Hello everyone,

Sorry I have been absent for some time. A lot has been going on; however the main “challenge” has been the malfunction of my portable modem. I have been without internet access at home since Wednesday. Each morning I think I will get it back only to find out it still is not working.

I lugged my laptop to campus on Monday to be told the there is nothing wrong with it and I need to have Vodophone, my internet provider, check the modem. Daahhh. So a trip to Accra Mall was evident. This is not a fifteen minute car ride. It can take from thirty minutes to two hours via taxi. Traffic is terrible at certain times of the day. I sat in a taxi for twenty-five minutes one hundred yards from the entrance to the mall once until a brick hit me upside the head and I realized I could walk the distance for the same money. L((

I made the visit to Vodophone only to find out that I needed more credit on my mobile modem. That took a taxi ride to the phone company and twenty-five minutes there to determine. UGH!!!!!!!!

I paid 45cds or $30US last Wednesday for a month's internet service and had to pay that again today

because the person who sold me the credits did not tell me that I had to text to another number to activate the internet connection. :-((((((((((((((

Anyway…. A trip to the mall was made and I can now get all this to you all. In the meantime I visited the ICT department on campus to use the computers there to realize I could not connect my portable hard drive with all the pictures and videos to their computers, not to mention the mouse malfunctioned while I was checking my email. Yet another challenge.

While I am on the subject of challenges, let me expand on that to make it clear to you what a challenge to me means. When I say “challenge” keep in mind that I am at the end of my rope, I want to scream at the top of my lungs, pull my locks out one at a time, waddle around in that red dirt I told you about in a white mini dress, (Imagine that. LOL), poke one of my eyes out, cut off my left leg, (BTW…that is the one that is attached to the ankle I broke last year, spent the summer on crutches, dealt with three infections, and a second surgery.), and kick one of those giant ant hills.  So you see when I am feeling a challenge, I am completely frustrated; but being the cool senior citizen that I am, I just smile and take it all in stride. Hahahhahahaha. Maybe not so much. I have not been arrested yet, so I guess I am doing ok. HHmmmmmm.

Ooopppss…I digress. Let’s get back to things at hand. Saturday Sam and I went on the trip to the Fetu festival at Cape Coast. The bus was to leave the International Student Hostel, known as ISH, at 6 am. We got up at 4:30 for a 5:30 pick up by our driver Antwi. We arrived in good time, though sleepy, to not leave until 6:45. The trip was about three hours during which time we napped as best we could. I did not take pictures because I had taken about three hundred when we made this trip last month. I know you are thanking me for that. LOL Also my camera is not working properly to my dismay. I hope to get it fixed by my electronic friend on campus soon. If not my pictures will be limited to what the camcorder takes.

Here are pictures and video of that adventure. Enjoy!!!

Also:

We are planning a party to celebrate Sam's and Emily, one of the ISEP student’s birthdays. Emily, now sporting locks, is going to bake a red velvet birthday cake, Sam will provide the venue: the Matrix bar where he plays pool, and I will commandeer the chef’s kitchen and put together some “comfort food” for my little picknies. The date for this event will be Friday, November 4^th. I expect to prepare spaghetti with meat sauce, fish soup, macaroni and cheese, and some other stuff with the help of Nana, (my housekeeper) and the Matrix chef. The international students will provide entertainment and I will video the event, though I am sure some of it will be edited. So look out for that special occasion.

Let’s get back to the festival: it was a Mardi Gras type event with an African twist. Here is a Wikipedia link about Cape Coast and the event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coast. We had a great time even though it took us an hour to get on the road out of Cape Coast because of the traffic jam leaving town.

Many thanks to our “body guard” (he is in the brown shirt) who stayed with us during the parade to make sure we were safe. I told him that even though he was little in statue he took as good care of me as my HD man. Hey…got to love a protector no matter his size. Yoo? (That is Twi for yes.)

I will also add the pictures from the wedding as promised and several others. So enjoy all and let us hear from you. We are missing you guys and home so much. We will truly appreciate the US and Tanglewood Road and all her amenities for sure. LOL

 One love!

