21st Century Digital Kid

Day 1301 - The End

2011-11-18T11:08:00.001-08:00

In the morning, I taught. Ruth came to my class for part of it (she caught me clarifying some issues in MacKinnon's "Difference and Dominance" but left before Cabral and Rorty).

Ruth picked up her dresses.

We napped a bit together.

Apparently, because of all the foul-ups, they gave Ruth and my folks the run of the business class lounge. Ruth drank juice and my Mom sounded a little (deservedly) tipsy when she called.

Then Ruth went home.

Days 1298-1300: The Beginning of the End

2011-11-18T02:52:00.001-08:00

Early Saturday morning, my parents left for a weekend in Elmina, at my urging.

Saturday, Ruth and I just hung out. We read stories, we played tro-tro to Madina Market, we danced in the courtyard, we had a nap. Nothing special, except that it was special.

Sunday, we spent most of the day at the Shangri-La (and by most of the day, I mean five hours). We ended up grabbing a cab down after waiting forever for a tro-tro (not that hard to get... except on a Sunday). There, we played in the big pool - some other children had brought small animal-shaped squirters, and Ruth asked very nicely if she could borrow one.

The pool was pretty crowded - the other kids (mostly expats) were all a bit bigger and better swimmers (I tried pointing out the girl who was probably only 4-5 and swimming underwater, but Ruth was unmoved), and so Ruth was having fun but would sometimes get a bit frustrated that she couldn't follow them off the steps. I managed to convince her to let me carry her on my back while I swam (despite it meaning - horrors - that her face was close to the water), and of course once she took the plunge that was all she wanted to do, squealing the whole way.

I loved it.

We ate pizza by the pool (and drank some pineapple juice). Later, some local kids came and Ruth played quite energetically with them in the splash pool - throwing a beach ball around, flipping and horsing around, and even convincing one to let her ride on her back.

She also found a large swing near the pool, which she climbed on for a while with a little girl about her age. It was grass, so I let them go pretty far up onto the sides - Ruth can be brave when she wants to be.

And, of course, after five hours, it was a good place to take a flop.

Monday, following a tip from the Embassy, we went to see Mr. Happy at Unique Ceramics (Happy told me while we were there that he was interested in turning the place into an NGO - first thing they should get their own website!). He was very nice even though Ruth was - as usual - a bit shy.

We started with a quick tour around the workshop area. Ruth was especially impressed by the big walk-in kiln that they use for firing large pieces (like some huge vases they had on display - they were lovely, but I didn't think I could get one home!), and by the fact that they heat them in it for three days! Then Happy showed us how to throw pottery on a wheel, by tossing off a perfectly symmetrical flowerpot as if weren't no thing.

But for Ruth, he wisely started us on rope ceramics. Ruth tried her best to make it like a snake, like she does with Melissa, but soon found that rolling small balls for decoration was more her speed. So I made ropes and she made balls, and then Happy guided us in building them up into sort of cups. Ruth quickly became interested in filling hers up with tons of balls - it was a crown, she explained, and those would make it more comfortable. Happy was polite, but seemed to sense that she was done actually listening to directions and so moseyed off to take care of some other things, while I helped Ruth (this is not at all a criticism of him - and in fact, he only charged us for an hour despite our being there for over two all told, so it's not as if he was billing us for time that I was the only adult in the room). He told me that he'd call and I could pick up our creations in two weeks - I'm looking forward to maybe painting them with Ruth when I get home.

We stopped by Miss Gloria who, alas, was not quite done with Ruth's dresses. So we went back to the flat and met my folks - they'd braved a tro-tro from Cape Coast, much to my surprise.

Ruth napped, and I thought about how she was going home soon. I made some pancakes for dinner. I probably won't do that again while I'm here.

Days 1294-1297: I miss everything! But I do research!

2011-11-18T02:42:00.001-08:00

Tuesday and Wednesday I had to teach, so Ruth hung out with my parents, and I met up with them in the afternoon, mostly to just hang around their flat and relax.

Thursday, I finally got called to Burma Camp to do interviews! But you're not reading this blog to find out about my research. Just in case Ruth ever reads this and wants to know what her Dad did before he failed his tenure bid... after weeks of wrangling, I got a call telling me to come on 11/3. Not, "would 11/3 work for you?" but just, that's the day. So I went down and did a marathon series of interviews in Burma Hall (with no A/C). The only big issue was that - even though I told them I planned about an hour per interview - they had all the interviewees show up in the morning, which meant several of them were waiting around for hours and hours by the time I was able to get to them. Not that anyone would take my offer to "go and come." Ah, the military. I did update my hypothesis, though. While I'd gone in thinking that perhaps involvement in peacekeeping would have a beneficial effect on attitudes towards human rights and civil-military relations, I walked out thinking that it was more of a "scared straight" program. What many of them told me was basically that, after having seen societal breakdown abroad, they didn't want it at home.

Friday, I was supposed to go with the family back to Teshie to (for reals this time) see the coffin makers, but I got called back to do more interviews at Burma Camp instead - and given how long I'd been working on it (and that this was the centerpiece of my research project here), I couldn't really say no.

Fortunately, I was done by about lunch time - everyone else had gone to see the coffin makers (Ruth liked the cow!) and I met up with them for a very nice lunch at Next Door Restaurant out in Teshie. There was a sort of sea-water-filled artificial tide pool there (it looked like it had seen better days, and was maybe from when they'd been planning to expand Next Door with a hotel), and Ruth and I splashed in it and wondered at the tiny, tiny snails.

Grampy's Ghana Photos

2011-11-18T02:38:00.001-08:00

For any of you who may not be following along on G+ or FaceSpace, here are my Dad's Ghana photos (I hope the link works for you):

Ed Levine's Ghana photos (on Facebook)

Days 1292-1293: Actually Getting to Hang Out With Ruth

2011-11-18T01:47:00.001-08:00

On Sunday, we all went to Coco Beach.

I'd missed going to La with the family due to work (see my Mom's guest post for details on it), but I'd read that Coco Beach was a great spot, cleaner and quieter than La beach.

Unfortunately, that turned out to not be entirely true. Apparently La beach had recently been subject to a major clean-up, while Coco had gone downhill a bit. So, it was more than a bit trashy. But we still had a good time with Ruth. Coco had a lot more shells - we had fun finding a zillion tiny spiral shells. Ruth played in the surf with a couple of the local kids, and I held her so we could feel the waves crash against us a bit (while being very careful not to let - heavens forbid - a single drop of water touch her face).

Afterwards, we headed back through the Radisson and grabbed some lunch at their restaurant. Mostly, it was a chance to hang out near the beach a bit longer and for Ruth to play on their playground (the advantage of very slow service at almost any restaurant here is plenty of time to play around!).

We had been hoping to see the coffin makers at work, and we thought we'd cleared that they would be around on Sunday with Mr. Lartey, but it turns out that they were not. So we just drove back to campus.

That evening (at least I think it was that evening) I'd promised my Mom that I would get her "authentic" Ghanaian food from Basement Plus, a small restaurant on campus. We did indeed have an authentic experience - I was going to get her banku and okro stew, but they were out... as they were out of a lot of things. We settled on just asking what they did have, and ended up with some fried fish and some palava sauce with yams for me. The other part of "authentic" is that - as promised - everything was flavored with smoked fish (even the palava sauce). Ruth, of course, had pizza. As actually did I - the smoked fish is really starting to disagree with me, for some reason.

Monday, my parents went down into Accra for the day and Ruth and I hung out. We'd decided to go to Madina Market - she had been playing pretend all week on the stoop at the side of the Fulbright House that we would get on the tro-tro (we would have to wait for one going our way) and then go to Makola Market. When we would get there, we would have to go "whoa!" and talk about all the different things people were selling - "look, there's a big pile of toothbrushes!" and we'd always end up buying some rice and beans while we were there. Makola is actually a bit of a trip, so I sold her on going to Madina instead. Our misson: coconuts to drink and some blue fabric to make a dress for Ruth's friend Sasha.

I hadn't been before, and I think I misinterpreted Melissa's instructions, because we got pretty lost. The first time I asked someone where we might find fabric sellers, she brought me way outside the main market to what I can only assume was a friend of hers - and who was very overpriced (10 cedis/yard for mediocre fabric? Saa?).

Fortunately, next we found a coconut seller. One guy seemed to be a bit drunk, and also to be poking gentle fun at the obrunis, but his English was pretty sketchy. I felt bad, but I wanted to say, "it can't be that funny because no one else is laughing, and it's lost on me since I have no idea what you're talking about." We got a coconut with a lot of juice, and then squatted down under a tree to drink it - if you think that I probably ended up drinking most of it, you'd be very wrong, Ruth can put it away (and loves them - it's a shame it's the sort of thing you don't find back in the US). She got a kick out of how the guy then split it open for us and hacked off a piece of shell to use as a scoop to get the meat out - she got pretty good at it!

Grimy from dust and sticky coconut juice, we soldiered on to find fabric. And on... and on... Finally I came to a large yellow building, with a sort of courtyard inside (and strangely, much emptier than the rest of the market) where I found some fabric sellers. I got a bolt of green to make a surprise dress for Melissa (you'll have to wait for her to upload a photo) and we did in fact find some blue for Sasha:

Then, home on the MMT bus, and a bouncy bouncy nap. I'm pretty sure that shock absorbers are illegal in Ghana.

Back at Grammy and Grampy's flat, we made dirt cups and then had a proper nap.

(As my Mom warned me, Ruth much preferred making the dirt cups to eating them. Weird kid.)

