Next Stop! Puerto Rico!!

As expats, Dave and I are fortunate to have many travel opportunities; in fact, three R&Rs annually. Since we both wanted to go home for Christmas but knew we needed to schedule an R&R, we chose a location halfway between there and here - Puerto Rico, taking Melissa and Benjamin with us.

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the U.S. The country was originally claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain. Under Spanish rule the island was colonized and the indigenous population (Tainos) was forced into slavery. After the Spanish-American war, the U.S. acquired Puerto Rico under the Treaty of Paris of 1898. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, which was made legal in 1917. While the U.S. Congress legislates many aspects of life in Puerto Rico, islanders may not vote in U.S. elections. Probably one of the biggest reasons the territory is unwilling to become a state is the fact that Puerto Ricans do not have to pay federal tax. There are two official languages of the islands, Spanish and English.

Our hotel differed from those we’ve stayed at in Mexico in the sense that we were not isolated from the city and culture. The island is relatively small and local life blends right in with the touristy areas. There were plenty of stores and restaurants within walking distance. It seems there was a Walgreens on every corner; more so than Starbucks (although it and Haagen Daas Ice Cream were right across the street). We saw a couple of McDonald’s, but the predominant fast food restaurant in San Juan is most definitely Burger King. We even went to a movie one night at one of the biggest malls I have ever seen!

After leaving Elko on the bright and early 5:50 a.m. flight and a brief stop in Atlanta, we landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico that evening. We took a taxi to our hotel, San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino, which was located right on the Atlantic Ocean. We were placed in two corner rooms with two balconies in each room, allowing us a great view of the ocean from one and of the city from the other.

That first evening Dave pointed out a cruise ship just off of the island. Puerto Rico is actually the largest cruise ship port in the world. It is the anchor on Eastern and Southern Caribbean itineraries, as well as a turnaround port for many ships. It is common for people to spend a day in San Juan before and after the ship embarks. We met a couple from San Diego at the bus stop one day who had just returned from a cruise and were spending the tail end of their vacation in San Juan.

Weather.com reports indicated we would have rain every single day of our vacation. The first morning made us think that for once the weather reports were accurate! We woke up to a cloudy, cool morning. On my way to the gym that morning, I met a woman in the elevator who assured me that by noon the sun would be shining and the afternoon would be grand. She was right! Thereafter, most days began in the same way with plenty of sunshine in the afternoons. There were lots of windsurfers and boogie boarders in the ocean, and the waves were a lot of fun! Since we arrived between Christmas and New Year’s there were many families; in particular, those with young children.

We spent the first two days of our vacation totally relaxing on the beach. We were all perfectly content with lying on the beach, reading books, and soaking up the sights and sounds of the activities around us. Martha Mudslide (that’s what Dave calls all of the cocktail waitresses on our beach trips) kept our thirst at bay with a few island concoctions and plenty of beer.

One day while Benjamin, Dave, and I were in the ocean riding the waves, Melissa saw a man caught out on the rocks. The hotel employees try their best to keep people away from them, but sometimes the currents take over and people end up next to them without even realizing.

She yelled for someone to help him, and several people made a human chain to get to him. Fortunately, he was brought ashore safely. He had some minor abrasions and cuts, but all in all, he was probably pretty lucky. The waves on this beach were the biggest I’ve ever seen, and they were SO much fun! On that particular day, both Dave and I got hit with two enormous waves. He thought he broke his back, and I was sure I had a concussion!

New Year’s Eve. After dinner in an Argentinian restaurant down the street, we took a walk in the opposite direction of our hotel where we came upon a number of more upscale stores and hotels. We walked down to the beach and agreed that even though the hotel looked a little nicer, our beach was better. Considering we spent much of our waking time on the beach, I think I made the right choice in accommodations. There were people out on the streets, but the roadway was pretty much void of vehicles. Upon returning to our hotel, we spent a bit of time in the casino playing pennies. I think this was the night that Melissa did quite well, winning over $100. Dave, Benjamin, and I probably made up for it by losing at least that much. Frankly, a casino is a casino….no matter where you’re at - you might as well leave your money at the door!

Our hotel hosted three separate New Year’s Eve parties. The first was in the main lobby area with a live band, champagne, and food. It was expensive - $1,200 per table (up to 8 people). Uh…no. Another party was in one of the hotel’s restaurants downstairs and cost about $170 per person. Again…no. Finally, we found the free party. There were flashing lights, the room was freezing, the music was overwhelmingly loud, and there were but a few people in attendance. In the end we chose to buy some drinks at the bar just outside of the “free” party and returned to one of our rooms to see if we could make it to midnight.

Dave and I encouraged (ok, we sent) Benjamin and Melissa down the street to Walgreens for some after dinner snacks. Now, we aren’t sophisticated drinkers or eaters. We were drinking high balls and beer and eating Doritos and sour punch candy while lying in bed. Yep, all four of us in the King size bed. We pulled the drapes open to the view of the city and had Dick Clark’s Rocking New Year’s Eve on the tube. Oh, and in typical Tony Hilim fashion we were moving between the big ball and Man vs. Food!

As the ball dropped ….wait…let me clarify. Puerto Rico is an hour ahead of NYC, so the ball didn’t officially drop, but we used Dave’s watch to count down. At midnight, fireworks went off all over the city. It was unlike anything I have ever seen. There were some being fired off just over the building in front of us, and we could see the reflection in the windows of the condos across from us that fireworks were being shot off either from the top of our hotel or from another building behind us. Looking into the distance, fireworks erupted all along the horizon. The sound was spectacular, and sounded like gunshots as the noise reverberated against the tall buildings. The fireworks went on for a good 20 minutes.

For us, the party was over. Personally, I was amazed that I actually made it to midnight, especially after a sunny and long day at the beach!

One item on my bucket list includes golfing on 50 different courses, and so hitting the links was high on my list of things to do while in the country. The Plantation Pineapple Golf Course at Dorado Beach was about a 45 minute taxi ride from our hotel. Dorado Beach has two 18 hole courses; Pineapple and Sugarcane. After golfing the last few months in Ghana, this course was pure heaven! I wish I could say that this was one of the pictures I took, but alas, neither Dave nor I can figure out how to download pictures from our stupid U.S. Samsung phones! This picture is from their website.

