Junie's Online Thoughts
Saturday, May 01, 2004
On Thursday, we were having crazy power fluxuations. Very high, very low, very high, very low, and it only got worse when we got back from trivia. We were stupid and waited until the morning to unplug the frig, so the motor of the freezer burned out. Our radio was killed, as was the bedroom light. Our landlords lost two lights and two tvs. The folks in the big house had fuses that were smoking and melting, someone lost their laptop. That sucks. Its back to normal today, and there are guys trying to fix what can be fixed.
We are still up in the air about Mike. It may not be the valve, it may be. It may be his lungs, it may be something else. So we're just gonna hang out here, and talk to some family friends, and wait until we know exactly what is going on before deciding on whether to leave or not....for now he's just got to get better from the pneumonia, and then they will move from there.
Im on day six of the purple pill. (Its really pink.) I havent had any side effects...when I take it (once a day, an hour before I eat supper), I can feel stuff working and flopsing around in my gut, but there isnt any pain at all. I havent gotten sick, or felt bad, so thats a good thing.
Inspired by my friend Marta, I kicked it into high gear on Thursday. I ran for the first time in 4 1/2 months and boy, was that hard. Im still sore today, more so since I worked out again yesterday. Today Im taking the day off from working out, but Im making a real effort to finish all the projects I started. I pounded holes in my pile of sea shells to make a wind chime. I started the GRE math book yesterday with Jeremy (he likes doing tests and helps to explain things I totally dont understand.) The book I have is wacked...they wait until page 60 to do a basic review of math, and instead jump into hard problems. This is question number one on page three:
A car rental company charges for mileage as follows: x dollars per mile for the first n miles and x + 1 per mile for each mile over n miles. How much will the mileage charge be for a journey of d miles, where d > n?
a) d(x + 1) - n
b) xn + d
c) xn + d(x + 1)
d) x(n + d) + d
e) (x + 1) (d - n)
I see something like that, and my eyeballs just glaze over. We've moved to page 65, and its been so long since I've used my brain in this way, that it physically hurts me. We've covered factorization, the greatest/lowest common denominator, abstract reasoning and beginning algebra. When we get to geometry, my brain will start bleeding. But there are still some projects that need to be completed, and it feels liberating to finally do them, one at a time.
Before I share our well-received trivia questions with you, I have a surprising tip. You know how when you make apple crisp in the summer and by the second day it gets all wet and sloppy? Well, dont throw it away. Mix it into pancake batter! It may sound wrong, but the resulting apple crisp pancakes are the bomb. The sugared oatmeal topping works exceptionally well. YUM!
Okay, here's the trivia. (We also had statues, cover songs and movie posters, but since Im just at a simple computer, I cant share those with you.)
CAPITALS: Name the countries with the following capitals.
1) Yamasouko
2) Astana
3) Ulan Baator
4) Tegucigalpa
5) Ashgabad
6) Lilongwe
7) Georgetown
8) Valetta
9) Port Louis
10) Dacca
11) Vientiane
12) Katmandu
13) Muscat
14) Sanaa
15) Tbilisi
ORGAN MEATS AND ANIMAL BITS (my category): I will name a dish and you need to name the animal it came from AND what parts of the animal it is. For example, if I said HAGGIS, you would say sheep and either the stomach, heart, lungs, liver or kidneys.
1) ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS
2) FOIE GRAS
3) SWEET BREAD
4) HOG MAW
5) HEAD CHEESE
6) TRIPE
7) CHITLINS
8) HAGGAMUGGIE
9) VESIGA
10) BALKEN BRIJ
AFRICAN HISTORY
1) The mfecane refers to the 19th century military expansion of what Southern AFrican empire?
2) Who led/inspired the 1900 Asante uprising against the British?
3) The violent uprising among the Gikuyu in 1950's Kenya is best known by what name?
4) What was the one country to vote non in the 1958 French referendum, thus rejecting membership in the French UNion and securing immediate but unsupported independence?
5) What 19th century Mandinka political and military leader waged a 7 year war of resistance to French colonial expansion before ultimately surrendering?
6) What year was South AFrica granted independence from Britian and what year did it become a non-racial democracy?
