You may not have known this, but Western fast food has not made it to West Africa..until now. We have no McDonald's, no Burger King, no Carl's Junior, and no In-N-Out Burger. But we have a pioneer effort happening right here. KFC opened in Accra at the end of 2011 and we have seen KFC in Lagos, Nigeria. This may not seem momentous to you, but for us it is a BIG DEAL.
You may take those 11 herbs and spices for granted. For us it is pretty close to a taste of home; not exactly the same, but pretty close. They offer original recipe or extra crispy.
Gregg is very disappointed that they do not have mashed potatoes and gravy. They do offer colesalw and fries (which they call chips).
KFC is very popular and most of the time the lines are backed up to the door.
We ate at KFC with a Ghanaian friend who was surprised that she was not given a knife and fork (they eat chicken with a knife and fork here). When she went to the counter with her request the employee smiled and
said, "Oh, but ma'am, it's finger lickin' good!"
Near the border between Ivory Coast and Ghana is the Ankasa rain forest. It is a hidden treasure because it is out of the way and not visited that often. However, being married to Gregg means I lead a high adventure life. As we entered Ankasa, we met our guide, "Joseph." We also got a glimpse of the very muddy roads from the recent rain.
We went on a nature walk to see the Bamboo Cathedral. It was breathtaking. These clusters of bamboo are 30 feet tall and as they lean in toward each other they look very much like the arched ceiling of a cathedral.
On our walk we saw a poisonous black millipede and a red and black non-poisonous millipede that were each about 8 inches long. Others saw a brown tarantula and a snake as big as your arm. Nobody could tell what kind of a snake it was and quite frankly I'm glad I didn't see it.
Of course it had rained in the rain forest shortly before our arrival and the roads were very muddy in spots. In some places it was so muddy that we had to get out and walk to lighten the truck as it drove through the mud. On our muddy hike the guide pointed out elephant tracks. A mother and baby had left tracks not too long before; no sign of the elephants now of course.
On our drive out through the mud, we had our windows down to listen for birds. All of a sudden we heard a loud pop and a hiss; you guessed it - we popped a tire in the mud. Joseph told us to gun it through the mud to higher ground where we could change the tire. Joseph earned a handsome tip that day for getting muddy as he helped us change the tire. We were fortunate to find an "African truck washing station" not too far from Ankasa. Three young Africans spent an hour making the truck spotless and sent the completely flat tire to be repaired (on the back of a motorcycle). We gave away several Books of Mormon and Bibles that day to the repairmen and audience at "What a Friend Auto Parts."
In our continued search for the best beach in Ghana, we did a pre-Christmas getaway with friends and drove 6 hours to Axim Beach. Axim Beach is located about an hour from the Ivory Coast border. At some times of the year they have nesting turtles and you can see whales, dolphins, etc. However, you can also just lay under the sun on the beach.
There are two relatively nice "resorts" on Axim Beach. We chose the smaller one named Lou Moon. This is a boutique resort offering only a handful of cottages, some of which are quite nice. Being a church employee we took the economical route, but couldn't help noticing the cottage which is completely surrounded by water during high tide and has two glass walls looking out to the ocean. Ah... maybe someday.
The beach was nice, the sun was warm, we were surrounded by palm trees, and it was just relaxing to get away. The food was wonderful. We had some very interesting fish dishes including this octopus and pineapple I selected for lunch.
The problems with driving 6 hours on Ghanaian roads are twofold: everything is a 2 lane highway causing you to be concerned about accidents, and just before Christmas all the police are looking for a little extra money (if you know what I mean - lots of police stops). We don't mean to sound critical as most of the Ghanaian police are helpful and nice; as in any country you just need to learn where the police stops are likely to occur.
Gregg and I were unable to get home for Christmas this year, but we were able to spend a week in Paris! I needed to get some medical tests done, which went very well, and we needed some R&R in a 1st world country. