david's trials & tribulations of life

As Ghana moves forward it has decided to do away with the cumbersome Ghanaian Cedi currency we have come to love... soon the days of coming back from the bank with literal 'wads' of cash in 'rubbers' (i.e. plastic bags) will be just an anecdotal memory. And a funny one at that. The problem is that the government isn't sure that the general public will grasp the conversion. It is quite tricky after all: 10,000 old cedis will be 1 new cedi.... could easily confound someone... but no worries. There has been a tiresome ad campaign to sensitize the Ghanaian populace. Check it out here on: Official Ghanaian Government website !

Ooh “cryptic” I hear you say to yourselves. Could it be that: a). David and Jillian came across a Latin American dwelling arboreal mammal in the middle of West Africa? b). Their days became so mundane that they resorted to telling you about their intimate – albeit slow – hand washing of garments? c). They happened to meet the elusive Woolite™-wielding-clothes-washing-snail-paced-hairy creature of the Ghanaian savannah in their travels!? d). None of the above I guess you will just have to read on to find the answer. The anticipation is palpable. As the previous entry not-so-subtly alludes to (and the photos give away) we embarked on a short getaway to “the Rest of Ghana” a couple of months or so ago. From Bole to Mole, through Walewale, Dawadawa, Wakawaka, and around Tongo, Bango, Bingo, and Ningo we went. Skirting Damongo, Pwalugu, Wulugu, Sumbrungu, Pigu, we arrived at Sirigu….and then the home stretch via Jambo, Jombo, Jimbo to Ho and Hohoe! It’s as if we had driven straigh...

I had made a little movie of our first few months in Ghana. A little something for our families to see where we were living, and a few highlights. I had to cut it into pieces as it was too long... so here is Alive in Accra: Vol.1 and Vol.2! The latter is only some extra material. More to come by the way. Sooner than you think... Volume 1 - 8.37 mins Volume 2 - Bonus Material - 1.35 mins

While I gather some steam in order to write the next installment, I thought it best to share some photos AND VIDEO of our latest exploration of the hinterlands of Ghana. While these will only give you a flavor of what we experienced, the written installment will elucidate further. Oh yes, a whole lot further! So, click on the photo and video below: Circumnavi gation of Ghana

Imagine a beer-loving former Marine turned commercial deep-sea diver, his Lebanese wife, her crutch-wielding polio-afflicted bearded brother, a paint/steel-selling young Indian businessman, and a weight-lifting tattooed Puerto Rican Marine. Ok, have that square in your mind? Well then throw Jillian and I in the mix, some homemade Lebanese mezze, many bottles of wine, and you get our Christmas Eve dinner….in the port city/town of Tema.... Ghana … Surreal? Can’t quite wrap your mind around that? Well try picturing a bespectacled American political chief, his nose-ringed Bangladeshi wife, a large red-head Brit – who builds rural dental clinics – and his family, an ice-cream loving large fluffy white dog named Chiquitin, four Sri Lankans and a young blonde from Seattle. Now, once again, throw Jillian and I in the mix, along with some turkey, bread sauce, samosas, double-baked potatoes, stuffing, Christmas pudding, key-lime pie, pumpkin pie, and champagne. And presto! That was our Christmas...