Well it’s been 4 months or so since the last blog update, figured we should be providing a bit of news on what’s going on here in Ghana. First things first, Charles’ parents came to visit us at the end of November for 21 days, we had a great time and doing things together again was really enjoyable. We toured around Accra and discovered a bit more of Ghana as well. 
The first thing Charles & his dad did when they arrived was go visit the area where used motorcycles are sold. That’s right, as crazy as it sounds, they bought a bike ‘’a cool little 250cc’’, a Honda Clubman, it seems to be a model that was sold exclusively to the Japanese market. Charles has been riding it ever since and he seems to be enjoying it especially in traffic where he can zig-zag through the cars and go in between trucks to get through. He says the trick to riding a bike here is that you cannot hesitate, others will see once you are committed, and you 
have to integrate yourself with the flow of traffic. I've heard him say more than once: "It’s a heart pumping adrenaline rush just to ride through traffic here". Going back to why we bought the motorcycle in the first place, other than for fun, we needed an additional means of transportation to go on our vacation to Axim, on the West coast of Ghana, almost in Ivory Coast. Axim has amazing beaches, beautiful scenery and some good resorts. We stayed in one of the most expensive resorts in Ghana, the Lou Moon Lodge. A European style resort that was made to look like something out of the Flintstones but very nice, with AC
in each room and spacious. Everything was made in a cement-like structure or clay, we loved the style. Here are some pictures to show you. The beach at this resort was inside a bay so there were no waves (!), which was great for Eva and to do some snorkelling (we saw a giant multicoloured fish, Charles’s dad saw a couple of octopus and lots of little tropical fish). Unfortunately, after the second day at the hotel, tar balls started to show up on the bay’s shore and in the water which was somewhat upsetting! They came from an oil rig/ships ejecting their fuel/oil at large. Charles and Eva both got some on their legs and it had to be washed off with paint thinner. Needless to say, this process was not a very enjoyable thing to have done because the paint thinner burns when you scrub it onto your skin. It did however make us ponder on Ghana’s ability to control the offshore drilling that started this year. Ghana has become, in 2010, the newest oil producing country with the development of numerous oil rigs offshore. It is a mixed blessing they say with several environmental and political questions ahead: How will they be able to control the environment? How will they make sure that oil revenues are not at the expense of destroying the livelihood of others like fishermen or farmers? Hopefully, the government of Ghana will be able to impose some rules and not leave it to corruption. Nigeria, a neighbouring country, has had oil for decades and this has made it one of the richest countries in Africa, but with one of the highest disparity status between rich and poor. Oil can be a curse if it is not managed well. Anyway, the other side of the resorts’ beach that was not in the bay was free of oil and other debris, and was fine to swim in.
We had a great time, we stayed there 5 nights and then went down to stay in Busua Beach (an hours’ drive East of Axim, back towards Accra), this was our second time there. It is considered THE surf beach of Ghana as the waves here are more regular and can be used for surfing even thought they are the equivalent of Edelweiss ski hill vs. the Alps in France, but great for beginners. This is Laura’s favourite beach spot so far. It was great, we stayed at a little French inn, where the food is fantastic. We then came back to Accra for a few days, and then Charles stayed behind a few weeks while I went with his parents and the girls back to Belgium.
Chloe has been a good baby, very different than Eva at her age. As most of you remember, Eva had terrible colics as a baby up until 7 months of age. We are thankful that Chloe has had none, is always smiling and rarely cries. Now, at almost 8 months of age, she has started acting funny at night, waking up around 3 or 3:30 am, completely awake and ready to 'party" for some odd reason... She used to sleep most of her nights but has reversed now! I guess they go through phases right? At least she doesn’t mind staying in bed with us, playing with toys and things quietly without complaining, and gives us an extra hour of rest early in the morning. 
She’s also a daytime power napper – 20 to 30 minutes tops! Can’t miss out on any action! She is now eating very well too, she wants to eat just like us as she attempts to take food out of plates and hands every chance she gets! And, some more big news in Chloe’s world: she just started crawling! She wiggles her body to get into a crawling position, gets her legs moving under her, and she’s off! Of course to get to this skill level she had to do a few face plants. Face plants in our house are problematic as most of our floors are made of marble, definitely a hard substance to crash into. (Fyi, after years of bad maintenance the marble is not that nice-looking anymore, so none of this OMG MARBLE!). But she’s a fast learner, and is even trying to pull herself up to standing position on the edges of furniture and chairs. She is growing pretty fast, seems to be quite tall compared to Eva – I think she will be taller – and, is very vocal, says a lot of ‘’mamamama’’ when hungry, and Charles thinks she’s now started the ‘’dadada’’ phase, but I can’t confirm that :P I also bring her to the British Baby group "Tiny Feet" on Wedn. mornings for a bit of bebe socialization; she seems to like it and usually crashes to sleep for an hour as soon as we get home.
