Snowy/Soapy Accra

Hello my darlings!

My, what a week! The countdown to Christmas has begun, and I still haven’t accepted the fact that we are in December. Even the snowy Accra weather hasn’t manage to convince me. Snow in Accra, you ask. Yes, doubting Thomases (since we’re on a Christian theme this week), snow in Accra! It appears that Koala --one of the big expat grocery stores in town-- caters to more than just nostalgic tastebuds. In addition to setting up numerous (plastic) Christmas trees in their windows, they have also installed a strange “snow”-making contraption on their premise. Blowing small droplets of foamy soap into the Accra night, this machine manages to produce a fairly convincing effect. (If, of course, you disregard the sweltering heat and people walking around in shorts, skirts, t-shirts and camisoles). It’s quite lovely actually (albeit rather absurd) and it was with great delight that Liv and I discovered the magic of snowy Accra, and proceeded to stand under the said machine for a good five minutes, missing our cold Canadian winter for a brief moment in time. (And as a side note, I don’t recommend opening your mouth to let the “snowflakes” fall onto your tongue.)

The Christmas party for Orphans and Vulnerable Children didn’t manage to convince me either of the impending Holidays, though it did prove to be a lovely event nonetheless. The week was thus filled up with various party-related preparations, many hours spent in traffic to go secure this, reserve that and a unforgettable adventure to Makola Market to do some shopping for toys, candies and cookies (after all, what Christmas party would be complete without!). Sure, one might say that as the biggest market in Accra and probably one of the busiest places in town in terms of people and stuff, any trip to Makola proves memorable. But a mere week before Christmas day, the venue becomes even crazier. People everywhere, sifting through piles of clothing and cloth on the grounds, merchants and shoppers walking around with huge baskets and boxes of goods on their heads, the tiny alleys in the market bursting with colors and bodies trying to squeeze through the shelving units packed with toys, beauty products, pots and pans, food, jewelry, shoes…everything you ever needed and then some! An incredibly rich but also tiring experience, and one I certainly wouldn’t recommend to the agoraphobic blog-readers out there.

And so it is that after three busy days of running around and getting things done, the much anticipated December 21st finally arrived…Though we had scheduled the event for 10am, in true Ghanaian fashion the crowd only began to arrive at 11:30. By that time, we had managed to set up the chairs and canopies (to protect our young guests from the searing Christmas sun), to fetch our catered food and to prepare gift bags containing toys, candies, exercise books and pens. The Dj had also finished setting up his booth, namely a cd player, mixer and microphone attached to a series of loud and often gritty speakers. We had some sweet Ghanaian Hip-Life music to greet our guests and to accompany us throughout the event. Refreshments in the form of minerals (aka Coca-Cola and company softdrinks) were served after the opening prayer (as every event in Ghana begins and closes with a prayer) and these were followed by games. The signing and dancing competitions were a big success, though the same cannot necessarily be said of our musical chair experiment, which left the toddler participants looking rather confused, and even led a small boy of two to erupt into violent bawling…oops!

I will send out an email with additional information about the party and a powerpoint presentation full of pictures (since I took well over 100), so I’ll abstain from writing pages and pages about in on my blog, though I easily could. But all that to say that a few technical glitches aside, this celebration proved quite the success. Everyone, from our tiny guests to the kind adults who accompanied them, seemed to have a lot of fun, to appreciate the yummy food (fried chicken and rice), the gifts and the festive atmosphere. I felt so blessed to be taking part in this event and to have a chance to put my obroni dance moves on display to a group of amused children. So please expect a more elaborate email report to make its way to your inboxes sooner than later…but in the meantime, know that your incredible generosity was put to good use and met with much joy and delight. Thank You Thank You Thank You, from the bottom of my heart!

The end of the Christmas party also ushered in vacation time for me, and so it is that I now stand in front of a two week abyss, where time will surely disappear into a vacuum of sleep, merriment and socializing. The process was put into motion yesterday evening, with a meal at Maquis Tante Marie’s, a wonderful restaurant owned and operated by a woman from Cote d’Ivoire, who cooks up some mean West African cuisine (and faithful to my Ghanaian diet of meat and fried stuff, I had chicken and fries…Again, I’m not particularly surprised when my coworkers keep on reminding me that I’m getting fat!). I went with Ranjith and Nao (our new roommate from Japan who works at the UNDP), Elizabeth as well as Gislain, Jacques and Janis, the newest additions to my roaster of expat friends. I had met Gislain and Jacques, two francophone New-Brunswickers, at an event organized by the Canadian High Commission (where Gislain works) when I had just arrived…but it’s only two weeks ago that we reconnected and started hanging out. But thank goodness we did, because they have proven to become great friends already, so kind and fun to hang out with. And Jacques is an amazing cook, something Elizabeth and I discovered last week when we were treated to a meal at their home, complete with freshly-made pasta, a desert to die for, and a green salad!!!! (my first salad in two months…as my dietician mother cringes!) They have the cutest little chihuahuas too, Alfred and Princesse Philomene, possibly the most well behaved and sweetest dogs I have ever had a chance to spend an evening carrying in my arms…Truly precious! And so it is with much excitement that I look forward to our New Year’s escapade, since Jacques and Gislain (and Alfred and Philo) have kindly invited me to accompany them and their good friend Janis to the Safari Lodge (hmm…not the most original of names), a beach resort four hours away from Accra. We leave next Friday, early in the morning (but not at 4:30 thankfully) and will proceed to spend a good three days right on the ocean, relaxing, eating and probably drinking a bit too (hey, it’s important to stay hydrated in this hot climate!) I am so excited and will of course be thinking of you all and wishing you were with me as I dip my feet into the Atlantic ocean under the starry Ghanaian sky to ring in 2007.

But in the meantime, there are other activities to be enjoyed…including a day with Tim and his family tomorrow, a Christmas Eve potluck at Liv, Elizabeth and Tracy (their new roommate)’s house on Sunday, and then Christmas day spent with my dear and kind friend Lucy, the director of the support organization for positive women where I spent a week earlier in the month. We’ll start the day off with a trip to church (when in Rome...) and then prepare a yummy X-mas meal. Though I will certainly miss my family and friends dearly as I partake in this first Christmas-time away from home, at the very least I will be spending my Ghanaian holidays in good company.

So yes, this is my report. It’s pretty long this week, partly because I have so much to say and also to make up for last week’s pitiful entry. I will post another one next week prior to leaving for my New Year beach escapade (I know I know, tough life!) but in the meantime, I wanted to wish you a very very happy holiday season. May the next days be spent in the company of loved ones and enjoying all of life’s pleasures (sleep, food and drink especially!) I miss you all, continue to think of you often and send you much love and joy in this festive season.

A bientot et Joyeux Noel mes cheris!
Sophie

About the pictures: Finally, some visual illustrations of my African adventures! They are a somewhat random assortment of images...a couple from the party yesterday, a couple from my funeral adventures with Tim's family in Ekumfie (hence the dark clothing), and a couple from the AIDS march two Fridays ago (including one with Tim...the one where we are both wearing yellow and he looks dreadfully serious.) It takes a good deal of time to upload images onto Blogger, but I'll try to add some more as soon as I can.

pps: please pardon the ugly layout...blogger is not design-friendly apparently!