Part of Tuesday

It’s Tuesday morning and I’m lying in bed. We have some meetings this morning in town to arrange for renting facilities for the school. Yesterday we went into town to do some shopping and get some lunch, but getting back was a nightmare as usual. Getting a tro-tro at the university junction is such a pain. We timed it perfectly: we were there just as all the schools were getting out!

I had a Gulder beer yesterday, which is one thing that I wish we had in Canada. It’s so good, especially on a hot day (ie every day).

Being back feels pretty natural—I’m way more comfortable than I was in late September. It still has its moments, but all in all, I’m really happy. Nothing else to report for now.

Monday

Not much to report today. We’re working on more curriculum stuff for the school and getting the house organized a bit. My sleep seems back to normal. There was a huge storm at about 3 this morning and it sounded like a waterfall. It was roaring. But it’s another beautiful sunny day today.
I went into town briefly yesterday to use the internet and took the bus back. Ghanaians are overly friendly to foreigners. Every time a seat would open up, people would ask me to sit in it. It was the opposite of what we’re taught, as an older woman sitting on the floor offered me a seat that had just been vacated. Obviously I refused, but it was really nice of them to offer.
The Habs finally beat the Leafs. Now why couldn’t I have watched that game instead of the Habs/Canucks game? Hopefully this’ll turn them around, although I have a feeling I’ve said that several times in the past month or two. Ok, that’s it for today.

Back in Kumasi

I’m back at home now, after a bus trip that didn’t seem as Faw-King Long as it has been in the past. I’m exhausted. This morning I woke up at 2:30 and didn’t get back to sleep, after waking up at 3:30 Friday morning and not going back to sleep. Because I’ve been tired, I’ve slept each afternoon, which probably contributes to me waking up in the middle of the night. Also, the fact that it is stifling hot makes it hard to sleep. Actually, I think that the heat is a big factor in this cause I’ve come from a cold climate, unlike when I came here in September. But seriously, I’m happy to be back in my room and house—my home. And we have running water (until the tank runs out)!

I can’t really think of anything else to write now. I watched Ghana beat Senegal yesterday in the African Cup of Nations, so that was cool. I’m reading a really good book right now: Vengeance by George Jonas. It is the book on which the movie Munich is based. It’s intense and provides a great window into the terrorism that was spawned by the Cold War, something I am too young to have seen. It’s unbelievable how common terrorism was back then, especially considering that we supposedly live in the Age of Terror. Hijackings, kidnappings, bombings, etc sounded pretty commonplace in the Seventies.

Ok, I’m done. I’m going to sleep, hopefully for more than 4 hours. It’s now Sunday morning. I did wake up in the middle of the night but got back to sleep. Still, I was up before 6 for good. I’m getting there. You’re all welcome for my providing the amazingly interesting details on my sleep patterns.

We have relocated somewhat. Dr. Addae has moved a computer and printer to the house so we don’t have to go to the office. This is better for two reasons. One, we don’t need to spend as much on gas as we won’t be driving to town. Two, we don’t need to spend hours in transit, waiting for tro-tros. The drawback is that I won’t be going into the city as often. I’m going to try to get on the internet at least every two days, but it’s a bit of a pain in that respect. We’ll see how it goes.

First day back

I am really tired. I can’t remember being this wiped in ages, cause when I came here the first time, I’d already been in Ireland for a few days. And I’d come from Toronto. Vancouver to Ghana is a bit longer, although it’s only an eight hour difference, so maybe I should stop whining.

Today was very relaxed—just hanging out in Accra. Being back is a bit surreal, but it’s sinking in quickly. I’m going to stay in Accra for one more day and head back to Kumasi on Saturday. It sounds like Dr. Addae has had some good success with the Ministry of Health and various other potential supporters for the natural medicine school, so I’m looking forward to getting back to work. I’ve also got to find a place to install a well for Shawnigan and get a contract to have it dug so I know how much I’ll need from them. Plus my 40% commission of course.

Just kidding. More later (probably Sunday, maybe Monday).

Here, hot, and happy

The 17 hours I was on the plane was not the best 17 hours of my life, but it wasn’t the worst either. So-so. Amsterdam was pretty boring and on the flight to Accra I was surrounded by Ghanaian men taking full advantage of the free alcohol. It was pretty funny and I quickly remembered some of the differences between Ghana and Canada—such as not lining up or listening to flight attendants!

Nana Aba picked me up at the airport and I am now at her house, about to go to sleep. Although leaving home is never fun, especially after such a great holiday, I’m really happy to be back. I’ve only got about 5 more months, so I have to make the most of it. There’s so much to do and see and all that. I’m not heading to Kumasi til at least Friday. Hopefully I’ll get this up Thursday.

