WEDNESDAY

Bright and early nick and I took a walk through town. Rebecca had told us a good place to get breakfast, bean balls and ginger stew. We got a few bean balls to go, I had a nibble of mine and it tasted like a cardboard box. We walked down the street for a little bit but the area didn’t have much to offer so after we found some Nescafe’s we headed back to the house. One good thing that their village had was an amazing view in the distance; the village is surrounded by rolling mountains.
Back at the volunteer house Katie and I made coffee and tried to jazz the bean balls up with a bit of mayo and powdered Parmesan cheese we snaked from their kitchen. It wasn’t that bad but I think it’s because the toppings masked the cardboard flavor just enough



At 9am we had all taken a quick shower and headed out the door to meet our friend who was giving us a glass bead workshop. The workshop was brilliant, he showed us each step then let us have a go. First we we’re shown how the glass is pounded and siffed into a powder. The next step was to prepare the molds for the beads.



We all were given two molds, cassava sticks and exacto knifes. The cassava sticks are held in the middle of each mold and then cut off so its level with the plate. Once the molding is filled the cassava sticks create a hole in the middle of the bead so they can be strung. Before filling the molds we paired into groups and picked a color to share; I chose red. You then mix the color with the glass fill the molds and place them carefully into the clay oven to cook for 5 minutes. After they have been fired they are taken out and have to cool for quite some time.



While we were waiting I checked out his workspace and took some pictures. I asked him what he does with the molds that have broken, he replied and said he usually throws them away so I asked if I could take some with me and he said of course. I tried to find a broken piece for each size of bead; I’m hoping that I might be able to give bead making a go and if that doesn’t work it’s a sweet keepsake.
Once the beads had cooled off we laid them out on the table, separated the colors and then fed them onto string to make bracelets. The extra beads we didn’t use we divided up and took with us. Finished with the workshop we hailed a tro tro, said our thank you’s and goodbyes and headed to the bead market where even more fun was awaiting us… shopping!!

To get to the bead market we had to first walk through the everyday market which is always hectic and overwhelming. Once we had made our way through we arrived at the beads. Everything there was a bit more laid out, open and organized. We went from stand to stand and admired all of the beads, all so pretty. The price range was anywhere from 20 pesewa to 200 cedi. The older a bead is the more expensive it will cost. Cost also depends on what type of material it is made from. My biggest purchase was a single bead made from coral. I also got two strands of bauxite which can be pricy but I worked a deal with the madam to get the price lowered small small.

I think we all could have spent all day at the market but at one point we all felt we had to leave or else we would find we wouldn’t have any money to return home with. So we headed back out the market and tried to find a tro tro that would take us all the way back to Accra. This took a little bit longer than usual but we found our tro and headed on our way. On this ride there was a baby sitting next to me which kept kicking my legs and at one point had kicked off its shoes and started pinching my legs with its big and second toe; surprisingly it hurt quite a lot. I don’t think she liked me all that much but as time carried on she warmed up and we became friends.

We took that tro tro as far as we could in Accra; we then (with some help of course) found our way to another tro that would take us to Cape Coast. Along our way Katie and I both had to use the wash room so we made friends with a vendor, bought some drinks and then asked her if she could take us to the toilets. She did willingly and for the toilets, there are no words. It’s nothing at all that bothers me but I laugh when I think about what other people would say or complain about. If markets weren’t so intense I would love to be able to take pictures for everyone.

We had to walk far to get to the Cape Coast tro tros but after going through several different markets and tro stations we finally found a ride. Unfortunately we had to wait quite a while for this one to fill up. When there were only two seats left the tro driver tricked us all and opened up the back row which meant we would have to wait for an even longer amount of time. This really upset some of the Ghanaians and there was a verbal fight that us ‘bruni were literally sat in the middle of. For lunch I found my new favorite vendor food which is a hardboiled egg sliced in half and filled with a spicy sauce and onions. It doesn’t give you the nicest smelling breath but the taste is well good. After three hours of watching vendors we were filled up and ready to get on our way.

This last tro tro was the worst. For some reason it lasted forever and every thirty seconds we hit speed bumps with never the right amount of speed. It was like that the whole journey which gave us all headaches. Fortunately though we found out that our tro was going to Tackradi which meant we didn’t have to get out in Cape Coast and hail a cab back to Elmina and that we would be able to get dropped right at the Elmina Beach Resort junction. This little surprise saved us both money and time, something at this point we could all appreciate.

