Days 6,7,8: Thursday we test out a new driver for a day trip north. We are headed to Sunyani, about 3 hours away, to tour a roasting facility we hope we can work with. Drivers used here before did not work well because they did not know their way around Kumasi and did not have enough mechanical ability to get the truck serviced well and fix it when it breaks down on a trip. (We have been told it is wise to have three vehicles, hoping that two will be working at any given time.). The fellow driving us today is a mechanic, and a friend of our wonderful, diligent, hardworking employee, Obed, so we have good hopes. Can you tell how this is going to go yet? đ. This driver, Ben, insists he knows a short cut (Carly calls it a long cut). We are careening through back roads, switchbacks really, narrow clay paths with ruts and holes many feet deep. Or maybe they are ruts and holes with a bit of clay connecting them. Truly that might be a better description! People and their goings on and animals still line it, improbably, and at one point we are actually driving through a small garbage dump in the weeds, OVER the garbage. At one point we lose traction and it seems we may be stuck, but we regain our footing. Carly explains to us that many people do not want to use the main road due to traffic early in the morning, but wed be going against traffic. Eventually we come to a place where the path through the weeds seems to end and the main road is near, so our USA connection (who sitting in the front of the truck) tells Ben the driver to stop using back roads and go back on the main road. So, like other drivers we see, he climbs the truck up a homemade ramp, a hillock of packed dirt connecting the weeds to an actual paved asphalt fast-moving roadway. Hallelujah! Problem is...he is driving directly into traffic!! There are no lanes and such confusion that Im not sure if thats really whats going on at first. But I catch Jeffs eye over Carly sitting between us and we exchange a big-eyed grin over the absurdity of the situation. Sure enough, Ben continues to drive into oncoming traffic, honking, people veering, for quite a way until there is a place to turn into the lanes going the correct direction. Now we assume he was showing off for us a bit that he knew his way around the back roads, so we give him the benefit of the doubt. Carly tells us it is slightly legit driving this way on this highway because when it was under construction, the other lane had been closed and this side was used for traffic going both ways. Hmm. We figure our USA friend in front is in charge and maybe this is not so unusual. Plus we are on the highway now and behind schedule. We drive on. Can you tell how this is going to go some more?! Ben honks at everything but this is not unusual. Honking means many things here. It means I am going to edge into the intersection so I get a turn to go. Or it means Hey! What do think youre doing?! It also means Move faster. (Although they cant because there is too much traffic.). Or I am driving up behind you walking, so move over...or at least dont wander into the road. Ben honks at every single thing. I think he is enjoying being in charge at the wheel. When we stop at a sort of petrol station to search out a pee place, he is taking photos of the truck while he waits. The petrol station may be abandoned and the goats do not cooperate with my photo op attempts, but when I turn around there are children giggling and they let me take their photo. It turns out Ben likes to drive fast. We are driving straight roads through green and many small village/town/gatherings of shelters. I cant translate kilometers in my head, but it sure feels fast. Then he completely misses a slow down for the upcoming double speed bump sign and our truck full of people is screaming and he comes to a screaming slow down. Whew! Somewhere along the way we learn he does not have his drivers license with him! Carly asks him a few questions at lunch and we find he has driven to Accra (5 hours away) 3 times before...in his whole life. He proudly tells us he has driven for 8 years, as a mechanic taking people back to their homes if their car has to be left at the shop. Now we have some excellent questions we will ask our next driver before we get in the car! The things you take for granted!! We do make him slow down when he starts to treat the open hills like a roller coaster. He seems grumpy then and it is clear we cramped his style. But we do finally get to Sunyani and meet Kwame, the owner. He is pleased to meet our Kwame, my Jeffery! He tours us through his factory. They are between orders so the factory is not in production. There are birds flying through the food production area and dust everywhere. But this is the only roaster anywhere near and we are told one of the cleanest factories youll see here. It is clear that he knows his business and is proud of his place. We sit down with him, get to know each other a little, and talk about our mutual goals. This is where our factory was going to be situated before Kumasi was chosen so it is interesting to think Jeff and I would have lived here instead. We may be back when Hershey comes next month. Our next 2 days are uneventful by comparison! đ. I have a sore throat and stay in bed Friday morning, refusing to tempt fate. The power is out all morning so instead of work emails when I wake, I finally get all our gear moved in, do some stretching, eat lunch, then I have to go back to bed. Jeff works very late this night, because the power is back on and he and Martin have only 2 days left to get Jeff trained with the machinery. Around bedtime we have Gari for dinner. This is like Fufu but made from cassava instead of cassava and plantain. It is a paste you scoop with your fingers, then dip into the spicy sauce. They have separated the hot pepper sauce from the tomato sauce to be kind to Jeff and I who are not used to African food. The tomato sauce is still very very spicy to me, just from having been mixed in the the same bowl the pepper sauce was in! It is tasty. But in the middle of the night Jeff experiences the African version of Montezumas revenge, combined with throwing up twice. He does not eat anything but a slice of toast Saturday. He works all morning though, then comes home and sleeps all day. He actually sleeps through the pounding of fufu, planned for he and Martin to try. But we will have time to do it again later. I try. Its hard! The next day Jeff is a little better. We see Martin off, back to the states after his month and a half in Africa. We hope to see him again in a few months. This weekend ends very well as Jeff has won the battle with the howling dogs and neighbors! How did this happen? In his frustration, Jeff yelled out the window, VERY loudly. Some neighbors put their dogs in. Repeat a few hours later. Fewer dogs howling. A couple nights of this and Jeff tells me he sees the dog that comes down the path to stir up the other dogs and he looks all mopey as the other dogs do not respond. That dog seems to have stopped coming. And now the howling is mostly only a daytime event. Thank God for small miracles. Sleep is a blessed gift. We hope you are all blessed this week and noticing the small miracles. Among other miracles, we enjoyed the moon over Kumasi and the biggest black and white butterfly Ive ever seen. Take care all!
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:18:28 +0000