Journey home

There was great excitement waking up on Friday morning and getting ready to come home.  We left at 8.30am on a beautifully cloudy day and drove nearly half way to Accra with the windows open, not requiring the air conditioner.  Seven hours later we were shopping at the Shoprite and two or three hours after that we were at the airport.  Porks and I had a light snack in one of the restaurants and then he caught a taxi back to the hotel after I had checked in.

Porks, still without his glasses.  They have been fixed but haven't arrived from South Africa yet.

There were mostly brony South Africans from Accra joining the stop-over flight from Abidjan to Johannesburg.  A guy called Henry had spoken to a pilot and found out that our flight had been delayed.  He told a few of us that as there was no available parking area for our aeroplane, the expected take-off time would be an hour later than expected.  We ended up leaving at 23.30 hrs.  I was exhausted already as I had been awake from 4am trying to book row 55 - the best row with the most legroom - but with no luck as there was no internet connection in Bantama.  Kelly managed though to book me further back on the isle. This same guy, Henry van Noort, is from Cape Town, and his company has been contracted to put quarry down to stop the sea from eroding the port. We had chatted about the special row on the plane and low and behold, there were two empty seats - one window and one isle in row 55!  So after holding our breaths, the aeroplane doors closed and no-one sat down in them.  He went and grabbed them for us. He is going out with his girlfriend Karen but nicknamed "Bug".

                       The sleeping Henry - "H" to his friends. (I thought of you and your "H", Angie!)

He looked after me so nicely, carrying my bags for me and being a real S.A. gentleman! We were served supper at 1.30am and then tried to sleep from 2.30am until about 5am ish (7am ish South African time)  when we landed. My connecting flight to Durban was at 8.35am so I was a bit concerned.

                                                              My first sight of "home".

I got through customs and collected my luggage fairly quickly but didn't want to chance having a cup of coffee before going to the boarding gate. I found my seat next to an unaccompanied minor, Sandiswe.  He was flying to Durban to his father for the school holidays.

 I had a lovely chat to him brushing up on my teaching skills.  I said to him, "So, you're in Grade 3?" "How did you know?" he asked with his bright eyes wide open.  I said that I was a teacher and also that my daughter teaches Grade 3.  I then said  "You're about 9 yrs old, hey?"  Well, at that I was a magician and we were fast friends.  I asked him what Sandiswe meant and he told me "snake"......I said  "No, that's "inyoka".  He said "dog".....and I said "No, that's "inja".  He said "sit down".....and I said "No, that's "hlala phansi".  I said  "You don't know hey?"...and he shook his head.  His brother Anele was a few rows behind, so when we were disembarking Sandiswe asked him what Anele meant and he answered "enough"....and Sandiswe?......Anele shook his head, he didn't know either!  I told Sandiswe that I was giving him some homework.  He was horrified. (These bronys - eish!)  I said that his homework was to find out what his name meant.....and I imagined him not even greeting his Dad and asking "Dad, what does "Sandiswe" mean?"  I have looked it up and it doesn't exist, so no wonder he doesn't know! (Ha Ha - I probably didn't hear correctly!)  So both my flights from Ghana were filled with excitement and entertainment.

Kell and Roger were in Durban to meet me!  I couldn't wait for my luggage before greeting my daughter, so I left my hand luggage on the trolley at the carousel and rushed through the automatic doors to hug her!  They closed behind me and the security guard wouldn't let me back in!  So I had to walk with the guard around the side of the building, sign a form and then go back to wait for my red suitcase!












Kell had prepared a cooler bag with a welcome "shot", some delicious fruit and rusks for me.












I arrived home at 11.30am to beautiful welcoming flowers bought by my very special daughter.

 

















Do you recognise the vase, Haylee?  You sent me flowers when my Daddy died 7 years ago this week!

                                                                                                                                                                

I loved, hugged and kissed my girls, who went absolutely berserk.  I did too, very nearly crying,

had a cup of coffee, a shower and tried to rest for an hour before heading for the hairdresser. (I am fairly pretty again!)

Pips and Bev came for fish and salad in the evening, my favourite, (the fish and the salad and Pips and Bev!) especially since Roger was the chef.  Thank you Kelly's Mann.




He had to be finished by 8.30pm as it was "Earth Hour". We switched off the lights and ate by candle light. 

By the time we switched on the lights again and after a few bottles of wine, laughter and many verbal faux pas due to fatigue (definitely not the alcohol!) it was time for bed.

See my red eyes? From being weary!!!

So the preceding 42 hours were an emotional roller coaster. Sadness from leaving Porks, Gundi and Genie but also happy with excitement, love and joy from coming home! I am cool, clean, smiling and full of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables.