Walking back to the house we noticed everyone was still sitting at Eli’s so we stopped to say hello and let them know we were back in town. Once we had settled in and had a few bites to eat, Nick Katie an I walked over to Sea Top to relax and have a drink. We met Tom there who invited us to come over and watch a movie and babysit Aubrey’s children tomorrow night. We agreed and thought it would be nice to bring Sarah along since Thursday is her birthday and she loves kids; also I think we’re going to do pizza and popcorn which everyone loves.

After all this traveling today it was so lovely to crawl onto my Fancy latex foam mattress and fall asleep, it didn’t even bother me tonight that I don’t have a top sheet.

TUESDAY

I had terrible sleep last night. Halfway through the night I rolled over in my bed to face nick’s bed; nick was sitting straight up in his bed and I’m not sure why but probably because I was half awake it scared the you know what out of me! After that I didn’t really fall back asleep and tossed and turned till the sun came out. I read for a little bit until I got restless, went downstairs and made a cup of coffee.

Since our workshop wasn’t until tomorrow morning in Krobo we decided last night that we wouldn’t have travel until later on in the afternoon. After talking it over this morning we thought it would be a better idea to leave earlier that way we could spend a bit of time in Accra and go shopping at the Global Mamas store. So after packing and making egg salad sandwiches we headed down to Cape Coast around 9am. Traveling in Ghana is quite difficult, the closest you get to lagitamate station is a name you can’t pronounce where a group of tro tro’s parked too close together in the middle of a market. Thankfully everyone is really helpful and willing to show you which tro you should get into.

Our first stop was in Cape Coast were we went to Bacano we walked to where we thought was the station to get a fast car. Apparently it was just a taxi station; some of the men laughed at us but one took us down the street in the same direction we had come from to the correct station. Here we found the fast cars which are the same size as a tro tro just a bit newer with air conditioning. They call them fast cars because they start at one station, wait to fill all the way up, then head to one final destination. Tro tro’s will make stops along the way and pick up and drop off people here and there. It doesn’t sound like it would but the constant pulling over almost doubles the traveling time.

We found our fast car and sat at the back waiting patiently to fill up. Some of us have waited hours on end waiting for one to fill but we thankfully didn’t have to wait too long. Before we left I had asked one of the women working in a shop where I could go use the wash room, her response in a louder than necessary voice was “ Are you going to shit or are you going to urinate”. It was really funny at the time, this tiny little lady just casually asking such a question.

We finally began our journey; the ride to Accra was pleasant good scenery, new book, the company and the air conditioning which at one point got too fierce and I had to put a sweater on. The time flew by and got off at our stop called Circle Station. We had only been given directions from Elmina to Krobo and at this point we had to figure out our own way to get to Osu which is the part of Accra where the Global Mama’s store is located. Thankfully most of everyone are really friendly and we were able to ask people on the street what the best way to get there was and how much we should pay. The Accra traffic is terrible but we finally found a taxi and managed to make it to Osu.

After doing a bit of shopping we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner and lunch tomorrow afternoon. From there we headed to Melting Moments, a restaurant one of the volunteers in the office had suggested. When we arrived I realized I had been there before and it was the first place I had gone to with Katie C and Carla when we arrived in Ghana. The three of us split a mozzarella avocado and mushroom pizza and cider. We had to wait extra long for them to make it but it was well worth the wait.



When we were finished we asked for the best way to get back on track with our travel plans and our waiter was happy to help us. After hailing a taxi to a nearby station we walked around till we found the tro tro we needed to be in. This market was exceptionally busy and we were bombarded by vendors more than usual. When we were standing outside the tro paying the driver I had my legs petted by some strange Ghanaian man. It was strange and I couldn’t figure out if it was the skin color he was fascinated by or how much hair was covering them (which I might add is quite allot since I haven’t shaved them since before I left… do the math!). Thankfully we were one of the last ones on the tro and it left almost immediately.

That tro ride went by fast also and in no time we were getting out in Pnug and trying to hail another tro to Odemase, our final destination. Once again everyone was very helpful and pointed in the right direction of where we needed to be. Once we arrived at our stop we got out and had no idea where to go, we asked around and no one seemed to have ever heard of Global Mama’s. After three tries one woman said oh yes and pointed behind herself. Sure enough it was right there in plain sight. Unfortunately we were at the Global Mama’s office which was closed and we needed to be at the volunteer house. With no idea where that was we turned on the phone and called Rebecca who was in charge of the Krobo volunteers. She told us where to go and said she would meet us when we got dropped off. So once again we found someone who was more than willing to show us where to get another tro and asked him how much we should pay. We finally found a ride, too bad we didn’t know earlier because we were traveling back down the road we had come from. At last our travels were over, we met Rebecca and three other volunteers and headed to their house.

