Ama becomes a Twinkle Tot

Unfortunately the Nanny did not work out. There is too big of a cultural gap, and our expectations were too different. This is not to say that a wonderful and competent nanny cannot be found in Ghana, but time is ticking, so the nursery school it is!

We made the decision last night to send her to "Twinkle Tots International Preschool," just a short walk from our apartment. One of the highlights on our walk is the many goats and chickens that Ama must "find." Very fun.




Although this is unfortunate for my bank account, I think it is going to be the best for Ama. The daycare (or international preschool as they call it) is absolutely wonderful. As mentioned earlier, it is well outfitted with all sorts of toys, an outdoor (fenced in) courtyard with playground, giant sandbox and toy cars. The outside also has a canopy covering most parts to protect Ama's Obruni skin! The ladies are all lovely, and there are a whole bunch of them (5 kids to 1 adult).

Although Ama cried a bit today, when we arrived she was happily drawing with her caregivers, and it was clear that she had instructed them to "draw fishies." Those darn ladies outdid my artistic ability...










We dropped Ama off this morning, and the next step was to get the money from the bank to pay them. Simple task right? WRONG!!!

We went to the nearest Barclay's bank branch, where they told us to go to Osu cause they couldn't help us there. Mildly annoying, but doable. We get to Osu, and they tell us go to high street. What? 3 Banks? Ok...

Once at high street, we give the man behind the glass our passport and bank card. He replies "No madame, we only accept Visa or Mastercar." Ok...here you go. He then instructs us to wait, and puts my passport at the bottom of a pile of passports. And we wait, and wait, and wait...

Meanwhile, a man is becoming increasingly upset for who knows why, and begins to yell. This escalates and goes on for quite some time. The man leaves, but then drives it right up to the bank doors. At one point I was sure he was going to attempt to drive the car through the bank doors, but he didn't (thankfully). He seemed to be upset because the bank lady had his passport, I can totally understand where he was comming from!

I am not sure why this man was permitted to cause such a scene for so long, especially since there were at least 4 security guards in the building, who seemed to be doing little to calm him down or remove him. In the end the man left, and we got our money, after about an hour and a half.

How long does it take a person to drop their kid off at daycare and get the money to pay for it in Accra you ask? 4 hours. Yep, 4 hours.

Anyway, it was all worth it and I think Ama is going to love her new, temporary school!

Later this evening I went to a patio bar in the area to do a bit of work, since I clearly got nothing done today. As I was finishing up I met an Engineer from Halifax and his co-worker, a Ghanaian-Canadian man from Calgary. When I asked the Calgary man if he knew of a place to get a cheap car rental (self drive) he informed me he would find me a car and I would just pay fuel. What? A little while later another man joined, and when I asked if he also worked with the other two men, they replied "no, he is the Chief of Defense for Ghana." Wow. Random. Needless to say I was caught up a bit longer than expected (you don't get up and go as soon as you meet the chief of defense for a country) and poor mom was probably worried. After looking up this man's picture on google, I'm pretty sure they weren't lying to me! Who knows if I will get a free car to drive around? Haha, I doubt it...