After the nap - what else? Grammy and Grampy were still on their adventure in Accra, so Ruth and I got pizza from the Guest Center and watched Ratatouille (my goal when I get home is to get her to eat actual ratatouille - I even have a mandoline, so I can make it the way they do in the movie, probably).

NEXT: Not getting to hang out with Ruth!

Days 1277-1301: Grammy's Story

2011-11-17T01:52:00.001-08:00

Guest post by my mother, Chris Levine!

Appalling was how Daniel accuratelydescribed the circumstances that kept Ed and me from a long-awaitedand specially planned trip to meet Melissa and Ruth and him in at theUniversity of Ghana in Legon and to travel to the Tafi Atome MonkeySanctuary in the Volta Region of Ghana. in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Our three trying attemptsto reach Accra and our family are here documented.

Thursday

October13 – On our way: YEA!

12:30 PM: departed Albanyfor Atlanta

8PM: departed Atlanta,FOR THE FIRST TIME; flew 3 ½ hours over Atlantic; returned toAtlanta due to insufficient and non-flushing toilet facilities. Supposedly, this difficulty would be corrected at 16K feet:NOT; arrangements made by Delta for all passengers to check in atvarious “local” hotels. However, most hotel shuttles had beendiscontinued by 3AM.

Anxiety:Do not want Daniel to stay behind; he worked so long on planning theadventure to the monkey preserve for his family and friends! How tocontact Daniel – considering the four-hour time difference, Danieland Mr. Lartey repeatedly awaiting us at the airport, inability touse cell phones/laptops while in air, etc., etc?

Friday

October14 – Still not there

3AM: arrived at Marriott;wait in queue for Delta passengers to be checked in

4AM to 8AM: attempted tosleep

11AM: departed forairport and a second security check-in

2PM: departed Atlanta,FOR THE SECOND TIME - ON THE SAME AIRCRAFT; flew 2 ½ hours overAtlantic; again returned to Atlanta due to insufficient andnon-flushing toilet facilities. Supposedly,this difficulty was to have been corrected early that morning –NOT! Déjà vu?

9PM: departed for Accra FOR THE THIRDTIME – ON A DIFFERENT AIRCRAFT. NOT! We sat at the gate for twohours, due to an instrument panel concern. Finally...

11:30PM: departed for Accra

Saturday

October 15– Exhausted and disappointed to have missed our tripto the sanctuary; irate at Delta

1PM: arrived in Accra –finally, but sadly hours after Daniel, family and friends had leftfor the Tafi Atome MonkeySanctuary. We missed an adventure, yes; but, sadly to say, a younggirl on our flight missed seeing her mother before her mother passedaway.

Ourexperience going through customs at Accra's Kotoka InternationalAirportwas facilitated by Stephen – a Ghanaian passenger with whom we hadbecome acquainted during our nightmarish flights. His driver sped usto the Guest Centre and requested that we get the bestaccommodations... we did: bright early morning sunshine and colorfullate afternoon sunsets!

5PM:surprised by Theresa who had come to the Guest Centre at Daniel'srequest to ensure that we had surely arrived, were given cell phoneswith the urgency to call him, and to be invited to Sunday dinner atthe Fulbright flat.

Sunday

October 16– Missing Daniel and Melissa and Ruth

Thiswas a relaxing day – once we'd slept in and had breakfast. TheGuest Centre was the perfect place for us to stay - it was just aquick walk across the field to the Fulbright flat; providedbreakfast, and offered a restaurant. (Ruth especially liked theirpizza; Ed appreciated Star beer!) We were eager to see the campus,so we toured around and chatted with students.

Laterin the day, we dined with Theresa and Bill. The dinner was sodelicious; the wine was so appreciated! Thanks, Theresa and Bill!

Monday

October17– Stillmissing Daniel and Melissa and Ruth

Althoughthis was another relaxing day, we were eager to keep busy,anticipating a late afternoon arrival of Daniel, Melissa and Ruth, sowe contacted Mr. Lartey to take up shopping at Game/Shop Rite.

Tuesday

October18– Bush Canteen

Eachday had a plan, because we wanted to spend time with Ruth and to giveDaniel and Melissa quality time in the three weeks Melissa was inGhana on holiday. On this day, we all met to tour some of theexpansive campus, be measured for and order dresses from Miss Gloria,then enjoy dinner at Daniel's flat. Fabulouslycolored fabrics had been chosen by Daniel, Melissa, and Ruth whenthey toured the Makola Market in Accra, prior to our arrival.

Wednesday

October19–MedinaMarket

WhileDaniel instructed his class, Ed, Melissa, Ruth, and I visited MedinaMarket... so many patterns; so many colors! Later that evening,Melissa and Daniel went on a “date,” and Ruth bunked in with us. I awoke during the night to find that Ruth had put her big toe in mybelly button! When I told her, she laughed and laughed – and, ofcourse, tried to do the same each night she stayed with us. Well,she's a fidgety sleeper, and her big toe found unusual places to land– my ear, my head. One night I awoke to find her armpit straddlingmy nose. How she giggled when I recounted her nightly wanderings!

Thursday

October20 –FirstNigerianDinner

Todaybegan with a pleasant breakfast with Dr. Ani, a colleague of Daniel'sin the Philosophy Department. It's pleasant to meet and chat withvisiting professors, parents, etc., who stay at the Guest Centre. The day was filled with dress making, watching the students at theirdance/drum classes and eating plantain chips at Bush Canteen. Dinner, our first of a number at the Nigerian restaurant, wasdelicious: plantains, chicken, yams, salad, rice, and Star.

Friday

October21– Missing Melissa

BeforeMelissa had to leave for home, we took Ruth to the University's pool. Although the big pool was closed for cleaning, we did refresh in theshallow baby pool. Ruth would have no part of the water, butwandered around the edge, pretending she was Belle and Ariel andRapunzel. To distract her at Melissa's departure, we all watched“Ratatouille” (for the ga-zillionth time) and pigged out onpizza.

Saturday

October22– Dance Class

Oneof the reasons we were in Ghana was to give care to Ruth - onceMelissa had returned home. This gave Daniel more time, while inLegon, to spend with Ruth and less time, when she was in Baltimore,to miss her. So... on many days, including this one, Ruth and Iwould play dress-up or “school.”

Dressing-upwas easy given the number of doilies found in our hotel. These wereimagined to be veils and bridal dresses and capes and gowns. Theterraces were her stages or fashion runways or castle towers. Ruth'simagination knows no bounds!

Later,we walked over to the University's botanical gardens. The flora isoutstanding and the landscape quiet and serene. Ruth was hesitant toreturn there, so Daniel and she hung out in the maze of gardensbehind the Balme Library.

Sunday

October23– La Beach

LaBeach is busy beach not too far from the University. It takes awhile to get there, though, as the traffic in Accra is maddening andchaotic. So many cars and too few roads. Although I must say, I didsee more roads under construction in the north and west parts of thecity.

Ruthloved to jump the waves, eat plantain chips, sip any flavor ofAlvero, bury my feet and her mermaid doll in the sand, watch thepick-up soccer games, run after the horses roaming the beach, andgenerally have unbridled fun!

Monday

October24 –“School”and SecondNigerianDinner

Ruthloves school and missed her freinds.

So...while we were in Legon, she (the student) and I (the teacher) played“school.“

First, wewould go to the “cafeteria” (aka Guest Centre restaurant) for ahealthy breakfast, then return to our flat for her “backpack” (alarge, plastic, Kente cloth-like sack I had purchased at the MedinaMarket) and await the imaginary “bus” that took her and Addie andCatherine and Isaiah to “school.”

“School”was one of the outdoor tables at the Guest Centre. Each day was adifferent “lesson”: reading (books by Ghanaian authors thatDaniel had bought her);

writing (drawing letters in the dirt);science (finding frogs hiding under lily pads);

fashion design (wearing the dresses of colorful fabrics Mommy and Daddy had bought her); dance (practicing her ballet/jete); film (Ratatouille again?) and cosmetology (prepping for the Halloween party).

Accordingto the story Ruth tells...

Unfortunately,one day (imaginary) Isaiah did not listen to his (imaginary) teacherand ran across the (imaginary) street to the (imaginary) bus. Hebroke his leg and had to stay in the (imaginary) hospital for FIVEYEARS! Can you imagine???

“School”always let out early, so that we could take “real” field trips toLa Beach, the coffin makers, drumming/dance classes, and to theUniversity's Archeology Museum. Ruth was most impressed with the oldpottery there – especially one that looked like a cupcake tin. Shewas also impressed with the human skeleton hanging in a glass box. Daniel was less impressed with her "enthusiasm," hopingthat she would not run into these artifacts and cause aninternational incident!

Laterthat night, Daniel joined us for a goat dinner at the Nigerianrestaurant.

Tuesday

October25– In Search of License Plates

Eachday, Ed would roam the campus and local communities searching forlicense plates. “Pay dirt” was at the junk yard behind theUniversity's fire department! While he treasured hunted, Ruth and Iwould listen to the student drum classes and watch the dance classes. Today, we watched as students played xylophone made from gourds. Later we met Daniel and again visited the Archeology Museum. Ruthwanted to show him the pottery... her enthusiasm, however, made us abit nervous.

Wednesday

October26– Shangri-La

AH!The Shangri-La had a wonderful, cooling pool. This day, a number ofkids were assembling for swim classes. Ruth had fun chatting withthe kids, sharing their toys. One little boy, Laurence, from Italyhad a little boat that Ruth enjoyed. His mom bought Ruth sweettreat: chocolate gelato! She enjoyed it totally – did not want my“help” in keeping it from melting... Does this bring back rainbowsherbert and bubble gum ice cream memories, Daniel?

