Terminator: Roachination

A molasses-like internet connection has prevented me from updating before now. Operation Accra was a success on all fronts! Not only did I get so see the game (which, as I'm sure you all know, the Penguins won in glorious style), but we were able to purchase some additional books for the library. Although our attempt to buy some adult-level history and politics books at the University of Ghana bookshop was foiled, we found a place downtown that sold an excellent selection of children's books. We stocked up, filled a new suitcase with African literature, sampled some of the finest fast food Accra had to offer, and jumped on a tro-tro back to Nyive - for my part, feeling less homesick and more patriotically Nova Scotian than ever before. Cole Harbour represent! (Just to note for clarity's sake: my hockey-induced flights of fancy are financed by my own travel budget, not the money that was donated for the library.)

About the library: the carpenters have put their heads together and agreed to spend this Thursday and Friday building the shelving and furniture. We are currently negotiating with an electrician, who feels it will take him and his team five days to do the necessary wiring. Fingers crossed, we may be looking at an end to construction by early July, well before I expected. So far we're on budget, and there should be some money left over after the renovations to supply more books, even possibly another computer. Once again, thank you all for contributing to this project. It's really animating the village and the volunteers here who've worked so hard these past years to make it happen.

Now, for another taste of life in Nyive. As I may have mentioned, the village is full of more-or-less stray goats, which, in addition to the free range chickens, make up about 80% of the traffic on all the footpaths. A particular family of goats (possibly the possessions of our host) have taken to hanging around our house - specifically the front porch. There's a fat black nanny goat - presumably the mother - and two kids, one black and one tan. The kids are virtually inseperable, and like to take shelter from the rain on our front porch, where they have unlimited access to our dustbin full of cookie wrappers and mango skins. These babies have no shame. We've named them Rebo and Zooty (a reference that will probably go past everyone except our fellow sci-fi geeks). Zooty, in particular, is very sociable and possibly not that bright. Jessi caught him with his head in the dustbin yesterday and managed to trap him and bring him inside. It was captured on video, but unfortunately we'll have to wait for a faster connection to upload it. Possibly the next trip to Accra.

As for the bathroom, I sprayed it again in a moment of weakness, and the result was another roach buffet for the local chicken population. Thus ensuring generations of two-headed roosters.