The sand traps were actual sand, the greens were real grass, and the tee boxes were great! It was a pretty forgiving course, and was perfect for Dave and I (the kids stayed back at the hotel as neither one had any desire to golf). Instead of dodging chickens and cows, we saw lots of iguanas sunning themselves. As we were cleaning out our golf cart, one of the workers pointed to the driving range where Chi Chi Rodriguez and his wife were hitting balls. For the non-golfers, Chi Chi is a very famous Puerto Rican professional golfer. There were several houses surrounding the golf course, but I’m not sure they live in one of them or if they were just hitting some balls. Evidently, he was involved in the redesign of one of the other courses on the island, according to the worker. I thoroughly enjoyed the round, and would have loved to have gone back for a round on Sugarcane.

One day we rented a car and took a drive into the El Yunque Rain Forest, which lies on the eastern side of the Luquillo Mountains. The hotel provided us with directions on how to get to the site. Melissa had her iPhone. The GPS and directions given to us by the hotel didn’t quite match. To say the least, the hotel directions were not complete. We ended up taking a road that was clearly going in the wrong direction, but Melissa guided us back out. We drove a few miles on what I would call “the back roads,” seeing some of Puerto Rico’s finer neighborhoods (yea right).

Google is a wondrous thing. What can’t you find out using google? In fact, I wish my last name WAS google! We wondered what constituted a rain forest, so we googled it. Rain forests have an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches and often much more. Another fun fact I found: Rain forests cover only 6% of the Earth’s surface, but yet they contain MORE THAN ½ of the worlds’ plant and animal species.

After spending a little bit of time at the Information Center, we drove towards the top of the Rain Forest. We stopped at a place where we began an hour long hike to a popular waterfall. It was a pretty walk, but after you’ve seen a few trees and unusual plants, it sort of began to all look the same. We saw absolutely no wildlife; I was hoping to at least see a parrot or two. When we arrived at the waterfall, I was sort of disappointed. I expected something more magnificent.

It was pretty, don’t get me wrong, but it just wasn’t what I was anticipating. The water was not clear, and there were people everywhere. I guess I should have known when it was advertised as the most popular!

After hanging out for a while and getting some nice photo ops, we headed back to the car. We drove all the way to the top, but none of us were too eager to get out and hike again. We did stop at another point and climb to the top of a tower. The view was really pretty as you could see out over the rain forest canopy and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.

Side note here: The El Yunque Rain Forest is a result of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. It continues to be maintained by the U.S. Forest Service.

Before heading back to our hotel, we stopped at the public Luquillo Beach; again, another interesting excursion using the two “maps.” It was a nice beach, and reminded me a lot of sitting at the beach in Glendo, Wyoming. The water was calm and clear. There were lots of silver colored fish swimming around our feet, and it pretty much freaked Melissa out enough that she wouldn’t go into the water. Benjamin and I raced out to the buoys surrounding the swimming area. I think I have finally found something that my son gets from me. That boy can swim! He beat me, but not by much….and I gave him a head start!

One afternoon we took public transportation to Old San Juan, a whopping 75¢ per person. The taxi driver who brought us back from the golf course recommended we eat at Café Puerto Rico in Old San Juan. He told us this is the most popular place, and the food was delicious. It was actually one of the first places we saw, and stopped in to get a table. It was only 3:30 p.m., but the waiter was obviously annoyed as he informed us we needed to order and eat quickly - the kitchen was closing in 30 minutes. We sat down and the man next to us told us we were lucky to get a table so quickly as usually there is a long waiting list.

Café Puerto Rico serves traditional Puerto Rican food, which includes lots of fish (red snapper, in particular), plaintains, rice and beans. There is an obvious African influence in Puerto Rico.

While in Puerto Rico I wanted to purchase a souvenir, but not just any old souvenir. I wanted something that a local would feel represented their country. Our waiter had since gone out for a smoke, and was in a much better mood, so I asked him for recommendations. After thinking about it, and likely asking some of his female coworkers, he came back to our table and suggested three things.

First, the garridos. I have no idea if I am spelling this word correctly, but basically garridos are the watch towers located around the sea wall that surrounds Old San Juan.

Second, the coqui. These are tiny little frogs with really big voices. The first evening we were in Puerto Rico, we heard the coqui, but actually thought it was some kind of cricket. It literally makes the sound - “co-kee.” The frogs are only about two inches big. The only one I ever saw was in a tourist shop, and he was in an aquarium.

And finally, anything with the Puerto Rican flag. Puerto Ricans are very proud people and have a long history.

Before we left, our reformed waiter gave each of us a treat - a shot of Puerto Rican eggnog. It is a traditional drink served at Christmas and New Years. It was absolutely delicious! I looked online and if what he gave us is the same thing, it is made with rum, coconut, milk, and spices. He told us that Puerto Rico celebrates the longest Christmas in the world. It begins the day after Thanksgiving and concludes at the end of January. Here we are with our friendly waiter.

After lunch we began to explore Old San Juan. There are tons and tons of little shops, but I was on a quest to find a garrido, coqui, or a flag. Finally, I came upon a store that had just wanted I wanted. It was big and would be heavy to carry around, but Dave manned up and carried it all over the place for the rest of the afternoon. According to the store employee, the sculpture was done by a Spanish Basque named Benet. He doesn’t know if this was his first name or last name, he just knew he called him Benet. Evidently, he was quite old and has recently died. Here's my newest "treasure."

Old San Juan is protected by a huge sea wall and two forts. We weren’t able to go inside the forts as we spent too long at Café Puerto Rico drinking Puerto Rican eggnog and looking for the perfect souvenir. The massive wall and forts were built around the city in the 1500s to protect it from the enemy. The city was often used as a stopover for ships that came from Spain, and it was imperative that the enemy not take control of the island and make Puerto Rico an enemy base. I wish we would have timed our visit better so that we could have at least gone INSIDE the forts. Rather, we walked around outside, in a drizzle, with an amazing rainbow in the sky!

On our last day in Puerto Rico, we woke to overcast skies. The sun came out for a little bit, but then it turned drizzly. While Benjamin and Melissa headed back up to their rooms that afternoon, Dave and I took a spot underneath one of the umbrellas and just watched the locals boogie boarding in the gigantic waves.

