Sept. 22, 2013
We are a little behind,
having missed last week. Time is starting to pick up a little. Elder Cosgrave
gave me the assignment to write our entry this time, which I did, but some how
it did not save. So I am starting again. Oh, I love the computer! Actually I do
love it. I don’t know what I would do without it. It is the way we talk to the
kids. (And every once in awhile we video chat.) That is the best! It seems like
we are always learning something new. We have learned that if they say they are
coming to bring a garbage can, maybe they are and then again, maybe they are
not. We have learned that if they say they will come and install an internet
line, maybe they are and maybe they aren’t. And best of all nobody knows. We
finally went to the office of the garbage collector with someone in the branch
and they promised to come the next day. But unfortunately they did not have any
garbage dumpsters to give us. They have to get one from Accra. That was over a
week ago. So we will see.
People have asked us about
the food. Well, I guess that depends on if it is the food I fix at home or the
food that we are served or the food that the Ghanaians eat. I fix a limited
version of what I fix at home. You can really buy about anything at the stores if you are willing to pay for it. For instance
a small box of milk (1 quart is the equivalent of $2-3).
We use milk mostly for cereal at breakfast. You can buy some American
cereals too, but they are $10.00 or more. Cheese is like gold so I use it
sparingly. There are a lot of tomatoes, and they are good and now are very
reasonable. The price goes up in the dry season. Cabbage is plentiful as well
as onions, but the ones we are used to are quite expensive. There are only a
few fruits this time of year. Mango season is over L. We lived on Mango when we first got here. We can get
apples and now papaya. All vegetables
and fruit we give a Clorox bath to. We cannot eat the lettuce because it can’t
be washed well enough to be safe to eat so we miss having salads, but we eat a
lot of coleslaw. We get mince (hamburger) and chicken when we go into Accra. Mike
found a quart of Hagen Daas the other day and it was $30.00. They do have a
chocolate ice cream bar that isn’t too expensive and pretty good so every one in awhile we get one of
those for a treat. You can find bananas. They are about 5 inches long and spoil
pretty quickly so I have made banana bread twice. Some things are almost
impossible to find-- hot dogs that taste like hot dogs ( we don’t dare try them
here), sour cream and chocolate chips. Now for the food that they eat and
sometimes we try. Banku (corn and
cassava-pounded and cooked to look quite a bit like play dough) ,we have eaten it.
It is fine-kind of tastless, but ok. They form it into a ball then pull off
some and dip it in a salsa-like stew they call pepe or an okra stew. Another staple is Fufu which we haven’t had.
It is kind of gooey and is made with cassava and plantain. They do the same
with that and dip it in stew. Then they have Kenke which is a paste-like corn
meal that they wrap in corn husks and dip it in stew. Haven’t had that yet.
Those are the more bland foods. They eat a lot of rice and chicken which we
have had . It is bland too except they put shito on it that is very spicy. I
can only have a little, but it is quite good. They eat a lot of fish. Now I
don’t know about you, but I kind of like fish if it doesn’t “look” like fish or
smell like fish. And I really like it if it is fresh. Well, the fish they eat
is none of those things. We were served
tilapia at a home that was very clean. When I sat down and the fish was staring
back at me I had to take a deep breath and start in trying not to think about it.
I retrieved the meat without losing it and did okay. The other experience with
fish was at another home where they served us rice with “stew” on it. I have
learned to be a little suspicious when something is called “stew”. I took a
couple of bites and realized it was fish. Upon closer examination I saw a fish
tail in the stew. That was IT! I kindly asked one of the young missionaries if
they would like mine (they will eat anything!) Elder Jenkins was glad to help
me out. Luckily our host was not present. I won’t bore you with any more fish
stories, but I have to relate one more. A sweet widow that we visit often and
who has bent over backwards to help us (more on that another time), offered a
cooler with something in it to me as we were leaving the other day. I took it
and then she said that she was offering some fish for me to fix at my home. Oh
my! I looked at the Elders and they knew exactly my desperation as to what to
do with this fish. I hesitantly took it and then the whole way home was just
sick about what to do with this fish. It was very lightweight and not very
smelly so I knew it was dried. I could not sleep that night, wondering what I
was going to do. I could not just get rid of it and lie to her that I had fixed
it, but I knew I did not have the “stomach” to fix it. Nor did I know how. So
that next morning I got a text from Elder Jones, and he offered to come to our
place and fix the fish for lunch. Oh I could have kissed his feet!! When they
pulled the fish from the container, sure enough it was 4 dried tilapia! They
were whole and black, and it was all I could do to look at them. I know I sound
like a real woose sp? J But that’s the
way it is! I am trying to do better, but
there are just some things I cannot take. I fixed kind of a spaghetti sauce and
Elder Jones cut them up and took out the meat and I put it in the sauce. It
tasted like smoke fish spaghetti sauce. It wasn’t my favorite, but I ate it and
could honestly tell Anna that I had tried it. Mike does much better with the food
that I do. We are told be very cautious about eating at members homes or at the
roadside. You never know where the food has been and who has handled or fixed
it. I am sure our food adventures have
just begun.
This is the Kate from the Ho Market ( not much like our Cate at home)
A couple of young men from the branch who dropped in one evening (Jerry Kuma and Prince Gafah)
Friendly travelers we see on the road to Accra
We do a fair amount of
driving. And the sights along the road are always fascinating and
unpredictable. One of the fun things on the roadside a few miles outside of
Accra are the baboons. They come to the side of the road in the morning and
late afternoon. They sit and watch the cars go by. The other day a big daddy
baboon was sitting in the middle of the road. He hurried off to the side when
the cars went by.
The cars, trucks and buses (trotros) are a
constant source of entertainment. They stuff those things so full and so high
that it hard to see how they even move. We saw a truck piled at least 10 feet
above the top with a goat standing on the top of the whole load. I have to keep
my camera ready at all times, but I still miss so much. There are skinny cows,
skinny dogs, skinny goats and sheep every where
Our neighbors home and his goats and chickens
A familiar name and industry. We thought Craig had retired!
These are images of the road up to the church at the Ho First Branch. I think we could use an Iron Rod to help us get there
Try this while running down the street. Never see anything fall off either!
This is the making of the authentic Batik cloth. They dye it in the large hot vats and then lay it out on the ground to dry, then iron it and fold it. All original designs
Elder Jones and Jenkins helping Sister Cosgrave prepare her favorite meal of smoked, dried Tilapia
The Ho District before transfers
First Ho haircut. Oh how I miss Les! This one may last until we come home.
We are learning so much. I
really feel that I am the one being taught. It is a very humbling experience.
Heavenly Father loves his children here in Ghana. The people know that they are
pioneers. They love the gospel, they love the prophet, the Book of Mormon, and
they love Ghana. They love us and welcome us. It is our desire that we live up
to their expectations. Well, we could go on and on, but you have better things
to do than listen to me rant. The church is true! We miss you all!
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