Christmas here is celebrated by Christians in church but is otherwise quite low key. There are a few signs of a more commercialised, westernised sort of celebration creeping in but most people in the north of Ghana can’t afford to do parties, cards, presents etc. Not hearing Jingle Bells from Bonfire Night onwards has been really great! Just last week there started to be a few carols played at times on the TV when other Christian music would usually be played and on Monday Vodaphone were doing a promotion in the nearest big town and had someone dressed up as Santa on their float.
At the weekend volunteers in this area got together for an early Christmas dinner. 15of us gathered at one house in Bolgatanga and all contributed to the meal. Our Secret Santa limit was the equivalent of just over a pound and the gifts were a real mix of edible, practical and plain silly. The distribution and opening of them involved a story and the option of ‘stealing’ a present that you liked better than the one you had opened, resulting in much hilarity as some things were clearly favoured over others, especially anything chocolate! We then had a UK v the rest of the world quiz which the UK won by a whisker. Anthony who is in a band, Bolgatanga, then bought in his guitar and the band’s drums and we played and sang carols and Christmas songs. Then we noticed it was 1.30am so a good time had been had by all!
The Christmas break is now approaching. Schools finished on Friday (18th) for 3 weeks but the office doesn’t close til lunchtime on Christmas Eve. It will be closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day then open again until New Years Day which is also a holiday. Iona, who I share a house with, and I are taking some extra leave days and travelling via Kumasi to Koforidua in the south east to spend Christmas with some other volunteers. There should be about 15 of us. There is a big bead market in Koforidua that we plan to visit on Christmas Eve. On Boxing Day the plan is to visit some nearby waterfalls and do a bit of a hike.
After Christmas a smaller group of us are going to travel for a few days in Togo and Benin which should be a bit of an adventure to start off the New Year.
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Mobile on a moto

A couple of weeks ago I went to Bolgatanga with some other VSO volunteers and completed a week of moto training/practice and lots of form filling and I now have a Ghanaian licence.
Driving here presents numerous challenges. The main road through Zebilla is tarmac but has lots of potholes in it, some of which are very deep and wide. All traffic therefore picks the best route round or over them almost regardless of which side it should really be on (the right).
All other routes are mainly red(dust) roads/tracks which are very uneven and rutted in places and may have loose stones or gravel on them or patches of quite deep sand.
On the roads there are lots of motos and bicycles, some cars, tro tros (minibuses used as shared taxis between major towns), coaches, lorries and donkey carts as well as people walking.
Wherever you are groups of cows, chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, sheep, goats or pigs may decide that they are going to cross infront of you without warning. There are some individuals wandering around too. They are all sure that they have right of way!
My moto was delivered to me soon after my training. It's a black Yamaha YBR 125cc. So far I've done the short journey from home to work and back several times and one longer ride.
The really hard bit is getting the moto in and out of the house. This involves placing a wooden ramp across the drain that surrounds the house. It's a bit of a slope and the moto is heavy so it's a difficult manoeuvre. It's getting easier with practice. I'm not sure if my technique is improving or my muscles growing!