We didn’t see any tourists in the water, and although it looked fun, Dave convinced me it wasn’t a good idea. We were committed to staying outside as long as possible, so we made our way to the hot tub and asked (ok, ordered) our children to bring us cervezas from the room. We ended up having a great time, regardless of a little pesky rain.

I would have to say that Puerto Rico ended up being one of our most leisurely trips, next to our honeymoon trip to Cancun when it was just Dave and I. When I asked everyone what they wanted to do, the resounding answer was, “relax.” We most certainly did that. We spent a great deal of time on the beach, which is one of my favorite things to do. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being awesome, I would put Puerto Rico around a 7. I still favor the waters of the Caribbean, and maybe if we would have gone to the other side of the island, my opinion would have been different. Also, the food was average. I had it in my head that I would be eating some great Mexican food. Stupid, I know…so I was a little bit disappointed.

All in all, it was a great trip and allowed us to bond a little bit more and get in the relaxation all of us evidently needed.

Where to next people??

Thanksgiving in a Foreign Country

Dave and I spent our first major U.S. holiday in Ghana - Thanksgiving. For us, Thanksgiving was really just another Thursday. Michael was at our door in the morning to take Dave to work and me to the gym. Charity came to the house and worked her magic, and I was able to get a little work done without the distraction of lots of emails. I thought I would be sad, but I really wasn’t. Not that I didn’t miss my family and long for a juicy turkey and a slice of chocolate pie, because I did. But, when I woke up it was still the middle of the night in the states, and things were quiet on Facebook. And…I was preparing for my own Thanksgiving get-together here in Accra.

Michele and I hosted Thanksgiving for several expats at her and Dave’s home. They have plenty of room to entertain and a lovely backyard and pool.

We each basically made a Thanksgiving dinner and asked others to bring things to fill in the gaps. Believe me, we had plenty to eat.

I wondered where one goes for a turkey in Ghana? The first place I checked was Stellar Catering, which imports meat from South Africa. I’ve yet to get a bad piece of meat from their business, so I stopped in the week before the holiday. Right there on the front door was a sign, “Turkeys Available for Thanksgiving.” I inquired inside and was told turkeys would be delivered to the store before the big day. That should have been my first clue. Good thing I didn’t plan on one, because in the end they were delivered on Monday after Thanksgiving.

Second, I stopped in at the local Max Mart, which is one of my regular grocery stops. I have never purchased meat from Max Mart, but still thought I’d check it out. Voila! I found a big “frozen” turkey. It was being sold for something like 100 cedis ($60). I had the butcher place the turkey in my basket. I’ll give it this….it was a huge bird! I walked around the store gathering some other items, all the while looking at the turkey. He looked rather gray, and he wasn’t completely frozen. The only alternative I could see in the store was a slightly smaller turkey, completely frozen, but with most of its body outside of the plastic wrapping…obviously quite freezer burned. I called Michele to get her advice. She didn’t answer. I walked around some more and ended up at the checkout counter. I leaned over to pick up the bird….and placed it back into the basket. I returned to the butcher and handed the turkey back to him. I wasn’t going to take any chances. After all, I was responsible for feeding others safely!

On to ShopRite in my quest for a turkey. The only time I have only purchased meat from this store was for mince meat (what we call hamburger). That was the meat that literally smelled like crap when I fried it up, but what other choice did I have in Ghana in I really wanted to serve turkey? Into the store I went, and out I came with TWO turkeys from South Africa. They were actually the size of two rather large chickens, but alas, they were turkeys! They were neatly wrapped up, frozen, and in the end were quite tasty.

Michele and the kids had decorated the house in with a Thanksgiving theme, and it reminded me of the times when my sister and I would write “turkey poems” for our siblings and parents every year; i.e., “Turkey red, turkey blue, turkey says I love you.” Well…we were pretty little and obviously quite uncreative.

After a bit of a social hour and all of our guests had arrived, dinner was served. We had yummy turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and all of the other traditional American Thanksgiving fare - green bean casserole, corn, rolls, salads, and the always present cranberry sauce. Dessert included the biggest apple pies I have ever seen!

Although Thanksgiving is an American holiday, we had visitors from all over the world! The first table included most of the adults. From left to right around the table:

• Dale - U.S.
• Steve - U.S.
• Otto - South Africa
• Julie - U.S.
• Dave - U.S.
• Ivonne - Holland
• Adrianne - Holland
• Simon - U.K.
• Ellen - Ghana

Michele not only has a big enough dining room to host all of us, she also has enough room for two tables and chairs! The fun table - beginning at the bottom (although I can’t remember all of the kids’ names!):

• Ivonne and Adrianne’s daughter
• Simon and Ellen’s daughter
• Tori
• Ivonne and Adrianne’s eldest daughter
• Michele - U.S.
• Natasha - Uzbekistan
• Me
• Stone
• Simon and Ellen’s son
• Brian (Natasha’s son)

After dinner we moved upstairs where we began entertaining each other playing Sing Star. Believe me….when you’ve had enough to drink ANYONE can sing well, even me! The Schummer kids brought out their costumes (is there anything Michele didn’t think to bring?). Adrianne showed off his musical talents, and we got a little silly. But hey! We are all stuck in Ghana, and we deserve to let a little steam off every once in while.

In the end, I felt like I still got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, it just happened to be my Ghanaian family this year.

NAWA, Golfing and Life in Ghana

After Dave and I had been in Ghana for a couple of weeks, I attended a meeting of the North American Women’s Association (NAWA). While you would think NAWA would be comprised of women from….well, North America….I was pleasantly surprised to meet women from all over the world. They just want to be involved in something, anything, and NAWA accepts anyone who is willing to pay dues into their organization. While I would have to say that NAWA is primarily a social group of expat women, the group also develops and implements projects that help the less fortunate in the country.

Last year NAWA partnered with another organization to improve the maternity theatre at a local hospital. Ghanaians (and likely most non-Americans) use the term “theatre” in the same way we use “operating” room. The previous theatre was basically ineffective as it was really being used as a storage facility. There were boxes stacked upon each other, filling the area up and leaving very little room for a woman in labor, much less doctors and nurses! NAWA was instrumental in raising funds and providing volunteer labor to remodel the room, and now there is a hygienic and fairly comfortable location in which mothers-to-be can be attended.

