We had a great flight over with no complications or hiccups. All 6 pieces of luggage arrived without a hitch. The ALC (Area Legal Counsel) director, Richard Burton, picked us up at the airport and we were off and running. Seems like a month ago already! Brains were a little foggy for a few days while getting used to the jetlag.
Some of the highlights so far...
APARTMENT/NEIGHBORHOOD
We live in a 6 story apartment building on the 2nd floor. Our apartment is quite nice and actually has individual room AC units! We feel quite spoiled as many of the other missionary apts have "central air" which does not cool down as much as they would like. So we will not complain about much else as Jordan and I love a cold climate, inside and out. We have a washer/dryer combo unit which saves time unloading! It does however take about 6 hrs for anything to come out dry once that process has begun! Again, not complaining! We also have a spare bedroom for anyone interested in visiting us!!
We have a birdseye view of a boarding-highschool just below us. There is always hustle and bustle going on below as they wash their clothes in buckets and hang them to dry. They eat outside and play together outside. What we assume is the marching band, practices every morning around 6:30 am in a field. We can hear them drumming and making music every day. It is a nice wake up call!! Come see us and see what Ghana is all about!
BED
Of course, the first thing you want is a bed that works for your comfort level. We left our comfy mattress at home and ended up sleeping on a complete brick for the last 6 nights. Yesterday, I ventured out with another gal here to find a foam topper, if it could be found! And yes... after driving through small little market streets and being swarmed by beautiful young girls interested in us and why would would even be in this neighborhood, stopping occasionally to ask locals along the way if we were anywhere close to our destination - to which they just smiled and waved us on - we finally found a small little establishment that did not have our mattress topper! But, the owner jumped in our car and directed us to another location 15 min away and sure enough... We found a 3" foam topper!!! It definitely made our sleep much more restful last night! Hooray! It may take us a couple of weeks to catch up on sleep after quite a few restless and sleepless nights, tossing and turning to try and find a comfortable position!
FOOD
So far, the little Ghanaian food we have eaten has been fantastic! We are still trying to figure out home-life and what to do for dinners, as we arrive home around 6 pm, tired from a long day. We will get it figured out, but for now our quick meals have consisted mostly of sandwiches, fruit and vegetables. The fruit is to die for here....so sweet and tasty! We have found this to be the case in most countries we have been to. Very fresh produce.
A missionary couple here that knows the ropes, told us about Whopper Wednesday at Burger King! Yes, there is one, only about 20 min away from us. So, this past Wednesday, we ventured out for lunch together and although not quite what you would expect, it was a little taste of home to make us smile!
TRANSPORTATION
We received our vehicle a few days after arriving. We have a smart little white Toyota truck to get us to and from the office and around and about. We have officially named him "Squeaky" because the back cover rubs agaisnt the cab and serenades us wherever we go! I will be looking for some felt pads to integrate into the set up for sure! But, we have a vehicle...so I'm not complaining!!! As we were walking out to the parking lot to be assigned our vehicle, we passed a truck that was demolished on the side and the bumper was hanging on the ground. The transportation manager shook his head and said, "This missionary ran into a cow... please don't do that!" We will do our best! The driving situation here is a riot! It is basically a free for all with cars and motorbikes zipping in and out and all around. You definitely need to be on your toes while driving here. I quite like it though!! One thing to be cautious of are the 2 ft deep ditches along the narrow roads. I hear a few missionaries have driven into them accidentally, but within no time at all, their vehicle was surrounded by Ghanaians who lifted them back out. Quite amazing actually!
WORK
We hit the office bright and early Monday morning. There were many administrative items to get done. Jordan had blood drawn at the military base a few blocks down the way. He said it was a loong, hot walk, but the phlebotomist was spectacular and he didn't feel a thing! Then we both walked several blocks in the opposite direction to get our resident status and identification cards. Then back to the office for laptop and phone set-up. We now carry 2 phones - 1 Android for work and our iPhone for personal. Our office is cozy and we bump knees when turning from our desks to coordinate or chat! The Accra Temple stands brightly out our office window against the gray skies that are typical this time of year - Harmattan. If I could only get the blinds to stay up!! So far, our work has consisted of training and learning the ropes from the current AALC's (Associate Area Legal Counsel) and handling some of the new things that are popping up. There is a definite learning curve and we have much to do here on the legal side of things with the church. Who knew??
HARMATTAN & WEATHER
The Harmattan is a dry, dust-laden continental wind which has its origin in the Bodélé Depression in the Chad basin. In Ghana the Harmattan can be experienced from November to March.
Our weather fluctuates from 90-92 degrees with a humidity level of 70-93%. Having the humidity level so high makes it feel around 96-98 degrees. However, we seem to be managing the heat and humidity pretty well!
Soooo much more to tell but I will wait for next week! We are alive and thriving! We are grateful to be here serving in Accra, Ghana and look forward to many adventures and growth along the way.
Much love from Ghana,
Cindy
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