Homeward Bound

There are thousands of Mango trees in Ghana, perhaps planted by the British.  They are a wonderful source of not only delicious fruit but also supplying a thick umbrella-like canopy all year round. 



One can find them virtually outside each hut as well as plantations of them around this area.












If one wants to know where the Ghana man is...."he is sleeping under the Mango tree" is the common answer and there is proof all around.  The coolest place to be unless one is lucky enough to have air-conditioning!

The past week was very exciting for the Bantama junior school children.  More than a thousand scholars of ages 9 to about 14 years from a radius of about 16 kms arrived on Monday.  They were here for a soccer and athletics competition. They left on Friday afternoon.

 

The spectators had a marvellous time supporting their teams.

 

 

 

And here is a penalty shoot out.......(get ready, holding our breaths and our team-mates).......

La duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuma! Our team scored and we all rush onto the soccer field!!





                                                                                              Gundi and Genie and their special little creature Porkles.

 

 

It sometimes take days to complete a new post for my blog. There is many a time when there is "No Network" or a very weak signal.   I have a mobile WiFi gadget that I use to obtain connection. I cannot get a good signal unless I hold up the modem high in the air or stick it in the top louvre of the window.  Then it works fairly well if the small battery is full. If it is empty, then it needs to be plugged in to the computer to recharge but the connection is very short so I lose signal.

I have worked out that if I place the computer on a chair that is on the table and then stick a book through the rungs of the chair and balance the modem on a book, it sometimes works. Then I have to stand up and type and that is not ideal with ageing back!

 

 

My third attempt at rocket, lettuce and swiss chard yielded a few more delicious leaves.  Tuna, Provita and rocket for lunch! Yummmmmy!

We drove to Atebubu on Sunday morning to buy eggs and tomatoes. I took a photo of the local cattle and their huge horns to show you. At last there is some greenery and a few puddles of water around for the animals now that we have had some rain.

 

 

Arno had asked us to buy him some mangoes in Atebubu and on the way home we went to the office to drop them off. Arno loves Genie and had her on his shoulder when she urinated on him!! We haven't learnt her language yet and in retrospect, she had been telling us that she wasn't happy about something....but we're getting there!

 

On Sunday afternoon we were told that Martin (remember him?) and a few other people were coming to the office to collect a vehicle and then going to check on where they plan to plant sugar cane.  They arrived at lunch time and met Gundi and Genie. The man on the left, Mark, told me that his grand-parents and parents were living in the Congo when he was born. They lived in a very remote area and his mother was lonely and adopted two mongooses (!) but one then died. He was thrilled to meet Gundi and took photos of him to show his mother.  It was a happy moment for me to think of another lady in a secluded area who found much joy in her own little Gundi. 

 

 

On the way back they planned to stop off to have a quick bite to eat at the office and then travel back to Kumasi. (They had left Accra at 7 am that morning.) So Porks and I thought we'd pop across to chat to them. They got back from their scouting at 7pm.

 

Sarah had stayed to cook them some supper.  It must have been good as there was not a thing left on their plates.  Either that or they were very hungry.  We conversed with a multi-national group of people and shared a drink with them while they ate.  I had made a chocolate cake for them for pudding.

 

 

We met Mark from Belgium (originally Congo) and Enoch from Zimbabwe. (Graham!)

There was also Carla from Mexico and Peter Cheshire (good name for him) from London. (Angie and Muffy!)

 

Peter again and Martin from good ol' South Africa!  I asked the guys when they thought the first people might be moving to our area to begin their project and they thought it would be before the end of this year!  Yay, more company!

           See what Martin brought just for me?...................a bottle of 12 year old Glenfiddich!   
                                                 Wow!  So lucky me! Thank you Martin!

This will probably be my last post before I leave to go home on Friday.  I have managed to mostly keep my chin up for four and a half months, thanks to all of you!  Porks is travelling with me to Accra.  We will do a shop for here before I fly out at 22.30hrs. He will then sleep at the Hotel, shop for the cold and frozen items in the morning and then drive back with John. I fly overnight and arrive in Johannesburg early Saturday morning before continuing on to Durban and Kelly. Andrew flies up from Cape Town on Kelly's birthday the 2nd April and back again on the 9th.  I fly back to Ghana on the 16th April but we are not going to talk about that yet!

If I have time in between talking, eating, laughing, hugging, playing, loving, talking, smiling, bathing, shopping, talking, hugging, dancing, and talking....I will continue with my blog called  "Awifeinghana" but I'll really be    "Awifebackathomewithmychildrenfriendsmotherinlawanddogsbutunfortunatelywithoutmyhusbandinmybeautifulcountrysouthafrica."

