You've Got Mail

Remember when you were a kid and it was fun to get mail? Now an envelope with your name on it probably contains a credit card bill or a reminder to visit the dentist. Here, we get to relive a little of that childhood thrill of visiting the mailbox (since we don't get any bills and our dentist reminders are being forwarded to my parents). This weekend, we got the king of all mail pieces, a summons to the customs desk to retrieve a package. Of course, we retrieved the slip on Saturday, so we had to wait until Monday to pick up the goodies. It was worth the wait, though.


A BIG thank you to our friends in Lansing who put together this fabulous collection of books and treats! No more reading and rereading the copy of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom we brought from home to the point where we can recite it in our sleep... now we're eating Oreos and drinking Hawaiian Punch while we read and reread our new copy of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus to the point where we can recite it in our sleep. The doggy bookmarks were a big hit, too , and our fridge is looking much more stylish with a Michelle McManus, State Senator magnetic clip on the door.

Pounding Fufu

While we enjoy (or at least have come to appreciate) many of the local dishes here, our cooking style would best be described as modified-Western; we try to use as many local ingredients as we can, but in ways that are more familiar to us (and that will be pleasing to the discerning palate of an almost-two-year-old obruni). Plus, many of the local staples are a LOT of work.

We watched this firsthand last Sunday, when our housekeeper, Mary, and her sister, Linda, came over to prepare and eat an authentic Ghanaian meal of fufu and light soup. They arrived shortly after 10 a.m. and immediately got to work. And while Dusty and I were encouraged to watch the preparations, any attempts on our part to help were soundly rejected. So instead, we watched (and ate). When we finally sat down to eat, around 3 p.m., everyone was famished. The food was delicious -- though there is nothing light about light soup, which is made with large amounts of palm oil! Elliot was the only one who didn't take part in the feast, after declaring it too "-picy" for his taste. Luckily, there were some ripe pawpaws on the tree in the backyard, so he didn't have to go hungry.

Mary and Linda prepare the cocoyams. First they are boiled, then mashed, then pounded into a doughy blob. This is then served in a large bowl with soup.


Our stew meat - with apologies to my vegetarian readers, about as fresh as you can get.

Almost time to eat! Kofi pounds the fufu while Mary turns it. This is a delicate operation. If you get out of rhythm, the pounder can cause serious damage to the turner's hand. Ouch!

Elliot's contribution to dinner, a ripe pawpaw from our tree.

Road trip! (or never trust a quiet child)

We drove to Accra this weekend to visit friends and do some shopping. On our way out of Kumasi, we were stopped at a traffic light when a hawker excitedly started tapping on our window and gesturing toward the backseat, where Elliot had been quietly absorbed in a project. The project, it turned out, had been to draw little hash marks all up and down both of his shorts-clad legs. As you can imagine, he was quite proud of his "tattoos" (just like Daddy's, except bigger and more conspicuously placed).

Now that we've been here awhile, Dusty is a lot less intimidated by the traffic, and the driving style seems less "every man for himself" and more "give a little, take a little" to us. It still gets ugly, though, especially when you have to drive through construction. No brightly colored signs warning you of lane closures 3 km, 2 km, 1 km ahead or precisely spaced rows of orange barrels designating which portion of the road is available for drivers and which is being worked on. Even when traffic is reduced to one lane, construction workers have to resort to putting large limbs or nail-covered boards in the other lane to discourage enterprising drivers from seeing it as a shortcut around all the poor schmucks who are waiting in the long line to get through the open lane.

Sometimes, though, they don't even bother marking off where you should and shouldn't drive, leaving it up to the drivers to negotiate a path for themselves. This is what we encountered as we approached Accra, where they are in the midst of a massive roadbuilding project to install a section of elevated four-lane highway. The existing "road" around the construction site is best described as the kind of terrain one would seek out if one were a "Jeep person" (you know who you are...) and generally not what one expects to try to navigate in a small European station wagon. Observe this scene, shot from the passenger seat, in which we encountered a backhoe trying to make its way across the road while vehicles in both directions tried to get through. Not for the faint of heart! (P.S. This is my first time experimenting with Blogger's video upload feature. I hope it works!)

Morning walks

One of our favorite routines here has been to go for a walk around the neighborhood after breakfast. It's a great way to get out of the house and for Elliot to burn off some of his seemingly boundless supply of energy. We thought you might enjoy coming along with us to see the sights in our neighborhood.

We're just outside the gate and Elliot already has a rock in his shoe. Luckily, Mom is there to shake it out. This scene will be repeated at least three or four more times before we get back.

The rainy season has made the gulleys in the road even deeper than usual. It doesn't seem to keep people from using it as a "shortcut" though. At certain times of the day, this road is almost bumper-to-bumper!

Dusty and Elliot on the (relatively) nice section of the road.

Elliot's favorite spot on the walk - a large metal grate over an open gutter. When the tro-tros, taxis and other vehicles pass through here, it makes a huge clattering noise. Some days, we never make it past this point. I think he could stand alongside the road here and watch vehicles go by for hours.

More deep gulleys. It's especially interesting to watch two vehicles try to negotiate this stretch of road at the same time.

Finally, to the pavement - and it's off to the races! Elliot knows cars drive on the road and people stay on the sidewalk, and he (mostly) adheres to this rule.

Elliot's new friend, Paul. He's only four months old, but they get along great - as long as Mom only holds the baby when I'm also holding him. Yes, Elliot is pointing at Paul's "pee-pee". Luckily, he hasn't showered me with it yet, so we get along great too.

Elliot has a seat on the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure this is his way of reminding us who is in charge of setting the pace on our walks.

Back to the top of the hill and our very busy roundabout. Elliot begrudgingly allows himself to be carried through this stretch because of all the cars. And because it means we're almost to his second-favorite part of the walk.

Elliot's second-favorite stop, the Shell Shop, where his "ladies" always have treats for him. It has also become Mom's favorite stop, ever since I discovered their inventory of ice cold Coke Light (Diet Coke).

Next stop, the bread ladies, where we get fresh bread in the morning. Elliot is carrying our goodies from the Shell Shop, including a bag of frozen chocolate milk (the one in his mouth) that one of the Shell employees gave him. He doesn't even care that it's not open. And he's not sharing with anyone.

A blue (Blue! Blue! Blue!) tro-tro heads up the street. It's great that they come in so many colors. Who needs flash cards when you have tro-tros?

Almost home! The last leg of the walk takes us through a used car lot, where there are many more opportunities to point out colors. If I had used a wide-angle lens, you would see that our compound wall is on their left.

Thanks for coming along with us on our morning walk. The whole excursion can take upwards of an hour, between Elliot's slow walking and fascination with all things colorful. I hope you enjoyed it!