The Grand Arrival
The Airport: It was 8:00pm and I'm standing right behind the customs desk straining to see them arriving. There they were, and they looked tired, they had been on the road/air for 12.5 hours all the way from the small country Cotswolds and now in West Africa, thousands of miles from their home, their friends, in fact now closer to Brazil than England.....
The House: It's huge, we could fit 3 of "Alice's Cottages" into the house it has 21 steps to get to the 1st floor and has some strange minor points. When a house has no power it could be any house, twice a week or every 3rd day we have power rationing, so since arrival we've had Saturday daytime and this Tuesday night time with no power....hot hot hot in the day and the night is not at all cooler in a big way.
The Car: Wow, talk about "No Fear" she's in the car and solo for school runs in one of the most conjested capital cities in West Africa...incredible. We stop start most days, but her initiative was like a pioneer. So this second hand Toyota Rav wizzes it's way around Accra for school, groceries and to take a dip in the office pool behind my office...look out Accra Mrs Indiana Karen Jones is coming...
The School: Here the contrast is greatest, the school has a very high academic standard, a standard far surpassing the Cotswold Primary school - a British curriculum. The location resembles a series of broken and rough garages strung together in the small grounds of a colonial garden. The journey here for the children will be longest. The rooms are airconditioned and small, maximum is 15, but Esther's class has only 6 students, great teacher child ratio....
Me: I'm here in Abidjan for 48 hours finalising business with indecisive Chinese for work in a socially messed up economy where peace talks have broken down. Strikes blocked the Tretchville bridge into Abidjan this morning causing a hair raising taxi ride through the slums of Abidjan, passed an injured woman flat out on the street floor, over a bridge blocked by customs (who are on strick) down a one way street the wrong way, me in the fornt with my French dictionary trying to tell the driver that our security is in his hands and that he would get a bigger "tip" if we arrived safely. The British High Commission have given me emergency numbers if social unrest rears it's head between now and when I fly out tomorrow night....enough of me.
A weeks delay in writing here because this last weeks journey has been the longest and most difficult as a Father, never have I been so challenged than now as my family commence their Africa journey for the first time.......(my family minus 2, miss you Sarah and Charis)
The House: It's huge, we could fit 3 of "Alice's Cottages" into the house it has 21 steps to get to the 1st floor and has some strange minor points. When a house has no power it could be any house, twice a week or every 3rd day we have power rationing, so since arrival we've had Saturday daytime and this Tuesday night time with no power....hot hot hot in the day and the night is not at all cooler in a big way.
The Car: Wow, talk about "No Fear" she's in the car and solo for school runs in one of the most conjested capital cities in West Africa...incredible. We stop start most days, but her initiative was like a pioneer. So this second hand Toyota Rav wizzes it's way around Accra for school, groceries and to take a dip in the office pool behind my office...look out Accra Mrs Indiana Karen Jones is coming...
The School: Here the contrast is greatest, the school has a very high academic standard, a standard far surpassing the Cotswold Primary school - a British curriculum. The location resembles a series of broken and rough garages strung together in the small grounds of a colonial garden. The journey here for the children will be longest. The rooms are airconditioned and small, maximum is 15, but Esther's class has only 6 students, great teacher child ratio....
Me: I'm here in Abidjan for 48 hours finalising business with indecisive Chinese for work in a socially messed up economy where peace talks have broken down. Strikes blocked the Tretchville bridge into Abidjan this morning causing a hair raising taxi ride through the slums of Abidjan, passed an injured woman flat out on the street floor, over a bridge blocked by customs (who are on strick) down a one way street the wrong way, me in the fornt with my French dictionary trying to tell the driver that our security is in his hands and that he would get a bigger "tip" if we arrived safely. The British High Commission have given me emergency numbers if social unrest rears it's head between now and when I fly out tomorrow night....enough of me.
A weeks delay in writing here because this last weeks journey has been the longest and most difficult as a Father, never have I been so challenged than now as my family commence their Africa journey for the first time.......(my family minus 2, miss you Sarah and Charis)
posted by Andrew at 1:21 pm
1 Comments:
WOW!!!!!!! awesome to hear all the news. Guess this is where the reality of eveything starts to hit . .. . continueing to pray for you all. I love you guys and am so EXCITED for you all . .. . and TOTALLY TOTALLY miss you. I was sat at the american football game seeing all the kids and it brought back memories of you all. But can not wait to see what happens and how the story continues to be written. Will call soon xxx
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