Volta Lodge has been our home now for about a month. Residence in Ghana didn't start out here though. If you recall, we were living in Airside Hotel for the first month and then had a brief stint in Osu (5 days to be exact) and then it was back to Airside for a week. We finally came upon the beloved Volta in the early days of October when we settled on living near the TNS office. In fact, we are just across the street. This makes for a convenient walk to and from work in the mornings and at lunch, as well as to our favorite vegetable stand around the corner when we are in need of some produce.
With the comforts of a well stocked kitchen and the luxury of a washing machine and dryer inside the apartment (for the first time in my adult life) we are truly lucky and sometimes wonder if we are really experiencing the real Africa.
It is as if we are only dipping our toes into the pool of African experiences. Do we really know what it means to live in Africa if we're not living as a local? Are we getting the most out of all the ups and downs this continent has to offer? Well there are many ways to look at it but the reality is that we are still living in a developing country even if we are not living like the majority of the population. We just have to make sure that everyday we do not take for granted the running water from our tap, the ability to flip on a switch to heat the water flowing from our shower head, the bright lamp I read by at night nor the food I am able to store in our refrigerator.
Last night we came home to find our power had gone out. Now this isn't like the last time this happened when we realized all we needed to do was buy more credit. No the power was out. So, that great back up plan, the generator, kicked on and gave life to about half of the apartment. The most essential part of the apartment thankfully. Enough power allowed me to cook us dinner on the stove and the air-conditioner to continue operating. In the living room, Brian listened to music from his laptop which additionally provided enough light for us to each enjoy a glass of wine and discuss our day.
We are so blessed. As the power ebbed and flowed for a couple of hours from the generator and partially our own source I thought about the thousands (more like millions) of people in this country and in the world who go to bed each night without the comfort of light, air-conditioning, or any electricity at all.
When you sit down and take this in you feel very rich but also guilty and confused. Rich with health and opportunity. Rich with food and knowledge. Guilty for having access to things when others don't and confused as to why me and not someone else? As a result, it is critical we mustn't take one volt of energy or one drop of water for granted. And know that we are here for a reason and that is not only to learn what Africa has to offer but more importantly offer ourselves to others and the gifts we've been given.
So are we experiencing the real Africa? I think my heart tells me yes.
View down the street to the right out of our drive
View down the street to the left out of our drive, TNS building across the street
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