NOw, in venice, my trip is getting more intense. Being away from my new home, on route to my old one is crazy, but luckly my family - in england, here in venice and Sammy - arae keeping me grounded and making my transiting - my strange trip - easy and good and happy. SO I thinak them. AS I SIT LOOKING OUT AT A BIG CANAL, some cool old buildings that have stood almost as long as some of the strong African Traditions that i learned about, but in a more materially way have a ripeness unpressedented in toronto or any where in NOrth america, I feel happy because my cousins are arond, my family is interested, in my loessons and I in theirs - as they also live a new life here - and my mind is at peace.

My back is getting tense again, the pace of the places in the "west' -though i am east of Ada FOah - is hurting me. The lack of genuine friendlyness to strangeers is shocking my possitive soul and my back is taking the pains and neddles of the stresses of these fast paste places. My mind is left to deal, and its doing well with what comes my way as I move around this world.

THe sounds and smells have left me - I even had a warm shower - and my African understandingsof life that I begun to grasp at make no sense herre in this world, but neither did my understandings make head of tail of Africa when I arrived. I think thats how we grow; I think thats why we go: to learn and live as our ideas and understandings change with time - change with what we do. So, I go on, to soon come 'home' again i hope. but my rethurn home post haste from now is going to make it a compleate trip. THe good times, the bad times and most importaintly al,l the times, understood as one, tghat has changed my life, made my self stronger.

So I pray: I was given the oppertunity of life, the people I've met and the things i've expience have made me, and as I understand more and more of who myself is, I am happy for my friends and expiences. So I thank You, Jah, and I hope that you can guide me home to Zion after many mopre trip[s to many more homes. Jah guide and protect. Amen.

After a long journey I am lost in this big city. I think back to yesterday morning, in Ada, waking to talk out behind the house, and even the evening in Tema, the send off with clements at the airport. THe smells and sounds still ring in me as I am shaking on the street, having forgotten how to even stop a taxi. THe cold air at 10 or 15 degrees adds to my shaking but it is the difference that really gets to me. I seem lost, or something. I know whare I am going, but my head is not in it.
After a hot shower - teh first for months - I feel clean, but I can't help thinking back to my town, my people. With the school year done and a new season begining I am excited, but what have I left, what will I come back to. What have I done. Where am I going?
Venice, is my next short endevour, I am going to see the family there. THen back home. YOu see. I'm just not quite right. I have more to say, far more, but it will have to wait.
PEACE
ALEX

HEy Everyone
Well, as I set out for my bike ride I smeel smoking fish in the air, the children are running to me yelling Alex, Alex, Bra Alex, All the children call me this now, in every school that I pass children whom I have never met before know me, in 8 weeks my name seem s to have spread around town. BUt i don't know if it is wahat I think. SOme Americans were staying at the sunset beach and they told me that the kids were calling them Alex as well. Perhaps they think Alex is another word for befono. But that is how it goes,. I contiue my ride out along the ocean front road and then turn down lightly inland untill I hit the river adn Azazenya, a small fishing village that heas been re located a number of times by costal erosion. CHildren are begging me for small amountsd of money and I pull up to the manet beach resort. MAnet is a big name in Ghana. My firends live in manet court in Accra, and there are at least 2 or 3 other manet 'communities' in Accra. I enter, leaving my bike with the nice security man at the front and then I walk into a a nother world. many whilte people and rich Ghana's swimming in the blue water of the swimming pool, the menu has Pizza but the cheepest thing on it is 10$. Even the beer is almost the price we would pay in Canada. I just don't what to do, I am shocked and I sit down for a little while then decide that it is all to crazy and expensive and ask the sercuity man where i CAN GET A BEER FOR THE NORMAL PRICE, he takes me accros the road into a cemnt block house with hard wooden chairs and I take my Club beer for the normal 10 000 cedi's.
AS i leave azazanya back towards Foah I pass 15 or 20 muskoka like weekend 'palaces' owned by such people as the Pall-Mall ciggrete company and Azar Paints. The accra yuaght club has thier place their too.

SO As I contue back to Otlokpe THe children still ask me for money, and I understand, just a little more why they think I am so wealththy. "my' people - other whiteies - have a place like that, one could for days and be entertained by boat trips and big dinners, and never leave the walls of heaven to see the life that exists out side of it. I was shocked, and decided to go and talk to my freind Ras Clements about it, he aggreed but did put it into perspective a little fore me.

