We've come to expect the unexpected.

I suppose unique things happen in just about any country, but it seems we are noticing particular interesting instances since being here.



These young people are wonderful. We had just come out of pre-requisite class for PEF called "Planning for Success," when we ran into Jefferson Agamah, one of our absolute favorite people, and a group of young adults who were at the building, great kids, who are all doing great things. Jefferson is on the far right. They are bright, friendly, energetic, and SO nice to us.



This last weekend we had a "road trip" to Kumasi ( 7 hours away), and we needed to deliver a PEF check to one of our students. When we stopped at Koforidua to deliver the check, we were immediately surrounded by children who live in the area. They look darling, and they are so curious about "obrunis" who would drive into their housing area. However, what they are saying to us is: "We want money." ...tends to spoil the moment..



Finally got a picture of some baby goats! Because we usually see things as we drive by on the road, I have to quick with the camera.



The landscape towards the interior is really beautiful. I especially liked the way this tree stood out from the background.



These goats had just crossed the street, single file; I just wasn't quick enough to capture that line-up. But here, they had reached the other side safely and were re-grouping for their next move.


Uh, this is only a 2-way road. Incredible. Really? We were behind the bus on the left, which passed us, we passed him, he passed us again. Then, he decides he needs to pass the truck ahead of him...on a blind hill, which actually is curve. He was so lucky there was no one coming from the other direction.



We were behind the bus when it stopped in this housing area and just exploded with school children. It happened so fast! The bus was moving, stopped, and then a flood of children came out all at once.



This is hard to see, I know. But, as we drove into Kumasi (a good-sized city) we followed this delivery truck into a round-about, and the truck is filled to capacity with brown eggs - fresh off the farm.


We checked into our fabulous, fabulous hotel, and asked where the nearest barber might be. Nope...no one understood that word. I mimed "cutting hair," and then we were understood, and the nearest place was right across the street. It is open-air, with a tin roof. As I sat down to wait for David and read my book, an 8-inch lizard ran across the floor towards my chair. The "barbering" guy assured me they "don't hurt."



The view from our 4th story window was awesome, the room was awesome, the food was great, the beds - h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e. A picnic table may have been softer. Ghanaians enjoy a good firm mattress, apparently.



University of Kwame Nkrumah. This was gorgeous, and who would assume we would come across such a beautiful campus?



Shades of memories...the English Department. I would so love to just sit in on a class to see what they are studying.



I have no idea what the mascot or logo here might be, but nonetheless, it is impressive. Interesting, that from goats passing right in front of us, to a bus passing on an incredibly dangerous incline, to a modern 5-star hotel, to an outdoor "barbering" shop across the street, all things seem to have their place and surprisingly fit. They fit in their place, and who is to say this is not normal? We learn to "let go" of what we think is expected and accept what is.

Ghana's Independence Day

Today was Independence Day for Ghana. 55 years ago today, Kwame Nkrumah declared that Ghana would be "free forever" from British rule. Besides a few businesses being closed (our office being one of them), life pretty much carried on as usual. Seeing that we had a free day, our friends invited us to play with them in a golf tournament with a few interesting twists: players could only use 3 clubs - any 3 clubs and NO trading.



We thought we would form our own "Girls Team": Anne, Jane, Gladys, me, but then we found out there could only be 3 on a team. Gladys politely said she would play with her husband, leaving the 3 of us to find our way around 18 holes with the help of our caddies.



I chose a 3-wood, 7-iron, and pitching wedge. The major problem was trying to putt, and we found the driver had the flattest face, so it was the best choice. (I made this putt, by the way!)



David was playing across the fairway from us, and I was so impressed that he was walking with hardly any limp. We've been working very hard on strengthening his knee.



The good news was that we didn't have to carry our own 3 clubs! Everyone had a personal caddy - and these young guys were good! My 15-year-old caddy's older brother is a professional golfer, so this kid knew the game. The bad news was that we walked the whole course - there are NO golf carts. The temperature was in the 90's, and the humidity had to be the same. We could hardly move by the time we reached the last hole, but lunch was prepared for us: pig and lamb on a spit.



