It's Raining Something....but it's not Cats and Dogs

As a 3 year old sister of one of Xavier's friends explained to me yesterday as she looked up at the clouds, there is the "rainy" and the "not rainy" season. After several rain storms in the past week or so and many nights of semi-comfortable sleep without air conditioning, I think it's safe to say that we are now in the "rainy season."


Let's be clear that when it rains here, it's not like in the Northwest US. It's not drizzly with periodic rain showers and a few sun breaks. No, it's an absolute, complete and total biblical opening of the sky deluge, often accompanied by gorgeous and intense flashes of lightning and booming thunder. There is no doubt that it's mother nature in charge and all you can do is hunker down where ever you are and wait for it to pass - which it usually does in 20 minutes to an hour.

So, it shouldn't be surprising that the entire eco-system seems to have changed. The rain seems to be giving life to all sorts of......interesting creatures. There are more varieties of ants than I ever knew existed - large ones with wings that fly around just after the rains, termites that look like they could ingest an entire forest and itsy bisty ants that you can feel on your skin but cannot see unless you have supersonic eyes. Of course, the mosquitoes seem to have multiplied, as evidenced by me having 2 staff out with severe malaria last week. These little guys make it difficult to enjoy the cool evening breeze - even though it feels good to be outside after a nice, cleansing rain, the chance of getting a bite - and malaria - makes the safety of the house and air conditioning look pretty good. And, there are cockroaches. Previous to the rains, cockroaches were an occasional annoyance. Now, the ones that creep out from their hiding spots look like creatures in a sci-fi movie, coming to carry small children away. They are gross and are one of the few creatures that can make me scream like a pre-teen drama queen who's just noticed a fly in her food - I know, because I have a pre-teen drama queen who sometimes keeps her cool with the bugs and other times - like last night at a friends' dinner party - informs the host that there were small bugs in the onions (probably oregano, but the imagination runs wild here). They were cooked – we noted the protein value of bugs and encouraged her to eat up.

So, it's the rainy season. I keep thinking of the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs". Sometimes, I think that would be easier to take than flying ants and mega sized cockroaches.....

(Colleen – sorry if this blog is difficult to “swallow” - we’ll do our best to keep your food bug free when you visit in a couple weeks – xxoo, k)

Anything Can happen.....Anything

In the past week, I have learned something essential: anything can happen. Last Friday, relieved to finally be released by my physicians to return to Ghana, I boarded an Afriqiyah Airlines flight from London, headed to Tripoli with a 2 hour layover and planned to be in Accra within 10 hours. About the time we were supposed to land in Libya, an announcement was made in Arabic then a much more brief one in English. All I could understand was that we were landing somewhere other than Tripoli due to weather. I assumed it was a nearby airport in Libya. As we landed, I could see an amazing landscape with white cliffs plunging into the sea. Didn't remember this when I landed in Tripoli on my way to London. It was not until we were on the ground that I finally figured out we were in Malta. I had to rack my brain to recall where, exactly, Malta is. We got off the plane and filed into the Malta airport. No information about how long we might be there, what it might mean to connecting flights....nothing. After a moment of extreme irritation and anxiety, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that I was on Afriqiyah Airline (Libyan owned) and, therefore, was now operating under a totally different set of norms than I would expect from a US or European company. I took a deep breath and endeavored to make the most of it. After 6 hours and no information, all of a sudden, everyone went to the gate and we were ushered back onto our plane, headed for Tripoli. Once in Tripoli, most passengers found that their connecting flights had been held for them. All of them, that is, except the flight to Accra. It had left an hour earlier with a total of 7 passengers aboard. That left 35 of us stranded in Tripoli. After much confusion, we were told that Afriqiyah would arrange for a hotel and we'd get the next flight out to Accra. I'm thinking that would be the following morning. Wrong. That would be in 2 days!! Our passports were taken from us and all Afriqiyah officials left - presumably to get us visas. By 2:30am, I finally asked the only "official" I could find what was happening. I was told in broken English that there was "no hotel" and "no passports". I assessed the situation: I am the only American in the airport. American and Libya do not exactly have diplomatic relations. I do not have a passport. This is not good. Thankfully, Grameen has a great emergency support system in place, I contacted them and then got an emergency contact for the US Embassy in Tripoli. Finally, at 6am, the Afriqiyah officials reappeared and we were all ushered through customs and out to await transport to a hotel - without our passports. We were told we would get them back when we returned to the airport in 2 days for departure. They didn't want us "staying". Not likely I'll be emigrating to Libya.


I met a fellow passenger who is a pilot for Emirates and knew Tripoli. We spent the two days exploring Tripoli and learning a lot about the history and politics. Libya has some of the most intact Roman ruins in the world and was formerly an Italian colony. It felt amazing - I knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an American, in Qadaffi Libya, roaming around freely for 2 days admiring the ruins and the coastline, seeing how obviously progress has stopped in the past 40 years of Qadaffi's rule and noticing how much money must be spent on printing and erecting Qadaffi images of prosperity and African Unity everywhere and how little is spent on basic human needs.

Finally, nearly 72 hours after leaving London, I arrived back to Ghana to two very, very happy children, their relieved father and 2 puppies who were so excited they piddled when they saw me. Just glad it was the pups and not the kids who piddled!

Less than 2 days after arriving safely in Accra, I learned of the Afriqiyah airline crash on the approach to Tripoli. It stopped my heart, felt way too close for comfort and reminded me how very fragile life is and how blessed I was to be back safely with my kids.

Homeward Bound

After 2 weeks in London of poking, prodding and every test known to modern medicine, I'm finally heading back to Ghana later this week.  All in all, I've got a few underlying conditions that are manageable but have one very fatigued body that got a bad infection in Ghana and that never has fully recovered from 4 years of staggering physical and life changing events.  I've got to eat even healthier, get more consistent rest, reduce stress and generally hope that I don't get another infection anytime soon.

I miss the kids and puppies desperately but Cedric has done an amazing job of holding down the fort while I've been away which has made being here easier.  I think everyone will be happy to have mommy home but might be a little bummed when I open my bags and they're filled with wheat grass, raw food bars and herbal supplements :) 

Despite the conditions for being here, London has been a really amazing respite.  The medical system here has been holistic and world class on every level and I've been staying in a studio flat close to the clinic where I've been receiving care.  It's near Marleybone High Street, a very high-end part of town with an abundance of cool shops and little cafes a short walk away.  I'm feeling spoiled being able to walk to get fair-trade, organic cappuccinos, nap in the afternoons and be able to snack on rocket salads and stone oven pizzas anytime.  I've seen a couple of dance programs and a Pulitzer prize winning play, Ruined, that was set in the Congo. 

I have to get myself mentally prepared to return to Ghana.  I've been coddled with traffic lights that people actually obey, indicators painted on the street corners telling pedestrians which way to look for cars, level sidewalks with covered drains and a general sense of orderliness that is one piece of British influence that hasn't yet "stuck" in Ghana!  I can't wait to get back to the color and chaos of it all......

My favorite British motto - an old World War II propoganda poster that pretty much sums up life for me........