A busy week!

Isn't it amazing how one week can change one’s perspective on things!!  I just read my last blog and it was pretty bad – things were not good for me here in Accra.   However, thankfully not much in life stays the same for too long.  This past week has been a busy, fun and productive one – I could get used to this!  The improvement started last Friday when after waiting for ‘long enough’ I decided to see what I could do about tracking down my International Drivers Permit.  Using the very helpful www.whitepages.com I was able to find a number for the AAA office in Heathrow, Florida where I had sent my application two weeks earlier.  A very helpful lady was able to confirm that they had actually issued the Permit within 24 hours of receiving the request and that it should be back with me in Accra by now.  She also gave me the USPS Express Mail tracking number.  After a few false starts with that and a couple more calls to Florida, I was able to find out that my Express Mail envelope had actually been received by the Post Office in Accra last Tuesday (before I even wrote the last blog entry!).  So I began the tracking down of the envelope, which turned out to be a real mystery and I am not sure if it ever would have actually been delivered.  It wasn’t at the Post Office it was addressed too (that we use for work), and it turned out it wasn’t at the main Post Office either – after a trip to both of those on Saturday morning, I finally received a phone number for ‘Frank’ who could help me.   He had just arrived at work when I called him (it was about 10.00 am on Saturday and they closed at Noon) but promised to call me back once he had turned on his computer and could look up the tracking number – the big question at that time was would he ever call back!  Frank did – it was wonderful.  He quickly told me that he had the envelope in front of him as he called at it was at Accra Central Post Office, so off Patrick drove me as quick as he could in order to be there before 12.00

I walked into the Central Post Office and Frank obviously immediately identified me as the ‘white woman desperate for her mail’ as he quickly asked me if I was Charlotte and beckoned me right over to his window to collect it – my smile was so big at that point.  It has to have been the second best day in Accra so far!!!

Within about 90 minutes, I was back home and driving my car out of the garage to head out on the roads – I really didn’t know where, I just wanted to drive at that point.  Having thought about it for a minute or two I decided that I would first head to the dressmaker to see if she had my dress ready and then to the mall to get my grocery shopping done.  I was proud of myself – I didn’t get lost and even was quite brave at those four way junctions that seem to be a game of chicken when he comes to who goes and who doesn’t!!!  Those old days driving in London paid off!

So having mastered the roads, I decided I would then head to the airport to pick up a colleague/friend of mine from South Africa who is here this week at a regional finance meeting, along with a number of other colleagues from the USA and other countries that I know.  It was great to meet her at the airport and a surprise for her to be met by someone she knew – from personal experience that is always a brilliant surprise to see a familiar face at the airport on arrival, especially after a long journey.

The remainder of the weekend was then spent with friends and colleagues as a tour guide for Accra – quite funny since it was also my first two days of driving.  But we had a great time and I didn’t get lost and managed to find most of the ‘tourist’ spots in Accra, including Jamestown and the Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum and museum.   I have to say though that as a tour guide I am equally as challenged here as I am in the UK, USA or any other country I have been too.  When asked why the figures carved on the outside of the museum for Kwame Nkrumah looked Egyptian, I said “it is because it is old”, never mind we went inside and found out he had an arranged marriage with an Egyptian – who knew J  - I do now!  My next visitors will have a much better tour guide!!  I will expect tips…..

This week has also been busy at work.  I have attended parts of the regional finance meeting and also been busy trying to sort out travel for 5 individuals in 5 different countries in Africa to get to a meeting in Lusaka, Zambia – no easy task let me tell you!  But hopefully they are all set now and will make it to the meeting.

I have also enjoyed a couple of evenings out with the visitors and taken them to the handful of restaurants I know which has been fun and now as I sit here typing this up, I am just two weeks away from a short trip back home to Wilmington, NC to see my friends and my dogs and attend a very important high school graduation!

It has certainly been a different week here in Accra and I have still had to deal with ‘changing’ my night guard – the last one just slept one too many times and then I caught him asleep with the gate unlocked – that was the final straw, but it really has been so much more fun.  Being independent makes a big difference, especially after so many years being that way.

More news soon……