Weekend with Friends in Akosombo

Last weekend, we went up to Akosombo to see Hannah and Robin's new place. They've settled into their little cottage house on the grounds of Right to Dream Academy where Robin has assumed a new role as Director of Operations (or something like that).

We rode up there on Saturday afternoon and quickly got the tour of their new digs. They have a two bedroom place that they've painted and furnished, which we poked fun at because it took them almost a year to get a sofa when they lived here in Accra. It's really cute and suits them perfectly. Robin informed us that a few of the girls might be coming over to talk to Dan and me. One of the girls, Louisa, is going to be moving to the US in August to attend a high school in Connecticut. Robin wanted to give her the opportunity to ask questions to Americans and we were happy to oblige.

Around 3:30 there was a knock at the door, and twenty-something girls filed in. Each one walked right to me, extended her hand and introduced herself... impressive. They ranged in age from about 11 to 15. They took over the sofas, chairs and floor. Robin did a quick introduction of us and opened the floor for questions.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but things got really deep. I think I expected more, what's the weather like? or how is it different from Ghana? We did get those questions. But we also got some deep ones which really put us on the spot. Things like: who are your role models and how did you pick them? What's your definition of success?

It felt a little guidance counselor-like but we tried to inform Louisa of some of the challenges of school in the US. For example, we tried to address trying to figure out where you fit in, and cliques, and that there's nothing wrong with being labeled a nerd/geek/smarty-pants. I also tried to say a little about being a teenage girl in high school since it was a group of young ladies and we have slightly different experiences. This is especially important for Ghanaian girls because this culture is still very male-centric. Women clean and cook and basically do what the man expects them to do. It's still not fully understood/accepted for a girl to be better in the classroom, workplace or on the soccer field than a boy. Girl's sports are pretty well ingrained in US high schools so hopefully she will be proud to showcase her talents.

After our chat, Hannah, Robin, Dan and I got freshened up and went to the Royal Senchi resort for dinner and drinks. Went back home after and crashed.

The following morning, Leonora drove up so we had a nice morning catching up with her and showing her around the school. She basically runs the Ghana branch of an education foundation that works with low-income regions. They go to rural schools and provide a solar panel and satellite dish. The satellite dish then beams lessons that are taught centrally here in Accra out to the rural schools to ensure that those children get a chance at a decent education. As such, Leonora's company has access to quite a few education grants and curriculums which could be really helpful to Robin and the teaching staff at Right to Dream.

After we walked around, we sat down with two of the boys who had been asked to explain RTD's badge system. The badges, which are basically pins, are Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 and you have to score a certain level in three areas (academics, football/soccer, character) to move to the next stage. The Stage 1 criteria are more basic as it's intended for younger kids or kids that are new to the program. Stage 2 expects more from the kids and achieving a Stage 3 badge means you are ready to be considered for placement at a school in the US. If you fail to achieve the necessary scores at the end of a term, your badge can and will be taken away. With your badge goes your privileges. For example, one of the under 15 boys lost his badge and wasn't allowed to play in the tournaments with his teammates in Europe. The team ended up winning all their matches and the tournament and he was devastated. Not only has he learned his lesson and cleaned up his act, but the other boys, seeing his despair, have quickly realized they don't want to make that mistake. It was a very informative presentation and Michael and Perry did a great job explaining it to us and answering our questions. This is the second time we've been up to the school and the kids continue to blow us away with their English, vocabulary and public speaking to complete strangers.

After the RTD requirements had been completed, we went back over to the Senchi to spend the afternoon by the hotel's pool. Sunday was Ghana's Independence Day so there was a lot of live music and the hotel was packed with people. We stayed till about 4:30 and then rode back to the city with Leonora.

If you'd like to watch more about Right to Dream's girls program, please watch the video below. Note: yes, they all have short, cropped hair. That is standard for school-age girls in Ghana.

Weekend Getaway - Blue Diamond Beach Resort

Apologies for the lack of postings lately. Things have been very quiet/uneventful around here so there wasn't much to tell. But, alas, we did something fun last weekend so here ya go!