Proud parents

We went out again on Sunday to check on things and to take the children for a drive/outing. They seem to enjoy it although sometimes Gundi gets a little car sick. Genie climbed on Porks' shoulder and then proceeded to keep climbing! I think she thinks he is a tree! She loves to cuddle under my hair too, sticking her nose right into my ear, my nose, licking my lips and gently playing with my eye-lashes!

The "new and improved" patient Porkles.
(I wouldn't have believed it either Kell and Andrew!)

Genie has huge eyes but during the day she doesn't seem to see very well, being nocturnal.  She does not like to venture too far away from us and comes when she is called but bumps into my hand before climbing up.   She is not at all vocal in the vehicle.  Gundi is getting better at advising us when he wants to stop...or is it that our listening skills are improving?

We leave the windows open although it is extremely hot as Gundi, especially, does not like the cold air-con. 

On the way home, I placed Genie on Porks' shoulder and she fell asleep.






She was so well balanced that even on the plantation road she didn't move.

 

Genie was so relaxed that her back legs were just hanging loose.  It looked as though Porks had just thrown her over his shoulder and left her there, like a towel.

Genie's back and legs started falling sideways.

I thought it was the sweetest thing to see her feet just dangling.

I had Gundi sleeping and balancing on my shoulder.  We couldn't leave him out of the pictures!

Gundi seems to have more of a hairy pelt where Genie has cotton wool-like fur.  We now know why a Genet's skins are so sought after for clothing.  Not only are they beautiful but extremely soft. She is not as cuddly or as needy as Gunds though. 

 

They are getting on so well.  They eat out of the same lid now. 

 You can see the size difference at the moment.

 

 

 

Our beautiful Genie. We have had her just over two weeks and she is already a huge part of the family.





A very quick learner.

Gundi has been desperate to play but until this week Genie was not interested.  Now she stands on her back legs and then pounces on Gundi and hides behind things to taunt him.  I sit and watch them for minutes! I am so happy for them and hope that it lasts.

 

As heavy as Gundi is on his feet, Genie is light. As I told you before, it looks as though Gundi is wearing gumboots (wellingtons) when he walks.  His feet are long and he walks determinedly. Well, if that is the case, then Genie is wearing ballet slippers.  She is lighter, faster and far more agile than my precious Gunds. He is thick set like a "Blue Bull" and she is as light as a feather and seems to walk on the tips of her toes. (Like my friend Lyn!)




When scratching Gundi I can be quite rough and he enjoys it but Genie is very delicate and I have to be far more gentle.




One of the evenings this week when the lights had gone off, I went and lay on the bed and read.  A few minutes later, Gundi appeared next to me in the dark. He had climbed up his ladder to join me.  After a while I had a shower and then sat in the lounge with Porks and after about 30 minutes we decided to go to bed.  He had asked me where Gundi was and I had told him that he was lying on the bed.  When we got there, Gunds was gone!  No-where to be found.  We called and called and searched the whole house with our torches.  Porks even went outside to look for him.  I said that he would either stay in the room or come and find me but he had just vanished! After half an hour, I was hot and wet through again but kept checking the same places hoping that the result would be different.  Eventually I banged on all the furniture, opening doors and drawers and calling his name as sometimes when he is asleep his ears shut down.  He suddenly appeared from the cupboard drawer, blinking and looking very confused as if to say "Whaaaaat?...why did you wake me up!"

He had climbed under the drawer when it was open and I had closed it when I came into the room to look for him.  Oh my word, we were so relieved.  I wouldn't have slept if we hadn't found him.  I had been feeling slightly down that day and finding Gunds just put life back into perspective and I was smiling again.  Its wonderful how a little wild creature like Gunds can steal ones heart so easily.

Independence Day

We went for a drive on Sunday afternoon to the houses to see how they are going and saw that three more two-bed roomed houses have been started. We took Gundi and Genie with us.

Jose` and Arno came to see us there and Arno fell in love with Genie. I would have let him have her (I do love her already but am worried about the relationship between her and Gundi when they get older) but he is still at the hotel and it is impossible for him to look after her there.

Porks tries to be a good dad and often picks the "kids" up and walks around with them on his shoulder.

They are both happy to balance there for some time.

This was the first time we took Genie out for a stroll in the bush.  We have only had her just over a week and when I put her down and walked away, she caught up to me in no time.  This little creature is fast!

She can climb well too. She climbs my leg even when there is no material to cling to.....ouch!