I still haven't tasted this...fufu. It is a staple of West Africa; people love this. It's made by boiling a starchy root in water, then pounding it forever into a thick paste with a mortar and pestle.



The buffet was Ghanaian food: a soup (David told me later is was Goat Soup. Euww - I ate it. But just the broth), rice, chicken, vegetables, and salmon rolls. It was very good, but the best thing was having 6 glasses of water.



This is our group: Lee Curtis, Gladys Sitati, Joseph Sitati, Marty Slater, David, Jane Curtis, me, Richard Smith, and Ann Smith. We are the only missionary couple; the others are either church employees or authorities. Great, great people!



The goal: a trophy. Gladys made a very good move, leaving our group. When we started out with our caddies, they assured us it was fine if they kept score for us, since we didn't really want to do it. Wrong. All 3 of us: Jane, Ann, and me were DQ'd for not keeping the score ourselves. Hmp.



Cuties. Gladys came in 2nd for the women, and her husband came in 3rd for the men. We had a great Independence Day; the price was right, 20 Ghana cedis per person - about $15 U.S., which included lunch, and we were with darling people. It's good to mix up our experiences with student responsibilities and service with a little bit of social recreation!

Ete sen? Eye.

Today was a farewell at our office for a very good, kind man who has worked there for 18 years: John Korentang. He is retiring and was given a formal good-bye and thank you for his years of helping and leading others. One of his remarks held my attention: Ete sen (etah sehn)? It is a commonplace greeting in Twi (Tchee - first language of Accra), meaning: How goes it? "It" represents life. How goes life?

The answer is "eye" (ayah). All is well. Again, a traditional Twi response - all is well, no matter illness, financial reversals, hurt feelings, etc. In the whole scheme of things, all is well. What a fabulous philosophy. I'm keeping that thought.

My brother told me before we left, "You have a whole lot of new friends out there that you haven't even met yet." He was right. We have discovered commonalities and differences in both black and white that have made us richer and made us better.



Jane and Lee, one of the couples we have met here and thoroughly enjoyed in many settings - including the golf course, tennis court, and scrabble table.



Jane came up with several double and triple word scores, so she won, but I was very proud of my "hula, hick, and beggar." (warrior had some group help at the end - no points)



"You can take the teacher out of the classroom"...but I'll always be drawn to teaching. Every Sunday we have a different configuration of women who are trying to learn English. They meet in the garage portion of our "meeting house," and 2 weeks ago had no desk or white board, but they did have awesome workbooks supplied by the church. We asked for a small desk and got it. It's small, but provides a place to write.



David and I found this white board at a variety store, and it just fit perfectly with 2 screws in the wall that were already there! Voila! This helped the 2 teachers as they had the women look for and list 3-letter words from a song in the hymm book. They found them, spelled them, then read the list. My favorite, and theirs too, was w-a-y. The woman who spelled it, then pronounced it: "road." After she found out her mistake, we all laughed for 10 minutes!



The workbooks have exercises for learning letters and word patterns, and each woman has a book of her own.


When many women come, this one desk will never do. But for now it is so much more convenient than trying to write upon one's lap. The two teachers are naturally good instructors. They are awesome! They are teaching SDAIE tactics (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) without having had ANY California training. Do I dare let the California Board know that they (the Board) did not originate good teaching??



This is our darling youth group at our Stake Activity last Saturday. It's 4 minutes, but stay with me here. They are a virtual celebration of "eye," - learning a new language, learning a dance, or living in a new culture, all is well. This is Africa.

I like looking at these...

Most of these pictures are what I see inside our office, but the last couple are what we saw from inside our windshield, and then inside our church. They all are things I enjoy looking at...


I just bought these 2 little African dolls this week - and I have them sitting on my desk. They are wearing the same traditional dresses and beads that we see everyday, but what I love is, the way the baby is tied exactly the same way the mothers carry them here on their backs.



These are 3 of our students on our Wall of Honor; they have paid off their loans completely. Their chosen majors are varied and range from management to certificated fields.



In the center is President Hinckley and his quote about the PEF students..."they will be a presence for good."




