The heat is on

It's hot. Too damn hot. Last week I thought my few weeks abroad had made me sensitive to the heat and humidity but now there's no denying. It has begun. The steady rise in temperature that culminates in Otso Klikli, meaning that until March/April it's just going to get hotter and hotter and hotter. Even thinking of it makes me feel warm again.

The windows are closed, curtains are drawn, to prevent any rays of sunshine from bringing in extra heat and the AC is at its coolest, and still, I'm hot. I guess my mum was right, for a person born during one of the coldest Novembers in Sweden, moving to Ghana would require some adjustment. Still, I don't remember feeling this way last year, of course, then I was in my old job in that freezing office where I had to wear socks at my desk and wrap myself in a pashmina (ah, the good old days)!

Somehow the rising temperature is a lovely metaphor for these times of elections too. With two and half weeks to the American election, beads will be trickling down our faces when we hear whether history will be written or whether the Americans will disappoint the rest of the world again, and just over seven weeks from now, we'll be bathing in sweat (sorry, but it's true) as we wait to hear the fate of Ghana, by then, longing for the dry winds of Harmattan.

But for now, to do my best to distract myself from the fact that for the next six months I'll be suffering in the heat, I'm going to catch up on the latest exciting blog which I hadn't heard of until yesterday, that of one of my favourite 'commentators', Posekyere! Now I just wait for another favourite to start blogging, her life and opinions seem interesting enough to fill pages.

Sijui, that's you!

Otso klikli

The month of March is in Ga known as "otso klikli" which basically means flaming hot, or burning like fire. My uncle taught me this as I met him and my 93 year old great aunt at the Accra mall on Friday. That day really was flaming hot (as the whole week had been), and we discussed how interesting it is that even in our forefathers' time, March must have been known as an exceptionally hot month. On that Friday afternoon, it seemed like the heat had no limit, rainy season seemed so far away. i said a silent prayer, please let the next two months of heat not be as unbearable as the last week has been.

And then today, a proper rainy season style thunder and rain storm took over Accra and Tema. I thank my churning stomach for the fact that I was comfortably at home and not driving through it. As I looked for our wellies and didn't find them, I realised how long ago it was that I ever needed them. In the end I went to the porch to create a makeshift shelter for the dogs and hens out of a table and a blanket, as they, as always when it rains, want to be close to us and hear our voices and therefore did not go to their respective kennels (can you call it a kennel for hens too? ;) )

Isn't it funny how otso klikli is already over, and so timely, at the last day of March? As we've wished for rain for so long, we can only rejoice in the short rainfall we were given and will for now ignore the fact that this rain has come two months before time, probably due to what we are doing to our Mother Earth.

It was such a wonderful idea of my uncle to take his 93 year old mother to see the mall. I can only imagine what she thought when she saw it. Let's not forget that in her time she's probably seen a lot of great shops, after all, Ghana was a great place before each coup d'etat did its best to destroy establishments. But even so, it must have been amazing for her to see our lovely new mall, that resembles no other in Ghana. She's a travelled lady and was last in Europe (Geneva) a decade ago, but there is still a sense of excitement when you see your own town developing into a modern place. It led me to think of all the magnificent and horrific things she must have experienced in her lifetime, just imagine how much we've all experienced in our own lives, and hopefully we're not even half way to the end. I hope to one day find the time to discuss and record her experiences, thoughts and stories about herself and our family, and encourage you all to make time for the elders in your family. They hold the key to undiscovered treasures locked in their minds and when their gone, unless documented, those treasures die with them.