Squash

Sweat, action, screams!!! Yes, it’s squash - another thing I didn't think I would try in Ghana. (Thanks Karim for that). Yeah, yeah - talking about the indoor tennis like game.

So I've discovered squash and rediscovered my muscles - they're there - wasn't exactly sure since the only exercise I get is one long minute walk from home to work.

Enjoying my last month in Ghana. ;-)

Back

Last post - a while ago. Meantime - priceless. I have to start of with the highlight of all this postless time - a wonderful present from the Harmattan - a cold, that is never just that here in Ghana.

As malaria has similar symptoms with a cold I had to go to the clinic - sat down, got weighted (Hmmm...what do you know? - I've lost some. Good), got a number and a file, then moved in another room, waited, got my temperature taken, waited some more, heard my number being called, moved in another room, waited few minutes, got into the doctor's cabinet, got my eyes and throat consulted with the light from his mobile phone, went to have some blood taken, waited again, got the results, talked to the doctor, went to the pharmacy to buy medicine and taraaaaaa - in about 4 hours I found peace of mind – “It might not be malaria - it didn't show in the blood, but it can be in the bone marrow or liver so you better take the medicine”. I feel this traineeship wouldn’t have been complete without the malaria fear.

Anywayz – before all this I went to the beach on Sunday – Fete Beach. The atmosphere was so charged with dust and some kind of winter feeling – my friends were saying it all looked like a winter day if there weren’t people dressed for summer running around. The beach time was all about chillin’ and watching the families all around us – some of them were so well portraying the perfect family image that my camera couldn’t be tamed.

In the evening we were all treated to some nice Lithuanian dishes thank to Dalia and her parents - worried she does not eat enough here (which she doesn't :P).
Then last weekend started with a “small small” trip to Akosombo where my company was delivering a training – that part of Ghana is so beautiful and clean. The coolest thing that happened in that trip was seeing baboons on the side of the road – they’re big and they were just standing there. Then few baboons of all ages crossed the street and I managed to snap a shot.
Rest of last weekend was hanging around in Osu, cooking and eating Romanian dinner – ahhhhh so yummy – mamaliga (the yellow stuff – it’s made of corn flour), cheese and sour cream, some sort of tochitura (meat balls) and papanasi (the Romanian traditional doughnut :-). Oh and palinca (traditional Romanian (very) alcoholic drink made of plums usually) which people didn't really appreciaed... :)

Gata. (I’m done)

Go horsy

Cool thing this past weekend - I went horse riding for the first time! Never thought it would happen in Ghana, but it did.

Peruz, my horse was very nice with me although when he saw a fellow horse running towards the stables, he started doing the same thing so all of a sudden the speed increased and the comfort decreased and there I was screaming at the guy in front of me: "What do I do? What do I dooooooooooo....???!!". Following the instructions of pulling the harness worked pretty well and so I eventually calmed down.

Afterwards we enjoyed watching a polo game and getting covered in dust - they do play on the grass, but there were not enough players or something of the sort at that particular moment.

The day ended with plenty of Norwegian salmon, French pate and Romanian wine("Lacrima lui Ovidu" = "The tear of Ovidiu" brand).

2007 in Ghana

The New Year's Eve Party happened in Takoradi - this small town 3,4 or 5 hours from Accra depending on the traffic - where some of the other trainees work and live. Three things highlighted my end of one year and beginning of another - wonderful, amazing, unique and extraordinary stuff! ;-)

On Saturday I had my very first surf lesson – thanks David for that one! Of course I didn't make it past the paddling part and getting there was quite a funny experience for people watching me struggling to get on the surfboard. But I begun and that’s a fact – just few hundreds of pushups and I’ll be ready to start practicing standing up on the board. Maybe. It’s damn hard - Respect for surfers!

Second thing was falling asleep in the disco (Paragon in Takoradi) at the New Year’s Eve Party – oh noooo, it was fun - if you really enjoy endless minutes of the same Ghanaian song or something that seemed like the same Ghanaian song. We were not really in the mood for that music and we were tired, but the others were more hopeful in a change in style or at least some diversity than I was. The DJ kept teasing with "Who let the dogs out" intro until everybody had enough. Ultimately, even the greatest believers (Hi Dalia ;P) realized they've had hoped in vain and I finally got my soft bed back at Daniela's place, although that couch near the bathroom was somewhat cozy. :-P

Third thing was actually a fulfilled New Year’s resolution: See a monkey in Ghana! I had been here for more than 4 months now and I hadn’t seen one single monkey – not one! But that was about to change while we were carelessly driving back to Accra on the trafficless road. There she (looked like a she to me) was – a cute little monkey jumping around on the side of the road – I almost scared the shit out of my friends screaming “I’ve seen a monkey, I‘ve seen a monkey!” – not because of the screaming, but because of the stupidity of the affirmation for anyone but me.Anyway, you’ve got the idea – Symbolism of a fulfilled New Year’s resolution of a weird mind!

Oh…and the food we’ve had was great! Drawling when thinking about it these days! ;-)

Christmas in paradise

I had a wonderful Christmas - not in your traditional around the Christmas tree with the family kinda way, but in the "I always wanted to spend a different Christmas, if possible on the beach, hanging out with friends and cool new people" kinda way!

Decorated the Christmas palm, got a tan, ate fish for Christmas dinner, over relaxed, got bitten by mosquitoes, missed my guy, friends and family back home, relaxed some more, faced the big waves a bit, walked to a secret not so secret beach, got a present from my secret not so secret Santa, celebrated a really worldly Christmas with cool people from South Africa, US, Venezuela, Lithuania, Germany, Serbia, Finland, Syria, Belgium, discovered different ways of life, smoked loads of shisha (narghila) thanks to Basil, talked to a pole (that was the only spot with mobile connection), went in a quest for tutles in the middle of the night and almost saw a big one laying her eggs. :-P