Baby Leah!

We had the privilege of seeing our third grandchild this week! Baby Leah joined the family on Saturday, July 21st. She spent three nights in the NICU (elevated hematocrit) but is doing fine now.

Our Garden Project

Charles and I have been working on the greenhouse to get it ready to receive some seeds. Yesterday, I finished lining the boxes with black plastic and today, Charles added the soil mixture.

The first "babies" in our "nursery!"

A Fond Farewell

Making Crepes with Mama Charlotte

Mama Charlotte's crepes are AWESOME!
This morning, she gave us a little cooking class. It was a fun learning how to make them, but even more fun eating them!

Anamabo

On Friday, we stayed overnight at a beach resort just 20 minutes away called, Anamabo. The girls had a good time swimming in the warm ocean and Charles and I had a great time reading, playing cards and watching movies in an AIR CONDITIONED room!! The food at the restaurant was....eh.... edible. The showers were wonderful! All in all, a good place to hang out. We are going again next weekend!

Some Progress

I had finally calmed down enough to be able to speak with the School Director about the caning incident. He cringed when he heard about the teacher caning students for uniform infractions. He said this would have to stop and promised he would deal with it in the teachers' meeting. I believe him. He admitted it is a solid part of their culture, but agreed that to cane a child for a uniform inspection is just wrong. He and I discussed ways to reward the children for good behavior. We'll see what happens next.

Wrong Assessment

My opinion of Anthony and his use of the cane has radically changed over time. I watched with serious regret as he caned almost every student in my English class for one infraction after another on Uniform Inspection Day. (It was his turn to do the inspections....a duty rotated through the staff.) Since this is their country, their culture, their school, and their rules and I am only a visitor, I stood there, next to Hajarah, their regular Ghanian teacher, in mute complicity. All the kids were crying by the time Anthony left. Every word spoken was in Fantse, so I had no way of knowing what the infractions were but I did know one thing: It was wrong. These were not behavior issues. These were, "I don't have access to a better uniform" issues. I mean, seriously? You're a poor African kid with no parents and you're supposed to find socks and mend your clothes? I am still seething. But knowing me, and knowing how unproductive it is to talk with people when I'm in this state, I will wait until my anger has subsided before I speak to the school director and suggest that they might try a positive reward system.

The reason we came

Need I say more?

I'm gonna miss this more than you know!

Ghana has the most amazing pineapples, mangoes, bananas, and avocados and the Acquahs see that we get PLENTY of them each day! Here are the lovely mangoes avocadoes. I didn't take a photo of bananas....they look fairly typical, except the peels are green and spotted when the fruit is perfectly sweet and ripe inside. Nor did I take a photo of the pineapples because you would look at them and think they are anemic. The flesh is almost white in color but the flavor and juice is fantastic! I don't think I am ever going to be able to go back to buying these fruits in our US grocery stores again. Sigh.

Yesterday, Charles heard some extra goat bleating that seemed abnormal. (He's very dialed into animal sights and sounds.) So, he looked out our window and saw one of the miniature goats with three brand new babies! They were SO new that their umbilical cords were hanging down and they were wet and wobbly! He called to us quickly and we ran to the window to Oooo and Ahhhh! Sister Charlotte then went to the goat enclosure to check on them and beckoned us to come too. We raced over and had a fabulous time watching these darling triplets with their very proud mom!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

This and That

Here are a few scenes from our lives here in Cape Coast.

Holly and Emily taking a break at the school....giving a puppy some water.



Charles walking in Cape Coast, passing one of the MANY street sellers displaying her perfect balanace.



One of the sweet Kindergarten kids asleep after lunch.



Emily holding Christina on her lap in the library.



The Popes and Acquahs after Church last Sunday.

The Stake Temple Trip

We enjoyed a trip to the Ghana Accra Temple with members of the Cape Coast Stake. On Friday at 5:00 a.m. we boarded buses which were AIR CONDITIONED!! We were cool and comfortable for the first time since leaving the Movenpick Hotel back in February. Then, we checked into the Temple Housing which was also AIR CONDITIONED!! We thought we had died and gone to heaven! Then we entered the Temple to do Baptisms and Sealings and of course, knew we were in Heaven. :)

It was a good trip, even though the air conditioning on the bus ride home failed us. So, we returned a little early to feeling sweaty and sticky. Despite that, we had a wonderful two days.

Charles's Birthday

We celebrated Charles's 57th here in Cape Coast. He reported that it was a very happy day for him! He was pretty excited to have a homemade birthday banner, get a couple of new, clean shirts and new books to read, and receive some Mounds candy bars which I had packed in my suitcase before coming. They weren't even melted....but we've been storing them in the refridgerator just in case. In the evening, I prepared the German Chocolate cake mix (also packed in my suitcase) which turned out PERFECTLY with the help of Mama Charlotte's oven. We topped it with vanilla ice cream and the Popes and Acquahs had the perfect party!

Visiting the Slave Castle

On Saturday, we took tour of the Slave Castle. This is the place where all Ghanian slaves were processed before being shipped overseas. For details, read my story, "The Darker Side of Cape Coast."