Through membership in NAWA I was able to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum, his wife, and their daughter. Ambassador Teitelbaum was kind enough host an end-of-the-year NAWA event at his home here in Accra last May. They are very nice people, and are committed to representing the U.S. with dignity and common sense!

While the summer months were quiet in terms of NAWA events, things picked up in September when families returned to the country after their holidays and vacations. I was able to attend a meeting in October, which begins as a social event and always ends with a program. This particular presentation was made by a woman who spoke about maternal and child health in Ghana. She was a former banker in Switzerland who one day felt the need to give back. She went on a 9 month sabbatical from her job to promote a new pre-natal program using cell phones in Ghana.

NAWA members receive weekly emails/newsletters announcing events occurring primarily in the Accra region. Through these communications I have found a group of women who enjoy golfing! We are semi-organized and have been meeting on Wednesdays and Fridays at alternate golf courses.

About six weeks ago I discovered a golf course virtually five minutes from our doorstep. It’s located within Burma Camp, a military base here in Accra. It is just a short nine hole golf course, but it is challenging as the fairways are very narrow. Short and straight is much preferred to hooking and slicing on this course. I have yet to take my own advice! I have golfed the Burma Camp Golf Course three times now, and I’ve yet to come close to my average. All but one of the greens is sand. Expansion for a back nine course is currently in progress, but if it’s like other construction projects in this country, I won’t expect it to be completed before Dave’s assignment is over!! Our golf group meets up at Burma Camp every Wednesday morning.

For those of you reading this from Wyoming, you know that there are times you have to hit around an antelope or two. At Burma Camp you have to watch out for chickens. Yep…chickens. They are usually over in the rough, pecking at the hard ground searching for I don’t know what. Maybe big red ants, as the ant hills are enormous here. Seriously, some of them are probably 20 feet in height and 10 feet around. While I haven’t personally experienced the wrath of the ant bite, I have heard they are extremely painful. I think I’ll continue to golf in my tennis shoes instead of my golf sandals!

Supposedly the Achimota (Ah-chee-moe-tuh) Golf Course is Ghana’s finest, and is where most of the NAWA women meet each Friday for a full round of golf. The downside to Achimota is that it takes me about an hour to get to the course. Michael and I have to drop Dave off at work first, and then fight traffic to get to the other side of town. I wish I could get on the course a bit earlier because by the time we start the back nine it is smoking hot outside! The Achimota course is most definitely nicer than Burma Camp or even the one we played in Takoradi. All of the greens are actually made of grass, which is good!

The women I have been golfing with are, again, from all over the world. Only two of us are from the states. Other ladies I’ve been paired up with are from Sweden, Canada, and Scotland. The only golf carts I’ve seen at any of the courses are those that are being used by the maintenance men. So, walking 18 holes allows for much conversation. I find it so interesting to learn about the way others live, their experiences, their families, and quite often….new places to eat/shop in Accra!!

Kathy is from the U.S. (east coast) and has been married to a man from Denmark for 25 years. They have lived their entire married life overseas, their first assignment having been in Beijing, China when the country was still under communist rule. Her husband worked for a Dutch company that sounds much like Xerox. In Denmark, the first job men receive after their formal education is one whereby they are assigned to a project within their interest (i.e., business, engineering, marketing, health, etc.). Her husband was assigned to some sort of agricultural project initially. After the two year commitment, he was then able to branch out into other areas, which is what took him to New York City and where he and Kathy met.

Lena hails from Sweden and is one of the nicest ladies I’ve met in Accra. She is 56 years old, is your typical blonde Nordic gal, and is very athletic.

She has a beautiful swing, and while she says she can’t hit the golf ball as far as she could when she was younger, she hits it straight and has a great short game. I really enjoy golfing with her as she is so diverse. Today she wanted to discuss the “Occupy New York” happenings that have recently been in the news. She also loved talking about Michael Jackson’s trial as she used to be a nurse and was appalled that Conrad Murray failed to provide Jackson with the most basic emergency care. I discovered that Lena also has a competitive side, which came out today when I beat her for the first time in five outings! She was gracious, but I’m sure she’s planning her revenge on the course next Wednesday!

Jovanna is also from Sweden although she and Lena had never met prior to golfing together. Jovanna (Jo-hah-nuh) is young – I’d guess late 20s – and is just a beginning golfer. With that being said, she is a natural athlete and has taken to the sport quickly. It won’t be long before she is blowing the rest of us out of the water. She was a soccer play in her native Sweden, and up until a couple of years ago played 4-5 times per week. She has two young children so it’s difficult for her to get to the course every week, but she is determined to improve her game. She told me that her husband loves to golf and she wants to get better so they can golf together. I think Dave would agree that golf is an activity that we can enjoy as husband and wife. Also, it’s nice to have some young blood out on the course!

So, as I was golfing today I was thinking about what I would put in my blog today and sort of “soaked up” the sights and sounds around me. Here is what the course looks like through the lens of a Blackberry camera.

One thing I’ve learned through my travels is that things are not always as they seem, so even though this picture might tell you one story, the truth is a bit different. The grass in the fairway is well….just not like grass on courses in the U.S. I guess I would equate it a bit more to crab grass. The dirt is red, much like the dirt in the Moab area in Utah. The sand bunkers are often hard as a rock. There is no rake around, and there is no need for one, as you can’t even see a footprint.

One day while golfing I noticed several men at work. In Ghana they don’t seem to have a use for large equipment. These men were physically digging out a bunker. It had to have been close to 90 degrees on this particular day, and the humidity was somewhere around 90%.

I was just walking and occasionally swinging a club and sweat was pouring down my back. It’s amazing how acclimated locals are to the heat and humidity. While golfing last Sunday, I noticed that the two bunkers had been completed.

As I golfed down the long par 5 on hole #4, I couldn’t help but notice the poverty just on the other side of the fence. Shack upon shack line the barrier between the “haves” and “have nots.” I can hear babies crying, children playing, mothers disciplining, music playing, and people singing. I don’t know exactly where the music is coming from, but I suspect there is a church or two in this area.

In the background I can catch the clucks of the chickens and the cock-a-doodle-doo of the many roosters. (It’s not just for breakfast anymore!) From time to time I’ll hear the bark of a dog. Airplanes fly low overhead and the honking of the traffic on the road is ever present. Men seem to mostly be lying around while the women are working. Sometimes I spy a child taking a “bath” in a bowl full of water. Laundry is strewn from one end of the hole to the other on clotheslines.

