Spare me a drop, please!

Yesterday morning around 6 a.m. my mum luckily caught the radio news where it was reported that the whole of Tema (stretching all the way from Sakumono/Lashibi to Ningo/Prampram) would be without water for 48 hours due to a fault at Kpone. Immediately we gathered all bowls and buckets and fetched as much water as possible before the taps dried up. Somehow, that day we managed our loss of flowing water smoothly.

Today, however, I am fed up. Not only has the last week been so hot that one could use a good 3 power showers a day to survive, I'm sick and tired of having to think through every step of ordinary life. Need to brush my teeth? Ok, the sachet water is somewhere in the kitchen. Want to flush the toilet? Oops, no water left? Guess I'll have to use Em's old bath water to do that.

This evening, because we're all too exhausted (and sweaty) to think of how we'll cook and clean, we've decided against a proper dinner. My mum's got some snacks out, Virgo's munching on Digestives and apple juice and I'm about to have some crackerbread (knackebrod) and treat myself to a Nescafe cappuccino. After that I'll have to open up a good 15 sachets of water into a bucket to have my evening bath. I hate this!

If the water's not flowing by tomorrow, I will need to sue someone. Who's with me?

Sitting at the centre of the world

So much to write about but I am oh so tired, so for now I will just mention my quick stop to the centre of the world. After a week that wasn't half bad, with enough time to relax, reflect, exercise and clean, this Saturday made a lovely weekend day. Lunch at the Poetress',scrumptious as always, consisting of jollof with squid, deliciously sauteed mushrooms and quickfried spinach with sundried tomatoes. From there Em and I met up with Virgo and roamed around town for a bit, then headed back to Tema with a necessary takeaway pack of wakye from Katawodieso (see how easily I can describe my whole life with food?!).

(Picture of Ave Maria borrowed from mokocharlie.com)
Then we spontaneously decided to head to Ave Maria (formerly Tema Beach Club, I think). Somehow it was so rejuvenating and energy boosting to look out at the sea and be able to tell Em, "look, we're at the centre of the world!".

After that short trip of about thirty minutes, we headed home and ate our wakye. After putting Em to bed, I sat down to work on an agreement that I ought to have worked on much earlier in the week and couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for myself for working on a Saturday evening when I was so tired. And still, my little visit to Ave Maria reminded me that the world really is my oyster, anything is possible!

With that thought, I am going to read a chapter or two of Eat, Pray, Love, then sleep!

*Ave Maria is not technically the centre of the world, but Ghana and specifically Tema is the closest land to the centrepoint of the world, and since the Meridian grid is just a few metres from Ave Maria, that's our little reminder anytime we Temaites need to feel special.

The train has come to town!

The other day I had some errands on the Spintex road. Seeing the traffic heading towards Tetteh Quarshie, I decided to drive all the way down the Spintex home to Tema. I'm glad I did. Not only did I catch that breathtaking view, as you turn the corner at the top of a little hill in Sakumono town, only to see the sea open up in front of you, with sand, palm trees and a bit of Tema harbour featuring on the left side.

I, of course opened my window to catch a few gasps of fresh sea air; all salt, freshness and fish fused into a perfect blend. The biggest surprise was at the end of the beach stretch. Suddenly the few cars in front of me ground to a halt. Just as I was about to get impatient, it came: out of a tiny tunnel ahead of us was a train!

I could have pinched myself for not having a camera (I left it at home, but since it's gone dead it wouldn't have helped me anyway). I tried taking a mental photo, and if I had had pen and paper I could easily have drawn a picture of it for you, at the 'speed' it choo-chooed past us. Luckily I found one online instead (thank you Ghana Business News!). Isn't it a beaut in its red, gold and green? And of course, there's a black star between every window!

Now, where does one go for a testride and how on earth do I stop singing this song every time I think of it?

My Tema

For almost three weeks we've been staying in Tema, and will probably be there for another couple of months whilst some issues are sorted out on our house. Of course the days before we were moving here, I continuously told Virgo of the virtues of living in Tema (as I have told you guys many times in this blog): The lack of traffic, constantly flowing water, good internet access and general organisation of the city.

Naturally, the forces that be decided to mess with me as soon as we got here. On the Sunday, whilst we were packing, I called the caretaker of the house and asked whether there have been power or water shortages since he moved in (six months ago). 'No, nothing' was his answer which I smugly conveyed to Virgo, then ordered for our water tanks and generator to go to storage.

We arrived Monday night around 7pm. I thought the water pressure seemed low and laughed, 'this means that they've turned off the water in some other community, don't worry, this is as bad as it gets'. An hour later the taps were dry. Bone dry. And we didn't have water for another 25 hours!