And that was my sunday afternoon. Learning and living in this un equal world, understanding just a little more what it is all about.


So, classesa re going well, my students are really enjoying our new power point lessions and soon we will conect our studies with the work of the station, in a big development focused project that uses all the microsoft office applications.

Wel;l, Peace for now.
I hope all is well

bye

HEY PEOPLES, - i had lots of requests so i thought I'd put in a new on - how are you all?

WEll, The last week has been one of pain and enjoyment. My stomach was trying to tell me something as I threw up - and shat out - almost Everything that was in side me. IT was not all that nice, I slept on my friends couch for the next wekk and now am relaxing asd my classes have already finished for the week. I have been reading - "one of the best books of the year:david morley's newest." -a lot and watching TV shows on the computer to help me relax. Also their is piano around and that helps, I am working on some ragtime bass lines now.

So along with my pain comes my enjoyment. Work continues to be very rewarding and my students and co-workers are very very nice and become better frioends as I get to know them. My life is nice ,I am always meeting new and interesting peoplea s here, as a forigner I seem to ride with the highest ecelon of social society for the youth. Not really political or something but the coolest guys. I am just realizing this now and it is a little odd. but what can you do, I still meet everyone everywhere and contiune to enjoy life their.

My classes are comming along, we can now all use excel again and next week is power point. I am learning a lot, and the students continue to really enjoy their classes. THe beach is still calling me often though I don't swim everyday anymore, but a good 4 day a week.


I went to see some seae turtles a little while back. IT was sweet. REally sweet. Huge things and the man taking us around on the beach was a phd in marine biology with a focus on learthbac turtles - the type o turtle we saw that night. It really was nice.


So as time ticks fastly forwards I contiue my learning of the martkets, cooking, the in-s and outs of getting 2 byccle punctures in a day everyday and of how to deal with my new friends here as we get to know each other better.


The skyies have been cloudy these last few days, and it is a walcomed difference to the pounding heat of 8 degrees north of the equator sun. The rain supposedly feel today, we heard it fromo ur taximan on our way here, but it didn't fall the 1000 cedi tro tro ride away, at my current abode in Manet court in the suburban wasteland that will be accra in the near future. And I am sure the sun in Ada Nation will be shinning on my return to my costal wetland home, People are waiting for me, the city has been sickening - though I can eat good holsome food to my hearts content - and the return is much needed.

The waves are really calling me, i think.


I ba. I Nga Saminya. Atse me wa ke befono. atse me ke Alex.


PEACE
AND LOVE
ALEX

WEll, I had writen some really nice posts to you guys, but then, my computer broke again. IT is too bad, but that is fine, i can live with out it. But it mean that my blog will start to run shorter as I can on;y write you when I am at the internet cafe. BUt htat is life

THe classes are moving on in Ada, times are good. I am getting used to life on the sea and the poeple I keep meeting are very freindly, making my life very nice. THat is just how it seems to work, esspeciall in Ada-FOah. or the name of my village ada-otlokpe - pronouced in english as Otro(K)be. I have been swimming still everyday and the other day I met a boy who went swimming with me and taught me some things. They are all surprised that I know how to swim.

Well, as time progresses, life contiunes and changes. I make new friends, I lose ytouch with old, The pipe starts running ( ihave water now) but the electiricty still cuts out often. I am learning as well to speak a bit of dangme (dangbe in english). A tse me wa ka bEfono, a tse me ka ALEX (a che me way kay befono, a che me kay Alex). And I will contiune to learn more.

WEll, thats all for now,
PEACE and lOVE
ALEX

Ada – Day one

Leave Accra – 9:00 on a good nights sleep, and have finished packing in the morning prior to leaving Gills mansion in North Laegon.

Get a taxi on the road, he puts my bike, banjo and 2 bags into his little car and takes to

Novetell Station - by 9:30 becaues it is a Sunday and the terrific is good. Put all things on tro, tip some guys who helped you without asking for help,k but now they want money, fairly tipical hustling scheme. Get on with a baged coffee and tea headed for

Ada – 11:30 finish the trip and call Kofi, the head of radio Ada, who brings me to my new home

Sunset Beach Resort – 12:00 a hotel near the beach, about 1 minuets walk from the ocean. They have given me a good deal to stay here for 120 Canadian dollars per month, with access to their kitchen, and nice people helping me out.