As we made our way up hole #5, I turned around and soaked up the view, which is actually quite pretty. These pictures, again, don’t tell the whole story.

Ghana is colorful and the buildings in the background provide a lovely scene of Accra. Some days the smell of burning garbage (or whatever they are burning) is unpleasant, but unless it’s extremely overpowering, my sense of smell appears to have become accustomed to the odors of the country.

The first time I golfed at Achimota, Michael was in a training and so a different Newmont driver drove me to the course. Yao (yow) considers himself a “professional” golfer. He is 30 years old and works fulltime for Newmont. He’s basically given up his dream of moving on professionally; primarily because he can barely afford to golf, much less travel out of the country for tournaments. Anyway, he told me that he would get me a good caddie, and his word was as good as gold.

Gabriel is Yao’s cousin and although he rarely golfs (one time per year) due to the expense, he is so knowledgeable about the game. He provides excellent instruction, and everyone I golf with is jealous! Having a good caddie makes the game so much better, especially if you are having an off day. Gabriel has now caddied for me four times and already knows my habits and abilities. He pushes me to be better. He calls me every Thursday to make sure I’m going to be at the course the following day. And his smile….oh, my gosh, his smile….is to die for! Very nice young man!

And finally, coming up on the 18th hole can be a rather daunting experience as there are vultures everywhere.

Gabriel teases me, saying they are “going to get me” if I don’t hit a good shot. I don’t know why they hang out on the 18th hole, but there must be 50-60 of them scattered about. They are truly the ugliest bird I’ve ever seen.

There are times when I’m out on the golf course in 90℉ sweating like a pig and wonder what I was thinking. But, as the day goes on, the balls drop in the holes, and conversations flow, I realize that this is what I came here for….something different. Golfing in Ghana on challenging courses, soaking up unique sensory experiences, having caddies tend to my every need, and meeting women I would have never otherwise crossed paths with in my lifetime, is most definitely different!

WAWA

It wasn’t long after Dave and I moved to Ghana that we were introduced to a new word…WAWA. No, it’s not a tribal Twi word, nor is it common slang used by Ghanaians. In fact, I don’t think locals have ever heard of this word, but we expatriates refer to it often.

WAWA is simple – West Africa Wins Again.

Patience is most certainly a virtue in this country. Without it, a person will quickly go nuts. Here are just some examples.

When we arrived at our townhouse, we were told we had two Internet providers – Vodaphone and MTN. First, MTN. We have an MTN wireless router that intermittently turns off. Sometimes it will stay connected for four hours; sometimes four minutes. It’s unreliable, unpredictable, and downright annoying. Worse yet, the router is upstairs (where we live primarily), but you can't get service downstairs, undoubtedly because the walls are made of concrete! Dave relayed the problem to the Newmont IT Department multiple times, but until Monday, October 3rd, nothing had ever been done! We now have a new router, and voila, the damn thing turns off intermittently! WAWA

Vodaphone is probably one of the country’s largest companies for cell phones and Internet. We have two land line telephones in our house, and were even given a home phone number. Neither has ever worked. Over the past several months, I have opened the door to a multitude of Vodaphone employees. They come in pairs, at minimum. One day there were FOUR of them in my living room, along with two Newmont IT guys! The Vodaphone guys (dressed in white shirts and bright red overalls – picture that) walk upstairs, stare at the modem, look at the line coming in from the wall, have a discussion with each other in the local language, and then inform me that they have to come back. Why, I ask? Either they don’t have the right tools, they aren’t authorized to make a decision, or most likely….they have no idea.

While we were in the states in September, we received a wonderful email from our friend who just moved in two doors down from us. Bruce heads up Newmont Ghana’s IT Department and assured everyone living in Cantonment Gardens that Internet speed with Vodaphone had increased and we should see a huge difference in our service – 8 mgs, as opposed to our lowly <1 mg we have been experiencing. We were SO excited.

As soon as we returned to Ghana, Dave tested the speed of our service, and it was still below 1 mg. He contacted Bruce and told him of the issue. Last week we received another visit from Vodaphone. Again, two brightly red clothed workers, Kingsley of Newmont IT, and me….all staring at the same router…again. This time the Vodaphone guys tell Kingsley that we are the only town house in the entire complex that was having a problem with their service. They left and did some work on the lines outside of the house and discovered they needed to do some line work into our garage. But….it wouldn’t happen on this particular day because they needed to contact the owners of the property (Taysec), who would have to give them permission and be on site when the work was performed. After everyone left, I just closed the door and shook my head, took a deep breath, and walked back upstairs to reset the MTN router. WAWA

Finally, on Tuesday, October 4th, I received a call from the guards letting me know Kingsley and Vodaphone were on their way to my house. They were outside in their vehicles (one being a bright red truck with the word “VODAPHONE” displayed across the side of it), waiting for the Taysec representative to show up. In the meantime, the guy from Taysec drives up, walks right by the people parked in front of my place, and rings my doorbell. He comes in and says he’s just waiting for the Vodaphone folks. I point to the big red truck and say, “You mean those guys?” DUH!!! The Taysec person never stuck around…he just simply was there to let the Vodaphone guys know they could do the work. WAWA

After all is said and done, and after a couple of hours of people traipsing through the house, the line has been fixed. After Vodaphoe left, Kingsley and I conducted a speed test….3 mgs. Could be worse….WAWA!
Ghana’s television service is, I think, 100% satellite. When we arrived in Accra, there was a TV downstairs hooked up to the Satellite. However, when we received our shipment from the US, we set up our 50” LCD TV, which we located upstairs. Getting the satellite hooked up to our TV UPSTAIRS ended up being quite the fiasco. The problem was fairly simple….one would think. We have a U.S. television, and we are living in Africa. As with everything else that uses electrical power, converters are a must. After the Satellite folks came to my house 4-5 times, they FINALLY brought the converter. Much like Vodaphone, they would come upstairs, stare at the TV, tell me “that’s an American TV. It’s going to need a converter.” Mind you, this is AFTER I have contacted the company telling them that I needed someone to come to my house with a converter for a U.S. television. After about 6 weeks of this, we now have satellite TV upstairs. In addition, we have an actual DVR so we have been able to record some programs. Mostly, we love the fact that we can watch Sunday and Monday Night Football games, albeit on Monday and Tuesday nights!