Thursday

October27– Shai Hills and Cedi Bead Factory

Whatfun to see the baboons and the ostrich! While Daniel and Grampy andTimothy hiked off in search of the elusive antelope, Ruth and I jokedthat perhaps the antelope would graze by us,as we waited by the car. Unfortunately, NOT. But we did have ourown fun time singing: Home,home on the range, where the deer and the antelope roam...Believe it or not: the US did, at one time, have roaming herds ofbison, antelope, etc.

TheCedi Bead Factory, although a challenge to find, was fascinating. The explanation/demonstration of the process was short and clear andfascinating to Ruth. At Daniel's suggestion, she chose beads forherself and Mommy and her friends at the Y.

Friday

October28– Dad and Daniel Dine Out; Grammy and Ruth Dine In

Todaywas a “flop” day. Ruth attended “school,” then we met Danielfor a visit to the Archeology Museum and Bus Canteen. In theevening, Daniel and Ed went for a quiet dad-son dinner; Ruth and Iate pizza – well, I savored a piece or two. Ruth ate four slices! But, as Bill Cosby would rationalize... most food groups wererepresented: dairy, grain, fats, vegetables...

Saturday

October29 –AdinkraDurbarand ThirdNigerianDinner

WhileDaniel did more work and research, we thought we'd take Ruth to a newmarket that Ed had noticed on campus. Luckily, we happened upon theAdinkra Durbar, as “annual traditional festival celebrated in theUniversity of Ghana to display the rich Ghanaian cultural heritageand to install a new student chief known as the Chief Farmer forAkuafo Hall. The durbar showcasestraditional African dances, costumes and culture. On display and saleat this special occasion are Ghanaian dishes, drinks, artifacts,dresses and cloths. Ruth was in royal heaven!

While we were at the festival, Ibought jewelry from a local artisan, Ruth had her hair braided,Daniel relished Ruth's enthusiasm, and Ed made another license plateconnection.

That evening, Ed and I had our thirddinner with Theresa and Bill at the Nigerian restaurant. I hadarranged for another meal of roasted goat. (Unfortunately, we weregiven the sad news that the restaurant was moving to a new on-campussite.) We later attended a dramatic production at the EfuaSutherland Theater, while Ruth and Daniel had fun at the [REDACTED - Ed.] Halloween Party.

Sunday

October30 – Coco Beach

Wehad a fun day at Coco Beach. Many kids eager to interact with Ruth. We later ate lunch overlooking the ocean and Ruth eagerly played onthe hotel playground. This reminded me of the time we took Danieland David to QuébecCity. They had such fun on a rocket-ship-shaped jungle gym, unheading ofthe fact that QuébecCityis a major cultural center of the French-speaking world! But, Ed andI had such fun watching them and munching on buttery croissants!

Monday

October31– Grampy and Grammy's Accra Adventure

Thisday, Daniel wanted to spend quality/quantity time with Ruth at theMedina Market. So, Ed and I tried to take a tro-tro to downtownAccra. However, despite Daniel's very thorough explanation of how todo this, after nearly an hour, we opted for a taxi. We devised ourown walking tour from the lighthouse, into the heart of the city andMakola Market to the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum to Independence Squareto the Cultural Centre to Osu for a Chinese dinner. The day-longtour was entertaining and exhausting, but it was well worth our timeand energy!

Tuesday

November1– More of the Campus

WhileDaniel taught, we took Ruth on an extended tour of the campus. Sheimagined the white-washed buildings to be castles. She was thePrincess Ariel, and Grampy was Prince Eric.

Atone dorm, high on a hill overlooking distant Accra, we found a boxdesignated for clothing/book donations to a local orphanage. Welater brought some of Ruth's summer clothes and oft-read books here.

Wednesday

November2– Teaching and Swimming and Dancing

WhileDaniel taught, we took Ruth to the University's pool. This time, thekiddy pool was closed, but we made our own kiddy pool by adding waterto a foot-washing basin. Ruth had a ball! She bathed her two dolls,both named Kelly Piskelly, and squirted me with the hose. We broughta picnic lunch and danced to religious music blaring from a TV on thepool terrace. A hot walk home was cooled by a drippy/delicious icecream from the Night Market!

Thursday

November3 – Flop Day

Danielhad to conduct interviews at Burma Camp, as we went to the BushCanteen for a lunch of authentic Ghanian foods. Authentic food forRuth was Alvaro – a rich blend between malt-beer and fruit. NOT toworry! It's non alcoholic, is golden in color, and comes in fruit anumber of flavors-Ruth preferred passion fruit. While we ate lunchat the open-air canteen, we were amazed at the difficult/lengthyprocess of making banku.

Friday

November4 –The Coffin Makers

Thiswas the day that we had set aside to see the coffin makers, sincenone were open/found on Sunday when we were at Coco Beach. However,Daniel was unable to join us, as he was requested to conductadditional interviews at Burma Camp. We drove to Teshie-Nungua withMr. Lartey and were fascinated by the making, all by hand, of thecurious coffins. As the day was getting hotter, and we were gettingdroopy, we decided to skip another visit to La Beach and just stopfor lunch at the Next Door Restaurant. Surprisingly, Daniel called. He had finished his interviews and would join us! What fun – torelax by the ocean and wade in the surf!

Saturday

November5 to Monday November 7 –Our Trip to Elmina, Ghana

Edand I took a three-day excursion to Elmina, Ghana. Because Ghana isdeveloping its infrastructure, we experienced a long, Saturdaymorning delay in traffic, due to road construction. The three-hourtrip took five! However, one past the outskirts of west Accra, ourbus sped along beaches and small villages and by-way vendors toElmina. There we visited the slave castle El Mina, the fish markets,the posubans, Kakum National Park (canopy walk, tree platform, etc.)and Hans Cottage Botel (lunch and a crocodile scare!). On the returntrip, we took a tro-tro, must to Daniel's disdain/surprise. It was aspeedy trip – only 2 ½ hours! Along the way, to the delight (Ithink they were delighted, not derided) of the Ghanaian riders, wesampled various foods offered by the by-way vendors: corn cakes,plantain chips, bo froot, etc. YUMMY!

Tuesday

November8 to 9– Back to the USA

AlthoughDaniel taught this last day of our visit, we did meet him at hisoffice and observed his class. What was touching is that as helectured, Ruth would occasionally raise her hand, as if to say: Mightyou expand on that point? or I'dlike to add to that comment. It was so cute! Had Daniel noticed, he said he would have called onher! I wonder what she would have said.

Danielhung out with Ruth, napping with and reading to her, before we leftfor the airport. AT the airport, our nightmare of our arrival wasdocumented: a Delta rep upgraded us to business class ad invited usto the classy Sky Lounge. Ruth loved the glitz and glamor and FOOD!

Thankfully,our return flight was uneventful. Ruth was THE BEST of travelers andstated to Melissa that, because she was such a “good listener” onthis long flight, she could now go to China with Grampy. Yes!

Days 1290-1291: Secret Parties!

2011-11-13T13:25:00.001-08:00

Friday, we recovered. I think we ate pizza and watched Ratatouille. But then, that's just statistically a good guess as to what we did.

Saturday was kind of a big day. My mom had noticed that they were setting up a market on the lower campus, and so Saturday morning my folks were going to take Ruth there to look around while I caught up on some more work (if you must know, I started reading Osiel's Obeying Orders).

Then I got a call from my Dad telling me I needed to come down to it, as there was a huge celebration going on. I heard Ruth say, "I saw a king!" So I rushed down.

The first thing I noticed was that it appeared to be a major royal event sponsored by MTN. And people say that tradition and modernity can't mix. Pfft. That tent you see on the left of the photo was signing people up for MTN mobile service through the whole thing.

It took a bit to figure out what was going on. I'd missed out on the big parade when most of the VIPs came in, but fortunately, chiefs kept arriving (often interrupting the announcer, who was trying to keep things moving forward with random chiefs who couldn't be bothered to show up on time barging through and needing some pomp and circumstance).

Anyway, like I said, it was all very impressive - "I saw a princess! With a silver tiara (more of a headwrap with silver threading - Ed.)!" "I saw a queen, and you know what? She threw candy at me!" "That man with the golden staff must be the king." "No, sweetie, I think he's the linguist, sort of like the king's herald." "No, I think he's the king." - but it was a bit hard to figure out what it was all about. Part of it was language barrier, and part of it was that everyone around seemed to think of it as common knowledge - we'd ask, and they'd be like, "oh, it's just the [word I don't know]."

As near as we could figure out, it was part of a celebration of the founding of Akuafo Hall - "The people in green are the ladies in waiting!" "Sure - they're wearing green though because that's fabric for the residence hall they live in." - which was given a large grant back in the day from the cocoa farmers' associations. So we think this was the durbar (gathering/procession of chiefs) to celebrate that and elect the "Farmer King" and "Queen Mother" of the hall.

Anyway, it was fun to watch! And made up a little for the fact that, due to a date change, the Sunday Adae festival in Kumasi, where the Asantehene (King) meets with his subjects was the same weekend that we were in Tafi. But this way at least Ruth got to see a king with a golden crown. And for the rest of the week she kept wrapping herself up in sheets with one shoulder bare, emulating the way the "princesses" wore their robes.

After that, we did in fact go over to the market, where Ruth had a ball getting her hair braided, and my dad talked highlife with the guy who owned the beauty school whose pavillion we were in.

