We're on the Other Side

After an 18 hour trip, we finally made it to our new home. We had a bit of trouble going through customs; or at least ONE of us did. I went through with no problem, but Dave was stopped because his Visa was expired. I had noticed that mine was expired several weeks before we left Elko, so Dave contacted the guy he was replacing here in Accra, but was assured that it was no big deal. Well, evidently, it WAS and IS a big deal. Dave was taken to this other area to fill out paperwork for a temporary Visa. In the meantime, I was…..here it comes……ON THE OTHER SIDE of customs! They wouldn’t let me go back, and it was a little scary to be separated in a foreign country. I could barely see him, and wasn’t sure what was going on. About a ½ hour later, and with his wallet $150 lighter, he was let through. Yep, one of our first orders of business is to get updated Visas!

Felix, a Newmont driver, picked us and our nine suitcases up at the airport and basically dropped us off at the door of our townhouse. Fortunately, Katherine “the maid” was here and let us inside. We proceeded to unpack our staff and get a feel for the house. We then went to the store as there was basically no food in the house, with the exception of some boxed milk, juice, and bread. We walked through the store in rather a fog, trying to figure out what was what. Even figuring out something as simple as whether or not butter was actually butter was difficult – guess that’s what lack of sleep can do for you. Food is unbelievably expensive here. I remember that from our look-see trip, but now that I actually had to BUY some of the items, I was appalled. We paid almost $10 for a head of lettuce.

Dave’s boss here in Accra is also named Dave (Schummer). His wife, Michelle, have two children Stone and Tori. Dave S. is in New York City this week, but Michelle called us to welcome us to Ghana. She said that she had a few things that she would like to bring over and invited us to dinner last night. Since what we got at the store the first day would hardly allow us to piece together a meal, we quickly accepted her invitation. When Michelle arrived, she bore fruits. Well, not actually fruits, but a basket full of goodies including Ranch Beans, of all things. One of the only U.S. brand vegetables I have seen. She knows right where to get them….at the office furniture store. In Ghana, you just don’t ask why. She’s planning to take me there tomorrow as she has found other goodies at that particular store as well.

We kept ourselves up until almost 10 p.m. that first night, hoping to retrain our internal clocks. We slept soundly until almost 10 a.m.!! I feel pretty rested today; Dave is still a little foggy and tired. After getting ready and having some lunch, we headed back to the store – this time with a list of things we needed. I went two days without using my flat iron as although my hair dryer would work in the converter, the iron wouldn’t.

We also had Michael, our driver, take us to a fitness gym we had heard about – Pippa’s Fitness. You should SEE IT! It’s awesome. It’s the most modern facility I’ve seen in this city, and I can’t think of a better place to have one than right here! As most of you know, I’m a gym rat, and finding a place to work out has been somewhat of a stressor for me. Well, things are now much better as I have a nice, cool, and very clean facility I can visit every morning.

For those of you who know the inside joke, Jamal made it with us with just one of his sunglasses lens missing. He's been next to our bed and hasn't been out yet. We'll get a picture of him soon, when things get a little more routine here.

Life in our new home is most definitely different. The one thing that remains constant is each other. As long as we have each other, we’ll be fine. Also, a schedule will help. Dave is off to work tomorrow morning, and I’m off to the gym. That’s a pretty good way to start the day.