Last week some friends invited us to tag along with them to a hotel on the beach about 2 hours outside Accra. Considering we rarely get out of town given our lack of car and driver, we were pleased to be included. On Saturday, Sam and Alex picked us up at our place and we set out for the town of Apam. Apam is due west of Accra, about midway between the capital and Cape Coast.

Not surprisingly, we hit quite a bit of traffic so it took almost 3.5 hours to get to the place but the view was worth the wait. The room rates were very reasonable, though I admit that the rooms themselves were very average. No fancy bedding or other resort-like amenities. That said, we didn't mind because... Look at that view! Why would you be in your room except to sleep anyway? To be fair, they actually offer day rates if you want to drive over and spend the day at the beach/pool.

We arrived, checked in, dropped off our bags and went down to a table in the sand. We each got a fresh coconut and ordered some seafood for a late lunch. Dan and I split some calamari and each got grilled tilapia with some rice. Sam and Alex also split calamari and got the spicy seafood dish and a seafood salad. Everyone was pleased with the meal and given how long it took to be delivered, there's no question it was freshly prepared.

After lunch, the guys played some volleyball and goofed off in the ocean. Alex and I went and got hour massages. An hour massage was 180cedis... so roughly $45. Um, yes. Sign me up. After massages, showers and a nap, we met back up poolside for dinner and some drinks. Between the traffic, the sunshine and just the general lazy feel of the place, we all retired to bed by 10:30pm.

The next morning, I woke up and walked down to a hammock and just hung out listening to the waves. It reminded me of the condo my Gram and Gramps had on the beach when I was a teenager. When I'd spend the night, we'd leave the guest bedroom window cracked so you could hear the sound of the waves as I fell asleep. Dan woke up shortly after and came to join my "hammock vegging".

Eventually, the four of us went to the poolside for breakfast, which was included in the room rate. Tea/coffee, juice, an omelet, fruit and toast. Lots of food for someone who's about to sit around in a bikini... haha. After breakfast, we relocated to some lounge chairs by the pool and relaxed. With the view and the occasional dip in the pool or the ocean, it was hard to believe we were still in Ghana.

Another late lunch with our toes in the sand and we went back to the rooms to shower up for the ride home. There was much less traffic on the way home, which is common for Sundays here, so we made it home in an hour and a half. Dan and I had some incredibly gourmet peanut butter sandwiches for dinner and watched a movie before calling it a weekend.

2nd Annual Valentine's Day Fort-Build

Valentine's Day weekend was surprisingly busy, despite not having any concrete plans ahead of time. Friday night, Dan and I went to dinner with Robin. It was his last night here in Accra before going back to the UK for a few weeks. They are currently in the process of moving up to Akosombo so the house here is pretty much empty and certainly without food.

We went to a South African restaurant that is in a hotel/apartment complex that looked new. The menu was pretty robust for a "hotel restaurant". We got some chicken and seafood skewers to share as starters and a bottle of wine. For mains, Robin got short ribs, Dan got the pork chop and I had a steak. Few places here have steak, and even fewer have good South African beef so I figured I'd give it a shot. My steak was actually really good, the best I've had in Ghana for sure. The guys seemed lukewarm about their choices. Robin's ribs were not braised the way we would have expected short ribs to be, so he gave the chef a hard time (which he always gets a kick out of doing).

Saturday morning, we lounged around the house. Francis, the head security guy, had been bugging me about washing our windows. I held him off for awhile with the good ol' "it's harmattan, let's wait til April" spiel, but he was growing impatient. As I'm certain he needed extra money, and we genuinely like him the most of the staff, we said ok. We did, however, choose to limit his access to just the living room and kitchen. We rarely open the windows in any of the bedrooms anyway.