That night, my folks went out for Nigerian food with the Fulbrights across the hall (Bill and Theresa), and Ruth and I went to a SUPER SECRET HALLOWEEN PARTY. I'd been invited to bring her to it on the condition that I not share too many details (especially in advance). And my mom had brought with her some fairy wings and a fairy tutu, so Ruth even had a costume to wear.

I felt a little bit bad for her. As I'm not an employee of REDACTED and everyone else there was, talking to the adults was fine and people were friendly but it was clear that they knew each other well and were more being polite to me (can't fault them for that!). So a bit awkward, so I can deal. But most of the kids were kids of the employees, and so clearly knew each other well. Ruth spent a lot of time running up to everyone, explaining that she was a fairy, and asking, "what are you supposed to be?" Some of the older kids kind of snubbed her, but mostly they were like the adults - polite, but she wasn't part of their group.

Still, she seemed to mostly have fun, so I'm probably projecting awkwardness that a 3 year old doesn't really feel the same way.

They had pinatas (separated by age), but Ruth balked when it came time to hit hers and just watched/grabbed candy when it was broken.

One of the cool things, though, was that they had a "trunk or treat," which I'd never heard of. What it ended up being was that, in the parking lot, a bunch of folks had decorated the trunks of their cars - pretty elaborately! - and the kids went from trunk to trunk getting candy. People really went all out - costumes, light shows, smoke machines, etc. and Ruth seemed to think it was all pretty cool. She especially liked the 70s-themed one.

After trunk-or-treating (and eating some of the candy), we waited in line for the "non-scary" (lights on) run through the haunted house. Kudos to the work put in by the folks who did it, but even the "non-scary" run was pretty scary for the little ones. Ruth was the youngest to brave it (Melissa! She really wanted to go, and they said non-scary!) but all of the kids on my run flipped out a little at the "scary doctor." They had not turned the lights on in his room, and it was frankly pretty creepy - a patient tied down spreadeagled and moaning/writhing on a medical cot, the "doctor" with a bloodstained lab coat and glow-in-the-dark butcher knife, etc. Ruth needed to be carried the rest of the way (and reassured that we were leaving as quickly as we could) and one of the other girls (about 7 or 8) who had gone in without her parents held my hand the rest of the way, too.

Afterwards, I was more or less able to convince Ruth that the scary doctor was really a nice man who was only pretending to be scary, and we called George and went home. Poor George - by now, Ruth had warmed up to him, and monologued to him about the party the whole way home (especially about how the scary doctor was just pretend), but I think George didn't quite understand that she was trying to talk to him instead of talking to me.

Plus, you know, scary doctor, but she thought the scary clown was hilarious.

Day 1289 - Kpong and Odumase-Krobo

2011-11-13T10:12:00.001-08:00

Pronounced like this.

After Shai Hills, we pressed on north toward Kpong. I'd read about a traditional bead factory, Cedi Beads, up near there. Again, we had some trouble finding it. We took the road north from there, and it looked on my map as if we needed to hang a left at the Somanya junction and head up through Odumase-Krobo (spoiler: I was right). But the Somanya road looked a little rough, so George hopped out to ask directions, and we were sent back up the main road. I shrugged - the maps in the guide have been wrong before (especially in Congo!).

Where we ended up was at the "annex," which was nice but just a place to buy beads, not where we could see them made. Fortunately, the man running the annex was able to give us better directions to the factory itself - we had to loop up through Kpong and then back through Odumase-Krobo, which is where the factory was - back to where we would have come up from the south had we taken the Somanya road. He also gave us a number so that we could call ahead and ask Cedi himself if it was OK for us to come and look around.

Odumase-Krobo itself was a bit of a trip. The entire place was like one big market that ran for miles, and going was slow. There was a sort of astroturf street party at one point with shirtless guys dancing on a flatbed and handing out free samples of some sort of new bitters (didn't catch the brand, sorry). And every chop bar was blasting window-rattling music.

Ruth slept the whole way.

We did eventually find the factory, down a side road that we again worried would rip out George's undercarriage.

When we got there, Cedi apologized that it wasn't really in full swing. As it turns out, this was related to the craziness in Odumase-Krobo. We had unknowingly arrived at the beginning of the Nymayem festival, originally a millet-planting (I think planting) festival, where people would travel up to the ancestral home of the Krobo people, mount Krobo, and otherwise party for a week (we were sorry to have missed it, but it may have been just as well! Chieftancy disputes are no joke here, folks.)

Despite everyone else at the factory being off at the festival (and us feeling a little guilty, but he assured us that he was there anyway), and hence the kilns not running, Cedi was happy to show us around and walk us through some of the beadmaking. It was actually quite fascinating - the Krobo are one of the originators of the tradition of bead-making in Ghana, and widely considered the best (the archaeological museum here on campus has a ton of displays on Krobo beadmaking). At Cedi's, they do a few kinds - the cheapest and simplest ones are ones made by breaking up and fusing glass bottles (beer bottles for green, Coke bottles for a sort of faintly blue-white, etc.). Everything else requires the work-safety-defying process of grinding up glass (usually clear bottles, like from soda) into powder in a mortar and pestle and then adding pigments. They use the powder both to create straightforward beads in colors you can't find bottles in (e.g., red) and to make more complicated ones that involve painting designs on the outside with a slurry of glass dust and water (then re-firing) or building a pattern up from glass dust (Cedi made it look easy, but oh my). They also reclaim broken ancient beads by putting the shards into a form and re-firing them, fusing them into multicolored ones.

I was listening in interest (and wrangling Ruth, who was fascinated), so I only got the one photo of the demo work table, after he was done:

The kilns themselves are traditionally made from the clay from termite mounds - apparently the termites secrete a saliva that makes it more heat resistant. But, in the olden days, they would still only last a few months of heavy use before the bottoms and sides where the heat was most intense would start to break down. So the new thing is to use car parts to strengthen them - the floors of most of the kilns were made from leaf springs (my dad has photos).

And, of course, we bought some beads - I got a strand of small purple ones and black and yellow painted ones for Melissa (and a surprise for Channukha, of course). Ruth got some yellow ones for herself (and a larger star-shaped one), and we got a bunch of beads for Ruth's class (I hope - Melissa is checking with the teachers) to string into bracelets.

Then, everyone was exhausted, so we came home. I did not make George stop the car so I could try grasscutter at the place advertising it.

Day 1289 - Babooooooooons

2011-11-13T01:06:00.001-08:00

On Thursday, we got Mr. George to come pick us up pretty early so that we could do an ambitious two-part (we'd thought maybe three-part, but that turned out to be too much) trip up north of Accra into the hills.

First stop, Shai Hills Reserve! We almost missed it. George is a great guy, but his English is the weakest of Mr. Lartey's crew. So, when my mom and I spotted a gate at what we thought was the right junction and pointed it out, he said, "no, we are not there yet." We thought that he meant that he knew where we were going, and that we hadn't yet reached it. As the gate had looked pretty deserted, and I knew there was another northern gate, I figured we had to go up to Sayu Camp to get in. But it turns out that he had thought we were asking whether we were there yet, and it was only after the third time that I asked him, "are you sure?" and pointed out where I thought we were on my map, that we figured out the confusion, with him saying, "if you saw the gate, why did you not say something?"

Anyway, no harm done and we got back to the gate ahead of the massive (three tour buses full, massive) student tour group there from Volta. We hired a nice guy named Timothy as our guide and went out looking for animals.

We were not disappointed! About 500m into the reserve itself, we came across the troop of olive baboons that were reputed to hang out near the entrance, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Mission accomplished. Dad has provided dancing and two kinds of monkeys.

Here's a snap of the first one we saw:

We didn't want Ruth to go too close - she was excited after her close encounter with monkeys at Tafi Atome! - because these baboons aren't really properly habituated to humans. As I told her, "baboons can be grumpy." But Timothy ended up taking some crackers from my mom and feeding one of them, and they seemed pretty curious about us. We watched them kind of mill around, and jump through the trees for a while. Ruth was pretty excited about the baby that was clinging to her mother's fur as they hopped around. To be fair, it was pretty cute! I didn't get a good photo of that, but here two more (one with my folks):

After the baboons, we doubled back to see some ostriches.

The ostrich sighting wasn't really a wild game sighting, as the ostriches are refugees from a zoo (I think they said the Kumasi zoo) and still in a large fenced-in area. They're apparently going to be allowed to run wild once they get better acclimated to their new surroundings. But Ruth still thought they were cool, even if the best snap I got of one was right as it decided to stop looking impressive and start digging for bugs in its feathers.

After the ostriches, the plan was to head up to the Sayu Camp gate to drive toward where there's a bat cave (about 5k from the gate) that was once used as a palace for the chief of the Shai people, before an unfortunate misunderstanding with the British colonizers (the Shai were under the misunderstanding that just because they'd been there hundreds of years before the Brits and were mostly minding their own business, they had any rights).

The guide had said that most of the roads in Shai Hills were accessible only by 4x4, but Timothy seemed game, and he was the guide, so...

After having to push poor George's car out of the mud twice, and then changing to a different road with five-foot high grass growing in the median and rocks that a few times sounded like they were about to tear out the undercarriage (and with Ruth getting a bit tired and hot and grumpy)

we decided that we'd rather have an intact car than a visit to the bat cave. So Ruth and my mom stayed in the car with George and most of the water, and Timothy took my dad and I out looking for antelope.

