Done with data collection and the President arrives in Akosombo...
Well, finally done with all the data collection.
Well, techincally, I was done with everything on Tuesday. Then I fiddled with the diskette on Wed and figured that things were going terribly wrong when I spent the whole Thursday trying to open up the files on it on over 8 computers from the dam studies division to the Surveyor's office to the internet cafe at Rosh Pinnah. It died. All my data and all the time spent entering 3 years of daily records on that useless blue diskette. No worries. I've fixed it today. Got it on a new diskette AND printed it all out on paper, the good old fashioned way. Just in case.
Took photos with the nice and helpful officers at the dam studies division and promised many people postcards from Singapore. Well, it's not difficult to remember their postal address. Everyone's got the same P.O. Box... just a matter of whose name u put on it. I just better remember to send the postcards when I get back.
I got a few emails from quite a few people about the blog address changing and so on... and I'm really heartened by the thought of having so many people wanting to find out how things are. Thanks. It was nice to be reminded that I still had friends back home who cared and were interested in how things were turning out... I just didn't expect it. Not after so many things that seemed to have happened over the last two years between London and Singapore... personal things. Guess I'm not going to be a hermit like last summer when I get back. Last year, the motto was if my friends wanted to look for me, they will... but this year, I'm going to make the active hello call! But please, if I don't get round to you for one reason or another (i.e. phone number changes) and you'll like to catch up, the phone numbers are still the same. So go check your RJ directory! Thanks Jianz. And to my housemates (now sadly ex...) I think I managed to unlock the comments thing. Anyone can leave comments. But I still dunno how to get the message board up. Someone help.
Thursday was market day. So are mondays. So I walked down the hill hailed a shared taxi for 2800 cedis and made my way to the market with auntie Agatha and her friend.
It's all muddy and something like the waterlogged mud at Mallorca when I had to go out for fieldwork... Nearly got stuck and had to be pulled out by someone. It's cos of the rains. It's finally arrived at Akosombo on Wednesday. It poured from about noon till about 3.30pm. BUt thankfully, the drains are well planned here and it didn't flood like in Accra. The papers showed the flood waters up to the height of the base of the window on a 4W drive. That's a lot of water.
So, the market was full of make-shift stores held up by poles and mats for roofs with the same things being sold by many different people. Tomatoes, Egg plant, peppers, salt, biscuits, sweets, milo and dry stuff, cassava, plantain and so on... There was hardly any meat left at that time of day... I bought some biscuits (9000 cedis for 2 packs) and some loo roll for the ferry trip and a piece of tie dye cloth from the market and sent it off to a seamstress to make a dress... cost me 170 000 cedis for the cloth (I have enough to make another skirt) and forgot to ask how much the sewing would cost. But it should be alright. And I'll get it on Sunday latest hopefully. We have to catch the ferry on Monday! I don't think I can meet Siobhan and Bronson come Sunday cos I've to wait for my dress... We had to visit like 6 seamstresses cos everyone had a lot of jobs to finish this weekend. But we finally found someone after all that hunting... Must have taken us an hour. I was all exhausted and lost after that. No idea why... but I just felt very lost and all in the market. Must be all that Twi... I've learnt a bit so far... Etisen, Eye, Medaase... not too bad... I'll survive...
Alright then... catch up with everyone again when we get to Tamale... then it'll be records of the ferry journey... the highlight!
I think some important guests just arrived at the Volta Hotel for some conference... more than 10 police cars just pulled up outside... whoa... who could that be? They say it's the President. Oh my! To think I was just at his country chalet last wednesday??? HE's actually here! ah!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to the hotel for lunch now... Hmmm... maybe I'll catch a glimpse...
My day just got exciting...
Well, techincally, I was done with everything on Tuesday. Then I fiddled with the diskette on Wed and figured that things were going terribly wrong when I spent the whole Thursday trying to open up the files on it on over 8 computers from the dam studies division to the Surveyor's office to the internet cafe at Rosh Pinnah. It died. All my data and all the time spent entering 3 years of daily records on that useless blue diskette. No worries. I've fixed it today. Got it on a new diskette AND printed it all out on paper, the good old fashioned way. Just in case.
Took photos with the nice and helpful officers at the dam studies division and promised many people postcards from Singapore. Well, it's not difficult to remember their postal address. Everyone's got the same P.O. Box... just a matter of whose name u put on it. I just better remember to send the postcards when I get back.
I got a few emails from quite a few people about the blog address changing and so on... and I'm really heartened by the thought of having so many people wanting to find out how things are. Thanks. It was nice to be reminded that I still had friends back home who cared and were interested in how things were turning out... I just didn't expect it. Not after so many things that seemed to have happened over the last two years between London and Singapore... personal things. Guess I'm not going to be a hermit like last summer when I get back. Last year, the motto was if my friends wanted to look for me, they will... but this year, I'm going to make the active hello call! But please, if I don't get round to you for one reason or another (i.e. phone number changes) and you'll like to catch up, the phone numbers are still the same. So go check your RJ directory! Thanks Jianz. And to my housemates (now sadly ex...) I think I managed to unlock the comments thing. Anyone can leave comments. But I still dunno how to get the message board up. Someone help.
Thursday was market day. So are mondays. So I walked down the hill hailed a shared taxi for 2800 cedis and made my way to the market with auntie Agatha and her friend.
It's all muddy and something like the waterlogged mud at Mallorca when I had to go out for fieldwork... Nearly got stuck and had to be pulled out by someone. It's cos of the rains. It's finally arrived at Akosombo on Wednesday. It poured from about noon till about 3.30pm. BUt thankfully, the drains are well planned here and it didn't flood like in Accra. The papers showed the flood waters up to the height of the base of the window on a 4W drive. That's a lot of water.
So, the market was full of make-shift stores held up by poles and mats for roofs with the same things being sold by many different people. Tomatoes, Egg plant, peppers, salt, biscuits, sweets, milo and dry stuff, cassava, plantain and so on... There was hardly any meat left at that time of day... I bought some biscuits (9000 cedis for 2 packs) and some loo roll for the ferry trip and a piece of tie dye cloth from the market and sent it off to a seamstress to make a dress... cost me 170 000 cedis for the cloth (I have enough to make another skirt) and forgot to ask how much the sewing would cost. But it should be alright. And I'll get it on Sunday latest hopefully. We have to catch the ferry on Monday! I don't think I can meet Siobhan and Bronson come Sunday cos I've to wait for my dress... We had to visit like 6 seamstresses cos everyone had a lot of jobs to finish this weekend. But we finally found someone after all that hunting... Must have taken us an hour. I was all exhausted and lost after that. No idea why... but I just felt very lost and all in the market. Must be all that Twi... I've learnt a bit so far... Etisen, Eye, Medaase... not too bad... I'll survive...
Alright then... catch up with everyone again when we get to Tamale... then it'll be records of the ferry journey... the highlight!
I think some important guests just arrived at the Volta Hotel for some conference... more than 10 police cars just pulled up outside... whoa... who could that be? They say it's the President. Oh my! To think I was just at his country chalet last wednesday??? HE's actually here! ah!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to the hotel for lunch now... Hmmm... maybe I'll catch a glimpse...
My day just got exciting...
posted by sheena at 3:45 AM
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