After chit chatting with everyone, Nick Katie and I took a walk down the street to the local bar for some Stars before bed time. None of the volunteers joined us, which wasn’t too unfortunate since their sadder then our business lot back in Cape Coast; I didn’t think that could be possible.

MUD FIGHT

SUNDAY

In the morning I took a walk with Nick and Jessica to find bread and eggs for the day. We were heading to the beach today and I thought it would be a good idea to make egg salad sandwiches to bring along with me.
We were going to have to wait for Peter the taxi driver to make two trips to take us to the beach since we had such a large group today but we saw Tom next door and asked if he wanted to join us. He was done with work so he decided to join us and he offered to drive the rest of us in Land Rover. Maria brought Pepo and Eli and Nie came with us along with the business girls and Wizzy from the office.

The weather wasn’t that great for a day at the beach but it was nice just to lay out and watch the ocean. We got in just one time; the waves weren’t that high but very strong as usual. No matter what size the waves are their always fun to play in. Besides playing in the ocean I spent most of my day reading the new book.

Most of everyone left early but Nick, Katie, Tom, Wizzy and I stayed around a little longer and got lunch. I ordered French fries; I thought I could bring them home and have them with the Ranch I made. Back at the house some of the girls we’re back from their trip and we arranged to go to Shell and support Maria in the final match of the World Cup. It was a fun game and Maria was very very happy that her country won.

SATURDAY

In the morning we decided that we should use up the dyes from our go at batik to tie-dye our white clothes we have. I had two shirts, some linen pants, a tank top. Katie did some shirts and so did Maria. Steve from next door came over and did his bed sheet and secretly tie-died Tom’s Locatose white shirt. We’ll see how mad he gets! When we batik with these chemicals we usually use gloves which we didn’t have; I can understand now why we use those gloves, my hands have never burned that bad before. There is now dry blood underneath some of my nails from the reaction to the chemicals.
After cleaning up the weather wasn’t that great and Katie and I were feeling a bit lazy so instead of heading to the pool with the rest of the gang we stayed at the house and watched movies all day. Sex and the City and What Happens in Vegas. After movies I layed down in my bed with yet again another new book. The Middlesex was just too hard to get into. I grabbed some Steven King book to read off the shelf; I figured that I’ve never read his books before and why not give one a go. I read for a bit till I fell asleep.

When I woke up everyone was back at the house and getting ready to go out. Tonight was the last night for the Elmina Festival so we were planning to meet up with are local Ghanaian family’s and head to Shell for the party. Judy from next door with all of her family came along with Eli, Nie and Richard along with Eli’s brother inlaw. Wizzy and Amos from the Global Mama’s office also came along with us. The night was a lot of fun; I think the best part was watching Carla and Amos dance all night long.

Cravings today …. My bed back home, this latex foam mattress just is not comfortable.

FRIDAY

Strange beginnings this morning but it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be fixed with a VIA, powdered milk and Katie’s special breakfast rice. After breakfast I began finishing off the blouse and helped organized what we have made in the way of patterns thus far.

Organized, flats on the computer, write ups of how the pattern pieces should be sewn together.

Went into Elmina. When we arrived at the office we printed out everything that we had typed up and gave it to Dorkus. Dorkus is the woman in charge of the patterns within Quality Control. Waited for her to go over the patterns and make sure she understood what everything meant. While we were waiting I was able to get a hold of Mr. James Kessler which made my day. Unfortunately I had to cut our conversation short because everyone was waiting on me to leave and go shopping for our big family dinner. Jessica, Jorden, Katie, Nick and I had decided that we would give a go attempting to make a Mexican fiesta dinner. The plan was to buy corn flour to make tortillas, beans, plantain and avocado to make guacamole, tomatoes, onions, rice, corn and salad. Our grocery shopping around Elmina was a big success minus the avocado and corn flour. What we thought was corn flour turned out to be corn starch, too bad none of us can read Arabic writing. The avocados are now out of season so no one Cape Coast which I very sad about; in recent weeks they have been the largest and most flavorful avocados I’ve tasted.

Once we had bought all the supplies we headed back to the house for the day. The beans we supposed to take around four hours to soak so we had to get them in right when we got back. After getting the beans in soak we started to make homemade salsa with garlic, tomatoes and onions. We let that sit for a while as well to let the entire flavors soak in. Since we didn’t find any avocados we used the plantains we had bought and dipped then in the salsa.