Along the way, I just appreciated the beauty of the area. Shai Hills is an area of coastal savanna, broken up by large (mostly granite) inselbergs. I hope you think inselbergs are as awesome as I do, because here are a few pictures of them:

We heard there were impressively large rock python in the area, but we didn't come across any. We did in fact see some antelope! But the thing about antelope is that they're prey animals, and so evolution (darn you evolution!) has given them very good eyesight. By the time we were close enough (about 100 miles, by my estimate) to sort of kind of make them out, they had counted our nosehairs and were convinced we were a threat. Every time we would even move, the herd would bolt a bit further - at that distance, it was actually pretty uncanny.

(my homeopathic antelope picture)

After seeing the antelope, we went back to the car and then on for lunch, where my parents finally tried banku (and at least my dad liked it). Then, on to Kpong!

Days 1284-1288: We Did a Lot. What Did we Do?

2011-11-13T00:40:00.001-08:00

As I'm trying to reconstruct the past couple of weeks for all you loyal readers, I'm realizing that I should have taken notes! My Mom is smart.

Don't worry, though, the big trip days I have photos and etc. with date stamps.

The Saturday after Melissa left, my parents wanted to check out the Legon Botanical Gardens, which are a bit unkempt but really quite lovely. We stopped at the bookstore on the way, which actually has a pretty solid selection of children's books. In the past, I've brought one home for Ruth each time I've been in Ghana - my only disappointment was that on my last two trips they'd had a significant number of children's books in local languages, especially Twi, but not any more. We sat on the steps outside this time and read Chidi Only Likes Blue.

Unsurprisingly, when we got a bit further, Ruth didn't want to walk all the way to the gardens - my folks had brought a stroller with them, which made it easier for them to walk with Ruth, but also made Ruth a bit of a diva about walking when we didn't have it with us. So she and I went and played on the lawn behind the Balme Library while my folks explored the gardens a bit, and then we all had some lunch.

Sunday, Ruth and my parents went to La Beach and hung out while I caught up on some work. I missed out! Apparently they had a grand time and ate lots of plantain chips, but I'll have to let my parents tell that one.

Monday and Tuesday it rained, so they ended up being flop days. We had initially planned to go to Shai Hills on Tuesday, because the military had re-scheduled my teaching day that day at the last minute, but because the rain, we put it off until Thursday (and the next entry). Wednesday my folks took Ruth back to the Shangri-La while I taught.

One of those days we went back to the Nigerian restaurant - Monday? My mom had bonded with the woman who owned it and did the cooking, and had gone over to request goat. Most of the time when you get goat here in Ghana it's in soup - and much as I like goat, it's honestly not my favorite way to have it. But this was roasted to perfection.

OK, that's the boring stuff for completeness' sake. Next up, animals!

More Monkeys!

2011-11-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

If you would like to see a fine compilation video of our time at Tafi Atome, Tafi Abuife, and the Biakpa Mountain Paradise, all scored to classic classical music by my fine grad student Richmond Kwesi, your wishes have been answered!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24741244/Tafi.wmv

Days 1279 - 1283: Grammy and Grampy Arrive! Melissa leaves!

2011-11-09T01:50:00.000-08:00

Folks, I'll be honest. The almost-week that all of my parents, Ruth, and Melissa were in town was a little bit of a blur. I was focused on hanging out with everyone, and Melissa and I were spending some much-needed and little-gotten time together, so things may be short on the details here, and will definitely be short on the pictures.

I know my Mom takes notes on what she does on vacation, and my Dad is much more of a shutterbug, so I will ask them to write a guest post on the time they spent here from their perspective when they are settled in at home.

With that out of the way...

Monday night I took my parents - and, finally, Melissa - to the Nigerian restaurant on campus. The Nigerian restaurant is, hands-down, my favorite place to eat. We got a feast of yams, boiled plantains, chicken, rice, bitter greens with egussi, and spicy tomato sauce - and while they didn't have fan-favorite Alvaro for Ruth (I'm serious, the kid is going to go through Alvaro withdrawal when she gets home), they had a reasonable facsimile. For my parents, who had been eating at the Guest Center while we were away, it was finally some good African food.

Tuesday and Wednesday were teaching days for me. Tuesday morning, the sister of one of the folks who works at the Guest Center came by to measure everybody for some clothes (which turned out to be a disaster, but more on that later). And, during the day, Ruth picked up her bird dress from Miss Gloria down at Bush Canteen - it would be several days before she would consent to taking it off.

Wednesday I got out a bit early (canceled meeting, yay!) and Melissa and I took a "date night" into Accra while Ruth stayed over at Grammy and Grampy's flat in the Guest Center. We stopped in at The Loom art gallery and browsed - mostly contemporary art by Ghanaian artists, and we ended up going home with two pieces. Then, since it was still early, we headed over to the White Bell, which had been - accurately - recommended by the guide as a good place for a beer in Adabraka. So we hung out, chatted about light topics like the fate of the state of Maryland's IMD waiver, and had a few Stars in the open-walled second-storey bar. It was late afternoon, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which was nice, actually.

I then had the bright idea that we would walk down past Makola Market and out along 25 January Road (past the Nkrumah Mausoleum) to dinner. This was, in theory, a good plan. But then I left our paintings at the ATM - fortunately, they were still there after we doubled back, but by then it was very dark and neither of us were really in the mood for another click of walking, so we hailed a cab.

We had dinner at the restaurant at the place I stayed the first time I was in Ghana, the Afia African Village. Though their nice little gallery - composed of pieces the owners have picked up on travels through West Africa was already closed - the restaurant was still as good as I'd remembered it being (maybe not quite as good as the food at the Mountain Paradise, though!). And it was nice to sit in the open air and listen to the surf.

Then back to the flat, but this is a family blog.

Anyway, Thursday... what the heck did we do Thursday? I know we went back - at my Mom's insistence - to the Nigerian place, and had another lovely meal.

Friday we met up with the seamstress who had come to measure us... and it didn't go that well. Ruth loved the two dresses she made for her, and they were in fact great. Well, I'd picked out the green material as a surprise, since earlier in the week Ruth had seen a woman walking with a green and black dress and said, "ooooh! Her dress is so pretty! I want a green and black dress like that." It didn't hold a candle to the pink one made from fabric Ruth had chosen at Makola. These photos aren't from that day, but show off the two of them:

But she charged us twice what Miss Gloria did, made me a shirt out of the fabric for Melissa's dress, made Melissa a dress (that didn't fit right) out of the fabric for my shirt, and claimed that there were no fabric remnants (we were going to make a couple skirts for Ruth) - despite the suspicious presence of bolts of fabric pieced together from remnants (not ours) for sale among the cloth she'd brought the first time. When we made motions towards perhaps that we were unsatisfied, she was very sorry but didn't offer to, say, refund our money or fix anything. So, when in Legon - go to Miss Gloria at Culture Touch!

And, unfortunately, Friday it was time for Melissa to head home. I was glad she was going to have a chance to rest, but of course sorry to see her go for what would be two months.

Day 1301: Basically My Favorite Conversation Ever

2011-11-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

RUTH: Daddy, I need to tell you about something.
ME: OK, what?
RUTH: Come sit over here. [Pats the ground in front of the gate to the Fulbright House, and we sit] Do you know about this place? DREAMLAND! [Her eyes go wide and she spreads her hands in front of her dramatically] It's the place where you can see anything you want to.
ME: What do you see there?
RUTH: I see... DORA! No. I have a little one, she doesn't understand Dora yet.
ME: What should I dream about?
RUTH: You should dream about... coming home to see me at Christmastime!
RUTH: And Channukha.

Apparently, she'd earlier had a conversation with my Dad, where she told him that she saw Mommy in Dreamland (she's been here, without Melissa, for about 2 1/2 weeks for those not following along at home). And then she told him that he could dream about Great-Grammy (who died last year - she's been asking/talking about death a lot... it's been that kind of year).

I promise, I will fill you in on other stuff that's been happening here in Ghana soon. She left with my parents about 2 hours ago, so I'll have nothing but time for a while.

Days 1277-1279: Hey Hey We're Monkeys

2011-10-23T15:03:00.000-07:00

While my parents were enduring their ordeal (see previous post), Melissa, Ruth, and I - along with several of my colleagues: Ben, his wife Susan (visiting from the US), Richmond, Anna-Marie, and her partner Carl - headed out to the Volta region. The bus was a bit crowded, and the trip was longish, but worth it. The countryside was beautiful once we got out of Accra.

The first challenge, however, was when we got to the base of the mountain at the top of which the Mountain Paradise sits. This is the nearby village of Fume, sitting at the base of the mountain.

This is Mt. Gemi, one of the highest in Ghana, which rose majestically across the valley from us:

This is the mist laying in the valley, as Ruth oohed (it's like clouds!) over our first breakfast there:

This is some of the foliage (courtesy Melissa), and the beauty of the mountain sunset:

Oh, and this is the road leading there:

The hotel didn't mention that there wasn't so much a road leading the 4km up the mountain to its location as... well, a lack of a road. A sort of potential, aspirational road.

This wouldn't have been such an issue had we been in a 4x4 or some such. But there were eight of us in a Tata minibus, which was... interesting. We struggled up the steep incline, through the mud and scree, with no guardrails, and the driver occasionally getting out to haul chunks of rock out of our way.

Eventually, we made it to the top, and no one died (though it seemed close at a couple of points). And it really was beautiful. I also learned a lesson about my haggling skills.

ME: Hey, so we're hoping to hire you guys to head down into the Tafis tomorrow. How much will it be?

DRIVER: I will do it for 150 cedis.

ME: Saa. Tony [the guy who runs the Mt. Paradise] said it would be 80.

DRIVER: Tony is not here.

Chastened, I went to help everyone settle in. The air was clear, the mountains were beautiful, and Ruth wanted to pretend we were hunting bears "for their meat."

