Taxi and Tummy Trouble

I woke up excited this morning. I was planning on taking advantage of the fact it was Labor Day in the US and therefore people I correspond with at work in the US would be out and that it was not a holiday here, so the kids would be in school. I tracked down the one "spa' in Accra and booked a massage. I dropped off the kids at school and headed towards my few hours of bliss. The massage & spa were great - better than I had expected. I stumbled out of the spa, feeling very relaxed and tried to flag down a taxi. It was on a somewhat remote road where there weren't many taxis. After waiting a while, I finally took a taxi that already had 3 people in it. Mistake #1. It was very crowded & as soon as I got in the driver asked me if I had change for a 5. I looked in my purse. Mistake #2. I took out my phone to make a call. Mistake #3. All of a sudden, the woman in the passenger seat in front of me pushed the seat all the way back into my legs, cramming the tall guy next to me even closer to me. Things got chaotic at that point and I was more concerned about the seat than anything else. Mistake #4. Next thing I know, the taxi is pulling aside at a busy intersection & the passengers are telling me to get out, saying they misunderstood & they weren't going my direction and I should get another taxi. Totally confused, I got out. Mistake #5. I promptly got into another taxi. When I arrived at my destination, I took a deep breath and reached for my phone. It wasn't in my purse. I assumed I had left it in the 2nd taxi. When I replayed the whole scene from the first taxi, I realized I had been robbed. Classic taxi scheme that happens here with full taxis. You have to buy phones here, they don't come with the "plan" like in the US. I had just purchased a very nice approx. $500 phone so I'd have internet & email access. Ugh!!!! I spent the rest of my day trying to get my SIM card blocked & get my number reinstated.

So, I didn't have a phone the rest of the day. I went to pick the kids up from school only to find out that poor Sophie had been struck by the "coming out both ends" tummy troubles. The school had been trying to call me & of course couldn't get a hold of me. So, Sophie had to lay on a miserable cot waiting for me to get there, while she was running to the bathroom - which, of course, had no toilet paper. The poor girl was a mess by the time I arrived.

Spent the evening sitting with Sophie and getting fluids down her, trying to give Xavier some sort of attention & pledging that tomorrow will be a better day. Good night.