Alan and I have had a busy week and weekend and thus, not much time for blogging but it was all full of fun and interesting events. Last weekend we met some new friends in our apartment complex, Gilda and Allan, from DC via Montreal. Gilda and I got together with another woman from the apartment complex, Marina, who is also our yoga instructor and made a few excursions this week. We went for coffee one day and then Marina, who is becoming an accomplished, Mahjong player, decided that she'd like to teach Gilda and I how to play the game. It was a lot of fun and I might become a Mahjong addict. In fact my mother informed me that my grandmother used to play Mahjong and has a beautiful set that I might take back to Ghana. Then the next day we all got together again along with my friend Uxoa and her baby Malaika and we made an excursion to a Kente cloth shop and production site. This is a traditional type of weaving done here in Ghana that is really beautiful. Sometimes the cloth is worn for special occasions but it is also produced for table settings, bed spreads, wall hangings, etc.
It is an extremely time consuming process. We were overwhelmed by the huge inventory there and the beautiful colors and patterns of all the cloth. We bought a few things but are going back next week to get more! Then on Thursday, Frank and I went on an expedition for supplies I need for my baking business like cake boxes and cardboard supports for the cakes. In the US, it's possible to just go to a cake supply store and get all of this, but here, it's a major challenge. I began by searching for cardboard manufactorers hoping that they might be able to produce a cake box for me. The first place we went which was a massive factory said the minimum order quantity of boxes was 4000 - a little much for my very small scale operation. Then we went to another place that doesn't do boxes but was willing to sell me huge sheets of cardboard from which I can cut my own cake supports. Then we went to a printing press where they print and fold cardboard boxes for various retail companies and after Frank translated between Twi and English for me, we finally understand that they can produce the boxes for me but I will have to draw my own design for the box. After feeling somewhat successful with the mission so far, we went to one of the markets to look for used cake mixers, as I am still borrowing my friend's mixer which will soon have to be returned. It was a really interesting process by which we pulled over our car on a busy street, hissed to get a man's attention who came over to the car. We explained what I was looking for and he then made some phone calls and ran in and out of nearby stores looking for a used Kenwood mixer. Low and behold, 10 minutes later, the man is walking down the street with a used Kenwood mixer on his shoulder. My excitment soon was extinguished when he told me how much it was - as much as a new Kitchen Aid mixer in the states. Despite my attempt to bargain hard, it was clear this guy was not going to reduce it low enough to my liking so we left empty handed. All of this baking-focused searching was inspired by receiving my first "real" cake order on Wednesday. A woman ordered a cake for her son's 21st birthday. So I delivered the cake and am crossing my fingers they liked it! And finally, the weekend arrived which we had packed full of activity. Friday night was the final Ghana Malta Guinness Street Dance Competition which, if you remember from an earlier blog, is a competition that Alan's company, Guinness Ghana, sponsors each year. It is a competition all over Africa and the countries' winners then compete to become the winner for Africa. So this was the national competition's finals and was held the major conference center here. After dining with Guinness friends along with our friends Uxoa and Carlos at a local Indian restaurant,
we made our way to a packed and chaotic conference center. It was just brimming with excitment, music was blaring and fans had made banners and even brought their vuvuzelas (those aweful noise makers from the World Cup). It was great fun, despite almost going deaf from sitting right in front of the speakers. 6 teams competed through 3 different stages of the competition battling with theatrics, break dancing, props, and dance moves. Team names included High Spirits, Buggi Bust, Heroes Dance Crew, Rockers of All Time, and No Limit Crew. Four judges, all dance experts or music producers scored the teams and finally picked a winner. The event was televised and so television cameras and still cameras were all over the place. Because we were with Guinness and wore our bright orange branded t-shirts for the competition we sat in the first two rows and got lots of face time on T.V. Too bad Alan and I had our fingers in our ears for most of it because our ear drums were aching - probably not the shot they wanted of the competition! Here are some shots of the competition.
Then on Saturday, we had an impromput bagel party with our friends from the complex. First, our friend Antonio came over to learn the bagel making process. We made almost 3 dozen bagels! Then the friends arrived - Marina and Jonathon, Dyane and Antonio, and Gilda and Allan. Marina, who recently went home to Moscow, brought some smoked fish to the brunch all the way from Russia which was gobbled down in a few seconds. We had a great time and indulged in bagels since we don't have any here and dreamed about opening a bagel shop in Accra.
And finally to finish our activity filled weekend, we went to the one movie theater in Accra to see Inception with Leonardo Dicaprio. Despite having to fight with the crowds to get popcorn (making a line is unheard of here), which is hugely popular at the movie theater, it was really nice to sit back and enjoy the simple past time. We then were planning to go out for dinner but soon realized when we got to the parking lot that we were not going anywhere. City planning, particularly street planning, is so poor here that despite having this modern mall, the parking lot and entrance and exit to the mall are so ridiculously non-sensical that cars just get jammed packed in the parking lot trying to get in or out but not going anywhere. So we grabbed some African cuisine in the mall and by the time we finished (service was very slow!) the parking lot had unjammed and we were able to drive home.