7) At the beginning of the 19th century, Uthman dan Fodio led a jihad among the Fulani and Hausa groups in what is now Northern NIgeria, which produced what Islamic state?
8) Amilcar Cabral, up until his assasination in 1973, led the liberation struggle in what Portugese colony?
9) Current Ugandan president Yuweri Museveni succeeded what two other post-colonial Ugandan presidents/dictators?
10) Im going to give you the names of six different colonial AFrican territories. You are going to name their current names as independent nations.
a) Gold Coast, b) Ubangui-Chari, c) Nyasaland, d) HauteVolta or Upper Volta, e) Bechuanaland, f) Southwest Africa
INTERNATIONAL BACKPACKERS QUIZ
1) What was the nation of Guatemala's first capital? And why did they have to move it?
2) When is Queen's Day celebrated in the Netherlands? Where can one find the biggest party for it?
3) What border town in Ghana is famous for its alligators?
4) What month is the five day Fete des Masques held in Dogon Country in Mali?
5) What is the name of the hippie haven in Australia known for its marajuana cookies?
6) What is the famous border crossing between West and East Berlin, now a tourist attraction?
7) In what city can you find the Flying Pig Hostel?
8) Where is the Taj Mahal located? When was building completed?
9) What is the closest subway station to the CN Tower in Toronto?
10) What is the name of the park where Old Faithful is located?
Answers to come next week......
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Mike caught pneumonia in the hospital, so they are draining his lungs today. The doctors cant do the heart surgery until the pneumonia is gone. Hopefully, the antibiotics will work well, and by next week we can know what the situation is. Jeremy has been talking to him every day, and for the most part Mike sounds pretty good. We are going to continue to weigh the situation and decide by early next week when we are leaving. The good part is that he's at the U of M hospital, which is one of the best. He's in good hands, but its still a scary surgery. Since my last blog, I've heard three people tell me that they have had relatives who've gone through valve replacement surgery and it turned them into new people. It gave them more energy, more health and it was worth it.
I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, good healthy thoughts to Mike and to my sister (who's got a double ear infection). More soon....
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Jeremy's dad, Mike, went into the hospital over the weekend. We're waiting to hear if the specialists recommend open heart surgery to replace a valve that isnt working properly. Its very scary to be facing family emergencies again while in Ghana....we feel so far away and helpless. It's especially hard on Jeremy....but he's trying to call his dad and email his mom whenever possible.
Power came on for eight hours last night. Out again today. Its been sprinkling since we left the house. I fear the rain will only delay repairs.
Today Im starting goodbye shopping in case we have to leave Ghana sooner than expected. Not much to do since we got a lot the last time we were here, but I'd rather have stuff like that out of the way.
Good thoughts and love to Mike....
Monday, April 26, 2004
Togo was very nice. In fact, I think it was my favorite trip there. We took a fast car (careening toward the border at 140 km/h with just us and a Very Important Rich African man who paid for two spots in the car just so we could leave quicker) and got there around 1 pm. We crossed, bought and ate delicious avocado baguettes on the beach, picked random streets to walk along, drank frozen besop juice (sweetened frozen hibiscus tea) and took photos of signs. After stopping at the Boston Pub for LionKiller lemonade and beer, we walked back to Aflao and crossed back over into Ghana.
The trotro arrived into Ho around 5ish, we taxied to the Freedom Hotel and got a nice room with a tv. We ate our second batch of avocado baguettes, some brownies I'd brought along and watched the magical TV box until late in the evening.
When we came into ACcra on Sunday, I told Jeremy that I would weep if there was still no electricity. It would have been day five, but Vera (who came back Friday) told us that the power had just come on about an hour ago. I proceeded to leap about like a dork, and then threw away more than half of the stuff in our frig and freezer. Boy, that thing was stanky and full of ants. We ate something from the freezer to save it from the garbage can, drank soda and watched the last half of one movie and the first half of another.
Late last night, the electricity went out again and it hasnt come back on. This morning Vera said there was some major problem in Cantonment, and they were trying to repair it as soon as possible. No sense in going grocery shopping today. I'll wait until we have a stretch of consistent power.
It's damn hot today. That combined with the lack of electricity makes me want to sleep all day.