Three more of our "debt-free" students. We actually have 8 more to put on our wall now, and many more who have very little left on their balance. After the students pick up their checks, we walk out with them to read the quote, and tell them that they, too, will be on the wall one day. They have such hope and motivation to do well in school and repay their loans.



Golden Plates...in case anyone wondered what happened to those things, they are sitting in the PEF office in Africa.



This man "decorates" my life! He brought me a Valentine card today with a candy bar and sparkling cider. Then he proceeded to remind all the young PEF students to get their special someones a Valentine by tomorrow.




On my bulletin board, I have half of our family pictures (the other half are on our walls in our "home.") All visitors stop and look closely - they are so kind to ask about our children and grandchildren!





We drove to Tema, not far from Accra, on a really nice road, and once we got there we enjoyed a few side-streets, and so did these cows. We are finding it easier and easier to avoid beef - on our plates and on the streets. When we looked out our window to the left, there were 20 more waiting to cross the street.



These are the cutest ladies. Two are teaching English as a 2nd language on Sundays - the one on the left, and the one on the right. The one on the right, Jocelyn Sowah, is actually a nurse during the week. The two middle ladies, Margaret Sosu and Theressa Dashie, are just 2 from a class of 22! I got to help one dear lady last week, and we high-fived after she learned to spell her name in English and say all the letters. We had such fun.

From High End...to Low Budget.

Everyone here has agreed that you must carry your camera with you every minute or you will miss a once in a lifetime photo. So far, I missed taking a picture of the goat in the trunk of a car, which stopped mid-lane on a 4-lane road; I missed taking the picture of 10 guys stacked every which way, riding untethered in the back of pickup truck; I also missed the twin, 2-day-old baby goats feeding on the side of the road. No more. I have my camera out and ready - snapping quickly as we drive on busy roads.



My theme for the last few days has been unusual buildings. The XGI Tower was built by a Nigerian company for an investment Group. It stands out. Concave sides, reflective windows, a rotating restaurant on top make it a landmark of innovative techniques in a country that is still trying to make driving rules uniform.



I love this apartment building. If you look very closely, you can see a person standing against the railing taking in the view. I have a goal of going to the top of this building sometime during our stay.



The colors are just fun, and it is the only orange building in the area. They win. And, no one else has thought of putting a garden on top.



Moving down in the rankings a bit...it the Legon Police Station. It looks sturdy and official enough. It resides on a fairly main road, so easy to find. Very few places waste money on landscape features, and the Police Station need not impress anyone: you either need them or you don't. I just find it interesting as we are driving along, to spot a police station where there aren't any other city businesses.



The entry way announces: The Institute of Professional Studies. Several of our PEF students attend here, but even it has a dirt driveway. It is a mixture of modern and practical architecture. It would seem that Ghana would be lacking in higher education, but actually there are many universities in Accra. I don't know how they become certified, licensed, or accredited, and yet, many have outstanding reputations.



Still looking at the same university, but this stairway is attached to the student housing.



This place was a delight to find. The outside is a patio-style African restaurant, but inside are 3 main (yet short) aisles of Costco products! Yessss. There are a few Kirkland items (really wish they carried Kirkland chocolate drink), Campbells soups, chocolate chips,pickles, cereals, jams, etc. It is like seeing an old friend when you see a product made in America.



We've not yet found the restaurant that goes with this billboard, but it is entertaining to think of a Red Lobster. Their menu undoubtedly is NOT the same, but someone has capitalized on the name.



There are a few department-type stores here, but the prices are horrible. Most people just shop at the street vendors. Love the bags.



For the longest time I couldn't find where women bought make-up, but there are a million hair boutiques with hair products. I also liked this "California" sign out front.



Just about everything is for sale at a street vendor's. Headboards and foam "toppers" seem to be a hot property to sell as well.



A nearby school. I took this on a Sunday, and I wish I could get a picture with all the school children in attendance. Depending on the school, the students dress in the uniform colors, in various styles, and they are so colorful. The range of ages is much like home; we see elementary ages up to high school, all dressed in the same colors. Schools all have the very smallish windows, dirt surroundings, and open-air classrooms. I really hope, at some point, I can volunteer to help out in a classroom.
And, this is Africa.