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Greetings once again!
2011 is off to a great start. I thought it would be hard learning to live with three new volunteers, but they are easy to get along with and all is well. Kylee is even keeping us well fed. She is a great cook and we are experiencing fine dining here in Ghana. Petra gave me an African cookbook for Sinterklaas, and we are using it a lot to create interesting dishes from the ingredients we have available. It is a nice change from the usual meals that we had previously prepared. Of course spaghetti is still a regular and favourite! We are starting to find avocadoes now, though not regularly. It is really nice to make guacamole for lunch, instead of the usual peanutbutter or "Laughing Cow" cream cheese.
With the new year came cooler weather. The days are still hot, but the nights were really cooling off and the mornings were downright cold! But last week that all changed and now we are back to crazy heat and humidity. I am so disappointed, I thought the cooler weather would last until the end of February. Short lived as it was, I really enjoyed it! PCC and Nkoranza are my home now. For the first three months I was ready to leave at any time, but now leaving will be hard. Especially since home is so far away, and I will likely never be back to Ghana. At least not in the near future. Although Ineke likes to remind me that she originally came to Ghana for 6 months. Almost 40 years later...
I will miss this Ghanaian lifestyle. As much as I complain about the heat, it is really nice living outside. We work outside, we play outside, our showers and taps are outside, and we eat outside. We even shop outside with little market stalls all huddled together. I will miss the laidback attitudes of the Ghanaian people. My life here is busy, but it is relatively stress free. I work until 5:30/6 in the evening. On Monday and Wednesday evening I have choir practice with the caregivers of our PCC Choir. And Tuesday evening is a treat! Tuesday night is film night, hosted by Bob. I have dinner with Bob and Ineke. That is always a nice affair with good conversation and some wine to drink. Then we watch one of the films Bob would like to share with me. Note that they are films - not movies. Bob is very specific about that. This week we watched Sophie's Choice. And so my calendar is always full for the first part of the week. This weekend I will go to Bui National park in search of Hippos. We will leave at 5:30am in order to catch the one daily tro-tro that travels to Bui. We will sleep in simple cabins or tents, and bring our own food. Should be a wonderful adventure.
And my routine at PCC continues, but more smoothly now that we are all familiar and comfortable with each other. Feeding Aaron has become easier as he sits still a bit more and eats more. Still he loves to crawl out of his wheelchair from time to time, he still grabs onto my shirt and those of passersby or those sitting next to us, and he is always watching what is going on at every table but ours. Still somehow, eating and feeding has become easier. At the autistic workshop I am entertained by Balloon's "old man" laugh and welcomed by his handshakes and hugs. Today he was playing drums with the stems of bulbous flowers from which the petals are missing, while Elizabeth and I were singing from Hannah's hymn book. Yaw Hillal surprised me last week when he started almost beatboxing, but definitely creating his own drum beat. Quietly for his own amusement - but I was beside him listening! Yaw Yaw comes to me every morning and pokes me so I will start chasing her. And so my morning begins with a little exercise before Yaw Yaw drops to her mat to snooze. Unfortunately Boadu is not interested in much and often falls asleep, but lately he has been very good to roll the ball back and forth with Balloon and Ntiamoah. ANd he has evne been smiling quite a bit which is really heatening to see. Boadu is my giant teddybear! Mariella sits quietly revelling in her own world. Yesterday she was wearing a skirt with frayed edges - not the best choice for Mariella. She is always picking at our clothes for any thread out of place. Sure enough there were many threads on the table and floor around her by the time I left an hour later. Cynthia bares her teeth in bliss while you rub her head, but lookout when she has had enoguh. She will forcefully grab your hand and move it only to quickly put it back on her head. She has also been forcefully seating me when I am standing beside her, making he uncomfortable. Regina is forever crawling into your side and trying to be one physically. She can not get close enough. And with the meds she needs to keep the seizures away, she has been in a zombified state.
- comments
Auntie Hey Debbie, we will come to visit you--sometime in the next forty years!!! Happy to hear that you are feeling more at home.
Sara Cogswell Hi Debbie! Such incredible experiences you are having! I really enjoyed reading about your life in Africa! I didn't realize that you are working with autistic children. How long will you be there? Praying for you, Sara and Brian pray