PS. Lord of War is a good but depressing movie, I slept through Wallace and Gromit, A Good Woman was actually not bad (Scarlett Johansson is gorgeous), I slept through too much of Sin City to make any sense of it (it seemed a bit dumb and overhyped) and Red Eye is decent.

PPS. It’s now Thursday afternoon. It’s hot. Cold showers are a lifesaver. So is David, as I’m sending him this to post.

Amsterdam

So I'm an idiot. I think I've written that at least three times on this site. I took my wireless card out just before I left Vancouver, not wanting to bring it to Ghana, thinking that I could just connect using my cable in Amsterdam. Wireless cost 10 euro for 24 hours, whereas non-wireless is 9 euro an hour. And I'm three hours into a 6 hour layover. Fortunately, I skipped the 12 euro shower in favour of deodorant, facewash and a toothbrush.

My flight here was long and uneventful. I'm looking forward to my next one 'cause I get my own TV with about a hundred movies to choose from.

Overall, it was a great break and I'm happy I came home. I'm also looking forward to being back in Ghana and getting back to work. I'll post as soon as I can (it's going to suck not to be able to check email in bed!) when I'm warm and not in Holland. That's all for now, take care.

Heading back happy

It's Tuesday morning. I'm leaving for the airport in 20 minutes, so I'm not going to write much. I'm thrilled about the election. The importance of what happened in Quebec cannot be understated. The Conservatives came second in 37 ridings and won 10. It is a really important day for federalism in Canada. I think this government will last longer than most minorities, because the Liberals are mired in debt and leaderless and no one wants an election.

I'm happy to be heading back to Ghana. It's a lot easier than last time, because there is way less uncertainty. I'm sad to be leaving home, but knowing what's on the other end makes it a whole lot easier. I have a six hour layover in Amsterdam tomorrow, so I'll post something from there. That's all for now. Take care, keep checking this, see you in June.

Lame

Brutal. For those guys to be making the money they make and come out with that effort is embarrassing. The Habs should apologize to the thousands of fans who paid to come out and see them. And who cheered "Go Habs Go" louder and more frequently than the Canucks fans, even when we were down 6-1. It was still neat to see the game and all the Habs fans though.

The only problem was this one jackass sitting near us who seemed to have the goal of not allowing more than 2 seconds of silence elapse. He also took to heckling me, which was fair enough. But when he made the same joke five times, it got a bit tiresome. Even the Canucks fans I was sitting with were getting annoyed. His best line of the night was "Bryan Allen reminds me a lot of Chris Pronger". Moron.

All in all, a pathetic performance by les boys. Congrats to the Canucks fans that have an IQ higher than room temperature.

Go Habs Go

I'm going to the Habs/Canucks game tonight. I can't wait.

I had some good meetings in Seattle on Tuesday with people who will hopefully be able to help us with the school of natural medicine. No money from any of them, but I think we've laid some good groundwork to have volunteers come over in the future.

On Wednesday I went over to Shawnigan to do a presentation to the school in chapel the next morning. I think it was well received and I really enjoyed doing it. I talked a bit about our work with water and also about our responsibility to help others. Tony Cape, motivational speaker extraordinaire. After the speech, one of the teachers came up to me and got me to talk to two of his Economics 12 classes, as they had been talking about water lately. It was very informal, but I had a blast. And then I got a commitment from the school to raise some money for a well or two, so I'm thrilled about that. The place seems to be running really well--very professional. There also seems to be less cynicism among the students than when I was there. You can read about my talk and see a truly appalling picture of me at www.sls.bc.ca. Go to the 'School Life/SLS Today' page.

And what would this be without an election thought/rant. It's the home stretch. The Toronto media has pulled out all the stops trying to get a Conservative to say something crazy. Liberal fearmongering is at a fever pitch. I don't think it will work though. Martin is done and to that I say good riddance. He's been a truly pathetic PM, especially considering the high hopes I had for him. One last thing on the election. At first I didn't really mind being told my values "weren't Canadian". But after hearing your PM say it over and over and have so many people agree with it is depressing. What makes me less Canadian than anyone else? For a party that craps all over the Republicans, the Liberals use the exact same tactic, even more so, IMHO. They paint anyone who disagrees with them as un-Canadian. Anyways, hopefully I'll be celebrating with "Beer and Popcorn (tm)" on Monday night.

Back from Whistler

I had a great few days up north. From Thursday night to Saturday morning, they got 50 cm. The skiing was incredible, although the crowds were as bad as I've ever seen.

24 was back tonight--great start. Thankfully Tony is still alive. Looking forward to the next two episodes tomorrow.

I want to finish with something much more serious. While we live peacefully at home, 2000 Canadian soldiers are either in Afghanistan, or on their way there. 3 were badly injured today when a suicide bomber hit their convoy and a Canadian diplomat was killed. God bless him, his family, and the injured soldiers. They put their lives on the line so others can have a chance to enjoy the same freedoms we are lucky enough to take for granted.

