Sunday 12th July 2009

(I'm actually still in the UK!)

PREPARATION:

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon and I thought I would use the time to start getting some things together. I'm DETERMINED to travel light and so do not want to leave it to the last moment which is when I'm likely to start unpacking in Ghana and pull out the kitchen and bathroom sinks!

I've just changed my facebook tag to "Ghana has hosted Obama ... but is it ready for Darren come 31st July?" A cousin contacted me to say that she too is going and I've filled her in the details so may as well do the same here, in case you do not know.

BACKGROUND:

Liverpool (which was the world's leading port for sending ships out to transport Africans from Africa to the Americas) has a fantastic International Slavery Museum.

I've visited it many times with the children and - you know me - even wrote to the director to complain when the museum was questionably 'renewed' some years ago. The ISM was loooking for teachers to do some studies, visit Ghana and develop schemes of work for schools in the region to find out about slavery, its financial repercussions and its links to local history. You KNOW I was not about to let that opportunity slip by!

HEALTH:

I'm not bothered by injections but the long list of scary conditions we were advised to get ourselves inoculated against read like a horror story - I'm only going for seven days! I have had injections for Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio, Hep A - and the big one - Yellow Fever. My urine was YELLOW YELLOW for a few days - so maybe that is where it gets its name? I was tired as heck for a while but I've never really needed an excuse for those ultra sweet afternoon naps.

More in a while...

D