Katie and I took a walk over to Sea Top to ask Kristina if she sells any flour for us to make the tortilla bread. When we asked she said she didn’t sell any but she did have some at the house and sent one of her workers to fetch it for her. When the girl came back Kristina bagged some up for us, bagged it up and told us that she was “dashing” it to us and that there was no charge. I was so excited, I had my first dash. I read so much about dashing things before I came and thought it would happen quite frequently. I think it only really happens when you are close friends so it’s nice to think that Kristina considers us as close friends.

Back at the house we finished up cooking our fiesta and sat up on the porch to demolish it. After dinner we cleaned up at bit and Katie, Nick, Jorden, Jessica and I headed over to Sea Top for drinks and to meet up with Steve and Tom. It was early when we left Sea Top and when we got back to the house someone thought up the brilliant idea of playing in the rain and mud outside the house. I haven’t had a mud fight in who knows how long, it was a ton of fun and the pictures are great. Small Boy got the worst of it for sure.

Once again we were back at the house cleaning off; this time took longer than most. When we were all clean everyone but Katie and I were too tired to go back out so we headed back over to Sea Top by ourselves. The place was packed now; I believe from the Elmina Festival. There wasn’t anywhere to sit so we were put at a table with a bunch of locals. It was a bit strange at first but we ended up having a bunch of fun. They Ghanaians had bought a bunch of sausages to share with us which made Katie feel a bit guilty so she ordered a bottle of Cardinal to share with them. I will be happy to never drink that crap again. Each time they took shots I just passed mine along to the next person so I didn’t have to drink any of it. I was able to dodge all but one.

Cravings: Movie Nights!

THURSDAY

For breakfast today I tried Katie’s latest concoction of rice laughing cow cheese onion and egg. It sounds like a funny combination but isn’t half bad. Before we started working on patterning we took a trip to the shell station since we were once again out of water; thanks a lot business. In addition to buying bottled water I also grabbed a bottle of mayonnaise to make ranch dip later on.

Patterning today had a rough start. I finished the tailored jacket and moved on into patterning a sleeveless blouse. I don’t have that much experience patterning shirts so it’s taking me much longer than expected. For lunch I decided to go over to the hotel to have a dip in the pool and get on the internet. The pool was really refreshing, its super hot today I think mostly from the humidity and lack of breeze. After swimming I got onto the internet and Skyped with Mum. It’s been since Fathers Day that we’ve spoken so it was lovely to catch up.

It took me all day to get that blouse finished but it’s done and ready to be sampled. Hopefully we’ll be able to take the patterns we have finished this week into the office to get sampled for next week.

For dinner we went out with Tanya for their last night in Elmina. It was Sarah, Nick, Katie, Tanya her husband and I. We headed down the same dirt road towards African Pot and Africana-Cuba is down towards Mable’s Table. We’ve heard mixed reviews about this place but we couldn’t really think of anywhere else to eat on short notice. On our walk to dinner we were joined by a group of young girls who bothered us the entire way there. One had asked me if I’m a funny girl and tell jokes; I replied with a yes but asked if she knew of any. Bad idea; it was like listening to a small boy tell a joke but it just keeps going and going and you wonder when its going to stop. Halfway through I joked with her saying that it was a terrible joke and asked when the funny bit was coming. She laughed and then kept telling the story. By the time we had reached Mable’s Table the story was still going and we stood in the road listening for a bit until one of the works greeted us and told them to bugger off.

Dinner was very good, I had vegetable curry which chips, but when the bill came around we were all a bit irritated. Each dish on the bill had been raised about two Cedi from the menu price; the beers were four Cedi when they are usually priced at two. So we paid the bill and asked for a take away box for my fries and Katie’s leftovers. He took our plates, boxed up our dinner and brought it back out to us with no problem. After the bill was all sorted we sat around and talked for a bit until the man came back one more time. This time he told us we had to pay him a Cedi for the to go boxes; really? I mean they clearly tried to get as much money as they could from us but that just pushing it too far. I argued with the guy for a bit but could see it wasn’t going anywhere so we just told him we would leave the boxes there because we would not pay to ridiculous fee. He finally left and I took my leftover out of their box and stuffed them into a plastic bag I had in my purse, that’ll show him. It’s sad to meet people like that but for everyone one person that is rude or tries to take advantage there’s a whole village of warm friendly Ghanaians that will take you in with open arms.

