Tro-Tro expert to be!

Above are some pictures of Ama from when we visited the school. The man holding her is Kingsley, who delivers the Amend program to the schools.

This weekend we found a little piece of heaven called the Shangri-La Hotel pool. After calling around to the various hotels that let non-guests use thier pools for a price, we became increasingly frustrated by the high prices we were being quoted. We called the Shangri-La and were pleasantly surprised to hear that they only charge 8 cedis, compared to 15 at most of the other hotels.

Although the grounds weren't as spectacular of those at Labadi Beach Hotel, the atmosphere was much less snobby and way more inviting. They had a very small Ama-sized kiddie pool, separate from the main pool which was perfect for her. We were able to actually RELAX, and we even regretted not bringing our books (we had assumed that we would both be chasing Ama the whole time!)

Ama made friends with some nice Ghanaian kids, and Mom and I relaxed. We fed the 3 of us, had 2 large beers and paid the entrance fee for less than we paid to just access the previous pool. Shangri-la, I will be coming back!








I started to actually work this week, although yesterday was filled with a lot of waiting, but that is fairly normal here. I visited a school today and plan to implement a survey for teachers and get into the program a bit more. University work is also getting done, and I am actually ahead for once in my life!

We met Afia, the nanny, yesterday, and today is her first actual day. Hopefully it is going well. She and Ama are with Mom today and tomorrow. Afia has a baby girl also named Ama (big surprise) who is just a bit younger than Ama and very cute. It will be nice for Ama to have another child around, assuming she is going to work out.

In the past couple of days I have began to learn how to take Tro-tro's, which is a somewhat confusing experience. Yesterday my trip from the Amend office was fairly straight forward, however my experience to get to "Pig Farm" School today was not. Can you imagine a school name like that?
I thought that I could take a Tro-tro from where I was to Circle-the major transport hub, but it turned out I had to go to "37", another Tro-tro station. Once I got there, I had to walk some way to find the Tro-tro to Circle, yet they were all passing by full, so I took up the offer from a taxi driver to go with him.

Once I got to "Circle" I was completely confused. I was supposed to meet my colleague Tom there, but it is a giant and sort of arbitrary place. Tro tros are everywhere, not in a defined station like "37" or "Tema" station. After walking through a sea of very annoying men yelling "Obruni come here" I found one nice fellow who directed me in the direction of the Pig Farm Tro-tro.
I was also able to find Tom, and we went on our way.

An excessively nice man on this Tro-tro insisted on paying for both of our fares, and then walked us the whole way to Pig Farm school. He then invited us to his cultural dance practice on Friday. I have noticed that many people will go out of their way to get you to your destination, perhaps since it's very obvious I have no clue where I'm going (ever).

I also took the Tro-tro back from there and to Osu, where I am currently enjoying AC, wine, and wireless internet at Frankies. The key to life is balance, right?

Mom will probably add more later, and I will also put some pics up soon. Bye for now!

from Lorrie:
Monday was a pretty good day for Ama and I as we met a nice German family here and their small boys joined Ama in her new wading pool - 4 ft diameter. It afforded them a couple of hours of afternoon enjoyment plus they joined us on the deck for shaded toy time. Later Karen and I were enjoying cold water on the deck and re-hashing our day when we noticed a horrible smell coming from a truck labeled "cleansing service". We weren't sure if they were picking up garbage or flushing open gutters. It turned out to be the former.

We decided to go out for supper and as we walked two blocks to the restaurant, the smell was everywhere. Luckily once we got to our destination, it was gone. The restaurant located in the Mahogany Lodge was really good and we shared an American style chicken dish and some Chinese noodles. Wonderful service, excellent food and reasonable - well,by North American standards. We'll be back. Oh, the weather is the same every day here - 35 and humid. I might be getting to like it!! I am still white as a ghost though.