We are in Tamale. We waited to leave until after the Child Center closed for the day. We got to Tamale shortly before 4:00. We had to come to renew our “Non-Citizen” cards. They look like a driver’s license complete with a lovely photo. They always make us take our glasses off for the photo and they make me pull my hair back in a ponytail; my grey hair somehow interferes with the flash on their camera. Today he had me put my hair up in a scarf! Please, I looked like a wash woman! I told Steve that by the looks of my picture I was too ill to travel much less live in a foreign country! The cards have to be renewed every year. We have to go to Cal Bank to pay and get the receipt; it takes the teller ages to take the money and print out the receipt. Then we go upstairs, fill out forms, and present our documentation and passports. Have our picture taken; get fingerprints made of all our fingers including our thumbs and then sit and wait for the machine to make the card. First the network was down so we had to wait for it to come back up ,then the computer crashed twice and it had to be restarted. Before the machine would print the card we had to have another set of fingerprints made.
Our next stop was the Vodafone office. If you remember, we have been trying for over 2 years to get the desk phone transferred from a post-paid account to a pre-paid account. We have not been able to use this phone for over 2 years! We want to keep the same phone number because it is the number that is attached to the registration and all the paperwork for the Child Center. Well, today was the same song second verse. They said they would put in a work order and we should wait 24 before we try the phone again. The most annoying thing is that about a week ago they sent us a bill for 125 Ghana Cedis which is about 25 dollars. This is supposed to be a pre-paid account so why are we getting a bill. He could not find any evidence of a bill for us in their computer system. He said to wait on the bill until they figured out what was going on with the phone chip. Whatever!
After our aggravating visit to the Vodafone office we went to Malcom’s; it is sort of like a small department store that also has food. We were pleasantly surprised when we found “light” soy sauce, sweet red chili paste and rice wine vinegar. Life’s simple pleasures are the best!
While we were out shopping the lady that helps run the hotel called Steve’s cell phone and wanted to make sure that we were alright and that we were still coming to spend the night. Steve assured her that we were on our way. When we entered the gates to the hotel the staff was standing there waiting on us to arrive so they could greet us and to help carry our luggage to our room. It made us feel like celebrities! Ha!
The people that own and run the hotel are East Indians so the food in the restaurant is delicious. We ate far too much but we will sleep good tonight!
Please keep us in your prayers as we travel about!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