WEDNESDAY

So I woke up in the middle of night and just could not fall back asleep; apparently everyone else had a really bad sleep too so at least I wasn’t the only one. I told myself I would ration out the last of my VIA since I only have 7 left but I just couldn’t help myself. I paired my VIA with a handful of almonds and called it breakfast. I also made an effort to eat my malaria pill today, first time in three weeks I remembered on time.

With breakfast out of the way I headed into the drafting room where I spent the whole day slaving over this stupid jacket. I worked hard on this jacket all day but I still feel like I didn’t get far at all. The only break I took was at lunch time when Jessica, Nick and I went over to the pool for a quick swim. For lunch I had a bag of mixed nuts and fruit Mum had packed for me with Tanya and they were awesome. One more via and powdered milk for lunch; I’m really not good at rationing things out. By the end of the work day I was about to pull my hair out, patterning can be confusing and frustrating. I don’t think that the continuous blaring music from Silver Spoon and Sea Top has been helping either.

I won’t be frustrated for long though since Steve and Tom had promised that they would share their REAL English cheese with us as long as we bring the crackers and wine. Katie is buying the wine from Malcolm’s; I don’t think we can get away with Don Garcia tonight.

I don’t think I had anything more delicious then that crumbly cheddar cheese. We also had a smelly blue cheese which I most circumstances I wouldn’t even try but I gave it a go and even that was good. The wine that we got wasn’t anything I would buy or drink at home but it made do.

Cravings … comfortable couch and a movie

TUESDAY

Today is the beginning of the Elmina festival! It seems like there’s always a holiday or something to celebrate here in Ghana; not that I’m complaining. Collectively we decided to take half of the day off to watch the parade and other festivities. I stayed at the house today with Nick, Katie and Jessica. I began patterning a somewhat tailored jacket. I’ve been struggling a little bit with patterning because its been so long since I had a class but I still enjoy doing it
.
The parade was supposed to start at eleven am. The Silver Spoon and Sea Top had been blaring music since ten this morning. We were worried we were going to miss a lot so by noon we stopped working and got ready to leave. By the time we were ready the rest of the design team had returned from the office so we could all walk to downtown Elmina together. In true Ghanaian form when we arrived around 1 or 2pm the parade had still not started. We found a good location at a restaurant off the street and right on the beach. We grabbed some drinks and waited for the parade to start.

The parade was so colorful and exciting. There were 11 different chiefs from surrounding tribes that were being carried through the streets. There were other important looking people that were covered by massive umbrellas. They were all adorned with gold crowns and jewelry. The pictures can describe the action better than I can so stay tuned.

Once the parade was finished we headed down to where the fishing boats are for the boat race. Of course we ran into Steve and Tom; Bruni’s are easy to spot out in the crowd. We didn’t get to watch the race, who knows when it got on its way. We did however get to watch the entertainment; kids drumming, dancing and doing all sorts of things on the boats. We waited for so long for the race to start but it was getting late I think we all lost our patience. It was just small boy Katie and I that weren’t heading to Eli’s for dinner so we decided to try the African Pot; a restaurant just down the road that we’re been wanting to try for a while. When we got there they were only serving Bonku, Fufu or groundnut soup which all have meat in. I told the waiter I was a vegetarian and his response was well we could just scoop the meat out for you… no thanks! Across the street was an Africana-Cuban restaurant which we passed on our way and we figured we’d give that a go. I’m glad we did because the woman was so friendly and very accommodating I had rice with spicy veggie stew; emphasis on spicy! Katie and I both asked for a glass of wine with our dinner and they brought out a whole bottle for us three to share. Once we were finished eating and drinking our bottle of wine we walked back to the house. We noticed that people were still eating at Eli’s so we stopped for a chat before heading home. Early to bed tonight; we’ve been staying up later and later so I’m happy to have an early bedtime, now if only Sea Top and Silver Spoon would stop blaring music I’d be able to fall asleep.

Cravings today… Dairy Queen Blizzard; these Fan Ice just don’t cut it.

MONDAY

Woke up early today to have a walk with small boy. Haven’t done this in a while and I’ve forgotten how refreshing it is. Like usual we walked down the main street which follows the sea side till we get to the Methodist church. There’s a three way junction there which we then take a right up to the Dutch cemetery. From there we take the steep steep hill of stone stairs up to the Catholic Church. From there we take a steep hill back down to a side street which winds around vendor shops and takes you back to the main strip where we started.