12:00-15:00 –gill leaves after a little walk and some beer and chicken. She had come down for a few hours just to help me move out with all of my things. Thanks Gill.

From then on in I settled into my new home, sunset beach hotel. Set up some things and bathed with some weird solution called detol, the stuff the hotel gave me and told me to try, in buckets. I haven’t felt so clean in a while, were they trying to tell me I looked dirty. After all the trip to the north was very dusty. Weird stuff. But they say that I should have water by “the end of the week”.

Day three

It is morning now, I am about to get on my bike to go to the station again. The first day was very nice, I met the youth that I am teaching, they are very enthusiastic, and really receptive to y teaching, which is a plus in any teaching situation. So times are good. But I feeling a little odd here, just with the change, getting settled in, using the kitchen here at Sunset beach, and metting lots of new people, all of whom are very, very nice. I miss my friends from school that I have relied on for companionship for the last 4 months and I also miss home now too, with the change, after missing chirsmas and hearing about the festive times. But all in all tings are good. So off I go again, to see what might come about this time, and also, I do enjoy my bike ride to work, 30 minutes in the morning on a bike can set my day right any day. So wish me luck, as I hope you are all happy in your lives now.

Day Five

A good weeks work here at the cool African Coast. I got new students every day and we made very good progress for one week. These youths are all brilliant. But I got my favorite student yesterday, a older man who is a teacher. He wants to use to computer for his work and his life, while the others just want to lean. We started from step one, how to double click, how to put the comuter together, it was all very interesting for me, as I stumbled around workds and phases attempting to describe things that I never really learned, but more figured out as I am a chiold of the computer age. Very interesting.

The days keep passing here, and the sea air keeps me relaxed, as well as the relaxed working atmpsher. I get to sit out side all day and talk to interested people about many things more than my mandated computer training.

I have been swimming every day and it is nice to be cooking again. I am going to try to go to a slightly bigger town a and I wish you all the best. Go leafs go.

PEACE

ALEX

*Well I've ocme oto accra for some provisions and the internet so here is another instalment. I am going to try to keep up on this thing, but I don't have regular adccess so it might not be to often, but I guess you guys are used to that by now. Thanks for reading.
PEACE
ALEX

Home Again, here in Accra, after a nice long trip through Mali Burkina and Ghana. Our travels never stopped to be so fun and interesting. After we left Bamako we moved towards Bobo in Burkina Faso. We had to take a unexpected stop over night in a bus station, but the bus man felt that we should be able to sleep on the bus because we had been told we would make it that day (not the last time this happened). But the next morning sure enough we made it over the boarder and settled in hotel Zion, a cheep nice hotel that was owned by a Rasta and his French wife, and where there was music every night. ME and sam were able to play a small concert to some poeplewho came into to eat. I played bass, same on guitar and the house drummer, a talented and well trained guy name jean. IT was very fun, I enjoyed this a lot.
From their we decided to head home. A good idea because we thought that 3 days would be enough to make the 800 or more Kilometre journey, but no, the first day we couldn’t leave because all the buses leave in the morning and we were too late. The next day they said we would be in kumasi at 8 the next morning. But we were held up again in Hamele, which turned out to be okay but we were a little late on returning to accra. And then we got on our bus, a rickety old thing with a terrible driver, packed over full. The window ext to me would not close and the dust was over powering. At 3 in the morning, we are stropped at the top of a hill, the drivers apprentice accidentally hits the bus into gear and it starts rolling down the hill slowly at first, then faster and faster, the guy eventually figures out how to stop the bus but not before the whole bus is screaming “help me jesus’ and things like that. We eventually come to a stop and the entire bus clears out in 10 seconds. Quite a midnight adventure, but we all get back on after some people wanted to lynch the poor mate who’d caused the whole problem.

Then after that we got a nice bus into accra and the next day we had our orientation and in 2 days I move to ada to start work on the following Monday, And life goes on.
Sam has left and things are back to normal, unfortunately, thanks Sammy for a nice trip.

I wish you all the best, peace and love

Alex Morley