Predictable Tony

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but this is my blog and I do what I want!!!!

Paul Martin is just awful. I watched him on this townhall thing with Mansbridge. First question: "why did you complain about 'drive-by smears' in the debate and then release negative attack ads the next day?" Response: "these ads aren't negative" and then he went on to be negative. Like I said, I'm not really against it, but stop saying you're not being negative when you clearly are.

Any question that asked for concrete answers got empty rhetoric. The most obvious example of this was the one about dealing with the rise of separatism. "We have to be open with Quebec and respect them blah blah blah". How concrete and decisive of you.

There were so many good lines. Like "Canada has taken the lead on Kyoto". I guess he means we are among the leaders in increasing our greenhouse emissions since Kyoto was signed. Or "I have never said I would use the notwithstanding clause". Except for two years ago when I said I'd use it to protect churches, mosques, etc from having to perform same sex marriages. Oops.

Mansbridge should have called him on that, but I thought he was pretty good. The Liberals seem to be a bit shocked that the press isn't giving them a free pass this time around. He clearly didn't accept Martin's answer about the disgraceful ad that slandered our Soldiers. With Guns. In Our Cities. With Annoying Grammar. Because we don't have day care. In Canada.

Alright, those are my thoughts on this evening's performance by PMPM. Predictable Tony. One of these days I'll surprise you.

Attack ads

It's pretty rich of the Conservatives to complain about attack ads when they were the first to use them. But they were smart in hammering home from the outset that the Grits would go negative. With that said, I am not really against negative ads. They can work and it is important to criticize your opponents' perceived weaknesses. They can backfire though, or go too far.

Which takes us to the recent spate launched by the Liberals. They are fairly predictable and pretty bad. Typical anti-Americanism--using 'pro-American' as an insult, talking about shadowy ultra right-wing Americans, etc. I love the one about "did US right-wingers give to Harper? They have money." There was a great parody going around: "Bigfoot has money. Did he support Harper? We don't know, he's not saying." Lame.

But they completely crossed the line with the one about soldiers. With guns. In cities. In Canada. To imply that the Canadian Forces would help the Conservatives subvert democracy, or shoot Canadians or help install George Bush or Sauron or Voldemort as our leader is disgraceful. It is an insult to everyone who has ever worn the uniform. It shows nothing but contempt for those who put their lives on the line for us. What does that say to our soldiers in Afghanistan? Or those here. In our cities. In Canada. The Grits say it wasn't meant to come out, but that doesn't matter. It was made--that alone is unbelievable. They are desperate and will do or say anything to hold on to power. I really worry for this country if we re-elect these corrupt, arrogant jerks.

I think these will backfire. Canadians aren't stupid and the blowback on the military ad in the media is pretty bad.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a lawyer to explore starting a foundation here that I can use to raise money for RUCNET. The meeting is downtown. In the city. I don't think there will be guns. In the city. I'm not making this up.

Liberal ads

I have decided that I am going to keep writing about the election. It's not as if my opinions are anything new to most of you, but I enjoy writing and this is clearly the main news item right now. Feel free to email me with your comments/complaints/criticisms/insults.

I was watching Newsworld earlier this afternoon and saw a new Liberal attack ad. It was truly appalling. It was all about how a "Harper victory would put a smile on George W Bush's face." It was the most contemptible political ad I've ever seen. So much for repairing Canada-US relations. It's amazing the depths they well sink to save their butts.

So I went to the Liberal website to see the rest of the new ads and they were all pretty bad. The 'best' was the one talking about the contributions to his leadership campaign. "We do know he's very popular with right-wingers in the US. They have money. Maybe they helped." SCARY!!! Misinformation: Harper has revealed his donors from the Conservative leadership campaign. He hasn't revealed all the donors to his Canadian Alliance leadership campaign because some donors don't want their names revealed. I suppose you could argue that this is evidence that he's hiding something, but donnez moi un break. This was years ago, with a totally different party.

The Grits are really going for broke. This new series of ads is truly appalling and I think it will backfire. I wonder how much lower they can go. Dig up, stupid.

The leaders' debate

I watched the leaders' debate last night. Initial thought: Martin was terrible. And insane. What the hell is he thinking, pledging to get rid of the notwithstanding clause? Probably this: "I'm going to be evicted from 24 Sussex in two weeks--better go for a Hail Mary." I'm surprised the other three leaders didn't burst out laughing. File that one under "Not a Chance, Paul". Talk about a hidden agenda--he wants 9 judges (appointed by him) to rule the country. Who needs parliament anyway? I wonder if we're going to get a bunch of letters to the editor, talking about how Paul Martin "scares me" because of his "hidden agenda".

