Bob tries out our keys in our new Post Office Box in Adum and Camille shows off her new dress, paper towels and can opener.

The first order of business was a visit to the Post Office to mail a couple of cards to the States. When we found out we could get a P O Box and begin receiving mail, we went for it! The kind lady at the window sent us around the corner to room 12 on the second floor to purchase the necessary paper work. I was happy to remember that I had a photo of Bob in my wallet and between that and his North Carolina drivers license we had the necessary documentation.

Then we went back downstairs to pay our box fee and receive our number. “What do you want to bet our new number has a seven in it?” I said and was disappointed when the clerk announced our number as 16595. Moments later, when I was writing down our new address though, she corrected me saying it was 16597. Yay! And then we went back upstairs to room 12 to pick up our keys. Finally, we walked around until we found the box itself and tried both keys in it. Worked like a charm.

So drop us a postcard and we’ll mail you one back with a fancy Ghanian stamp on it.

Our new mailing address is:

P O Box KS 16597
Kumasi, Ghana
West Africa

Next, we stopped at Saarnak Vegetarian Food and Health Shop as recommended by awesome vegan Abenaa when she took us horseback riding at Lake Bosumtwi last week. We shared a plate of the best jollof rice we’ve had here yet. And then we bought some fancy vegan groceries for the house, including soy protein nuggets, sunflower seeds and pepitos.

Out on the street, I spotted can openers on display and stopped to buy one and a bottle opener as well. We also checked out the Okopu Trading Post where we found Kahlua and paper towels but no measuring cup. We walked around the corner to Ebenezer’s Health Food Shop and picked up honey, peanut butter and coconut oil, buying some avocados and cucumbers at a produce stand along the way. And we looked at clothing but didn’t find anything that was quite as awesome as the dress I bought yesterday.

We arrived home with full bags and bellies and big smiles on our faces. Life is good when you find what you want!

I find it interesting and a little perplexing that you can buy canned goods but not a can opener and bottled wine but no cork screw.

We’ve been here in Adiebeba for three weeks now and are getting a feel for where to buy most things. We know where to buy drinking water, fresh fruit, vegetables, bread and eggs. We’ve discovered a handy neighborhood supply of locally made tofu for only 1 cedi per 8-ounce block or $1 a pound.

It’s only a short list of essentials that continue to elude me. The aforementioned openers are two. Even the tiniest shop sells canned goods yet none sell a can opener. When I spotted a can opener on the counter of Mr. Daniel’s Dimples store on the corner of Roteng and FF Antoh Streets, he said he didn’t sell them but promised to pick me up one next time he went to market. This was a couple of weeks ago and he kindly expresses his apologies each time I walk past his shop or stop to buy pasta or tomato paste.

I check for one at the Melcom, the big grocery within walking distance each time they receive a new shipment but they can only tell me they are “finished.” I’ve checked both times we’ve taken a taxi to the Palace Hyper-Mart for bottled water and receive the same story. It took us awhile to figure out that “finished” means that they used to stock them but now they are out. Must be a country-wide can opener shortage because last week the woman at the Melcom told me “We ask but they no come.”

We bought a bottle of wine the other night while waiting for the Moti Mahal Indian restaurant to open and decided it might be nice to have a before dinner drink so I went back into the liquor store to buy a wine opener. No the man behind the counter said sadly, we don’t have. But he generously offered to open my bottle of wine after fishing around behind the counter to locate his opener and the five of us sat on the curb, glugging red wine from a beige plastic bag.

Also, why can’t I find paper towels to buy? The dirt that sifts in though the window screens stains every towel I use to wipe the counters and the floor. Even bleach will not remove the stains and I have tried. I’m thinking a damp paper towel that I can compost later will help keep our towels clean. Something to pick up the dirt before I dry the counter with that nice white towel.

Since Bob, Jeremy, Lauren and Justin are involved most of the day with project associated work, I offered to cook dinner for the five of us Monday through Friday. I generally wait until Bob gets home to open any cans I might need for dinner with his Swiss Army knife.

I cannot find a calendar either so in the mean time, I’m taking it one week at a time with the help of a dry erase planner I found at the Melcom. Which I must say is a good pace for me. Life is simple when all I need to accomplish is a meal and perhaps some laundry.

There are enough differences in each day to keep things interesting. Yesterday Lauren and I stopped in a dress shop where I bought a dress which looks as if it were made for me. Today Bob and I are taking a taxi into Adum for our first trip to a Ebenezer’s Health Food Shop. Perhaps today will be the day we find a can opener!