It is an extremely time consuming process. We were overwhelmed by the huge inventory there and the beautiful colors and patterns of all the cloth. We bought a few things but are going back next week to get more! Then on Thursday, Frank and I went on an expedition for supplies I need for my baking business like cake boxes and cardboard supports for the cakes. In the US, it's possible to just go to a cake supply store and get all of this, but here, it's a major challenge. I began by searching for cardboard manufactorers hoping that they might be able to produce a cake box for me. The first place we went which was a massive factory said the minimum order quantity of boxes was 4000 - a little much for my very small scale operation. Then we went to another place that doesn't do boxes but was willing to sell me huge sheets of cardboard from which I can cut my own cake supports. Then we went to a printing press where they print and fold cardboard boxes for various retail companies and after Frank translated between Twi and English for me, we finally understand that they can produce the boxes for me but I will have to draw my own design for the box. After feeling somewhat successful with the mission so far, we went to one of the markets to look for used cake mixers, as I am still borrowing my friend's mixer which will soon have to be returned. It was a really interesting process by which we pulled over our car on a busy street, hissed to get a man's attention who came over to the car. We explained what I was looking for and he then made some phone calls and ran in and out of nearby stores looking for a used Kenwood mixer. Low and behold, 10 minutes later, the man is walking down the street with a used Kenwood mixer on his shoulder. My excitment soon was extinguished when he told me how much it was - as much as a new Kitchen Aid mixer in the states. Despite my attempt to bargain hard, it was clear this guy was not going to reduce it low enough to my liking so we left empty handed. All of this baking-focused searching was inspired by receiving my first "real" cake order on Wednesday. A woman ordered a cake for her son's 21st birthday. So I delivered the cake and am crossing my fingers they liked it! And finally, the weekend arrived which we had packed full of activity. Friday night was the final Ghana Malta Guinness Street Dance Competition which, if you remember from an earlier blog, is a competition that Alan's company, Guinness Ghana, sponsors each year. It is a competition all over Africa and the countries' winners then compete to become the winner for Africa. So this was the national competition's finals and was held the major conference center here. After dining with Guinness friends along with our friends Uxoa and Carlos at a local Indian restaurant, 
we made our way to a packed and chaotic conference center. It was just brimming with excitment, music was blaring and fans had made banners and even brought their vuvuzelas (those aweful noise makers from the World Cup). It was great fun, despite almost going deaf from sitting right in front of the speakers. 6 teams competed through 3 different stages of the competition battling with theatrics, break dancing, props, and dance moves. Team names included High Spirits, Buggi Bust, Heroes Dance Crew, Rockers of All Time, and No Limit Crew. Four judges, all dance experts or music producers scored the teams and finally picked a winner. The event was televised and so television cameras and still cameras were all over the place. Because we were with Guinness and wore our bright orange branded t-shirts for the competition we sat in the first two rows and got lots of face time on T.V. Too bad Alan and I had our fingers in our ears for most of it because our ear drums were aching - probably not the shot they wanted of the competition! Here are some shots of the competition. 
Then on Saturday, we had an impromput bagel party with our friends from the complex. First, our friend Antonio came over to learn the bagel making process. We made almost 3 dozen bagels! Then the friends arrived - Marina and Jonathon, Dyane and Antonio, and Gilda and Allan. Marina, who recently went home to Moscow, brought some smoked fish to the brunch all the way from Russia which was gobbled down in a few seconds. We had a great time and indulged in bagels since we don't have any here and dreamed about opening a bagel shop in Accra. 
And finally to finish our activity filled weekend, we went to the one movie theater in Accra to see Inception with Leonardo Dicaprio. Despite having to fight with the crowds to get popcorn (making a line is unheard of here), which is hugely popular at the movie theater, it was really nice to sit back and enjoy the simple past time. We then were planning to go out for dinner but soon realized when we got to the parking lot that we were not going anywhere. City planning, particularly street planning, is so poor here that despite having this modern mall, the parking lot and entrance and exit to the mall are so ridiculously non-sensical that cars just get jammed packed in the parking lot trying to get in or out but not going anywhere. So we grabbed some African cuisine in the mall and by the time we finished (service was very slow!) the parking lot had unjammed and we were able to drive home.
Will you teach your Mom bagel making? Athens needs a good bagel. Love the fabrics.
ReplyDeleteIs it feasible to have cake boxes made in States and take back with you?
ReplyDeleteI will definitely teach my mom how to make bagels! They are lots of fun and pretty easy. And...as for cake boxes...I'm going to give it a try here and see what happens.
ReplyDelete