He came at 10:05 (impressively punctual for a Ghanaian) and got started. When he finished with the patio, I was really grateful. Mostly because I had been dreading cleaning the deck after harmattan and trying to de-dust our patio furniture and the grill. He did all of that and washed the screens/sliding glass doors. We had agreed on 75ghs but we were so blown away by the job he did that we gave him 100 (which is still only $25, to keep things in perspective). I might have him do it again in August right before the patio furniture gets packed onto the shipping container.

Saturday afternoon was spent by the pool, with a side of naps. We got cleaned up and went to our favorite restaurant, Bistro 22, for Valentine's Day dinner. They had red lights throughout the restaurant with silk flower petals and heart confetti on the tables. There was a live band playing "love tunes" on a guitar, saxophone and a strangely high-pitched male vocalist. We ate a lot, enjoyed playing a mildly successful version of Name That Tune and got carrot cake to go. Came home and watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith whilst fork-fighting over the slice of cake.

Sunday was equally as relaxing (read as: lazy) while we watched a triple-header of soccer games. Last Valentine's Day, we were living in Mozambique. To refresh your memory... or mine, since I don't recall whether this story was told at the time... Dan offered to plan the activities for the day. When we left the hotel it was humid and over 100 degrees and felt like a sauna. By 4pm the sky turned black and was about to dump. We stopped off at the store for snacks and gave up on dinner reservations. Good thing we did because it was hurricane-worthy. Cars were stuck in the flooded streets, rain was blowing sideways, it was crazy. We took the mattresses and couch cushions onto the floor and built a fort of bedsheets and blankets, created a makeshift charcuterie plate and watched movies.

It was such a spontaneous but fun night that we decided to make it a tradition. So, this year was the 2nd annual fort-build-movie-watching Valentine's Day. We put together some snacks, built a fort with the sofa cushions and dining chairs and climbed in. We watched Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks and then cleaned up and crashed. Still fun the second time around so I suspect it will continue.

Things have calmed down a lot on this end now that the weddings and things have passed. I expect the next couple of weeks to be pretty uneventful... which is just fine. :)

Super Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl was somewhat uneventful for us this year. It was disappointing that it was being held in San Francisco and knowing we were missing out. Though based on all the articles I read and opinions on Facebook, sounds like 80% of people just whined about it. That said, it was fun to watch some of the pregame and see photos of our old home.

We watched movies most of Sunday afternoon since the game didn't start till 11:30pm our time. Around 6pm, I made some slow cooker buffalo chicken meatballs and a big bowl of hummus with carrots to hold us over. About 11pm, Dan threw a bunch of wings on the grill in preparation for kickoff.

 Presentation and Food Photography are not my strengths.

But they tasted good!

Our only involvement was Fantasy Football related. Three years ago, Dan took over a spot in a league with his dad and his friends. It's really interesting in how the rules work. It's cumulative points over the course of the season, not head-to-head matchups with winner being the best record. It makes the draft very strategic because you're trying to pick good players but you want the players who will make it to the Super Bowl.

Dan's first year in the league, he did not win anything. Prizes are for 1st, 2nd and 3rd out of 9 guys. Before his second year, he asked if I wanted to join. I said I didn't want my own team but if he was up for a co-management thing, I'd be willing to do that. In year 2, we got 2nd place. This year we won. As much as I'd love to say that this is a clearly because of my involvement, it's probably more that we've learned a lot with respect to draft strategy over the last three years.

This year's biggest lesson: Don't expect Vegas to inform you that your star running back isn't playing. I think it took three weeks for Dan to get over that one.

We watched until about 10 mins left in the third quarter. Found ourselves underwhelmed by the game, the commercials and the halftime show. Thus, at 2am we decided to call it a night. I'm glad we watched it regardless. It's almost funny how American it is. Very few people in Ghana know/care about it (including non-American expats). I think there was one sports bar here that was showing it.

Another football season is over and so begins the long slog to August/preseason. Womp womp.