Taxi into work and got to the office. There wasn’t much to do today at the office but we were there to show Tanya around. For breakfast I had some almonds and then a Mojo bar. Thanks Mum and Dad they’re very good. When we walked into our design office our table was covered with finished garments so we knew we had some folding to do. We haven’t had much folding to do lately which I was really happy about. I swear I’ll never be employed by a clothing retailer because I’m crap at folding. Tanya had a good idea to invest or design one of those folding boards that companies use so all the clothes are folded in the same manner and size.

After folding I sent a few emails then headed out into town to the money exchange, textiles shop and Barkley’s bank. It’s raining today; I don’t have an umbrella. The fabric stores were interesting. The fabrics here are so much more jazzy and colorful; the prints work well here in Ghana but I don’t think people in the states could get away with them; at least how the Ghanaians were them from head to toe.
Barkley’s bank today was probably the worst it’s been thus far. Make note never to go on a Friday or a Monday. The whole experience probably took closer to two hours after them made me wait in two different lines. I’m not sure what all the chaos was from today but at some point I finally got my money and headed back to the office.
Lunch was one of those fried egg and cheese sandwiches. Small boy picked me up one when I missed lunch because of the bank. Those sandwiches are massive and I didn’t think I was going to be able to finish it but somehow I did. Of course I was stuffed the rest of the day. We had about an hour before we were off to the castle so I made myself useful till then. I took photos of samples which have come in uploaded them and sent them to Sarah so she could then send them off to the US for the okay. After that I answered questions that Dorkus had about the children’s wrap around dress that Carla had patterned.

Once Sarah had sent the files to the US we took off to the Cape Coast castle. When we first arrived we walked through the court yard, took pictures and then walked through the museum until the tour was ready to get on its way. The tour took us through the men’s dungeon then back through the courtyard to the women’s dungeon. There was a tunnel that used to connect both cells but was closed off when the slave trade became illegal. The tunnel is still visible from the courtyard. From there we went through the door of no return which opens up to which is now the fishing beach. The tour then took us up through to the cell where they kept slaves that had tired one too many times to escape. There was no light and were never fed. We then took a tour through the living courters of the general. The feelings you get going through the castle cannot be put into words. It’s one thing to go to a museum about slavery but it’s a whole different experience to actually be at the spot where it happened and see the living conditions that the people actually had to endure. Throughout the whole tour I struggled back tears; it was an educational and interesting trip that I wish everyone could experience. When we left I couldn’t really shake away the knot I felt in my chest.

For dinner we went to the Oasis restaurant. It’s in a great location right on the beach; today there was a big group of kids that were drumming and dancing, it looked like they were practicing for a performance. For dinner I had Turkish bread with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. It was like pita bread that was filled with cheese and tomato and then grilled; not too bad. We finished dinner around seven then walked back to Becano where we then hailed a cab back to Elmina. Back home we Katie, Sarah and I met up with Steve and Tom for one last drink before heading to bed.

Cravings: I would do anything for a pair of comfy pajamas, maybe some yoga pants and a oversized hoodie.

SATURDAY

When we woke up it was just Katie and I at the house and everyone else had left the house for the Elmina Castle. Instead of going Katie and I hitched a ride with Steve and Rose (our English neighbors) down to the Stumble Inn to have a day at the beach. I thought taxi’s were scary to drive in but they aren’t half as bad as an Obruni driving an old school Land Rover. So happy to be back at the beach once more. We laid by the beach with our new friends Charlie (a girl), Katie, Jenny and Ben. They are teaching English to young boys and girls; they were supposed to just be teaching PE but they got suckered into teaching children who barely speak English. Sounds like a common occurrence here in Ghana. We spent the whole morning playing in the sea and playing Spoons (minus the spoons and plus some bottle caps).

For lunch we were served Yams balls for lunch. I had tried them once before some one had them as leftovers. They were a lot better than I remember them tasting. They were like a big tater tot mashed with corn onion and chive. We dipped them in ketchup and mayo. Surprisingly they really filled me up. After lunch we spent the rest of the day on the beach until it was dinner time. We had Palava with mashed cassava and corn. The palava they made was so much different then Eli’s almost like a whole different dish; still really good though. The mashed cassava was just like mashed potatoes though with butter and garlic and chives mixed in. The corn looks like corn and tastes like corn but has a whole different texture. It’s a lot mushier and doesn’t pop when you eat it like the kind at home.

After dinner we stayed a bit long to play Gin and have some Stars before Tom took us back to our house. Once again a lot scarier than a taxi or tro tro ride. Back at the house Katie and I decided to try out one of the home made remedies for sand fly bites; baking soda and warm water. It wasn’t the most attractive thing but it helped a lot with the itching and I got good nights sleep.