Friday night, the electricity went out and was off for four hours. In between that, we suffered with traffic sometimes almost half an hour just to get to the Ashiaman interchange toll booth. Needless to say, Virgo was enjoying mocking me, 'My Tema, my Tema' he'd squeak in a falsetto voice (it sounds nothing like me) any time we'd spend more time in traffic here than in Accra.

Still, all that was probably just to put me in my place for being so smug, because for the past week there's been no traffic any time we're heading out, water, internet and electricity are constantly working and this morning the mocker himself turned to me and said:
'You know what? Tema is actually a great place to live in. Once you pass Tetteh Quarshie, you just zoom down the motorway and you're home to everything you need'.

What can I say? Mission accomplished.

Hey Vodafone, what's my number?

A few weeks ago, I was dialling my good old friend (well, if you see my phone bill that's what you'd think) ECG when I was informed that instead of dialling 021-611611 I ought to dial 0302-611611. Until then I hadn't heard about the fact that Vodafone was in the process of changing all local dialling codes, apparently to conform with international standards, despite the fact that they claim to have advertised it.

Why am I suddenly thinking of this? Well, this is the eve of the Vodafone-020-whatever party, which I am reminded of every second by a certain facebook friend/event organiser who keeps bombarding the news feed with updates on the party.

Rather than feel "oh, I wish I could make it to the party", my thoughts are wandering off to the impact of this number change. (If you haven't heard yet, Accra's dial code is now 030-2 and Tema's is 030-3 instead of the old 021 and 022 respectively, and it seems every code in Ghana has changed except Takoradi's(well, from 031 to 031-20). Here's the full list of new numbers). Imagine all the million business cards, websites, office stationery, adverts, company-branded vehicles, etc, etc that will have to be changed now that these numbers have been introduced! From what I hear (not confirmed by any authority) this number change is taking place over a three month period! I would have expected at least a year-long transition, especially considering the abovementioned expenses and the time it may take to pass on this news to personal and corporate relations abroad.

So, my dear Vodafone, I'm seeing right through your 30/30 promotion and fancy party and instead worry more about the enormous cost to Ghanaian businesses if (this is Gh after all) they decide to refresh their contact information.

What's your take on this?

Nasty surprises

I'm having a bit of a rough week. Too many things are happening at once and I could really use a moment of peace to enjoy the fresh sea air around me, but no such luck. Please excuse me for already failing to uphold my new year's resolutions.

In the mean time, I'll leave you with two horrid experiences I had this weekend in my beloved Tema. I went with my mum and Em to Usave (a Shoprite affiliate) in Community 1. On the way there I kept raving that this is the life - a nice breezy drive, good music blasting and Tema's organised (but potholed) roads. As we went through what was my local supermarket when Evergreen was to pricey and before Maxmart made it to Tema, I suddenly heard my mum yelp, then scream: a rat! Since I have a severe rat phobia, I lost all calm and started running through the shop, wheezing "excuse me, excuse me!" as I tried to make my way out as soon as possible, suddenly feeling very hot with a racing heart.

Once out and able to breathe again, my mum informed me it was actually a mouse, running over some tins just where she was about to reach out and take something. (Imagine that, reaching out for a tin of sweetcorn and landing a mouse in your hand. *shudder*).

It took a while to recover but by the next morning, I was better and started to prepare my lovely scrambled egg Sunday breakfast. As I cracked a second egg into a bowl, a smell filled our kitchen, and as I looked down I saw flaky, runny egg white and, wait for it, a b-l-a-c-k egg yolk!!! (I really do wish I had taken a picture but I was too shocked, instead, I'm thinking happy thoughts and give you a picture of sunset over East Legon).


Lesson learnt, be observant of where you shop and what you eat. Have a wonderful week, keep me in your happy thoughts.

This time...

Ages ago I planned to chronicle the year that just passed but never got the chance to do it. Besides, if I did, it would probably end up being a ten page account as so many things happened in 2008. However, I feel something must be documented in cyberform after Virgo reminded me two days ago that the African Cup of Nations had started exactly a year earlier. I was immediately struck by the conflicting thoughts of "how can it already be a year?" and "but it seems soooo long ago!".


This time last year, between drafting agreements and other stuff at the lawfirm, my fellow colleagues and I (including a certain Poet) would be texting any possible contacts for tickets to the next game, rushing to finish up work by 2.30 to be able to start walking to the Ohene Djan Stadium along with a whole load of other people in our business district.

This time last year, I had one niece who had just turned four years old. My now five year and one day old niece now has a little brother and a little cousin, with another cousin joining them in a few months time.


This time last year, I was, as mentioned, working for the law firm, still doing my pupillage. Now, I work for what will hopefully one day be a major corporation, managing and structuring the business, often working from home in my own time and finding time to do independent legal work on the side.

