Happy thanksgiving Canada!

While the thought entered my mind some time last week, it never came back until just now, having read an e-mail from mom. So I guess tonight's dinner will be my thanksgiving dinner. But last night we ran out of gas for our propane stove. So thanksgiving dinner may be jollof rice from town!

I'm off exploring a bit today. Mom has generously sent me a package with some treats and flavour packets from home as well as some crossword puzzles from the good old Chronicle Herald! I've had to collect my package from the post office in the town of Sunyani. Sunyani is a 1 1/2 hour drive by shared taxi and it cost me 3.50 cedis. Every drive is still an adventure and I am excited to have the day to travel. Driving the roads of Ghana you see many buildings that are only half constructed. They use bricks to make the frame. And in some buildings further along and bigger, I can see wooden posts. I read somewhere that the reason you see so many unfinished buildings is that people can have the land if they build on it. The building does not have to be finished, just started. |So people build as they get the money to do so.

There are no Mc Donalds or Starbucks in Ghana! But there is still no shortage of fast food. People are standing streetside with baked goodies, fried food, water, etc. and when busses, tro tros and taxis drive by they are at the windows pushing their goods. So it is always easy to get a tasty treat! But if it's coffee you want, you are out of luck. I'm rather fond of grilled plantain or fried yams as a roadside snack. And yesterday I finally learned how to eat an orange like a Ghanaian, I'm afraid I'm not very good at it. I get properly wet and sticky! When you buy an orange in Ghana, the rind has been removed and they slice a cap off the top. You skim the pulp off the top of the orange with your teeth. Then you squeeze the orange with your thumb so that more pulp rises to the top. This continues until you have sucked the orange dry. Mine is not as dry as a Ghanaians yet! Water is also readily available to buy. It is sold in bags like those good old juice bags we would suck on as children. A bag of water is filtered and treated and safe to drink. It costs 5 pesowas, less than 5 cents for a 500mg bag. So even the locals are drinking them. People are carrying their goods around on their heads. It is impressive to see. Especially when their baskets are huge and full, or I've even seen an awkward load of wood piled on someone's head. And then they wonder why they have back pain! My friend Anna, a nurse from Holland, says they have no sense of the body and do not connect back pain with the load they carry on their heads with the work they do plowing their fields.

So I found a few goodies in Sunyani that I did not see anywhere else. I've bought a can of chicken luncheon meat that came from Holland. And I found brown sugar and baking powder. So now I'll try and bake some goodies. On the weekend, Anna managed to make an apple pie. Though I would call it apple crisp in the form of a pie. I now know that you can buy oats in town and that has become my daily breakfast. I sometimes mix chocolate powder in with my milk powder and it is a tasty treat. But always I must have pineapple with my oatmeal. Yum! Thismorning my oatmeal was a bit tough because I could not boil it on the stove. But with my chocolate powder, my breakfast reminded me of chocolate macaroons. So while I may not be able to buy chocolate bars here, I am managing to find alternatives! I've also found candies that are like a hard square of hot chocolate powder.

I have not yet tired of the stirfies we eat for dinner. The vegetables are fresh and I am enjoying them very much! But last night I was wishing for a slice of pizza. Evie says we will make our own, but it won't cut the mustard. There are no dairy products here and that includes cheese. Although we can buy "Laughing Cow" if we travel to towns further away. I've picked some up today for Petra.

And so a month into my life in Ghana I am happy to be here. I sometimes stop and marvel at the fact I am living in Africa! I love the differences and finding more and more treasures in my home town of Nkoranza. I am getting comfortable with my relationships and job at PCC. Sometimes when I get out of bed and hop in the shower, I wish the water were a little warmer and I would love to stop stcratching fly bites, but the rest is so exciting that it is all worthwhile!

Peace and blessings on this thanksgiving day. I have many to be thankful for, including this wonderful African journey and all of you! I am overwhelmed by all the prayers you have sent my way. God bless,

Debbie