FRIDAY

What a wonderful night sleep. Didn’t get up till 7am, I think that’s the most I’ve slept since I’ve been here. VIA for breakfast and then taxi to the office. We are still out of Stiff so we had to make a trip to Cape Coast in the morning to pick up some supplies.

When we arrived at the office the samples of the softies that we had sent out had arrived. One out of the three was sewn correctly. We chose a few more to send out and wrote down instructions for the others that were done incorrectly. Hopefully we won’t have to send them out again.

After taking care of a few things we had a little photo shoot. I modeled some of the sample scrap necklaces while Sarah took pictures. The samples look really cool and I hope that the US office approves them. When George came back to the office with the stiff I was able to get back to the house and work on some more patterning. I walked through Cape Coast with Katie, Heather and Angelina. They knew of a place which makes really good egg and cheese sandwiches. I followed along because in my head I was picturing egg salad sandwiches and I thought that sounded really good. Come to find out it was actually a grilled egg sandwich with cheese. I didn’t order one because I was too disappointed; after everyone had ordered and the food came out I wish I did order one. I tried a bit of Heathers and it was really good. They cooked the egg with tomato and green onion. Finished with lunch we headed off and I grabbed a taxi. Today was the first time I took a taxi all by myself; I’m so proud to have made it back in one piece.

Back at the house Carla was very happy to see me since she was just about running out of things to do. For the rest of the day I finished working on the scalloped skirt. It took me till around 4pm to finish; I had an hour left of work in which I busted out an apron pattern. Since I had sewn a handful of them before I came out to Ghana I remembered some of the pattern and based the one I patterned off that. It took me the rest of the work day to finish it but they are both now done and on Monday we can take them to be sampled.

Today is the “big big” game; If Ghana doesn’t win this match they are finished with the World Cup. And we’ve been noticing that no one says very small or very big its either small small or big big. Before the game we went over for a beer and sausage at the Sea Top. I’ve been calling it the C Spot but they recently painted their building and wrote their name up top. I guess now the name makes a bit more sense since its overlooking the ocean.

For the game we went over to the Shell Gas station since last time they had a really good set up. We saw Wizzy there from the office along with Maria and her French friends and Steve and Tom our English Friends.

Never in my life have I ever been so interested in a sports game. It was so intense all the way till the end. At the beginning of the game I really didn’t think that we were going since we had heard that Uruguay was “good good” team in both offense and defense. But we scored the first goal and after that all the Ghanaian had so much energy. Once the game was tied everyone was on their seat and very much intense. Unfortunately we lost because of the penalty shots.

We were thinking if we would have won we would have made a trip out to Cape Coast to celebrate but since the mood wasn’t very high we decided to just go back to the Sea Spot for a few more drinks.

THURSDAY

Happy Ghana Republican Day!

Today we have the day off work because of the holiday. Thank goodness since last night was a bit rough. Most of everyone went off to the beach but Katie and I stayed around town and went to the pool. I really wasn’t in the mood to get dirty and sandy. I’m glad we stayed at the pool because the weather was overcast and it wouldn’t have been worth the trip to the beach. I hear that the ocean was too cold to even go in, another reason I’m glad I stayed behind. At the pool we ordered French fries and they were so delicious; I’ll take them over McDonald's any day. I also was able to finish the book I was reading. Sarah is getting the two books that follow up to this last one and I’m already excited for her to finish them so I can have a read.

We stayed at the pool through the afternoon then went back to the house and relaxed the rest of the day. Katie and I made amazing pasta. We sauteed onions and garlic then added powdered milk and a bit of water to make an Alfredo type sauce. I’m surprised how well it came out. Finished with cooking we sat down in the living room and watched a copy of The Island. Ive seen the movie a few times before but it was Katie’s first time watching it. By the time it was finished it was around 7 pm. We both have been tired from a lack of sleep so we decided to take a Benadryl and go to bed and catch up on sleep. I also started a new book, its called Middlesex. I think I’ve tried reading it before but like usual get through a few chapters and then give up.

Cravings, A night out with James at Mr. B's, I would have a Gin and Tonic with half soda and double lime, James would probably order some sort of scotch that I cant stand the smell of; then we would have half off appetizers .. probably a mix of bloomin' onion, nachos and spinach-artichoke dip.

