Washing clothes, Moses, strange sounds at night and long bus journeys

Washing my clothes seems to be a continual source of entertainment for the kids and adults in the house, or anyone else that passes by for that matter.  Some of the women offer to wash them for me but unless it's just the odd item and they're already washing clothes it doesn't really feel right to me.  Also on a previous occasion one of my t-shirts ended up mishapen and stretched after some rather rigorous washing.  So I prefer washing them myself, especially my underwear.  I haven't hand washed for years but I think I'm doing ok.  It's also one of the only sources of exercise I'm getting.  I've started doing a few exercises in the morning when it's cooler.  Just some sit ups, press ups, triceps dips and squatts.  Prob more exercise than I was doing back home, even with Esporta membership.

Atowa, a lovely lady in the house who cooks for me.

There was a massive arguement between a load of women outside the house the other morning.  Started about 6am and continued for at least an hour.  Have no idea what it was all about and at that time in the morning I didn't particularly care, having been woken again (church bells earlier) and in some desperate need of more beauty sleep.  It did seem to get quite heated and I am intrigued.  I've not seen any 'punch-ups' during my time in Ghana but the arguements are something to witness.  Lots of loud and quick shouting and pointing, and with the blokes there's also quite a bit of English swearing intermingled with Ewe which makes me laugh.  I know I shouldn't but I just can't help it, it sounds funny.

The village is relatively peaceful again after visitors for the funeral departed.  It's not a tranquil peace and quiet that you can get in some remote villages back home and elsewhere or where you'd find some yoga retreat, it's more of an easy does it, don't rush, screaming kids and drumming kind of quiet.  I've tried meditating without much joy.  I'm a beginner, so trying to stop my mind from chattering is hard at the best and quietest of times.  I suppose I should get up and try at stupid o'clock when the church bells toll.

Moses Osei, the previous headmaster of the JHS, paid me a visit Monday morning.  It was great to see him again and as with everyone else he doesn't seem to have changed a bit.  After 14 years here in Akrofu he was transferred to a different school in his home village a few years ago.  According to John and Emil, Moses was helping to set up a school there and the villagers in Akrofu complained to the Education Authority.  Seems a bit harsh as he'd done a great job here and I expect, would continue to do so.  Maybe they thought he wouldn't be spending as much time here and concentrating on the new school.  He is happy there however, it's his home village and he has a chance of helping kids who would otherwise not be in school or walking quite a distance.  At some point soon I'll pay it a visit and see what it is like. 

It does seem that Akrofu is fortunate to have Badu running an NGO and contacting international volunteering agencies to bring in foreigners to help.  I believe at the last count seven volunteers have stayed here, including Eddie and myself (Eddie was in Akrofu the same time as me on my first visit).  Not many villages and schools are this lucky and it would be great if in the future I was able to help some of these in some way as well.  I know Badu has been helping other schools in the area so will speak more with him.  It is looking like I will need to set up some sort of NGO back home and make things more official.
     

I was awake quite late the other night, typing up a post for this blog in Word, so I can just copy and paste when I'm online.  When I did decide to get some sleep around 11:30 after a few minutes I heard a rustling and cracking/crunching noise.  At first I thought it might be the goats outside crunching on some fruit or the bones of their poor chicken victims, until I realised it was coming from inside the room.  Stop breathing, listen, shine a torch, what the hell is it?  It took me awhile to pluck up the courage to get out of bed and switch the light on.  It seemed to be coming from the plastic bag of pens I'd brought for the school, but I couldn't see anything and didn't really want to investigate too much in case something was trapped in there and decided to leap out at me.  So after a few moments of silence and feeling a bit silly I went back to bed and feel into a slightly worried sleep.  I still have no idea what it was and it's probably best I never do.

Jackson with his wife and son.

Tuesday morning I was up at 3am to set off early and catch a bus to Kumasi.  Jackson was going to register for his final year at Uni and as it was in Kumasi (Ashanti Region) where i'd never been before, I decided to join him.  We managed to get a tro-tro from Akrofu to Ho around 4:30 only to find the first bus to Kumasi was full and we'd have to wait in line.  Apart from in banks this is the first orderly queuing I've seen here.

