A "typical" weekend

While Mike and I were at work, Fati (our lovely local girl who helps cook, clean and wash three days a week) had been to market and bought fish and a live guinea fowl. She smoked the fish over her charcoal fire while her boyfriend Saibu slaughtered the bird and they plucked, gutted and cooked it for us. (Fati is well aware that I am not keen on anything with eyes, or indeed that vaguely resembles the living creature it once was!)
Fati then got a ride on the back of a motorbike, precariously balancing a very long wooden pole and a large wooden mortar along with the ingredients for our tea. She peeled and cooked the yam and started the groundnut soup. I was given hot peppers to grind and then we started pounding! One person flicks the sticky yam mush over while the other plunges the long pole from a height (hoping to avoid the hands of the flicking over person) and fufu is formed.
We ate the fufu with our fingers (remembering not to chew but just to swallow it) with very hot tasty soup. Ghanaians can manage to eat incredibly hot things without burning their fingers. I used to think my fingers were tolerant to heat until I came here.

On Saturday morning we had a surprise visit at 8am from a chap from the office who liked our house and wanted to show it to his architect., so that the architect could design something similar for him. He had brought the architect on the back of his motorbike. Mike and I were duly hospitable , still in our pyjamas. Water and electricity were both off, a not uncommon occurence, particularly at the weekends.

After lunch we met another friend, Mark, on the way to market and he showed us a shortcut through the mud hut villages. He and Fati guided us round the numerous market stalls speaking a variety of African languages as they went.

Sat evening saw Mike giving another ICT website tutorial to a couple of young men we have got to know in Walewale - Mashood and Josef. We are just about to launch our second ICT Club here next week which means 40 student are accessing computer training now. I was thrilled yesterday when the first club independently electd a girl president to monitor and keep track of the members' behaviour and attendance. Real ownership!
Sunday saw us at church for "Pastor Appreciation Sunday", where the congregation were harangued in Mampruli by the Bishop for our poor attendance and lack of appreciation. (Since we were actually there with a gift for the Pastor, this felt a touch harsh).
On Sunday afternoon we ended up with five visitors from the village who just happened to be dropping by- still no power or mains water. The photo includes Mashood, Mark and Jacob who is a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Mike has been mistaken for Jacob - do you think they look similar? Fati arrived with my sundress that her seamstress has been trying to copy. Her first attempt at gathering with elastic just about fitted my arm, this was the second attempt...Hmmm, maybe this was a bridge too far in the copying stakes. ( I have to say it is now finished but bears no resemblance to the comfy one I was hoping to duplicate).

We had a convivial afternoon till dark stopped play at 6pm. The electricity eventually came back on at 12.35am. What bliss to have the fan working over our bed, because the night was sweltering!
We have managed a bit of travelling recently too ,visiting Bolga and Tamale which are our nearest towns 1 hr and 1hr 40 mins away respectively on the bus or trotro ( now there's an experience!) In Tamale I managed to buy jam and spready cheese and door wedges! We are learning to appreciate the smaller things in life.