WEDNESDAY

So glad for no office today. I started patterning one of the skirts that was given the okay. Its has a scalloped hem and waist band which can be kind of annoying; mostly a lot of math. I worked on it all day until we ran out of “stiff”. Instead of using graphic paper to pattern on they use interfacing and have given it the name Stiff. We thought it was weird when we first found out they use interfacing to pattern with but after using it for awhile it really makes a lot of sense.

We made fresh coffee today; and when I say fresh I mean hot rather than cold instant coffee with some condensed milk rather than powdered milk. It makes all the difference though, I wonder if I will drink VIA when I get back to the states; and when I drink it again will it remind me of being in Ghana? I hope so. Carla got some rock cakes today; I haven’t been eating them because I think they’re a bit to dry but one of Eli’s workers brought her some fresh out of the oven. She shared them with Sarah and I; they are so much better fresh! During the day we rocked out to Celine and Michael; I guess we didn’t get enough last night.

We worked on patterning till we ran out of stiff. We were trying to get a hold of the people that had got to the office via BBM but unfortunately they were already on their way back so we couldn’t work on patterning for the rest of the day. Instead I started making a sample of one of the scrap necklaces to be made.

When the day was over I got in the shower and washed off since it had been a few days and we had planned to go out tonight. It was Aubry an Steve’s birthdays (our English friends). We had agreed to meet them at C Spot for some drinks and then maybe venture off to another restaurant. We ended up staying there the whole night which I was alright with. It was a lot of fun and they shared their birthday cake with us which was an upside down pineapple cake; amazing!!

Once again those English boys started ordering Cardinal by the bottle which was a bad idea. Its not that strong and tastes really good but I think because it’s so sugary it gives you a terrible headache the next morning.

TUESDAY

Hooray!! I have made it through the night without waking up. Such a good feeling. Just wait till you see the pictures; I look like I have some sort of disease now that they are a mix of bumps and scabs. Even though I had a great night sleep I think I rolled out of bed on the wrong side. I can’t seem to get out of my grumpy mood. I guess it’s a good thing I’m not going into the office till later on. VIA and powdered milk for breakfast again today, I think I’ll skip the noodles. I think the instant coffee is growing on me; the powdered milk isn’t that bad either. This morning I had to work on getting some more patterns done before heading into the office. I have to meet with my friend that is making the softie samples.

Today was the first time I have taken a taxi all by myself. A bit nerve racking but I made it in one piece. I now have to spend my time waiting for my Global Mama friend to come and meet me. Patience is something I am slowly learning here. While waiting I went across the street to get a water sachet from Chillin Chillin. I have been in a bad mood for most of the day but my mood changed dramatically worse after my outing. While paying there was a Ghanaian woman walking aimlessly around in the street. My heart sank when I saw her; she looked disoriented and her dress was falling off of her. I knew something didn’t seem right and when I got a closer look we noticed she was dripping blood from her head. It looked as though she had been beaten; she was talking to herself in Fante so I couldn’t understand what she was saying. I didn’t know what to do to help and Chillin tried to get her attention but she continued to stumble down the road. Seeing this just really unsettled me and didn’t feel right the rest of the day. I really hope that woman will be alright.

So I waited around in the office till 4 o’clock when my friend finally showed up. When she came into the design room she told me that she didn’t want to do the patterns today because she wanted to take her time and do it tomorrow. This was very frustrating because if I had known this from the beginning I would have been able to stay at the house and been productive instead of waiting around in the office all day. Bummer!! I must have patients.

At that point I packed up my things and headed home with Jorden and the new girl since we were the only ones left. When I got back to the house I had a little melt down from being so frustrated all day. I decided that I would spend the rest of the night just me and my book. I didn’t think anyone should be punished to have to be around me.

Reading my book was such a good idea. I sat in my bed for just long enough to be social. Small boy asked me if I wanted to go for walk, I agreed and I’m glad I did. We took a walk in the opposite direction then usual and came across some interesting things. We found an abandoned hotel called the Oyster Bay Hotel. It looked as though it had burned down but its foundations are still standing. The coolest part was the steps down to the beach. They are part of a stone wall; the waves were all the way up to the steps and the way they came splashing up the steps reminded me of something from a movie. I think this location would be totally perfect for a photo shoot.

Back at the house I was the only one that didn’t sign up for dinner at Eli’s. Im glad I didn’t because I wasn’t the slightest bit hungry and was excited to get back to my book. I gave the girls a while to eat and then walked over to meet them at C Spot for some beer. It’s still hard to understand the mix of music that the Ghanaians like; tonight we got Celine Deon MJ and backstreet boys. I don’t think everyone else enjoyed our sing along.

Cavings for today … my bear