Ghanaian Wedding Numero Dos - Gabby and Rosemary

Last Saturday, we went to our second wedding in as many weeks. This one, while taking place in Accra, was much more multicultural. Rosemary, the bride, is Ghanaian from the village of Ho (see Dan's post from Sunday about the Ho festivities... it's not what it sounds like, I promise). Gabby, the groom, is Kenyan on secondment in Ghana from PwC Nairobi... though he's been here three years now. Pierre, the best man, is Cameroonian, and used to work for PwC Ghana but now is on rotation in London. Jonia, the maid of honor, is Tanzanian, and used to work for PwC Ghana but is now on rotation in Dubai. And then there's me, Dan, Janni (Danish), and White Joe (English) rounding out the cast of pale folk. Yes, we have multiple friends named Joe so we do actually call him White Joe to his face.

The wedding was set to start at 10am "prompt". We left the house at 9:35 expecting to arrive around 10:15. We got lost... very lost. In Dan's defense, he knew where he was going, but there was a service road on the right of the highway. He didn't know he needed to be on the service road so when our turn came up, we couldn't make it through the cement barrier. We finally arrived at the church at 11:05 and were sat in the front row by the usher. Rosemary had walked down the aisle but, considering the priest was giving the "please silence your cell phone" spiel, we realized we actually were right on Ghana time.

The ceremony was a Catholic one with lots of standing and sitting but the service was very nice. The priest did well to try to merge the West African/East African cultures and made everyone feel welcome regardless of their personal beliefs.

During the ceremony, we noticed that some people had programs. Dan looked across the aisle to check a woman's program to see where we were in the service. He then whispered to me, "My name is in the program for the reception but I'm not sure why". We asked the usher for a program and she said they had run out. The nice woman across the aisle heard this and gave us one of theirs. Verdict: Dan is a "Popper of Champagne"... along with a few of Rosemary's friends, Gideon, Pierre, Gabby's brother, Dan and Albert. All I can picture in this moment is the scene from Dumb and Dumber when they pop Champagne and kill the endangered species owl. We had a good laugh over this. Thankfully, when that time came at the reception, no humans or owls were hurt in the completion of this task.

After the ceremony, there were multiple photographs taken. A list of the order of photographs was provided in the program just like it was the weekend before. We stayed for the "PwC" photo and the "friends of the groom" photo. Afterwards, we hitched a ride with George to the reception where we were seated and awaited the arrival of the newlyweds.

The reception was very nice and similar to Laura's with the western-ness. They cut the cake, there was a bar, toasts, first dance, etc. There was a buffet of food from both sides of Africa... Ghanaians love spicy food, whereas East African food has no pepper so they accommodated family/friends from both ends. The funniest thing is that our table was selected last to go to the buffet but they had run out of plates. We're not sure how that happened. You have x number of chairs, wouldn't you need at least as many plates and then some for people who come back for seconds or take two? Apparently not. So we had to wait for them to wash some plates. A lot of the food had run out by this point so we took what was still available and went back to the table. After the food was finished, and the drinks were flowing surprisingly heavily, the dance floor opened up. It was everything you'd expect an African wedding's dance floor to be. Best people watching experience I've had in a long time.

 Albert post-Champagne-popping/Dorothy, me and Ayesha

 Dan the Man/Photo with the newly married couple which escalated to...

 

this...

and then this...

As the reception was winding down, Pierre asked Dan and me if the after party could be at our house. Obviously, we said yes. The remaining booze was put into Albert's trunk and he and Dorothy drove us home. We got home around 6pm, took some showers and a quick nap. People started turning up around 8/8:30. At max capacity, there were about 15 of us.

By 1am, Rosemary was asleep on Gabby's lap and I casually started to pick up empty bottles/glasses. You know, the universal sign for "hey it's been fun but please get out of my house so I can go to bed". Everyone was very grateful that we had them over and the troops headed out. Suffice to say we slept very well after a long day in the sun and playing host/hostess.

Another wedding in Ghana complete.

Guest Post - Gabby's Traditional Wedding

Jeopardy Clue: A long handled gardening instrument, a promiscuous woman, and a city in Ghana.
Answer: What is Ho?