After a particularily gruelling seven hour bus jouney (natural air-con) we arrived in Kumasi around 13:30.  I peeled myself offf the seat and discovered we'd need to get another tro-tro to Mampong where the University campus was. 'Is is far?' I asked Jackson, 'No, no, not far.'  He replied.  An hour later we arrived.

The campus was well kept and felt like a studenty type place.  Some were already there with the remaining arriving this weekend for lectures starting on Monday.  Jackson greeted a few of his fellow course mates and proceeded to register.  As you might imagine this took some time.  Nothing is kept on file where the students can register in one office in a short space of time.  No no, several offices and about 2 hours later Jackson was finished.

About 20% of the students live on campus with the remaining staying in Mampong a short distance away.  The Uni is in the process of building another accommodation block which isdue to be completed for next year's enrolments.  Several stories high and currently being held up with wooden planks and posts.  I'm glad I didn't have to go anywhere near it.

Jackson stayed with some mates from Uni and I stayed in a guest house for about £6.  There was a bar and they did food, so no need to wander about, which I was glad for, as by this time I was shatttered and there would be another early start for us to journey to Accra.

Up at 3:30 and luckily we could get a proper air-con coach from Kumasi to Accra.  We set off at around 6 and arrived in Accra around 11:30.  Jackson seems to have no idea of timing or distance.  According to him that journey takes 3 hours.  I'll add around 2 hours to every journey from now on.

We both had to sort some things in Accra; Jackson to cancel some insurance payments that shouldn't be occurring and me to change some travellers cheques.  Another of Jackson's timing errors; at 12 noon we were walking to the insurance company and he thought we'd be finished with everything and trying to get a bus back to Ho by 13:00.  I did doubt this at the time and was proved correct.  It took an hour for Jackson to sort the insurance out and another hour and half to find a bank that would change the travellers cheques.  My 5th Barclays in total - one in Ho, one in Kumasi and three in Accra!  So it seems the head office is the only branch that will change them and much to my annoyance there is a maximum of $250 per day.  This doesn't even cover the money I've raised for the school, so I have to make another trip to Accra and stay a few days to change more.  I was not a happy bunny yesterday afternoon but at least I managed to change some of them and put the money in my account here.  I will be writing a stern email to Barclays to indicate my annoyance and ask why the banks back home encourage bringing travellers cheques when few of the banks over here actually cash them.  They did in the past and it was great.  No need to carry lots of cash and relying on ATMs (which wouldn't take my cards previously anyway).  I am starting to wonder what it will be like in the other African countries I'll be visiting and India.  Can't wait.

Fortunately we were able to grab an air-con tro-tro quite quickly at around 15:00.  It took almost 2 hours to get out of Accra due to the traffic (I did notice a pizza restaurant, which made me very hungry) and arrived back in the village around 7pm.  I had a pasta dinner and promptly feel asleep for a few hours.  After two very long days I was shattered and glad to be back.

The local drinking spot where I can get online.

One evening, while having a relaxing beer in the shop/drinking spot about a 100m from the house and realising I couldn't get online, I watched a line of ants travelling back and forth across the wall, stopping for a slit second to 'greet' one another and probably saying 'the sugar's in the back.  Hurry up!'.  I noticed the occasional ant wandering off into unknown lands.  Maybe he'd had too much sugar and was on a bit of a hypa frenzy or thinking 'bugger this for a laugh, I'm going to make my own way in this world'.

There have been no further developments as far as I can tell in the coughing sheep or the goat and chicken war.  Maybe there's been a peace agreement.  As soon as I know anything I'll write it up.  I'm sure you're all eager to hear what happens. Lol.  One day I did notice quite a large group of sheep marching past the house.  Maybe they've decided to join in the conflict.   If so I'm half hoping they'll be allies of the chickens as they seemed to be having a hard time of it.

ttfn

Sam x