Eva has been a great big sister. She loves Chloe and always asks if she will come with us places, or be there when I pick her up after daycare. She is starting to get excited about moving, and has been asking about her new school and house a lot. Once in Port-of-Spain, she will start Pre-Kindergarten at the International School or Port of Spain (ISPS). I just sent off all the paperwork this week (a big package of medical, registration and school recommendation forms, with passport pictures on top of that). Eva’s pretty excited about starting and making new friends! She's in for a surprise when she finds out that it's going to be blue & white uniforms ONLY once she starts there! That should pass well! (right!) Her hair wont stop growing, and she refuses to tie it uo nowadays. She's like a lion with a dark mane! I guess she has to live up to her astrological sign of Leo. Eva's also getting taller and has lost most of hair baby fat in her face now. She's a wonderful, beautiful & her own unique little person, and we are sooo greatful to have her sharing in our daily lives :)
The first thing Charles & his dad did when they arrived was go visit the area where used motorcycles are sold. That’s right, as crazy as it sounds, they bought a bike ‘’a cool little 250cc’’, a Honda Clubman, it seems to be a model that was sold exclusively to the Japanese market. Charles has been riding it ever since and he seems to be enjoying it especially in traffic where he can zig-zag through the cars and go in between trucks to get through. He says the trick to riding a bike here is that you cannot hesitate, others will see once you are committed, and you 
have to integrate yourself with the flow of traffic. I've heard him say more than once: "It’s a heart pumping adrenaline rush just to ride through traffic here". Going back to why we bought the motorcycle in the first place, other than for fun, we needed an additional means of transportation to go on our vacation to Axim, on the West coast of Ghana, almost in Ivory Coast. Axim has amazing beaches, beautiful scenery and some good resorts. We stayed in one of the most expensive resorts in Ghana, the Lou Moon Lodge. A European style resort that was made to look like something out of the Flintstones but very nice, with AC
in each room and spacious. Everything was made in a cement-like structure or clay, we loved the style. Here are some pictures to show you. The beach at this resort was inside a bay so there were no waves (!), which was great for Eva and to do some snorkelling (we saw a giant multicoloured fish, Charles’s dad saw a couple of octopus and lots of little tropical fish). Unfortunately, after the second day at the hotel, tar balls started to show up on the bay’s shore and in the water which was somewhat upsetting! They came from an oil rig/ships ejecting their fuel/oil at large. Charles and Eva both got some on their legs and it had to be washed off with paint thinner. Needless to say, this process was not a very enjoyable thing to have done because the paint thinner burns when you scrub it onto your skin. It did however make us ponder on Ghana’s ability to control the offshore drilling that started this year. Ghana has become, in 2010, the newest oil producing country with the development of numerous oil rigs offshore. It is a mixed blessing they say with several environmental and political questions ahead: How will they be able to control the environment? How will they make sure that oil revenues are not at the expense of destroying the livelihood of others like fishermen or farmers? Hopefully, the government of Ghana will be able to impose some rules and not leave it to corruption. Nigeria, a neighbouring country, has had oil for decades and this has made it one of the richest countries in Africa, but with one of the highest disparity status between rich and poor. Oil can be a curse if it is not managed well. Anyway, the other side of the resorts’ beach that was not in the bay was free of oil and other debris, and was fine to swim in. 
We had a great time, we stayed there 5 nights and then went down to stay in Busua Beach (an hours’ drive East of Axim, back towards Accra), this was our second time there. It is considered THE surf beach of Ghana as the waves here are more regular and can be used for surfing even thought they are the equivalent of Edelweiss ski hill vs. the Alps in France, but great for beginners. This is Laura’s favourite beach spot so far. It was great, we stayed at a little French inn, where the food is fantastic. We then came back to Accra for a few days, and then Charles stayed behind a few weeks while I went with his parents and the girls back to Belgium. We had a great time in Belgium, lots of snow and good times. I enjoyed doing 
some shopping for Eva and Chloe for some summer clothing, but didn’t find much since it was winter. We left a lot of it in Canada and Ghana does not seem to have any clothes applicable for temperatures under 15 degrees. Charles left Ghana to come and join us on December 23rd, and had a bit of a rough time trying to get home on time for the holidays. We were a little worried as most of Europe had been shut down due to air travel delays and snow storms. 