Dr. Bonsau's daughter's wedding

Sam and one of the wedding coordinators

LDS colleges of Dr. Bonsau

Dr. Bonsau

 His father

Other guests

Wedding coordinators

Other family members

The bride!

 The groom!

 The groom's uncle who stood for him

The program

The Fetu Festival

This truck has twenty-two wheels!!

Menu at pub. Notice one item is "Bushmeat."

This could be anything from grasscutter (looks like a possum) to antelope meat.

My Black Diaspora professor, her husband and Sam.

One of the kings

Of course Sam stood out in the crowd and they zeroed in on him. Got to love my HD man!

Here they are offering him to beat the king's drum. I have the video and will post it soon.

 Poster of the king

 One of the stool bearers

Here he is with one of the tribal flags.

This "fish" squirts water from its mouth and as I passed by it squirted me!

I think there was someone inside who was responsible.

People all over the place!

 The po-po to protect the king!

The parade ended at the Cape Coast Castle.

This is the restaurant right at the castle.

We spent some time there recuperating from the long walk.

The restaurant is right next to the castle and right on the water.

It was a little disconcerting to be in a celebratory atmosphere where such awful things happened to the enslaved Africans so long ago.

Remember the castle is where the "Door of No Return" is.

Our body guard.

Cape Coast Castle from the water view.

Sorry about my finger in the way. :-(

Ok let's eat!

I finally broke down and bought some "pork chops." $8US for four small pieces. :-(((

Here we had chops, mashed potatoes, a salad, and kontomire or cocoyam leaves.

I will post a picture of it as it looks before cooking soon.

This is jolof rice and curried shrimps I bought in Elmina on the first trip to Cape Coast.

Jolof rice and goat that Sam cooked.
He had to re-cook it as it was too tough after just four hours of cooking.
It took another four to get it tender. HHHmmmm.
But...it was very good.

Marie, this one's for you! Those tiny crabs at Madina Market.

I have video of them crawling around trying to get out of the pans.

They cost about 60 cents each. I bought a dozen.

I put them in my spaghetti sauce and boy were they good!!

A lot of work; but well worth it. Have to get more soon. LOL

Yes, these are snails. They are used in a "stew."
We haven't gone there yet.

Jolof rice from our anniversary luncheon given by Mr and Mrs. Dolphyne.

Thank you so much. Everything was delicious!

Ooops! Those snails again!

This is groundnut soup from the luncheon.
It was sssooo good!

Rice balls to serve with the soup.

How it looks as I was eating it.

Fish (supposed to be red snapper; but I don't think so), shrimp and rice and a salad.

The drink is fresh-squeezed orange juice.

So you see I am venturing out some in my cooking.

I wanted to eat just Ghanaian foods; but had to revert to my own cooking after all. :-)

On University of Ghana campus

This is the International Programs Office building (IPO).

Here international students (me) can use the internet for free.

I sit on the wall to the right many days waiting for class to start.

Unfortunately there is usually a breeze blowing red dirt down that driveway. UGH!

This is the JQB building where all my classes are.

It is down from the IPO building.

This is what I walk on to get to the JQB building from the IPO building.

Where the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) coordinator's office is.

An ant hill. A small one.

On the way to where I take my Twi class.

Now this is an anthill!!!

The pavements are made of these uneven bricks which are so scary for me with my bad ankle.

So I walk reaalll carefully on them.

This is the Twi classroom.

These are the benches I sit on for my classes.

 So you see college life for me is challenging; but quite interesting. I have one class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I have decided to drop the Twi class that I was auditing because it meets 5:30-6:30 in the evening and I am getting home too late. I have the study book and the CD. I will use them and have Nana (my housekeeper) tutor  me at home.

I am learning a lot that will be of good use to me as I continue to research family histories for my clients and I am getting a completely different perspective of African history.

At Home

For those of you who have expressed concerns about our safety here are pictures of where we are living. As you can see it is a beautiful compound that is completely safe in a safe neighborhood. The houses are huge, though many are not completed. The people are friendly.

So don't worry we are safe. :-)

Our apartment front entrance.

Where we eat those meals you just saw.

Our bedroom door

The hallway to our apartment.

The Dolphyne's house is to the right and our apartment is to the left.

The Dolphyne's front yard

 The rest of the courtyard