Traffic is probably one of the biggest frustrations for me. Dave doesn’t have to experience it much, as his ride to and from work is always against the traffic, fortunately! I ride to work with him and then head off to the gym for an hour or two. The returning traffic continues to get worse, seemingly by the day. Some days I can get back to the house from the gym in 25 minutes. Other days it’s more than an hour. I have learned to take my iPad everytime I leave the house, but I can see how the long delays can really wear on a person.

This week our vehicle was hit by a careless motorcyclist as he attempted to maneuver through the stopped traffic. He scraped his handlebar alongside our brand new Prada, leaving a nice gash on the driver’s side. Michael (my driver) was furious. He put the car in park, jumped out, yelled at the offending party who continued on his way, likely banging up a few more vehicles. Cars around us were honking, in support of Michael. Once the light turned red, Michael took off at a high rate of speed, hoping to catch the motorcyclist. That was NOT going to happen, as the traffic was horrendous. I just took a deep breath and told Michael, “What are you going to do?” when in reality I was thinking - WAWA!

A couple of weeks ago Dave took a Citylink (local airline company) flight to Sunyani as he had some business at the mine site in Ahafo, which is a 45 minute bus trip from Sunyani. He left on a Tuesday afternoon, attended to his meetings in Ahafo on Wednesday, and then drove to Kumasi, about a 2 ½ hour drive to catch another Citylink flight back to Accra, as he couldn’t complete his business prior to the last Wednesday flight from Sunyani. Catch all that?

After making his way through security, he was sitting in the waiting area, anxiously awaiting to board the plane and make it home to me! I was expecting him at about 6 p.m. I received a text from him telling me he was going to be late as the Accra airport was closed due to a dignitary being in town. In the meantime, they brought in another group of passengers heading towards Accra (on a different airline). Now the waiting area was completely crammed with people, many of whom were annoyed at a 90 minute delay. Evidently the President of the Ivory Coast was on her way out of the country. This is a typical Ghanaian response. Instead of planning for incoming and outgoing dignitaries, everything is coordinated at the last minute. It’s as if they have no clue. Can you imagine President Obama just showing up at an airport and expecting all flights to be delayed until he got off of the ground in Air Force One? WAWA

Nothing is done quickly in Ghana. It is simply the culture and the way of the people. If you ask a local what time they will be at our house, they will say “morning” or “afternoon.” And even those loose terms won’t guarantee that they will even show up on the day they say. Fortunately, Dave and I have been able to maintain our sense of humor, and WAWA has helped. When we expats get together we exchange our WAWA stories and helps keep us sane knowing we are not in this adventure alone!

Dinner with the Kerns and One Suyematsu

On our last night in Ireland, we walked a few blocks to grab some dinner. As usual, we ended in a pub…a recurring theme. As we sat back with our pints awaiting our food, I asked everyone what their favorite thing about our trip to Ireland had been. Melissa really enjoyed learning more about the history of the country. Daniel and Benjamin both felt that our visit to the Cliffs of Moher was definitely a highlight, and I concurred. Benjamin and I also really enjoyed the sheep dog demonstration.

And then there’s my husband, Dave. His favorite thing was dinner.

Let me be more precise. His favorite part of the entire trip was the time we spent together as a family at our meals. He has missed his family tremendously while we’ve been on this overseas assignment. We all wished Christine and her family could have been with us. But, he SO loved spending time with the rest of his family.

Even though I joke that we spent a lot of time in pubs, it wasn’t like we were getting falling down drunk nightly. Going to the pub for a pint and dinner is really the norm, and besides…there’s no other place to eat! After a day of touring famous sites, buildings, and seeing some incredible landscape in Ireland, we regrouped at dinner. We talked about our day, what we had seen, what we had learned….but then strangely our conversations would take some strange twists and turns. This is not unusual to our dinnertime conversations, as our kids’ friends can probably attest. Dinner conversations in Elko could sometimes be heated, other times funny, and many times even educational. If nothing, they were animated!

Below are a few of the highlights of our topics:

Why do we have ears instead of just holes in the side of our heads? Really….why? Is it so that we look better? What does the structure of the outside of our ears have to do with hearing? Maybe there is a scientific explanation, or maybe they are just there to have a place to put our hair.

What does the umbilical cord actually transfer? One of the kids implied that whatever the mother eats is essentially transferred to the baby. The boys went with that one, and we had a fairly technical discussion about anatomy on this particular evening.

What possession does each of our kids want should we die? Dave and I are still slightly unnerved that we even discussed this! Ha ha! However, we really discovered that we either don’t own anything of value, or that the material things we do have just aren’t that important to our kids.

On the overseas flight from the U.S. to London, Melissa had a bad case of the flu. I can’t remember the exact number of times she puked, but it was in the 30-40 range. Melissa knows the exact number. I know, I know. Why on earth would anyone count their number of vomits? But, maybe it gave her the focus necessary to get through the flight! As a result, Melissa was the target of many, many barfing jokes and zingers. She was essentially named the Queen of Vomit, and labeled a professional barfer.

For those of you who are fans of the Fox show, “That 70s Show,” this reference will have some meaning. Last year Benjamin decided that Daniel reminds him of Eric Foreman, the main character of that show. There have been many times since that after Daniel has said or done something (usually at dinner), Benjamin just looks at me and says, “Foreman.” It’s gotten to the point where he and I will look at each other and say it at the same time! What makes it even funnier, is when Daniel starts protesting…because then he REALLY reminds us of Foreman!

When the kids arrived in London, they took the Tube from the airport to the Gloucester exit. Keep in mind that Melissa is as white as a ghost, probably a bit weak from no food or sleep, and they all have their luggage. They were trying to figure out how to get from the train to the exit, and boys being boys, didn’t ask. Melissa being Melissa…she asked….the BLIND guy! That provided much fodder for dinner time talks.