This time last year, there was hardly any political buzz in Ghana, and yet now we have a new president and a new party in power. Rather, at the law firm, we'd frequently discuss how the hotshot Obama was actually faring quite well against Hillary and may give her serious competition. Could any of us have imagined that a year later we'd be witnessing the inauguration of President Barack Obama?


This time last year I was in a relationship but living with my lovely mother at the centre of the world (that's Tema of course!). Now I am a "newly" married woman living in the heart of Accra, somewhat missing the fresh breeze and cooler air of Tema, but definitely not the commute!


Friends' babies have been born, beautiful, important people have passed, there have been marriages and career changes all around me. What a year it's been!

And you know what? It seems life will only get better in 2009!

Enjoying a weekend in Accra

Forgot to mention that my friend, LN, did manage to enter the country last Friday, despite my illegal immigrant status. As she was only here for the weekend, we tried and successfully managed to pack as much as possible into her stay without it being too hectic.

On Friday, after a nap for both of us (she arrived on the 5.35am flight), I drove her to Roman Ridge for her only planned meeting. As we got there a bit early we had a drink by the poolside at Mplaza. I was rather disappointed at their service and design, but after browsing their website, perhaps that's part of their appeal and adds to their security status. Maybe ensuring customers off the street are not attracted makes their special guests feel safer?

From there we headed to Tribes restaurant at Afia beach hotel for lunch, where I had the lasagne as usual...and it tasted better than ever! Then we got back to the house, relaxed a bit and worked a bit. In the evening we went for dinner with Virgo and SQB at Le Magellan, which was followed by drinks at Rhapsody's. Well, on the Rhapsody's porch. Can you believe they're charging GHc20 entrance fee per person!!! Actually what's worse is that people are paying!

After such a full-on foodian day, we started our Saturday late, with a fruit breakfast of pawpaw, pineapple and watermelon.

Then we headed to Oxford Street to buy some dresses (how come I'd never noticed the cute dresses sold on the roadside before?) and after a quick "fika" (coffee break) at Melting Moments in Cantonments, we made our way to the Poetress house in the lovely Trasacco Valley.

How better could we top the scrumptious meal and company we enjoyed there than with an evening drive to Aburi to hang out with big H and Akinyi. This brought on an interesting discussion about South Africa and the current status of racial relations there and between them and other Africans.

Sunday, being the day of rest, started with a leisurely drive to Tema to pick up Christmas decorations from my mama(!!!, more on that later...) then a trip on the beach road, through Teshie Nungua to Labadi beach. After our beach fun, we went for lunch at Buka, behind Oxford Street (it's so much fun to see a fufu&groundnut soup virgin enjoy her meal), then chilled at home before I dropped her off at the airport. The only thing we didn't have time for were the planned drinks at Holiday Inn before boarding the flight.

I think I did a good job of showing LN the best bits of Accra within 60 hours. What do you think?

Still blogging strong

Hm, det kanske inte var sa bra att det tradlosa nar anda till sangen, det blir sa svart att lagga sig, kommer ju pa en massa grejer jag maste kolla upp pa natet. Men nu maste jag faktiskt lagga mig, mindre an atta timmar tills jag ska upp igen. Fast fredagar ar ju skona eftersom jag jobbar i Tema pa formiddagen. Har alltsa en kvarts bilresa som mest, istallet for 45min-1timma! Virgo har varit superupptagen de senaste tva dagarna, det kommer nog vara mycket att sta i anda tills december, hoppas bara att vi hinner ta igen tiden emellanat. Tror inte att vi kommer hinna med nagon resa som det var tankt, hoppas det dock eftersom han tyckte att vi i sa fall aker till Gbg ocksa. Det hade ju varit jatte trevligt. Kanns som alldeles for langesedan, kanner verkligen for att kunna ta en fika med K, Matildorna och A o DW med lilla J. For att inte tala om brorsorna saklart! fast det blir ju mer spannande att halsa pa dem nar de nya familjemedlemmarna ar framme. Tipsade forresten B om L's butik , kul om hon kollar in och ger dem lite extra publicitet.

Svensk Ghana Blog

Kollade precis runt lite har i blogg varlden och hittade minsann en svensk som bor i Tema. Kanske ska skicka henne ett meil lite senare...


Na nu far det nog jobbas lite till. AC:n fortfarande av, men nu har de kopt flaktar till alla rummen. Halla?! Varfor inte bara bygga kontor med fonster som gar att oppna?! Hade val anda varit lite billigare.

Maste se till att fixa hemma laptopen sa att jag kan anvanda mina kara svenska bokstaver, blir lite bokigt ibland annars.