It’s wedding season in PwC Ghana.  A number of coworkers are getting married (not to each other).  Jen shared her experiences at a wedding last weekend which was done in the Ghanaian take on western weddings.  During that weekend, I was supporting a good friend with his traditional Ghanaian wedding in Ho (no funny pronunciation, it’s just the way Santa says it).

Cast of characters:

Author: Me
Gabby: (Male) coworker on secondment from Kenya
Pierre: Coworker from Cameroon/Ghana but on secondment in London and Gabby’s good friend.
Albert: Husband of coworker Dorothy
Rosemary: Gabby’s bride-to-be
The Kenyans: Gabby’s friends from Kenya
George: Partner at PwC

Albert, Gabby and I were drinking (juice) together and decided that we needed to have a party, one last hurrah with Gabby before he got married.  Unfortunately, Gabby’s weekends were being occupied by wedding stuff.  Apparently weddings don’t plan themselves. 

However, according to Gabby, he had to attend some traditional thing in Rosemary’s village (Ho) on 30 January.  “It’s in the afternoon and I just have to show up for five minutes, not say anything, and then leave.  We can go up to Ho together and have a good time”

Conveniently, that was also the weekend Pierre was going to be in town – so he’d be able to join us. 

The plan was simple, pick Pierre up from the airport on Friday, head up to Ho, enjoy a night on the town, and head to “this traditional thing” the following morning.  Hangovers be damned.

During the workday on Friday, there are a lot more details surfacing about “some traditional thing.”  It turns out that this is the traditional Ghanaian wedding we’re headed to.  It’s a little more than just going for five minutes and being done.  It seems that since Gabby’s family was in Kenya, he needed someone of stature to speak on his behalf in front of the elders.  Enter: George. 

Not only did Gabby need someone to speak to the elders, he also needed to give a gift to the elders and some of Rosemary’s family members.  Specifically, cash.  But not just any cash, new bills.  To assist with this, Gabby and I headed out after work to go to my bank ATM (closer than his) and start to sort through money that I withdrew.  What probably looked like a suspicious exchange was actually completely legitimate.

Gabby and I grabbed dinner while the Kenyans and Albert came to meet us. Pierre was set to arrive at 8PM on Friday.  Planes arriving from the UK or US generally take about an hour longer than other planes because people are always bringing half a dozen bags of goodies for their friends and family.  Pierre’s flight was no different.  About an hour delayed in landing and another 1.5 hours for baggage, Pierre was back in Ghana.  Since Pierre was staying with Jen and me, I was the welcoming committee while Gabby, Albert and the Kenyans were taking care of Gabby.

I get Pierre settled and we meet up with Gabby, Albert and the Kenyans and then we’re off in our caravan to Ho.  Oh, and we’re also informed that this wedding program is supposed to start at 7AM…

A few hours later we arrive in Ho at about 2AM.  Time to hit the town! Unfortunately, the town looks haunted.  You see, this time of year is harmattan.  Sand and dust blows down from the Sahara.  The further north you go, the dustier and sandier it becomes.  As a result, we’re driving through a quiet, poorly lit town with “fog” that restricts distance vision.

Early mornings and quiet villages can’t stop us though.  We arrive at our hotel and wake up the staff who were sleeping on couches and mattresses around the property.  Much to their chagrin, they open the bar for us and our night on the town wraps up around 6AM.  45 minutes of sleep later, we awake to get ready.  Quick showers and a quick breakfast is all we need (when you’re as naturally good looking as us, it doesn’t take much).  George had arrived in Ho and was escorted to meet the elders.  Pierre, Gabby, Albert, the Kenyans and I meet George at one of the elder’s home.

(Left to Right: Gabby, George, Pierre, me)

 

They say a few words and want to validate all of the gifts that Gabby had purchased for Rosemary and her family.  These are separate gifts from the envelopes of fresh cash.  Typically, the traditional gifts are a sewing machine, cloth, kitchen utensils, tobacco, spirits, and a stool (yes, like a small bar stool) among other things. Since we are running late, Gabby has to bring another gift to Rosemary’s family as a token of respect.  The elders recommend a specific brand of whiskey. 

