably up to 30 geckos and lizards around that light. They were having a feeding frenzy on all the bugs that were attracted by the light. I had never seen so many lizards at a time, or watched them eating insects like that. It was like going to a stocked pond and throwing food to the fish. It was funny to watch.

I think that I have written enough for this week. I hope that you find it somewhat interesting and entertaining. Feel free to write to me - DavidPerryGhana@gmail.com or livingbyplan@bellnet.ca are the two best addresses to use.

Finally an Update

I am going to try this blog thing again. I have not been able to access the site recently and still don't know if it will work.

This is a picture taken this past Sunday, 30 April 2006. My housemate hosted a party to thank those that had helped her to settle into Bolgatanga. Because I was also preaching in a village church that morning, I had decided to wear my traditional dress and just kept it on the whole day.

Even from the first time that I wore this, those that saw me were pleased to see me wearing this outfit. The first person that saw me in it, though, immediately said that it was a Nigerian design. So, though it is similar to what is worn by some here, it is still recognizably different. But it will do for now.

Things are good in Bolgatanga. We have had a few rains, enough to make the green start to show. But the real rains are still a couple of weeks away. And then there will be a frenzy of activity on the farms. And the weather will be substantially cooler (down to 25C at night instead of 34C). Some people say that I will feel cold, but I am not sure it will be that cool.

I am now mobile. I finally received my motorcycle training and get around on a Yamaha 125 cc Motocross. It is a good bike for here, as the travel varies from pavement to dirt roads, to dirt tracks, and sometimes even to dirt/rock paths. After a bit of a hesitant start from not riding a motorcycle for many years, I am feeling more confident daily. However, there are lots of other vehicles of all shapes and sizes sharing the road with pedestrians and animals. For vehicles, the largest vehicle takes the right of way. The humans and animals are not always that predictable. So, it requires a constantly watchful eye in all directions when riding.

Work is another story. I will update that at another time, after I see how this works. 

David Going To Ghana

David In Accra, Ghana

I am safely in Ghana after good help in getting to the airport in Toronto, where I had to repack my bags in the middle of the airport to meet weight limitations, good flights to London and then to Accra and VSO at the airport in Accra to meet the entire group. It was a long day and I was glad to get to the hotel and to bed.

There are 10 volunteers in our group - 1 Canadian (me), 1 Scottish lady, 1 Kenyan lady, 2 Indian men, 1 Filipino lady, 3 British ladies and 1 British man. The British guy and I will be doing the same work, only he will be in Wa, Upper West Region and I will be in Bolgatanga, Upper East Region. We are already looking forward to collaborating on the project, once we find out exactly what the project is.

We met with the VSO programme officers the other night and have a better feel for what we will be doing. But we both realize that the reality might be different from the expectation.

All is well here. The hotel is very nice with AC, hot water, satellite TV, good meals, and quiet. It has been a very gentle introduction to Ghana so far. Sunday we leave for our placements, and that will be the real introduction to Ghana.

I might not be able to post often as Internet access will be non-existent or limited in Bolgatanga. I will have to think of a good way to keep in touch with everyone.

Bye for now.

David Going To Ghana

I received confirmation last week that my visa for Ghana has been approved and VSO is just waiting to receive it so they can send it to me.

Today I received an email telling me that my passport, including visa and travel arrangements, has been overnighted to me and so everything is a go.

I have spent the last few days getting things that I know I will need, things that I think I will need, and even some things that I hope I will not need or will ever have to use. In the meantime, I am sure that there are some techical tools that would be useful to have when I get there but I won't really have any idea what they are until I need them. Some of my technical friends back in Canada and the US might get personal emails asking for long-distance assistance once I have a better idea of what I will be doing.

It seems that the time is really flying by now. It wasn't that long ago that I had two months to get ready. And now I have only a few days. I am organizing my bedroom for storage and so that it is not a nasty mess while I am gone. I am selecting clothes that I want to take with me. I am looking at the size of my bag, and that will mean reorganizing my gear. And then I expect that after I try to get it all in the bag there will be yet another attempt at reorganizing. I am sure that the final load will be determined when my ride to the airport gets here and I have to seal my bag for the trip.

The good part is from my past experience in Nigeria, I know that I can get by with what I take with me. I might miss a few things but in the long run, I will manage. In fact, that was a motto for Nigeria - we'll manage. I expect that it will be similar in Nigeria.

My next entry will be from Ghana. Perhaps I will have the chance to add some interesting photos, or at least some interesting information about the country.

The End of January (Almost)

Here it is the end of January. The last that I heard I am leaving on February 11 and will fly for a couple of days from Toronto to Accra in Ghana. I should be quite tired by the time I get there.

I am putting off packing. One reason is that I still have to wear many of the clothes that I will take with me. Another reason is that I have not yet decided what to take. It is hard to know since there is still much up in the air.

It won't be as severe a transition as I experienced when I went to Nigeria, unless the weather changes in the next few days. January has been one of the warmest on record. It is still colder than what I will find in Ghana, but not as cold as expected for this time of year.

Sunday I went to church in Toronto and met a couple of Ghanaian men. They talked with my parents and assured them of my safety in Ghana. They also mentioned family and friends that I will be able to contact when I get there. One thing they both said is that it is going to be very hot in Bolgatanga. Other than that they were very positive about what I will experience. Both are planning trips there next year and said they would look me up when and if they come.

Less than two weeks to go and there is a lot that I could be doing. But I still feel a bit in limbo as I wait for the final approval and arrival of my tickets. Patience!!!!

Getting Closer to Leaving

January is passing quickly. I just received the word that my anticipated departure is February 11. I have been telling folks that I was leaving in a month. Now that I have a date to target, it seems so much closer. That means that I really need to start getting things organized - deciding on clothes, hardware, software, miscellaneous stuff, etc. I can remember some of the things that I wish I had taken to Nigeria with me when I went there, but I learned to live with what I had. I have some of those things, but not others. And I know that I will remember something when it is too late to do anything about it. But I know that it will be okay and I will manage with whatever I have when I get there.

I think that my previous experience will make this transition easier. However, I do have to continue to remind myself that it is not going to be the same experience as Nigeria. There will be different people, different cultures, different living conditions - both from Canada and from Nigeria. I am looking forward to getting started, while concerned about what I am leaving behind.

Training in Ottawa

This has been a big weekend. Lots of training. Met several new people and enjoyed getting to know them. Tiring because there is so much to learn and to try to apply to my placement in Ghana.

Just trying out this blog site on the recommendation of a new friend from the course and might use it as a way to keep in touch with folks while I am in Ghana.