Vulgar Vultures and Other (Mis)Adventures

Hello my precious,

Has a week really gone by? Are we really Friday? Huh? It’s been a good week though, as far as I can remember. I got lots and lots of work done, including some fascinating meetings at local NGOs which have given me so much food for thought I feel like my brain might implode at any time now. Mind you, I’ve been writing notes about one of the said interviews for the past five hours…so this may also explain my advanced stage of brain-decrepitude (and will also explain why my blog entry may not be too too long today.) Indeed, with the holidays behind me (and another vacation looming near with Eve’s impending arrival), let’s just say I’ve decided to dive into this research process head on. That’s not to say that there’s only been all work and no play…quite the contrary, amidst all of this brain stimulation, a good deal of activity has also been happening on the social side of things.

First, my new roomie arrived last Saturday, so we spent a good deal of the weekend hanging out. As I mentioned in my previous entry, her name is Melinda and she is French, though she has been living in Montreal for the past few years, and is hoping to eventually become a full-fledged Quebecer (or Canadian…depending on what side of the fence you’re on...). But above all, she is a really cool and friendly woman, and it’s been quite the delight to get to know her and to share my incredible knowledge of Accra with her (all is relative, right…so to her novice eyes, I appear quite the expert!). We spent all of last Sunday together, visiting Lucy who overfed us with her delicious chicken stew and rice, and then being treated to a yummy steak dinner at Jacques and Gislain’s --a mere three hours later (certainly not enough time for my stomach to rebuild its appetite, but I am part Albertan after all and find it hard to turn down a good T-bone (and again, all my apologies to the vegetarian readers out there!))

On Monday, in order to congratulate myself on my first day back at the office (any excuse is good really), I did a bit of shopping at a local thrift store (ie a big pile of clothing in the middle of the street) and then headed over to Tim’s house. Again, I was fed massive quantities of food, by his mother this time, who also doubles as an excellent Ghanaian chef in her family time. I really can’t remember what happened Tuesday evening, but Wednesday, on the other hand, is forever etched in my mind. Liv invited us out to Salsa night, a weekly happening at the Coconut Regency Hotel. Hundreds of young Ghanaians and obronis gather together to chat, have fun, drink, and above all, dance some salsa…which is apparently quite popular here. Of course, it was cool to see couples dancing and twirling around to some sweet Latin sounds, but the best part came when every single one of the two hundred bodies or so on the dance floor broke out into what appeared a highly choreographed and coordinated line dance! Yes, my darlings, believe it…line dancing in Accra! Needless to say that my inner Albertan was incredibly amused and secretly delighted to witness this, though I didn’t actually join in, as I was much too interested in watching the whole thing from afar. But I do plan to go back next week, and the following, and the following…as I certainly understand why Salsa night is so popular with young Ghanaians…what a riot!

Yesterday evening was spent (hand)writing research notes by candlelight (not cause I was trying to be romantic with myself but because we had our 12 hour power outage which takes place every five days now) and before I knew it…well, here we are, Friday evening. In addition to the customary weekend activities of laundry, cleaning and sleeping, the next few days also promise lots and lots of time spent at my computer working and writing notes, and then congratulating myself for my good behavior in the evenings. Tonight: Sushi at Monsoon (yes, you can actually get Sushi in Accra, and having tried it once before, I can say that it’s pretty damn good!), tomorrow, not sure yet and then Sunday, some pool-time and a good home-cooked meal at Mark and Pamela’s house. They are a Canadian couple that I met earlier this week. They moved to Ghana with their two teenage daughters a few months ago and live a few doors down on my street. Needless to say that I am quite looking forward to a Sunday family dinner in their company (sure, it’s not my family, but still) and some time spent communing with their sweetly still (and chlorinated) pool-water.

Yup, so that’s that, really. Though my week seems like a blur at the moment, and it’s taken me quite some energy to draw up this report, I do know that it was a good one and that all is well on my side of the screen. And to top it all off, I saw vultures mating on a coconut tree on my way to a meeting at UNAIDS this morning…which in all my juvenile humor, I found to be extremely amusing (well…I mean, is there anything that could possibly be more unappealing and unsexy than two of those awful-looking birds getting it on?)

So on that charming and imaged note, I bid you farewell, adieu, auf wiedersehen and goodbye, until next week that is, when you can read more about Sophie’s fun-filled adventures in Ghana!

I miss you lots
Bisous mes cheris
Sophie