Upon arriving at the venue, we are seated with the other men and listen to the priest and some of the elders say a few things.  The local language there is Ewe, of which I (obviously) and Gabby do not speak.  Luckily, Albert does speak it and is able to translate for the Kenyans, Pierre and me, and the elders translate for Gabby. 

Then the ladies come in bearing the gifts that Gabby had brought. (see Video) Traditionally, the family will accept each gift individually, but the process was sped up a bit with the mother just announcing that everything was accepted. Following the gifts, it was time for the bride to come out.  Except she needs a little extra “motivation” – meaning that the crowd needs to throw in some cash to help convince her. 

 

Rosemary arrives via procession with the ladies of the village, similar to the way the gifts came in.  The rest of the “ceremony” (about another hour) involved people giving speeches and prayers in Ewe.  After which, the father accepted the engagement proposal and both Gabby and Rosemary started to cry. Naturally, Gabby caught a fair share of flak from us.

 

 

After the festivities completed, we went back to the hotel to check out and made our way back to Accra. Due to lots of traffic, and multiple food stops suggested by a very convincing Albert, we finally made it back home around 9pm Saturday night.

My First Ghanaian Wedding

Last Saturday, I attended my first Ghanaian wedding. Friday night, Dan went with a bunch of the guys up to Ho (about 2 hours away) for Gabby's traditional wedding to Rosemary... more on this later as I'm currently negotiating with Dan to write up a post about it.

So Saturday, I was under the assumption that I was waiting for the guys to return and then going with them to Laura's wedding. In reality, Dorothy was coming to pick me up to be her date to the wedding, since Albert was also with Dan. Dorothy told me that the wedding started at 3pm. She picked me up at 3:15 (Ghana time). We got to the venue around 3:45 but a bunch of PwC people pulled in at the same time as us so we walked over together. Laura was already down the aisle and the ceremony was in progress. Everyone was very impressed by this.

The ceremony was nice and everyone was very excited for Laura and her new husband Kplom. After the ceremony, they took pictures. The wedding program has a list on it of the order of the photographs so you know when to be ready. Maybe 5th on the list was PwC, so everyone was congregating around the couple. I told Ayesha that I would wait for them in the back. She said absolutely not, you're part of PwC, so there I was in this photo... and yes, I was the only white person at the wedding.

Wedding program/fan

One interesting fact is that there are people all over the place with cameras. So they look really official but actually it's a ploy. They take your picture and then show it to you and when you say it's nice they go print it out, hand it to you and say 10 cedis. I almost wanted to applaud the mindset... almost.

After the ceremony, we went across to the reception. I didn't know what to expect but all the traditions were very western. The reception was long tables with tablecloths and nice decor. They cut a cake, did a first dance, guest book, etc. There was an open bar and a buffet of traditional Ghanaian food. The firm here is such a close group that everyone stepped up to help Laura on her special day. Ishmael was the photographer. Dzidj was the MC. It was sweet to see everyone support her. There had to have been 40-50 people from the firm there just based on the size of the two reserved tables.

After dinner and dancing, we went up to say our goodbyes. I wasn't sure if Laura even knew who I was but I felt like I should at least thank them for such a nice event and wish them well. I walked up and she said "Jen!" and gave me a big hug, asked Dorothy and I where the guys were and we explained they were stuck in traffic.

Dorothy dropped me off at home and I waited on the Motley Crew to return. When they got back, me, Dan, Pierre and Gabby went to Shisha Lounge for pizzas and drinks and toasted Gabby's married status. Gabby then spent the first night of his marriage sleeping in our guest room with Pierre. We made sure to give him a hard time about this.

Gabby and Rosemary's western/formal wedding is this Saturday so I'm very excited to have another party with everyone.