Harper was good, not spectacularHe deflected criticism well and did a good job of articulating the Conservative positions. The tone was set in the opening statements when Martin just trashed Harper with his tired fearmongering, whereas Harper didn't even mention Martin, focussing solely on what the Conservatives would do if elected.

Layton was boring. It's a debate, not an infomercial for recycled socialist policies. He directly answered maybe one quarter of the questions he was asked. I really like Duceppe. He is the only one who seems to care that we have a constitution that gives certain responsibilities to the provinces. He is totally right in telling Ottawa to butt out of provincial jurisdictions like health care and education. I wish the Bloc was a federal party.

In my not-so-humble, totally biased opinion, Harper won. Martin was passionate on some things, but it seemed so contrived, like absolutely everything about him. Either way, he certainly didn't land anything remotely close to a knockout punch on Harper.

The three best lines of the night:

1. "[Martin] is a living democratic deficit" - Duceppe
2. "The Liberal policy is 'Not Seen, Not Caught'" - Duceppe again
3. "We gave 5 billion to aboriginals because that is the root cause of poverty in the country" - Martin. That makes zero sense.

In fairness to the other three, Duceppe has the advantage of sounding hilarious. His accent alone is a reason to vote for him.

There's still lots of time left for Ontarians to be scared into voting for the Grits, so we'll see. But I've got my fingers crossed that Prime Minister Dithers is soon going to be Unemployed Dithers. And that's bad news for him, because as Duceppe reminded us a million times: "da Liberals stole $45 billion from da pockettes of da unemployed."

23rd straight day of rain

Well, I'm not sure if it's rained today yet, but it looks like it will. It was sunny this morning, which was really weird to see.

Not much has been going on. I'm heading over to Shawnigan next week and meeting with a lawyer on Thursday about setting up a charity here that I can use to fundraise in the future. I am waiting to hear back from a contact in Seattle. She is trying to get support for our college of natural medicine from a couple of schools in the Northwest.

I finally got to watch the Habs play on Saturday and they smoked Ottawa, which was pretty sweet. Their schedule over the next three weeks is unbelievably brutal though, so we'll see if they can climb out of this freefall. The World Junior final was incredible. The boys took it to the Russkies early and often. You could see that they were clearly intimidated.

I'm heading back to Ghana in two weeks and I'm looking forward to it. Finally, Happy Birthday to Ken (the 7th) and Mere (today)!

Hockey politics

Vancouverites showed their 'class' again today. I am honestly appalled. Cheering for Russia is akin to treason. The Americans are not always easy to like, but the Russians are worse. The guys on that team are a bunch of showboating cheap-shot artists. Their behaviour can be summed up by Malkin taunting the US bench after the 5th goal--the same crap they pulled last year.

And yet we still cheered for them. Including a hearty roar when the American captain almost had his head taken off by a Russian elbow. How do you think Cory Schneider, the US goalie feels? He's a Canuck draft pick and if I were him, I'd never want to play in this city for these fans. Or how about half the BC Lions who are American? We are continuing to embarrass ourselves, both through our actions, and even more so by the pride we seem to take from them.

There is a very ugly side to Canada and seeing it up close depresses the hell out of me. The same jackasses (more than half the arena I'd say) who are pulling this BS are probably the same people who loudly stand up and talk about how Canada is the most loved country in the world and how we're the most friendly people too.

I could go on, but I won't. I love my country--you won't find anyone who cheers harder for Canada in any sport. And I want our boys to win this tournament. But I don't know if we as fans really deserve it. Sorry to be so heavy, but I'm really angry at my city right now.

Another three weeks

I'm in Vancouver right now and have changed my flight. Instead of leaving today, I'm not going back til the 24th. Hopefully I can get a lot done in the next three weeks. I intend to meet with Shawnigan and some other schools in the area, as well as any foundations or individuals who might be interested. I also have to get to work on finding a job for next year. Anyone want to help?

I went to the US-Czech game last night and I have to say that I am pretty ashamed of my city. If the tournament were in the US and Canada were playing any European team, who do you think the American fans would cheer for? That we don't extend the same courtesy to them is sad. Holding up signs that say "U Suck America" and booing a bunch of teenaged hockey players is pretty classless. Also, isn't it ironic (don't you think) that Vancouver fans are booing Jack Johnson for a head shot to Steve Downie? Todd Bertuzzi anyone? It reflects poorly on us and I really hope we can clean up our act before the Olympics in 4 years.

Alright, no more politics. Although I did vote today--Marxist-Leninist of course. Shocking that people still are attached to that cuddly little mass murderer Lenin. Oh well!

I'm going to drop the sarcasm for seriously now. This has been a great few weeks and I'm really looking forward to the next few. It will give me a good taste of the life of an entrepreneur. No one is going to tell me what to do--I have to do it all myself. It should be challenging, and hopefully rewarding. That's all from me. GO CANADA GO!!!