Well, on Sunday night the lights went off at 10pm and came back on at 11pm, so I was incorrect, they do come on in the middle of the night sometimes!  We have to use a remote control to switch the air-conditioner back on again after the electricity goes off as it doesn't come on automatically.  It tweets when it goes off (and wakes me) and tweets when I switch it back on again.  It went off so many times last night that I eventually fell asleep holding the remote in my hand, waking every now to check and then pointing the remote at the air conditioner to turn it back on again. We can see the hotel lights through the curtains, so know when the electricity has come back on. I didn't bother to open and close the windows this time as it had rained and cooled the air somewhat.

On Monday morning a lovely storm started at 6am!  Pouring rain, fairly strong wind and cool, cool air. (I thought of that little school Haze!) I stayed in bed with both my critters reading a book on my iPad until 8am.  The rain had stopped, the cement was dry, but there were still dark clouds around.  As I circled the house, the drizzle came again and after 20 minutes it was pouring!  What a pleasure exercising in the coolth! 
By the end I was wet as usual but this time my perspiration wasn't as salty!

Putting on my moisturiser after a shower was a pleasure!  It penetrated my skin this time and didn't swim around on top of my perspiration!  The sun only burned through at about 11am and still then it came and went throughout the day.....what a relief ....first "cloudy" day for me.
Tuesday was even better - cool all day with only a few electricity outages.





Genie has taken over Gundi's "house" now that Gundi is in bed with us.








When Genie is hungry, she squeaks like a squeaky toy - a short sharp sound, so cute, but insistent.  She sleeps most of the day and night at the moment so is quite easy to look after.







They seem to be getting on fairly well although Gundi is a little rough with Genie. I am not too concerned as Genie is already a faster runner and will eventually get bigger than Gunds. Then perhaps the tables will be turned. So I am giving Gundi his chance while he's got one.

They both eat the same thing at the moment. Genie has only baby teeth so the chicken has to be cut "small small" - as the Ghanaians say.

Then I add milk and sometimes an egg.

Genie still prefers us to feed her though rather than to take the food out of her lid on her own.


Wednesday 6 March was Independence Day.  Ghana became independent from Britain in 1957. (Great year that!)  There was no-one at work so we drove to Kwame Danso to buy some fruit and vegetables. 

In Bantama, the school children were marching in their neat little outfits to a live band.

Smart little girls in their uniforms.                

Marchers marching in March!

When we arrived in Kwame Danso there were huge celebrations.



 





The gloves were white socks.
A Ghanaian "maak `n plan" this time. (Hey Deidre and Louwsburg?)

Porks told me that those are wooden rifles.

These are the white gloved drum majors and  majorettes.



Saluting and standing to attention to the Ghanaian flag.

Another amusingly named beauty saloon! 

Its actually a salon.

 

                                    Obviously this time "Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

"Where Determination Exist Failure Can Never Dismantle The Flag Of Success.   In Jesus might."

Small business enterprise .   Ladies (in uniform nogal) sewing on their machines.

We managed to buy cabbage, onions, tomatoes and some "garden eggs" - the size of a chicken egg - tasting and looking similar to a brinjal.  I cooked them with garlic.  Not too bad. Another vegetable for us.  They reminded me of tree tomatoes.






The "wild sea" road is gone! See the hi-way to Kwame Danso. It is a pleasure driving on that road already and its still not finished.

Although we have been told that the rain we have had is a "false rain" and the rainy season really only starts in April or May, the farmers have started to plough their lands again, ready for planting.

 



This land is just off the main "hi-way".

 I couldn't find the Gunds.

 

So I looked in the bedroom............






I found him sleeping under Porks' just washed shirt.

I am thrilled that he is independent (well, it is Independence Day, silly!) and can move around as he pleases.

 

Gundi found a spider under the curtain. I moved the curtain to have a look and he growled, just like a dog! I don't think he was growling at me necessarily because even when I moved away he continued to growl.

He ate it and then immediately went to sleep.  I was a little concerned but he was fine.  Theresa found him another one this morning and he gobbled it up and went to sleep again!?

I made jam buns for Porks today.
This grosses me out (probably not good English but descriptive!) but even after thrice sifting my flour, there are still worms in it! 

I have to be careful of the cereal, the noodles and anything that can grow weevils and worms. 

The only reason that I keep using it is one: that I have no choice and two: they don't wriggle and are dead after being cooked!

I should keep the flour in the refrigerator but we have so many other items in there that there is no space.

                                 
Gundi does not like to be in a room when the air conditioner is on - its too cold for him.  Sometimes he insists on staying with us though, that is why I made him that little blanket and why he sleeps inside the bed with me. If he is with us in a cold room, I cover him with whatever is around so that he is happy. 
                                        I often get told....."Take a photo, Shan", so here is...

                                                             Little Gunds and Porks!