Rainy day fun

Yesterday it rained too much to go to the pool or do the other things I had planned outside. Around 3 the downpour came in earnest. We were sick of being inside so it was time to get W-E-T! I grabbed Joshua and the dogs and went out back.  The dogs were especially excited until my intentions became known - bathtime - then they weren't as pleased to be part of our fun! It really does rain hard enough so that all we needed to do was soap them up and let nature do the rest.

 

 Wet (and stinky) Jeremiah

 

I couldn't take my camera out to capture the true moment but this will give you an idea.  Part of Joshua's fun was finding the places where water was running off the roof the hardest, filling containers and throwing the water at the dogs (or me).

 

Tate was having none of it and found a safe place to watch.

 

Skype

Joshua really enjoys talking on Skype.

Joshua and Dave Skyping with Grandma Kay.

If he can't see your face then he's not interested.  Unfortunately he has figured out that there is a "facetime" button on our phones.  It's an iPhone feature that is similar to Skype.  Whenever we put the phone on speaker so he can be a part of the conversation his quick little fingers reach for the option.  It would be great if we were in the States but we're not.  Normally it just ends the call and we may or may not get another connection to finish the conversation.  Phone communication is much, much better than it was even 5 years ago when Dave first started coming here but it is still unreliable.  Skpye is the same.  When it works, even just the voice option, the sounds quality is great.  Unfortunately, the African Internet can be fickle so there's no way to guarantee we can get on.  Oh - and then there's the whole power thing involved with the Internet :) Power outages are a fact of life here.

Singing in the Rain!

Sorry that I was missing in action this week. Dave had to travel 3 of the 5 days so I was too busy being trying to entertain Joshua and stay sane to spend much time on the computer.

One of my favorite things this week was playing in the rain. Have you ever experienced a tropical downpour? The rain is warm and comes down in droves. The sound on our tin roof was loud, like that of a locomotive barreling down the track (our Joshua playing the drums).  I rescued Joshua from his “rest time”, put on our galoshes, grabbed our umbrellas and headed outside to play.

 

 

Even with umbrellas, our clothes got wet.  Joshua took off his shirt and I stepped under the carport.

 

When he got cold, we changed him into his frog rain coat.

 

 

The road that runs next to our house turned into a river.  After the rains, it turned back to mud very, very quickly.



Differences

Last week when I was chatting with my Mom she asked if we were able to get milk here.  It made me think you would like to see some of the basic living differences between our lives in Bogoso, Ghana and Littleton, Colorado. 

 

 

Milk: We drink it out of a box that has been sitting on a shelf for a long time.  I know you can get fresh milk that is safe to drink in Accra, but not here.  I don't like the taste but will use it on cereal or cooking.  Joshua likes it and will drink as much as I allow.

Yogurt: It also sits on a shelf and doesn't need refrigeration.  I like the taste of the yogurt - even the kind that has no fat.  We have also have it frozen it for a special treat.

Brown Sugar:  I just find the reference to the big "J" in the name fun here.  Christianity is the mainstream religion in Ghana and it shows up almost everywhere. A lot of people like to tell Joshua the story of his namesake from the Bible.  Ghanaians are also amused that we named our dog "Jeremiah" and always ask after him if he is not with me.  I think if I were to tell them he is actually named after a "Three Dog Night" song, there may be tears involved.

 

Electrical Outlets: This is what the typical plug looks like.  There is on "on / off" switch to each outlet.  If it shows red then it is on.  Nobody seems shy about doing their own electric work here.  If you happen to buy a tool (let's say a blender) that has the wrong type of plug, they simply cut off the wrong one and rewire it so it will work. Seems like a bit scary practise to me.  It might be why they have conducted 2 mandatory fire safety classes this month.

 

The Toilet:  It has two types of flush options.  One is for pee and uses less water and the other is for the other.  This is the VERY first thing Joshua wanted to show me about our house.

 

The Bed: This is a picture of our American "king" size mattress on the Ghanaian "king" size bed frame.  hmmmm....  One of there things in not like the other.  We make do with a very, very high bed.

Bugs, bugs, bugs

Go figure!  There are a lot of bugs in the middle of a rain forest.  It’s a constant battle to keep ourselves safe from the obvious ones like mosquitoes, killer bees, fleas, mites, parasites and biting ants.  My very least favorite are the swimming scorpions that seem to come out of nowhere on a hunt for human meat.  They are not poisonous but we think the bite would hurt especially a little one so we search the pool diligently before swimming.  I have only seen one so far. Oh – the giant cockroach above the bed a few nights ago was fun.  (I’ve seen bigger in Texas so aside from finding it above our bed, not such a big deal to me)

There are some very beautiful butterflies and I find the giant snails fascinating. Here are some pictures for you to, um... enjoy.

Slowly, slowly, oh so slowly, goes the giant snail...

Quicky, quickly, oh so quickly goes the giant millipede

 

Not sure what this flying creature is, but he is beautiful.

Tears and Tissues

I must admit, the home sickness has set in.  I miss my family and friends and the easy life of the USA. It really hits home how far away we are when I read about the Summerset Festival at Clement Park and Columbine United Church’s Rally Day and the start of Preschool (plus the start of Mommy coffee hour). Today I also miss the community of remembrance surrounding 9/11.

It’s not all tears and tissues here!  We had such a fun weekend at the golf club’s annual picnic.  There was fabulous company, food, laughter and games.  Below are a couple of pictures of Joshua and Dave having a great time participating!

 

It might seem that we are living the easy life given the pictures I post and the fun things I write about plus we employ people to help with our house and yard. Reality is, it is work just to do simple things. When our employees have time off then it is A LOT of work for me to manage the house. Last week Jennifer told me she had to take tests for college and would be gone on Thursday and Friday. We thought it a BRILLIANT reason to miss work and were happy to fend for ourselves! Now I am tired AND missing you all.

 

That being said, we count our blessings daily for the many things we obviously have but others living less than a mile away do not. We have running water, electricity (most of the time) a roof over our heads that also provides air-conditioning, and transportation.  We have the means to travel, buy ample food that we like, utilize the Internet, receive top-notch medical care, and, and, and...  We are very, very fortunate. While I may complain, I am also ever mindful that we are the “haves”.  Every day I cook lunch for Jennifer and Earnest knowing it may be the only meal they have during the day.  It is humbling.

Daily Hubbub

Preschool a la Mommy started this week at our house.  I have a great curriculum and lots of supplies thanks to my Mom who really hooked us up.  It's certainly a challenge but Joshua is enjoying the activities and it gives me a focused way to play for a bit each day.  We are currently working through a session on changing environments. Joshua likes calling me teacher instead of Mom during "school". 

We've done our normal stuff too like going for walks, playing on the golf course and swimming.

Joshua also really enjoyed playing dress-up and putting on puppet shows for me and the dogs this week.  Below, he dressed Jeremiah up as an "old lady" - his term - to go with his Batman.  Yes, that is a pair of his underwear on my poor dog's head.