Junie's Online Thoughts
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Pissing away another day. Love it. Slept too late....cleaned the whole house. Jeremy left for the archives and I came to the internet cafe. After this its shopping, the bank and home to read. Whew! My life is tough!! :P
This weekend we are indeed going to the Volta region. There's a place called Tafi Amedzo or something like that. It hosts a waterfall and Ghana's tallest mountain. I think if Jeremy and I psyche ourselves out to have our butts kicked, we can climb it. There is also a huge festival in Kumasi for the chief, where we could dance in front of him and offer him cola nuts and schnapps to shake his hand, but we're not going. And in Cape Coast, theres the Panafest, a giant music and dance celebration where tourists from all over come to see it. I dont think we will be going there either, although I'd like to see who's playing. Instead we're hoofing it in the wilderness....to bond and sweat and climb rocks. Im looking forward to it.
On Monday, Jeremy visits the doctor to complete the medical examination requirement for the Fulbright grant. He gets tested for everything....and can get his paperwork under way.
On Tuesday is my sister, Stacy's birthday. She's OLD! (heh heh.)
Otherwise, nothing new....thinking about wedding stuff for Stacy, thinking about the need to practice my French, thinking about leaving Ghana, thinking about my time left here in Ghana, thinking about Erin and Terry and Nina all leaving next week. Oh, speaking of which, Nina had us all over for dinner last night. It was great...she made this fabulous mango salsa that tasted like heaven. Then we had some of the spiciest stir fry Ive ever eaten (beautiful, but gawd damn! My stomach was on fire and I had to use some of Terry's super strong Mylanta just to sleep), and finally some chocolate mousse. I love dinner parties. One of my favorite things. I will miss those guys so much.....argh. Makes me sad.
Thats it for today. I'll be back on Monday. Have a good weekend.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
It finally rained today. Nothing loud or extravagant, but enough to cool down the day and make everything wet. Makes me want to curl up on the sofa with a good book...which I just might do when I get home from errands.
This morning, Jeremy and I worked out. He's so cute...he's never been one for aerobics or weight training....I dont think he even knew the proper form of a lunge until he met me. I have a routine mashed from three different exercise tapes back home, and I do the routine about three times a week. Jeremy offered to try it with me today. Its pretty hard...and he had to stop periodically because he wasnt used to the bouncing....or using those muscles for squatting, lunging, hopping, tricep curls or sit ups. I have a feeling he's going to be sore and cursing me come tomorrow, but he really should do some sort of weight lifting/exercise. Guys need to worry about bone mass and overall health just as much as women. He's lost more weight than I have here, but he still needs to keep his body in check to control his high blood pressure. In any case, I was very proud of what he did today...and impressed. Someday he will be the aerobic King. Or at least strong enough to keep up with a class, should we join a gym when we return to Atlanta.
Dinner was awesome last night. We eat so well here....now that we found where tofu and soy milk are made, that we perfected our guacamole recipe, that we understand substitutions enough to bake cookies and cakes and brownies, and that we can find the veggies we want. No wonder why Im not losing any more weight. We eat like we did in GEorgia, minus all the sweets. God bless living in a big city, even if there arent any Thai or Mexican restaurants.
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
Yesterday was a lesson in what NOT to substitute in recipes in Ghana. I had wanted to make a devil's food cake. The store didnt have cocoa, and the closest thing I could find was drinking chocolate. (Milo is the most popular brand here...these rough rocklike granuals that dissolve in boiling water). I tried to grind them up in the mortar and pestal, but it didnt really work that well. The recipe called for me to sift the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda three times. The problem was that the chocolate was too big to be sifted. Some of it went through, but then somehow the dust got damp. It began to clump, not allowing me to sift any of the dry ingredients again. I put the biggest chocolate bits in the coffee, hoping they would dissolve. I needed buttermilk, so put a tablespoon in the only dairy we had---soy milk. It immediately congealed into cottage cheese, and when mixed with the chocolate coffee, became a curdy slurry. The batter was wet, and I feared it wouldnt nearly be chocolately enough. I added chopped up chocolate as well, and threw it in the oven with a prayer. Well, the chocolate sunk to the bottom and slightly scorched. The batter rose fine, but turned dense and spongey and gooey in the middle. The drinking chocolate gave it a strange aftertaste, along with the older block of butter I used. All in all, it wasnt horrible, but it certainly taught me that substitutions dont always work.
Today was supposed to be a day at the market, taking photographs and shopping. I didnt set the alarmclock, though, so we woke up late. Jeremy and I went for a walk instead. He's trying to exercise more, and tries so hard. He's cute, bless his heart. We ate lunch, and he's working at home while Im shopping for supper (burritos with salsa and guacamole). Just finished a book that Jeremy bought for me during his time at home. Its called Dancing with the Witchdoctor by Kelly James. Strange. Written in the style of brash, rogue male explorers through mysterious and foreign lands, but from a female point of view. She's not always the most culturally sensitive person...using "tribe" and "witchdoctor" and "savages" and "heathens", but she seems to have a lifelong passion for AFrica and her occupation as an international private detective. Worth a read.
Monday, July 14, 2003
The weekend was fun. On Saturday, we took out a bunch of money (altogether, less than $50) and went shopping at the fabric market in Keneshie. It was great...relaxing, stress free, fun. Jeremy bought only one piece of cloth and we're sharing another. I bought some to make stuff for my grandmother, a skirt for a friend and some silky fabrics with liners to make two sexy dresses for when I come home. Then we had Erin and Terry over for dinner, then we went to Ryan's Irish Pub for drinks and talk about old tv shows and music, then played Go (adding hands up to 16--four runs of four to meld.) Sunday was lazy....a bit of grocery shopping, I played tennis with Erin, we ate out at Lalibela, the Ethiopian restaurant, then I brewed some coffee for a chocolate cake Im making when I get home today.
This morning I missed Squeak terribly. I had dreams about him last night..where he turned into a white puffy cat and totally forgot who I was, then tortured myself about the decision of whether or not Squeak will actually want to come home with us to Atlanta come next summer. He's living happily with Jeremy's mom, and Im glad...but I miss him....and wonder if I will still be his "mom." Sigh.
Today is errand running.....working out....making chocolate cake....simple dinner....maybe some reading and French practicing. Easy day. Too much sleep last night has me a bit groggy today. Oh well...will snap out of that soon enough. Have a good day, everyone.