Unfortunately, he did get stuck in Frankfurt for 10 hours, finally managing to get to his parents’ house on Christmas eve at 20:00 hours. He was exhausted. Belgium was a great holiday away from the third world, lots of good food, the girls played in the snow tons. Charles and his dad made a big slide in the backyard, they managed to turn it into some sort of bobsleigh and were competing on who could go the farthest. We think they made some sort of "village record" for the longest distance of a slide coming off a balcony. Eva really enjoyed sliding, she was screaming and laughing, she quickly stopped complaining about getting dressed up for the snow when she realized she’d get to slide!
some shopping for Eva and Chloe for some summer clothing, but didn’t find much since it was winter. We left a lot of it in Canada and Ghana does not seem to have any clothes applicable for temperatures under 15 degrees. Charles left Ghana to come and join us on December 23rd, and had a bit of a rough time trying to get home on time for the holidays. We were a little worried as most of Europe had been shut down due to air travel delays and snow storms. 
Unfortunately, he did get stuck in Frankfurt for 10 hours, finally managing to get to his parents’ house on Christmas eve at 20:00 hours. He was exhausted. Belgium was a great holiday away from the third world, lots of good food, the girls played in the snow tons. Charles and his dad made a big slide in the backyard, they managed to turn it into some sort of bobsleigh and were competing on who could go the farthest. We think they made some sort of "village record" for the longest distance of a slide coming off a balcony. Eva really enjoyed sliding, she was screaming and laughing, she quickly stopped complaining about getting dressed up for the snow when she realized she’d get to slide!Chloe has been a good baby, very different than Eva at her age. As most of you remember, Eva had terrible colics as a baby up until 7 months of age. We are thankful that Chloe has had none, is always smiling and rarely cries. Now, at almost 8 months of age, she has started acting funny at night, waking up around 3 or 3:30 am, completely awake and ready to 'party" for some odd reason... She used to sleep most of her nights but has reversed now! I guess they go through phases right? At least she doesn’t mind staying in bed with us, playing with toys and things quietly without complaining, and gives us an extra hour of rest early in the morning. 
She’s also a daytime power napper – 20 to 30 minutes tops! Can’t miss out on any action! She is now eating very well too, she wants to eat just like us as she attempts to take food out of plates and hands every chance she gets! And, some more big news in Chloe’s world: she just started crawling! She wiggles her body to get into a crawling position, gets her legs moving under her, and she’s off! Of course to get to this skill level she had to do a few face plants. Face plants in our house are problematic as most of our floors are made of marble, definitely a hard substance to crash into. (Fyi, after years of bad maintenance the marble is not that nice-looking anymore, so none of this OMG MARBLE!). But she’s a fast learner, and is even trying to pull herself up to standing position on the edges of furniture and chairs. She is growing pretty fast, seems to be quite tall compared to Eva – I think she will be taller – and, is very vocal, says a lot of ‘’mamamama’’ when hungry, and Charles thinks she’s now started the ‘’dadada’’ phase, but I can’t confirm that :P I also bring her to the British Baby group "Tiny Feet" on Wedn. mornings for a bit of bebe socialization; she seems to like it and usually crashes to sleep for an hour as soon as we get home. 
Eva has been a great big sister. She loves Chloe and always asks if she will come with us places, or be there when I pick her up after daycare. She is starting to get excited about moving, and has been asking about her new school and house a lot. Once in Port-of-Spain, she will start Pre-Kindergarten at the International School or Port of Spain (ISPS). I just sent off all the paperwork this week (a big package of medical, registration and school recommendation forms, with passport pictures on top of that). Eva’s pretty excited about starting and making new friends! She's in for a surprise when she finds out that it's going to be blue & white uniforms ONLY once she starts there! That should pass well! (right!) Her hair wont stop growing, and she refuses to tie it uo nowadays. She's like a lion with a dark mane! I guess she has to live up to her astrological sign of Leo. Eva's also getting taller and has lost most of hair baby fat in her face now. She's a wonderful, beautiful & her own unique little person, and we are sooo greatful to have her sharing in our daily lives :)Now, we are definitely in pre-posting mode, we have found out where we are going next and are getting ready to move. Eva is already very excited to be taking a plane and going to a new school. We are happy with this new destination, I expect more visits from friends and family. You’ll have a better chance at enjoying all kinds of different activities to do in South America or Caribbean, and you’re all invited to come do the carnivals, the diving, the swimming with turtles, the sailing from island to island, which will all be possible at our new home in Port of Spain, in dreamy Trinidad-Tobago. We are going to be there for at least 3 years and it should be very nice, we are very excited to spend some more time in the Caribbean. We were last there on our honeymoon visiting the islands from a cruise ship, and paid a fortune to be in that area of the world. Life is ironic at times..
