Yesterday I came home from a day of micro-financin’ with no idea what horrors were in store for me. My keys scraped the door as I absentmindedly tried the lock. It had been a long day at the loan factory. At 85 degrees and 85% humidity I felt as though I’d swam back from the office rather than taken a taxi. I stumbled into the house and flipped on the ceiling fan planning to kick off my shoes and relax. I had hoped to have a tidy dinner, make a little progress on my audiobook of War and Peace, and get to bed early. I had assumed, incorrectly, that I would live another day. But as I entered my room and beheld the beast lying in wait, none of this mattered. No word, save one, can describe the horror I experienced then, in my last moments of life.
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Welcome to my world. Or should I say this land of SCORPIONS!
Actually the scorpion was about 1.5 inches long and was easily dispatched with a flip-flop. We had seen one before in the office and Kizito gave us a little local lore on scorpions. The river scorpion is very poisonous, so be wary. He added, “I don’t know about the office type.”
The temporary road is almost in the surf. Unfortunately for the inhabitants up ahead, so is their village.
In other news Maggie and I went to Dzita again on Sunday and she’s got an epic report on the doin’s that transpired. She got first dibs on the images so I’ll just throw down a few and tell you a little bit of the story. For one I’ve added a couple more shots of the road on the way to Dzita just because it’s easy to get pictures and it’s a crazy situation. We went to the houses of many of our clients and talked to them about their families and businesses. Maggie will surely fill you on most of the details.
The obvious winner of the adorable child competition in Dzita. There we're many entrants, but only one brought a puppy.
On our return trip we made a pit-stop to try and see the beach at a new location. We immediately acquired an escort, John. I think yevus must be seen as delightful and incompetent visitors because people always spring up to help us get wherever we need to be going. What I’ve learned about the Ghanaian stance on private and public space, or the lack of differentiation between the two, has emboldened me to get where I want to go by walking in a straight line and staying on the ground that looks most like a path. Today, however, John helped. As much as he could at least, we learned eventually that our passage to the beach was not meant to be. We would have had to wade through the lagoon at chest height and we settled for a picture.
The view was definitely worth the walk. It’s been consistently gorgeous here and not too inhospitably hot. We’ve received word that the ‘cold’ season is coming quickly though, which probably means seasonably cool with highs in the 70s. The bad news is that the cold season is supposed to be lip splittingly dry. Woot! Here are a couple of bonus pictures for you media-hungry readers.
When the road picks back up it is still right on the beach. Beware of double-parked fishing boats.
A goat next to a tree. I liked both but I don't like the picture. View it anyway! We've got a great goat-pic of Maggie coming up so stay tuned.
I suspect the office scorpion is even more deadly than the river type. Unless it’s The Office scorpion, in which case it will just be incredibly socially inept, all the time, and possibly sting itself to death accidentally.
Also, puppy! Eee! Goat! Eee!
We just finished watching the Amazing Race episodes in Ghana and SURPRISE! A new blog to enjoy. Once in Hawaii I opened a cupboard and found a cockroach which qualified as livestock. YUCK. Even if they’re not toxic these critters belong outside. Do you have a link on lumana.org to your blog? People should read these day to day adventures. The most adorable child is even cuter than the puppy….but not as cute as Maggie and Chad. I’m looking forward to the next entry! Keep ‘em coming.
aww chad come on! you cant keep mentioning this fantastic info filled blog with tons of pictures that maggie is about to post before she posts it! i already check this blog an unhealthy number of times
I agree with Jenny – all this talk and nothing new. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming your are having internet connection problems. Guess we faithful state side folks will just keep waiting impatiently!
Listen people, I think we all need to just simmer down a little. Keep in mind that we are in AFRICA over here ok? The internet has been super sketchy lately and when it has been working we’ve used it to WORK.
I’ll also have you know that we have not one, not two, but three blog posts in the works. Each one contains a slew of gorgeous pictures and an epic arc of adventure, tragedy, and triumph.
So shut your traps.