Church Jukebox...

Today we went to Accra.

We left in the morning, bright and early so that we could get there before it got hot. The tro was pretty full by the time we got to the station which was nice, we didn’t have to wait too long before we left and were on our way.

The roads were pretty sloppy because of the rain from yesterday so it took a little longer. Almost 3 hours this morning. The weather was actually cool all morning, so the ride wasn’t too too bad. The driver did hit an all time high on the radio volume though; it was hitting some extreme decibels! That, in combination with the heat can make for a pretty killer head ache, so the iPod definitely helps. I usually listen to my iPod on the tro; gives me a chance to listen to music in English and just have quiet time on my own, not to mention makes the ride go a little faster. When we go to Accra, we often just go there and back in one day. That is 6 hours on a trotro. They aren’t exactly built for comfort and personal space is limited. That makes the ride seem quite a bit longer, but I don’t mind. In the mornings I am excited to get to Accra and at night I am very excited to go back home, so neither ride is bad.

We reached Accra around 9ish in the morning. We had to go to the bank and then we wanted to look around the Art Centre for a bit. From there we went to La Badi to see the Biney’s.

I mentioned in a previous blog that Mummy’s mom, Grammy had passed away. We really enjoyed meeting Grammy and we are thankful that we got to do so before she passed and we really wanted to extend our condolences to the Biney’s.

Mummy gave us a huge hug and she looked great. The boys are on holidays so they were home which was really exciting! Michael greeted me with the biggest hug in the world and didn’t let go of me the entire time we visited. I promised that we would visit one more time before we leave and he has already planned for us to go to the beach, play basketball, watch Madagascar, and read bedtime stories. I love this boy.

Mummy told us the story about what happened to Grammy. When we had visited last, she had gotten much more weak and couldn’t walk or eat by herself anymore. They didn’t know what was wrong, but they knew she was sick. After we left, she started to get a little better and she even walked on her own one day! (They filmed it actually, which is a great memory to have now!) Mummy thought that this meant she was turning around and would be fine. The Sunday evening she was really weak again and went to bed. Mummy checked on her lots and in the morning she wasn’t doing well. They rushed her to the hospital, but they didn’t have beds and wouldn’t take her. They had to get turned away from 3 other hospitals before going to a private clinic which they had to pay 500 cedis just to get admitted!!! Just ridiculous! Grammy passed away and they revived her. After that, Mummy told us she fought the oxygen and IV and said it was her time to go, and she went to be with Jesus Monday morning. She was 87.

It was really hard on the boys, Michael and Kwadwo were a mess for a couple days, she was such a present part of their lives.

They are doing fine now though, and they just shared lots of really nice memories and they are using pictures that Melissa took and pictures that I took for her funeral and they had fun showing us pictures and videos of her. It was SO good to see the family again. I’ve really missed them.

We went to Osu to look around a bit before going home again this evening. We have learned how to get around the city pretty efficiently on the tro’s and getting back to Asamankese is strategic too. There are two places that cars for Asamank leave from; one place is always passenger cars but take FOREVER to fill up, and the other has every other as a passenger car but doesn’t take long at all to fill. We are learning to pick and choose properly. We have spent a few times sitting in a tro for hours waiting for it to fill all the way. Leaving with one open seat is NOT acceptable.

We got home in the dark, which is always great because that means it’s not so hot out. Sweating on tro’s isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I guess everyone smells, so it really doesn’t matter.

We got back to Asamankese and stopped by Smart’s on the way home. He is helping arrange a couple things for the graduation ceremony that is coming up quickly. He said that I can request some songs for church on Sundays and he will make sure that they are played so I can hear English songs and feel more at home. (Yay!!).

We got home and Auntie Joe was standing outside in the dark. She has a funeral at her home town this weekend and was supposed to be gone by the time we were back. Apparently her son was supposed to bring the car but hadn’t showed up and she was NOT impressed. Ohhh teenage problems that carry from country to country. I am pretty sure she has left now, although I am not exactly sure.

22 sleeps until I get on the plane. Gettin excited! Belinda and Auntie Joe are already sad; I think I am definitely going to cry when I have to hug them goodbye. Blah...