When we were on the London Millennium Bridge (the one that is blown up in the Harry Potter movie), we had a great photo opportunity but wanted all of us in the picture, so again….Melissa asked a young man to take our picture. As he raised the camera up to his eye, we all noticed (uncomfortably, I might add) that his right hand was deformed and he was having a difficult time clicking the button. But, he did….and we have a great picture. He was very nice to do it for us, but don’t think for a minute that we didn’t have a laugh over that one after she chose the blind man to lead them out of the subway! Benjamin and Daniel are convinced that at some point she’s going to need help, and she’ll head to the deaf guy, yelling at him…wondering why he’s not listening to her!

Being in two foreign countries, we tried to soak in as much of the local flavor as possible; at least in terms of pints of lagers and ales. From time to time we would find an American brand, but that was rare. I did have a couple of Budweisers and Coors Lites…as I can’t get those in Ghana. By the way, the drinking age in both England and Ireland is 18, so our “kids” were all perfectly legal, and quite responsible.

Magners Irish Cider
Peroni
Becks
Star Bock
Estrella
Guiness (of course)
Murphys
Heinekin
Budweiser
Coors Lite
Sagres (my personal favorite)
The Kernel
Honker’s Ale
Little Creatures
Sherlock Holmes Ale
Old Speckled Hen
Rolhaus
Vedetti

We discovered that there is a whole big world out there in terms of beer, and we greatly enjoyed exploring it!

At the end of the day, I think all five of us would have to agree that dinner time was one of the highlights of our trip, because no matter where you are in this big huge world…laughing is universal.

Intercultural Training

A couple of weeks ago Dave and I attended an Intercultural Training put on by Newmont’s Learning and Development Department (one of Dave’s areas). Although he’s extremely busy with his new job, he felt it was important that he take part in the training. It’s a good thing, because we were the only expats in attendance! In addition to us, there were six other Ghanaians and the instructor.

Newmont’s African Region brings together a variety of people from multiple cultures and countries. Even within Ghana there are many differences between regions and tribal customs. One of the goals of the training was to better understand differences in the workplace resulting from the various cultural values. The idea translates to living in Ghana, which is why I was invited.

Our pre-reading included a quiz, just to see how much everyone knew about Africa, in general. It’s an easy one…so, here goes.
1. The non-insect creature of Africa that takes the most lives per year is:
a. Lion
b. Snake
c. Elephant
d. Hippo
e. Baboon

2.Which part of Africa is geologically drifting away from the rest of the continent?
a. East
b. South
c. West
d. North

3. The largest religious group in Africa is:
a. Hindu
b. Zionist
c. Muslim
d. Zoroastrian
e. Christian

4. Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro, is in
a. Tansania
b. Kenya
c. Rwanda
d. Ethiopia
e. Chad

5. Africa is approximately what percentage of the world’s landmass?
a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 30%
d. 40%
e. 50%

6. The most common cause of human death in Africa today is:
a. HIV/AIDS
b. Malaria
c. Smallpox
d. Yellow Fever
e. Cholera

I’ll include the answers at the end of the blog…so don’t cheat!

We had a pretty lengthy conversation about the various differences between cultures, and that’s when Dave and I were both surprised to hear the many differences between Ghanaian tribes. In fact, I think even the Ghanaians were surprised!

Ghana men, in particular, have a unique handshake that entails a finger snap. Dave is quite good at it, and in fact, had to prove that he knew how to do it in the class. I think the men were quite impressed! I have seen some women do it with men, but more often it’s a “man” handshake. Ghanaians really like when expats try and learn their culture. Even learning the most simplest of words in the most common local tribal language (Twi) can take a person a long way!

Public displays of affection are not socially accepted in Ghana, although we were told that it’s not unusual to see two men holding hands…and they are not gay. Neither Dave nor I had seen this until right after the training, when we saw two men holding hands right outside of the Newmont office!

The use on one’s left hand in the Ghanaian culture is generally unacceptable as it is considered dirty. Due to lack of sanitation in older times, people “wiped” themselves with their left hand. Children who are naturally left handed basically have it beaten out of them. Guess you just don’t see lefties in Ghana. The people use their left hand to do dirtier work – pick up trash, clean a toilet, etc.

It was rather entertaining to watch the Ghanaians from different tribes discuss their varied traditions. Many of their traditions, from funerals to weddings, differed quite a bit.

The Ghanaians in the room also seemed confused about what many expats (or probably Americans, in particular) say. An example that I can remember is “swearing” vs “cussing.” Swearing, by Ghanaians standards, is completely different from cussing. “I swear on my mother’s grave.” They simply don’t understand why Americans consider profane words as swearing.

There is a fairly large group of Muslims in Accra, one of whom was in our training. She also happens to be Dave’s assistant, Ramatu. The Muslims have a cemetery right next to the Newmont office, and it’s a little creepy because the graves appear to be above ground (you know, humps of dirt like in the old westerns). They appear to be a peaceful society in our city, and are accepted for who they are. I have seen no instances of bad blood between the Muslims and Christians. In fact, the Muslim population complained recently that if the government acknowledges Christmas and Easter, Christians most important celebrations, then the country ought to also celebrate and recognize the Muslims most important period of Ramadan. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex with their partners during daylight hours. It is intended to teach Muslims patience, spirituality, humility and submissiveness to God. Ghana now officially celebrates the last day of Ramadan, and I think even Newmont is giving all workers the day off.

OK….now for the answers to the quiz.
1. The Hippo takes the most lives in Ghana. While there are many more snake bites, doctors are adequately prepared to treat such bites. Even the villages have adequate supplies necessary to treat the bites. By the way, Americans and Ghanaians pronounce the word Hippopotamus differently. Ghanaians say “hippo-puh-tay-mus.”

2. The East African Rift is an active continental rift zone in eastern Africa. The rift is a narrow zone in which the African Plate is in the process of splitting in two new tectonic plates. There was only one person in our training that got this right. He was a geologist – not fair!

3. Although there are many Muslims in Ghana, particularly in the Northern Region, there are slightly more Christians in the country.

4. This was a trick question for the locals; some said Tanzania while others said Kenya. In fact, the mountain straddles the border of the two countries. Tanzania actually gets to claim the mountain as most of it is located within her borders.

5. Africa is approximately 20% of the world’s landmass. It’s a very large continent!

6. Malaria is the most common cause of human death in Africa. It was a little disturbing to hear the facilitator talk about HIV/AIDS. It wasn’t too long ago that the diagnosis was a death sentence. From what she said, it seems like now it’s just another disease for which you can take drugs to control.