The adults took a hike down to a nearby river, and Melissa, Ruth, and I hung out around the place enjoying the nature.

Ruth also discovered the Mancala board in the shape of a crocodile they had in the bar overlooking the mountains. I tried to teach her the game, but she mostly liked to put the seeds in the scoring pocket on its head, or in its mouth, and say it was eating eggs for breakfast.

That night, a huge storm rolled in, and so we snuggled in with Ruth to comfort her after dinner (I had the most delicious groundnut stew I've ever had - though mine is getting pretty good now). The power had gone out due to the storm, anyway.

The next morning, we met some Indians who were living in Tema now and running an import/export business. Ruth announced that she no longer was going to eat oatmeal for breakfast (up until now, a favorite), but was going to eat "regular food." So we sat and watched the mist burn off and she ate some bread and drank Milo. Fun fact: all chocolate products in Ghana are marketed as health foods.

After breakfast, the ride arrived. I'd mentioned the "Tony isn't here" thing to Tony at dinner, and he said he'd take care of it, and he did. He found a driver who would take us to the Tafis for the promised 80gc. So what drove up was an ancient Peugeot. I mean, I'm pretty sure Fred Flintstone bought it with his summer job money. It rattled, and fumed, and looked held together with chewing gum and love of Jesus, but it got us down the hill (with Ruth perched precariously on Melissa's lap). Even though we had to stop for gas at an old-timey petrol station, where they manually cranked the gas up into a glass beaker to measure it out.

We got to Tafi Atome and piled out to find the visitor center. While we went to check in and find our guide, Anna-Marie, Ruth, and Melissa went over to check out the church service going on.

Though Ruth was mostly excited about the goats, she got less shy and even danced a bit to the singing in the church.

But we were there for monkeys!

Our guide arrived with a bag of bananas, and told us a bit about the sanctuary on our very short walk out to find a troop of monkeys. We lucked out, and there was a group just sort of hanging out near the entrance. The guide very nicely asked Ruth if she had any questions about the monkeys, but it was clear that Ruth's only question was WHERE ARE THE MONKEYS.

She was not disappointed for long! The guide called to the monkeys and held out a banana, and pretty soon the bravest little monkey jumped out of the trees to grab his banana, to squeals of laughter from Ruth. The monkeys in the sanctuary are monas, and about the size of large cats. It was pretty impressive - they were fearless, running up and grabbing bananas and wolfing them down, and leaping through the trees around us (including one that leapt from a tree, bounced off Melissa's head, and landed on my arm to grab the banana I was holding out).

Anna-Marie was the first of us to try to feed them:

Melissa and I both helped Ruth hold bananas for the monkeys to eat, which Ruth seemed to love:

Anyway, here are some more monkey/forest pictures!

After seeing the monkeys, we wandered around the forest for a little while, and then loaded into our warhorse station wagon to take the bush road over to Tafi Abuife, which is a kente-weaving village. We passed a beautiful mango orchard on the way, which alas I didn't get a photo of.

Tafi Abuife was also quite nice (though not as much of a hit as the monkeys, Ruth did mention the next day how much she liked seeing the looms). We started out with a quick lecture on the history of Kente cloth, in which Richmond brought up the great and acrimonious debate about whether the Ashanti created kente weaving, or whether they stole it from the Ewe. As Tafi Abuife is in an Ewe area, so we got their version of the story - they learned the art by watching spiders weave, and then the Ashanti learned it from captured Ewe during their wars.

They then took us to see the looms, and even brought out a fellow (it was a Sunday, so we felt bad but they insisted for the obruni) to demonstrate their use. The whole process is extremely impressive - boys and girls in Tafi Abuife start learning the art at seven years old, and the weaving requires manipulating multiple shuttles and the loom itself with both hands and feet.

(And, of course, we bought a few pieces)

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. We did learn, during a stop to buy something to eat in Fume, that the one thing Ruth likes more than monkeys eating bananas is eating bananas herself.

Oh, and when we got back, Carl found some spent shotgun shells on the patio - apparently the Indians had been firing off rounds into the valley for fun before they left. We also met a very nice couple from the UK, John and Mandy, who took a shine to Ruth and told us about how they were near the end of their time tooling around Ghana by tro-tro and whimsy. I tell Melissa that when Ruth is 15 we're going to come back to Africa and do something similar, or maybe just get bicycles.

Before Ruth came to Ghana, I had promised monkeys and drumming/dancing. Don't say Dad doesn't deliver. We'd been by the music/dance department on campus a few times to watch their classes, but I arranged with the hotel to get a dance/drum troupe in from the nearby village of Amezdofe to perform after dinner. They were a bit late arriving, but I knew it was worth it when we heard them signing as their bus came up the mountain and Ruth started running around saying, "I hear singing! They're here!"

Ruth was a bit shy when they started, but opened up after they'd been there for a while and I told her that she could dance both barefoot and a bit further away from the action, where she felt safer.

We had a blast. Ruth wanted to do this sort of combination of ballet, moves she was copying from the dancers, and parkour. I loved dancing with her - we would spin, and windmill our arms, and run back and forth up a nearby ramp that she was treating like a proscenium. I wish I had video, but here's a photo from when I had to stop to catch my breath, and tried to snap one of her:

I wish I could describe it better, because I know she won't remember much, and my memories will fade, and it was wonderful.

In the end, I managed to get Ruth to join the final dancing circle with me and some of our gang.

The next day, we hung out in the morning, and Ruth played with some other kids who were there (I think children of one of Tony's family, but they didn't seem to speak any English):

Then the adults headed off to Amezdofe to check out the waterfall, and Ruth and I braved the very steep path down into the valley to the stream. I have to say, she was a trooper - she made it all the way down what was a steep, slippery, and sometimes a bit frightening path walking on her own and holding my hand, and taking any slips and slides in stride. At the bottom, I helped her dangle her feet in the very fast-moving stream.

I swear I didn't Photoshop that first one, but the difference in the light bouncing off her and the background is sharp.

Then we started our way back up. Ruth was a bit scared, I think, and it was no picnic, but I managed to get us back up through a combination of lifting her up to relatively safe ledges and telling her to stand still until I could clamber up to a stable footing of my own ("the Daddy elevator") and bracing her while she climbed ("the Daddy tree").

When we got the top, all that was left was to change out of my apocalyptically sweaty/dirty clothes, settle the bill (I'd planned the trip, so I was the designated, "we're going to need a spreadsheet" guy), and load Ruth into the bus home, where she slept most of the way to finally reaching campus, and Grammy and Grampy.

Oh, and I bought one of those mancala sets (what can I say, I like playing too). I tell Ruth that we're going to learn how to play for real when she's got a better attention span for counting, but until then I'm pretty happy to just watch her put "eggs" in the crocodile's mouth.

Day 1276: Grammy and Grampy Don't Arrive!

2011-10-23T13:28:00.000-07:00

I went to bed last Thursday night expecting to run over to Kotoka Airport late Friday morning and grab my folks with Mr. Lartey while Ruth and Melissa made them a welcome sign. I checked the flight status and saw that they'd left the US on time. Whew.

Alas, it was not to be.

Google, please index this post as Delta, Delta Sucks, Delta is Terrible, I Hate Delta, F*** Delta. You get the picture.

I woke up Friday morning to a somewhat cryptic email from my folks saying that their flight had turned around. It turns out (and here I'm sparing you the convoluted process I took to get these answers, so some of this I only learned once I finally saw them) that there was a problem with the bathrooms on the plane. The flight crew said that they would start working when the plane hit 16,000 feet.

Guess what happened!

My Mom, about 5 hours into the flight or so, decided to check the flight path display, and huh, saw that it seemed they'd turned around. Oh, wait, did you expect the flight crew to inform the passengers? Oh, no no. They'd gotten 3.5 hours out, half the bathrooms didn't work, and so they turned around. Delta, in its infinite generosity, put them up in a cheap hotel room and gave them a $6 voucher for breakfast. Score!

I had carefully planned a trip for the family to the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary and a stay at the Biakpa Mountain Paradise. I'd arranged for a bus to pick up the family and a bunch of other interested obruni from campus, and we were going to spend a relaxing weekend in the rural Volta region. Importantly, I'd scheduled this for the only weekend that both Melissa and my folks were going to be in town, and we were scheduled to leave at 7AM on Saturday.

Anyway, my folks had been rescheduled onto a new flight, scheduled in at 5AM on Saturday. I re-arranged the bus to come at 9AM, and figured my parents could sleep on the bus and we could salvage things.

Friday night at about 7PM our time, I checked the flight status, and it was listed as having departed about 5 minutes early. Whew! Melissa and I had some beers and relaxed.

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta, my parents got on the plane. One of the passengers found the headphones he'd accidentally left behind in a seat pocket... because it was the same plane. If you were thinking, "oh, they must have fixed the bathrooms, great," you have never flown Delta.

As I was about to go to bed, I realized that in my smitten-ness with my wife, I'd accidentally left my computer on. Just because, I hit "refresh" on the flight status page... and now the flight was listed as "boarding."

Huh?

I mentioned this to Melissa. I couldn't figure out how a plane went from "in flight" to "boarding." It sounded dangerous. Did they lower ropes?

I called Delta. They told me they had no idea what I was talking about, the plane was delayed coming in from Barcelona, and was undergoing routine security checks, and it had never been listed as in flight. I'm pretty sure the rep I got was Ari Fleischer.

Meanwhile, my parents had flown out 1.5 hours... and then flew back to Atlanta because the bathrooms didn't work.

Yeah, basically Delta lied to me (Google, you can index that phrase too).