I have to say, we did not sell Ghana very well for visitors but there was a reason, the tourism here is almost nonexistent and very difficult. Ghanaians have a very interesting relation with selling goods in their country to foreigners. For example, Charles went the other day to buy a bag of charcoal for the BBQ, we have been buying it in the stores and it is very expensive, 3 kg will come to about $8.00. Whereas if you buy a bag on the street, you pretty much have the same quality of charcoal for $15.00 for 25kg, the differ
ence is very significant and worth the extra trip. So, Charles found a lady who had bags of the stuff to sell. He approached her to ask how much it was, she replied 18GHc, roughly $14.00. He said: ‘’Great, I’ll take one’’. She asked him where his bag for the charcoal was?... this lady would not sell the coal without a bag from the buyer. She didn’t seem to know how much it cost to buy one and did not seem too inclined to figure it out. Understand that we’re talking about a big potato sac here, the kind that you do kids’ races in! She basically turned around and started leaving because obviously, she would not be able to sell to a man who did not have his own sac. It’s a very interesting technique in marketing and salesmanship: you require that your customer have a certain item but you will not let him purchase this item from you. This situation happens fairly often and can be very frustrating to anyone not used to the concept. This is an example of cultural differences were had there been a personal relationship between Charles and the lady, she might have sold the charcoal to him with the sac because she knew him. But really, who has the time to start a conversation, create a relationship and develop an understanding with all the people you need to buy from? ...and if its this difficult, as if you'd ever go back? ;-) In any case, Charles had to beg her to sell him the damn bag, she even called her provider who called another guy to finally get a quote on the cost of an empty bag! Crazy! Total cost: $1.00, and the cost of 20 minutes of his time harassing a woman unwilling to sell her coal that she has for sale! These things are frustrating as we do not understand why they do this or their reasoning, but it is the way in Ghana. Soo many people here are extremely friendly though, and charming when you get to know them (others are just lacking in education).
ence is very significant and worth the extra trip. So, Charles found a lady who had bags of the stuff to sell. He approached her to ask how much it was, she replied 18GHc, roughly $14.00. He said: ‘’Great, I’ll take one’’. She asked him where his bag for the charcoal was?... this lady would not sell the coal without a bag from the buyer. She didn’t seem to know how much it cost to buy one and did not seem too inclined to figure it out. Understand that we’re talking about a big potato sac here, the kind that you do kids’ races in! She basically turned around and started leaving because obviously, she would not be able to sell to a man who did not have his own sac. It’s a very interesting technique in marketing and salesmanship: you require that your customer have a certain item but you will not let him purchase this item from you. This situation happens fairly often and can be very frustrating to anyone not used to the concept. This is an example of cultural differences were had there been a personal relationship between Charles and the lady, she might have sold the charcoal to him with the sac because she knew him. But really, who has the time to start a conversation, create a relationship and develop an understanding with all the people you need to buy from? ...and if its this difficult, as if you'd ever go back? ;-) In any case, Charles had to beg her to sell him the damn bag, she even called her provider who called another guy to finally get a quote on the cost of an empty bag! Crazy! Total cost: $1.00, and the cost of 20 minutes of his time harassing a woman unwilling to sell her coal that she has for sale! These things are frustrating as we do not understand why they do this or their reasoning, but it is the way in Ghana. Soo many people here are extremely friendly though, and charming when you get to know them (others are just lacking in education).In any case, this post has been long enough, we are ready to move on to our next destination. We will surely miss our "auntie" in the house, Becky, who I don't know what I would do without, I'm sure the place would look like a pigsty, but I also can't wait to see our new house and set it up for us. We miss you all dearly and hope you are doing well. We greatly look forward to seeing some of you soon in T&T!!! Don't forget in February-MArch - it's the CaRnivaL in T&T, so if you want a big party, this is the time!
Cheers!!!! Laura, Charles, Eva, Chloe & Loki (the cat)