Just a sidebar about malaria. Every Ghanaian is likely to contract malaria, most multiple times. The malaria disease is a mosquito-borne infections disease that weakens ones immune system. Over one million people die each from malaria and as many as half a billion people are effected to some degree by the disease. Don’t worry about us, though. Dave and I are both on Malarone, a medication that is used to treat and prevent malaria. Also, anytime we travel we take a Malaria Travel Pack with us. It includes malaria advice for expatriates & travel, a letter for doctors (since U.S. docs don’t normally see malaria), and emergency standby treatment medication in case we can’t get a diagnosis confirmed and treated within 8 hours of the onset of symptoms. Ah…the joys of living in Africa!

A Bit of Irish History

Ireland has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit, but I have no real basis for that wish, other than I’d heard it’s a beautiful place; and that it is! The countryside is green and lush. The towns are small and quaint. The lifestyle appears to be serene and tranquil. But, during our visit I also learned so much about the history of Ireland.

The official language of Ireland is Irish, although English is the primary language spoken. Only a very small percentage of the population is actually fluent in Irish, and there is cause for concern about its future. In the Irish Republic, most students are taught to speak, read, and write in Irish and English, but English is the language with which all lessons are taught. Politically, all road signs are required to be displayed in both Irish and English. It’s actually a very beautiful language when spoken.

In our travels, we passed through the town of Killorglin, home of Ireland’s oldest fair – The Puck Fair.

Wait….say the name out loud…Killorglin. Yep… beautiful sounding, don’t you think? I’ll bet you even feel like you have mastered the Irish accent!

OK, on with the story. The Puck Fair has been and continues to be the main social, economic, and cultural event of the community. As we drove by a bronzed statue of a goat with a crown on his head, our tour guide explained. Each year during the Puck Fair, a group of people go into the mountains to catch a wild goat. The goat is brought back to Killorglin, put into a small cage on a high stand in the middle of town. The Puck Fair is basically a big party. Pubs stay open until 3 a.m. (no, Virginia…Killorglin is not Nevada).

The goat is treated like the king he was meant to be. He is well fed, watered, and loved during the fair. After the celebration is over, he is returned to from whence he came….and left to live out his days as peacefully as a goat can or does. I was just sure the story was going to end with the goat on a rotisserie, didn’t you?

In the mid 1800s, Ireland experienced its most devastating emigration; a direct result of the Great Famine. Between 1845 and 1852, four million people either died or left the country because of mass starvation and disease. The Great Famine occurred because of the potato….or more appropriately, the lack thereof. The Irish, particularly the very poor, were dependent upon the potato (approximately 1/3 of the population), as it was their main source of food. Disease ravaged the potatoes, leaving millions with no food. How the blight (as it was commonly called) arrived in Ireland is still unknown, but once it was introduced it spread rapidly. At the time the whole of Ireland was governed by the British Government. At the beginning of the crisis, those working in Dublin sent word to the Queen for assistance – not in the way of money for individuals, but in the way of employment. The Irish were asking the Queen and Parliament to provide the country with money to implement public work projects, which would then employ the population. The British did not immediately help, as they felt the Irish were reacting prematurely.

Until the early 1800s Irish Catholics had little to no rights. They couldn’t own or lease land, vote, hold political office, live in an incorporated town or even live within five kilometers of the town. They couldn’t attend school or enter a profession. In fact, they couldn’t even openly practice their faith. 80% of the population was and probably still is today, Catholic. By the time of the Great Famine, reform had come to the country and most people had regained more freedom and liberties. However, many remained quite poor, and lingering laws prevented the vast majority from seeking alternate food services. The primary example is that of fishing. Because the poor did not have the right to the seas, they did not have the right to fish. While many of the starving families lived on the Atlantic Ocean or the Irish Sea, they could not even cast a rod.

Between the years 800 and 1014, the Vikings, most notably of Danish or Nordic descent, attacked many European countries, including Ireland. They raided many of the Irish castles and villages. In 1014, the High King of Ireland decided to fight back. There was a ferocious battle, won by the Irish. Ireland will be commemorating the 1000 year of that battle in just a few years.

Ireland is famously known for their fairies, leprechauns and mystic creatures. I didn’t see any of them, but I did see the Fairy Tree. We weren’t really sure how much of the story told to us by the tour guide was true, so I went out onto the Internet and googled the Fairy Tree. Here's a picture of the actual tree.

According to the web, in 1999 the upgrading of the National route from Limerick to Galway was delayed, rerouted and eventually opened nearly 10 years after it was supposed to have started. The Clare County Council as part of their contract had protected the fairy tree: “access is not permitted within a minimum 5m radius and a protective fence has been erected around it.”

OK, enough with the Internet. Let me tell you the story I heard! Yes, the Fairy Tree did hold up the building of the Ennis Bypass Road, which was being built to improve the traffic through Ennis. This particular tree, which was frankly a pretty scraggly, overgrown looking bush to me, was sitting right in the pathway of the project. So, the contractor sent a worker out in a bulldozer to mow it down. The bulldozer broke down before the tree could be removed. The contractor then sent out a worker in a tractor. Yep, it broke down too. Enough with machinery, he thought. The employer gave his worker a saw and an axe. This will do it, he thought. Nope! The guy fell over and had an accident (not sure what kind). At this point the workers balked at even going near the tree. They were convinced that the problems were a sign and that it was meant to stay.

The contractor calls the Clare County Council and explains that his employees refuse to remove the tree. Councilmembers, themselves Irish and presumably somewhat superstitious themselves, agreed to move the road 30’ away from the tree. If you’ve ever been involved in a building project, you know changes are NEVER easy. The Council was required to get permission from the National Roads Authority, and the architect had to revise his plans. This all took several months to get the approvals necessary. By the time the Council went back to the contractor, voila! The costs of the project had increased. He claimed that materials, labors, and all other associated costs had increased in the many months it had taken to gain approval. The builder presented a new price of 3 million euro more! The Council could not accept the change as it would have put them in an overbudget situation. So, they had to wait until the new fiscal year, with a new Council. It took 13 additional months to complete the project and an extra 3 million euro. Now, that’s superstition for you!

Ireland is rich with history, and there is so much more to it. These are just a few of the many stories I heard that I chose to share.