Still hot as hell.

Today is Victer’s birthday. Not much to really do here though that would make it exciting for him. Graeme, the director from Du Pont South Africa flew in for a few days business on Tuesday, and I arranged for him to bring a gift up from home for Victer. At least this made the kids smile. Morgie especially is very much a birthday party girl (in fact she lives for birthdays) and it must be said here, that she also lives for her darling daddy so she tried her best to convince us this morning that today should be a “no school” day because it’s daddy’s birthday! Much to her disgust she lost the argument, which resulted in Mommy being blamed for the whole misfortune. We have some friends living in Nigeria with two little boys coming to Ghana this afternoon for the weekend, so I am sure that we will all get together and share stories.

On Sunday we packed our beach bags once again (clearly, we have noticeably short memories of our last experience) and made our way to the Golden Tulip Hotel to spend the day at the pool. Why we thought that the heat of the sun would be any different at the pool than at the beach I do not know. We are either just suckers for punishment or the heat has finally penetrated our brains and fried a couple of brain cells. Morgan and Christopher spent all three hours emerged up to their ears in the water. When they eventually braved the sun and climbed out the water, they looked a hundred years old. Victer and I decided that the British had the right idea, so we joined them huddled under the umbrella’s fighting over the little shade they offered. Two more miserable people you have never seen. We did swim; however, it was like taking a hot bath with the whole of Ghana in the bath with you. The kids were glad to get out of the house and they did meet up with some friends from school, so it was not all bad.

Christopher, I am pleased to report is slowly entering the land of the reading. Not quite onto “War and Peace” just yet, but characters such as Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy are now very much a part of our household and we all eagerly await every evening to hear about their next adventure, (All four lines!) Morgan is as usual her grumpy self at the prospect of Christopher being able to do something she has not as yet mastered, and takes great delight in teasing him relentlessly when he gets a word wrong by telling him, “You are not a big peoples yet, only big peoples can read books Chwisofer!”

We experienced one of the first of many big storms yesterday. Do not kid yourself people if you think we get storms in South Africa. The black sky descends on you from nowhere and with no warning. The wind blows like a monsoon and the heavens open and drop sheets of water. To add to this, we are in the middle of Hamattan (this is a sandstorm that blows from the desert into northern Accra). Hence the air is full of clay coloured dust. Along with the humidity, this is what we breathe into our lungs everyday. (We are happy people) The streets of Accra are normally crawling with people like ants on an anthill. When the storm hit, the streets were suddenly deserted as the torrents of water gushed down the roads into muddy pools. The streets came to a standstill and all business ceases. It was very eerie. Upon waking this morning, the hustle and bustle continues, minus a couple of shacks and roadside businesses washed away in the storm.

There is a type of fruit here that resembles a banana, but you cannot eat it raw. It is called a plantain. The locals slice it into wedges and fry them. This is sold on the side of the road like packets of chips, either with sugar or salt added to it. Morgan spat hers; Chris chewed and chewed like a cow and eventually when he just could not swallow gave up the ghost too and joined Morgan’s spitting. I did not think it was too bad but will not be buying to stock up my pantry and Victer chose to be a spectator. Another interesting local food item is “Fufu”. This is made from a very starchy root like a sweet potato. The women cut this into pieces and put it in a wooden pot and the men stand over her with a big pole and repeatedly beat the root until it is a dough. This is rolled into balls the size of your palm and eaten with soup. It is very interesting to watch the preparation process but as yet we have not been brave enough to try it. It was at this moment that Morgan used her favourite expression when she was offered some, “Disgusting!”

It is extremely hard to find cows milk here. They have boxed “milk” they call “water milk” which is a powder milk (like Nestle) mixed with water, or you can purchase Ideal milk. Tea and coffee time have really changed from what we are used to. Good meat is extremely difficult to get hold of, so if you feel like a meal with meat it is a better idea to treat yourself and have a meal at one of the hotels. Because of the recent scare in Nigeria with the avian flu, and 80% of their chickens being slaughtered, no one is eating poultry. This leaves us with fish. Now if you were to see the sea here, with many an unidentified object floating in it, you will understand why the fish is also not an appetizing option to us. We tend to stick to tinned tuna, lots and lots of veggies and salads purchased fresh from the roadside markets. Basics such as ham and cheeses are available from the supermarket, imported from Israel and awfully expensive. You would think we would be wasting away, however our downfall is chocolate! The cocoa bean is grown in abundance here and therefore chocolate is widely available and delicious. No need to feel too sorry for us.

With the recent rain, the mosquitoes have bred like rabbits. By now we should be used to seeing these little buggers invading our living space, but no, our horror grows daily. We may have left the crime ridden South Africa behind, but in return we face the deathly mosquito daily. For us it is like a time bomb. If one of us just coughs or complains of any small ailment, we are like frenzied monkeys analysing these symptoms to death until we are certain and satisfied that it is not a malaria possibility. If the kids discover a bite they burst into tears.

Loved ones, you remain close to our hearts and in our thoughts daily.

Love always

Cal and all the little mosquitoes! XXXXXX