I moved out of my old place, as i learned that i am paying WAY too much, so a co-worker of mine told me about an empty 2 bedroom house right near hers, that were looking for tennants. So within a matter of days, it was ours! When we first saw the place, there was not much in it and the walls were not painted. The manager told us all the renovations that they were going to do, before January 1st (move in day), but as both Andrea and I have lived here for quite some time, we didnt get too excited. We were just hoping for a bed and a fan for the few nights that we would be sleeping there, before heading to egypt.
So Jan 31st, new years. It was...interesting. Last time i was here, i was a student, so i did student things. And although i just graduated... sometimes i feel like i have taken 10 steps forward. For example, for new years, Andrea and I went out with a friend of mine and some of his friends to this super nice italian restaurant. Andrea and I were by far the youngest, not married, nor employed! So as the octupus, fancy meat, cheeses and sparkling wine started streaming in for the appetizers, we knew we were in for a longgg night, and a hefty bill, which indeed it was. And after one too many conversations where i had to explain my job, we left and went dancing until 6am...we had to make up for dinner!
We then had the wonderful task of moving the next day! It was actually quite smooth, and after bargaining for taxis to ta
ke all of our stuff, we were on our way to our new place. When we arrived, we were completley shocked! They painted everything, put in new beautifully carved wood doors, beds, a closet, big kitchen counter, sink and wood cupboards! And then the landloard told us that they were going to get us living room furniture, a table and chairs for our front porch and
a washing machine! We asked him to repeat himself about three times, as there could be just no way way he was going to get us a washing machine. We said, you mean to wash your clothes? Thinking that he was refering to something else, but no, he actually meant to wash your clothes! The question now is, if it will actually come, but even if it doesnt, we are so happy with our new place, and are already feeling sad about leaving...even though we dont know when that is! The vibe there is just so great, and it will be really nice to have our own place for just us (as my old place i only had a room, and i shared the rest of the house with other people who lived there). And this place is on a compiund, so there are a a bunch of other students who live right near us, who all seem really nice and welcoming!Work is going very well too. As i mentioned that song event we had in probably all my previous posts, here is a link to an article that I wrote about it :
http://pathwaysghana.blogspot.com/2009/12/launch-of-winning-songs-changing.html
This website is the organization Pathways of Womens Empowerment. They are an international research and communications programme that links academics with activists and practitioners to find out what works to enhance women’s empowerment. CEGENSA (who i work for) in linked to the West Africa hub of Pathways.
I am in the midst of editing another article that I wrote on this same event for Ghana`s national newspaper, the Daily Graphic. This one is more indepth and has more of an analytical focus. So once that is done, i will share it with y'all.
I will be MIA for the next few weeks, but i will be back in Ghana in February, and I promis to post more then!
