So, how many times a week do you think the average American runs errands? Possibly two or three times? I know we all try to get everything done in one trip, and really appreciate one stop shopping where available. I have always enjoyed running errands for the most part. Getting out and shopping, seeing people, grabbing a bite to eat on the road, etc. It is relatively easy, at least in Buffalo, to run your errands, depending on how much you have to do it could take an hour or two, then done!!
Well, for the past three days, I have been running errands... for three days. (3 days)
On Monday Sister wanted us to take some of our children to a special school for children who are deaf and/or cannot speak. The school is a boarding school in Tamale and we had five children to take. These children will benefit greatly from the education they can receive there and learn how to communicate well. It is so wonderful to find a school who can help us help the children. Well, then Sister also wanted us to take Mary to see the physical therapist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, and since we were going there anyways, we might as well take the children with a monthly appointment to the psychiatrist as well. Oh, and since we are in Tamale, stop at the market, pick up some water, and a few other odds and ends. So, off we went early in the morning with 12 children and a long list. Well, we were at the hospital for at least 5 hours, then had to shop, eat and get to the school. But shopping here isn't going into a Target or Walmart. There are stores in Tamale, but they are not well supplied, so you end up going to multiple stores to get your goods, then the market is like a huge farmers market where everything from bras and underwear to packaged foods, fresh (?) meat and fruits and vegetables are sold. It takes several hours to get from one end to the other. Suffice to say that we didn't get to the school until 7pm (and they were understanding and welcoming to us, thank God!) and we finally pulled in at home around midnight. How's that for a day running errands?
On Tuesday I had to drive to Yendi to have the cars inspected at the Cathedral. It was another early day. It took about 2 hours, but I got to know some of the priests and sisters around here a little more, so that was nice. Then we had to go to the Yendi market for things we didn't get on Monday. Lastly, we had to stop at a farm to pick up some yams and maize. Yeah... that is we had to drive down terrible dirt roads, and some areas there was no road, to get to this farm only to have to harvest and pack the yams that Sister paid for. I had no idea that we would have to do this work to pick up the yams, so I didn't put on sunscreen in the morning and was suffering for it in the midmorning sun. Well, I felt like a snobby princess, but I had to wait in the car while everyone else finished up because I was my skin was getting burnt, and I have fair, Irish skin... easily burnt!! The harvesting and packing took several hours. Then we had to stop at the post office to see if Mary Clare or I received any packages (still haven't received any yet). There wasn't one for us, but there was one for Sister, and the worker wouldn't let us take it. This was followed up by several calls to Sister Stan where she tried to make the man give us the package. Remember how busy I told you Sister was in an earlier post, well she does not have time to run errands... that's why she has us!! The man knew us and Sister and still wouldn't release the package to us. We got home by 7pm... an early night for us!!
Then yesterday, it was another trip to Tamale... returning to the boarding school to bring things we had forgotten or didn't know the kids needed, filling up the propane tanks with gas, doing more shopping and picking up the driver who will pick up Tom and Paula in Accra. It was another day of waiting and shopping and lots and lots of walking. We were home by supper, but I was seriously exhausted. And don't forget, for two of the days we were bringing children with us, which is another fiasco getting them ready and then keeping them well behaved throughout the long days. And when running errands with children in Africa who have to use the bathroom? Super fun... no public restrooms, just public bushes and trees. The hard part is finding an appropriate place in a city for the kids to relieve themselves.
Today I am finally able to clean my room, wash my clothes, and get a little work done on the computer. But there is a never ending list of daily tasks to be done here as well. I find the traveling and poor eating of the past three days has me in poor working condition today, and as I sit in my room writing this, all I can think about is my bed behind me and how I wish I could just take a few hours rest... however, there is work to be done, so rest will wait until siesta.
Update on Ella... She is smiling!!! and laughing!!! Well, sometimes she smiles at me with a kind of ok-is-she-crazy kind of smile, and her eyebrows go up... but a smile is a smile and I'll take whatever I can get!!! Hip hip horray!! Ella smiles!! xo