I had already arranged for Mr. Lartey's cousin to pick me up at 4:30AM the next day, and so I figured that calling Mr. Lartey at 11PM would be obnoxious, but not as obnoxious as Gabriel showing up in the wee hours of the morning and being told to go home. So I did.

Melissa and I agreed that she would go ahead on the bus with the rest of the crew, I would get my folks when they finally arrived (now scheduled about noon), and then I would pay Mr. Lartey whatever it cost to get him or one of his crew to taxi us out to Volta. I finally got an email from my - exhausted - parents telling me to go ahead, they would just crash at the Guest Center and recover from their ordeal. So, with great reluctance, we did.

After pushing back from the gate again and returning (but not actually getting into the air), they finally made it here. Fortunately, they met a man named Stephen on the plane, who was a "big man" (my Mom is great at meeting people). Stephen not only agreed to drive them to the Guest Center on arrival, but he greased palms all the way through. Walking behind him, passport control waved my folks through without checking. My Dad started to get his out, and was told, "oh, that's OK, I just wanted to know that you had one, I don't need to actually look at it."

Next: the fun story about monkeys, and some actual pictures.

Day 1275 - Big Crazy Market

2011-10-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

So crazy I didn't get any pictures!

This morning we got up and hung around a bit, and then I headed over to the Guest Center. Yesterday, we'd run into Mr. Mensah, who works there, and was a friend of Anna-Marie's (did I already say this? It was a looong post). His sister is a seamstress, and so he called her over and we talked about getting her to come by the flat to measure me, Ruth, and Melissa and make some shirts/dresses for us. She'll be here at 8AM on Tuesday, so I have to remember to set the alarm!

Then, we went down to Makola Market. We were lucky enough to catch the MMT bus, and though it was a bit of a long trip (Accra traffic is a nightmare), we made it there in one piece. I even managed to find us a number of fabric shops, which was our main target. We all got some fabric - certainly enough for two shirts for me and a dress each for M&R, plus we're probably just going to see if we can have dresses/skirts made for Ruth out of any large enough leftover pieces. Ruth picked out a nice piece of pink fabric with purple geometric designs.

And of course, she remembered the promise of beads. She had definite ideas of which bead shop she'd seen to go to, and despite my trying to show her others, insisted on a strand of pink sparkly plastic lozenges. The woman running the shop was nice enough to let Ruth watch as she made them into a necklace, and threw in two elastic wristbands made from the leftover beads.

From Makola, we walked up (not that bad a walk, though today was pretty brutal hot) to the National Museum, where I got to try to explain what the model slave ships were all about to Ruth in age-appropriate terms. We settled on, "it was very sad." Fortunately, she was also excited about Kwame Nkrumah's chair, and she remembered that the stools were what kings sat on.

Then we jetted over to Osu, grabbed some needed curios for folks back home from the AACD store and some needed lunch for the rest of us (I took us to the place where we could get chicken and french fries and somehow still didn't get Ruth to eat much), and then after a few false starts and missed turns, got to the Osu Children's Library. Ruth did a puzzle, and then I read a few stories to her and the other kids there.

Then a long cab home where Ruth fell asleep and I managed to spill satchel water all over myself. And, of course, Ruth wanted to watch Ratatouille again...

Tomorrow: Grammy and Grampy arrive!

Days 1266-1274: Ghana, Part 1!

2011-10-12T15:47:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, Melissa and Ruth finally arrived in Ghana... whew!

I shirked my classes last week (with my head of department's approval, don't worry) so that I could help them settle in after the long trip, the culture shock, and the jetlag. I'm glad I did.

Before everyone got here, I'd gone to Game (now owned by Walmart!) to get Ruth some art supplies to make her feel at home (and some wine, to make Melissa feel at home). So, Tuesday morning I got picked up by Mr. Lartey and went over to the airport. We arrived just as the plane was showing that it was landing, but I ended up waiting for a while for them to clear customs, etc. I spent a while on tiptoes expecting them to walk through the doorway... until I realized that I was watching people deplane from the Air Emirates flight instead of the Delta flight. What tipped me off was that Air Emirates dresses its stewardesses like this, while Delta crew looks like this.

In any event, they eventually came through, and though security glared at me for even leaning through the doorway to wave, Ruth ran into my arms. Our only snag was that I ended up having to pay 10gc to the guys who "helped" Melissa with her bags by grabbing them out of her hands, mostly because Ruth was wiggling and I was tired of fighting about it. But a short cab ride back to the Fulbright House and Ruth was contentedly painting with her water colors.

The first night was rough. Ruth had slept on the plane, despite the turbulence (and after watching Ratatouille twice, which at least means she has good taste in movies). But Melissa didn't get much sleep, and everyone was jetlagged. Ruth couldn't sleep at the flat (being +4 hours from Baltimore means that we were asking her to go to sleep when her body thought it was 4PM), and since there's only one bedroom here, we're kind of on top of each other, so the tossing and turning kept Melissa awake. In a desperate effort to get everyone at least a little sleep and start getting on the local time schedule, Ruth and I ended up camping out on a "cushion fort" in the living room.

(I don't recommend it). Eventually, we all got some sleep, and I let everyone sleep in the next day while I worked.

Wednesday, Ruth and I spent wandering around while Melissa rested. We went to the botanical gardens and ran around for a while (stopping at the university bookstore and reading a new book on the steps in front of the library first). Ruth found a huge palm tree that we could go inside, and we pretended it was a house (but Wednesday, Ruth requested no pictures). Then we walked down to the main tro-tro stop and bought coconuts to drink out of. From thence, back to the flat to have a bit of a flop day.

Thursday, the three of us took a promised ride on tro-tros to the Shangri-La to check out their pool, which we'd heard was quite nice. Actually, on the way over, we ended up catching an MMT bus rather than a proper tro-tro, but Ruth still said, "this is so fun!"

(We took a proper tro-tro home, but it was way too crammed for pictures)

Ruth certainly approved of the pool.

We splashed and lounged for a long while, then came home. We took Ruth to the Guest Center restaurant for dinner, because they had some home-y foods. She ordered mac and cheese, but fell asleep before it came. We had a nice surprise when we went to pay to take it home with us, though - we'd run into Helen, the head of my department, before dinner (she lives at the Guest Center), and she'd paid for our meal.

Friday... didn't work out so well. The morning was fine - Ruth and I strolled over to Max Mart for provisions, where Ruth discovered her new favorite thing - La Vache Qui Rit. In the afternoon, we tried to take Ruth to the Embassy for their weekly barbecue and maybe to use the playground that was supposed to be there. But, by the time she woke up from her nap and we fought traffic, it was almost 4. And we learned that, despite the fact that the BBQ starts at 1PM, the embassy officially closes at 12:30, and my badge doesn't get us in "after hours." Sigh.

We headed back to salvage the end of the afternoon and the promised pool by going to the U Ghana pool - which actually was fairly nice. Melissa lounged while Ruth and I splashed about a bit. And on the way home, we got some chicken-on-a-stick that was pretty tasty.

But then... the HEALING JESUS CRUSADE began. Oh, for the love, just click on that link and look at the size of the scaffolding for their speakers. That was set up in the field right across from the flat, by which I mean those speakers were maybe 150 meters away.

I can't find a "contact us" link on their main website, but here's their Facebook page so you can post long, angry rants. Seriously, fuck these guys. As Melissa pointed out, if the thousand+ people who showed up spent time actually doing something besides listening to a huckster for five hours, they could maybe get the taps flowing in Accra. I was just struck by how one of the sermons was all about how you don't know when you're going to die... and all I could think was, dang, the last thing I would do with that insight was spend a few hours out in a field listening to some dude tell me that Jesus was a'ight.

Oh, wait, did I mention that I could hear every word of the sermons? GO BACK AND LOOK AT THOSE SPEAKERS AGAIN. Even with the windows closed and the fans on, it was so loud that you could literally feel things vibrate, and Ruth was complaining that her ears hurt. Of course, it ran from 6PM-11PM, and so all of the work getting Ruth un-jetlagged and Melissa rested was shot. Apparently, they were violating all sorts of noise ordinances, and it wasn't clear that the University had actually approved them setting up where they were (we're not the only residents near Mensah-Sarbah field; it's in the middle of a major university residential area, with at least two dorm blocks directly abutting the field, and the main uni hotel, the Guest Center)... not that any of that stopped the HEALING POWER OF JESUS ROCK.

Anyway, Saturday we went out to Madina. One of my colleagues, Carl, and his partner, Anna-Marie, had finally gotten moved into their house, and so they held a housewarming. I mostly wrangled Ruth, so Melissa could chat (and not being able to sit down to eat was a good excuse to eat only the donuts one of their new neighbors had bought).

One of the Guest Center (where Carl and Anna-Marie had been living while the house was being prepped) staff had moved into their new house's "boy's quarters," and two of his children were out in the driveway laying out corn kernels to dry (I think to be pounded to make flour for banku). Ruth desperately wanted to play/help, but they were a bit older, and Cornelius' English is a bit shaky, so I suspect theirs may have been as well, so they mostly rebuffed her, unfortunately.

Fortunately, Ruth ended up striking up a bit of a love-hate relationship with Kay-Kay, the daughter (also about 3 1/2) of one of Carl's friends.

Then we came home to... NIGHT TWO OF THE HEALING JESUS CRUSADE. Many attempts to find a hotel to stay at while Ruth napped had come to naught. By the - I kid you not - seventh altar call, with Ruth massively overtired and losing it (and telling Melissa that she needed to call the police because people were being loud - when else would we be wistful for Baltimore police response?), Melissa and I were ready to get down there and point out that by the 8th hour of the crusade, anyone who had not responded to the previous six altar calls was probably JUST NOT FREAKING INTERESTED IN BEING REBORN AT THE MOMENT.

But Sunday, we went up to Aburi Botanical Gardens, in the Akuapem Hills north of Accra. I'd been back in 2009, and I thought it'd make a nice, low-key day trip. The gardens themselves were lovely, and even though everyone was a bit tired (and Ruth was a bit whiny about walking as a result), I think a good time was had.

(My unintentionally arty photo of a tree heavily growing with orchids)

(Yep, there's a downed helicopter in Aburi gardens. I'm not sure what the deal with it is. Since Ruth was a bit tired, we didn't bother hiring a guide which might have made lingering/resting more awkward.)

(Ruth finds imaginative play everywhere. This is her using a tree stump as a stove to cook an elaborate meal for me on, while Melissa checked out the gardens.)

(Watching some butterflies)

(Wait, I thought you were too tired to walk?)

After the gardens, I'd promised Ruth we could stop at Hillburi to swim. Ruth is all set to be a third culture kid - show her cultural stuff and she's marginally impressed, but she wants to check out all the pools and playgrounds.

Case in point.

Hillburi was nice, if a bit of a rip-off. I won't belabor it here, but they really nickel-and-dimed us on fee after fee to use the facilities (our friends who'd recommended it had stayed there as guests, so not been subject to this) but the one thing that really irked me was the restaurant. We'd stopped for lunch, even though it was a bit overpriced, and being polite had invited our driver to come in if he wanted something to eat. He'd tried to order (I saw him point - this wasn't the driver screwing us) the side order portion of jollof rice, I think because he'd balked at the prices, but they made him decide between fish or chicken, and then brought him the grill version that was almost five times the price of what he'd tried to order. We mostly stayed because we'd promised Ruth the pool and playground, and while we wouldn't go back due to the prices, I can't deny that the pool was nice and the views over the hills stunning.

(Ghana's best view. The Akuapem Hills are nice too.)

(Apologies to those of you who already groaned at that joke on G+)

When we got home, we were fortunately able to assure a somewhat anxious Ruth that, see, the people playing the loud music were packing their stuff up and leaving. I roasted what ended up being a tasty chicken (Ruth nicely said that my chicken was better than the meat on a stick guy's), and Melissa and I got beers to celebrate.

Monday, we had all originally been planning on heading down to Kaneshie market, where we'd heard there was a good bead section (I'm hoping to send Ruth home with a good number of inexpensive beads that she can bring to school to string with her friends... so far, I keep striking out). But Ruth was a bit tired and didn't want to go, so Melissa ended up going with the wife of a prof from the History department, who is also visiting (though they are considering staying - he has a potentially permanent appointment). I'll let her tell that story on her own, but she did come back with some nice bird-print fabric to have a dress made for Ruth. Meanwhile, Ruth and I had a flop day - she had wanted to go back to the pool, but ended up falling asleep, so I got some reading done, and then she mostly wanted to hang around the flat.

At the very end of the day, she decided she wanted to go to the pool after all. Even though I had a meeting at 4 further out of town, we rushed over... only to find out they were closed for cleaning. So I unfortunately had to leave a very disappointed (but, for a three year old, pretty understanding) Ruth behind to hang out and have dinner with Melissa, while I swung out to Ashale Botwe to conduct an interview (confidentiality prevents me from saying much more - you can read the very cynical things I learned when this all becomes a paper).

Tuesdays are my big teaching days, so Melissa and Ruth hung out, mostly at the pool. I mostly got to see them on their way out.

Afterwards, I met up with them and Ruth and I walked over to Night Market to get some chocolate and what turned out to be a very low-quality bottle of wine that was all they had. But I cooked my standard comfort food - pasta with tomatoes and garlic in butter - and we hung out. After Ruth was in bed, Melissa and I had a very nice evening listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and spending some time with each other.

Which brings us to today! In the morning, we did another Max Mart run and then took Ruth over to Bush Canteen to find a seamstress. On the way, she watched part of a dance class at the dance department. We then found a very kind woman - Miss Gloria - who is going to make a dress (for 4gc! If anyone wants to send measurements and commission something, you totally should...) out of the bird fabric. Then, on the way back, we stopped to watch dancing again for a bit. The dancers were nice and a lot waved at Ruth or came out to say hello, but she was still pretty shy. We'll go back. Unfortunately, I had to run off to teach while Melissa and Ruth were still watching.

After I taught, we unsuccessfully tried to get Ruth to nap, and then she and I hung out. Melissa had taken her to the bookstore again, so we've all been treated to multiple readings of a bootlegged Indian version of The Wizard of Oz with awkward grammar and anime-style illustrations. It seriously reads as if it was written by someone who'd seen the movie once and related the plot in Hindi, then ran it through Google Translate. I think I could have a hit Tumblr feed if I just scanned pages from the series - it will be called "Dorothy acted as advised." But Ruth likes it. And Theresa, from across the hall, has been very nicely bringing her lots of books from the Madina community library that she's helping set up.

After that, we just kind of hung out. I made what I've been calling "rustic hummus" by smashing the chick peas (no blender here), and Ruth and I took a little walk. We were going to go back to the dance dept. originally, but then she was upset and needed reassuring that she'd get to go home to sleep with her Dora blanket soon (it is with this conversation that I will guilt trip her when she's 20 - clearly Dora blanket > seeing Dad). So after comforting her, we went to watch some people playing soccer on the field nearby, but not before stopping at her favorite giant termite mound.

And finding a stick that looked like goat horns.

Tomorrow the plan is Makola Market ("the big crazy market"), the National Museum, lunch, and the Osu Children's Library. We'll see how it works out. I should probably start doing some work again soon...

Day 1179 - Doorway Dance Party

2011-08-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

In July, we had a BBQ send-off for me (plus an excuse for a BBQ). It was a lot of fun, but I have absolutely no idea how this happened.

21st Century Digital Kid

Day 1301 - The End

Days 1298-1300: The Beginning of the End

Days 1294-1297: I miss everything! But I do research!

Grampy's Ghana Photos

Days 1292-1293: Actually Getting to Hang Out With Ruth

Days 1277-1301: Grammy's Story

Days 1290-1291: Secret Parties!

Day 1289 - Kpong and Odumase-Krobo

Day 1289 - Babooooooooons

Days 1284-1288: We Did a Lot. What Did we Do?

More Monkeys!

Days 1279 - 1283: Grammy and Grampy Arrive! Melissa leaves!

Day 1301: Basically My Favorite Conversation Ever

Days 1277-1279: Hey Hey We're Monkeys

Day 1276: Grammy and Grampy Don't Arrive!

Day 1275 - Big Crazy Market

Days 1266-1274: Ghana, Part 1!

Day 1179 - Doorway Dance Party

Day 1205 - Dad and Ruth's Big Washington DC Adventure!

Day 1200 - Khadim's Birthday

Days 1193-1195 - Aunt Connie and the Great Movie Caper

Day 1174 - USA USA USA

Day 1166 - Dear Future Ruth, We Were Not Poor When You Were a Kid and I Did Nothing to Encourage (or Discourage) the Activity Depicted Below

Day 1165 - Yes We're Goin' to a Party Party

Days 1163, 1170 - Previous Dad & Ruth Day Breakfasts

Day 1158 - I Have No Idea What is Going On In This Picture

Days 1137-1139 Voyage to Grand-Dad

Day 1134 - Gardening

Ruthville, Part 2

Day 1126 - Macaroon Dress

Day 1124 - Oh, C'Mon, Everyone Knows You Retrain Out of Chainmail Proficiency as Soon as Possible

Day 1113 - The Leaf Series

Day 1113 - Practicing Baseball for Granddad

Day 1100 - Ruthville

Day 1177 - Dad and Ruth Day

Day 1182 - Dance Class

Day 1186 - Artscape!

Day 1065 - Heave Ho!

Day 1060 - I Climbed the Tree Myself!

Day 1060 - Ruth's Band's First Album Cover

Day 1060 - Ruth is a Princess/Chef

Day 1058 - Ruth likes blueberries.

Day 1035 - Dad's Birthday

Day 1031 - There was a party at school

Day 1026 - More Aquarium

Day 984 - Fish

Day 1000!

Days 996-998: RUTH AND DAD'S BIG ADVENTURE, PART DEUX

Days 996-998: RUTH AND DAD'S BIG ADVENTURE!!

Day 991 - Zoo^2

My Daughter the Comedian, Part III

My Daughter, the Comedian, Part II

My Daughter, the Comedian

Christmas Video Round Up - All-Singing, All-Dancing, All-Trimming-Extravaganza!!!

Day 934 - Ruth is Getting the Hang of It, But Still Goes Backwards Mostly

Critical Hit! Max Parenting!

Schober-Levine Family Channukha!

Schober-Levine Family Christmas!

Ruth Tells A Story. Day 932.

Day 817 - Hot Dog

Day 928 - Halloween

Day 920 - More from the Cider Mill

Day 907 - Batter

Day 882 - Trike-a-Thon!

Day 880 - Happy Birthday Grammy!

Day 844 - Kinder Farm Park

Day 830 - Field of Dreams

Day 824 - The Infamous Bench

Day 818 - Bear

Day 900 - Chickens!

Day 893 - Cheese!

Day 892 - Nature!

Day 920 - At the Farm

Day 920 - It's a Hat!

More Misc

Day 866/Day 1 of School

Day 841 - Whee!

Days 835-837 --- Mem's 32,873rd Day

Going to visit Mommy.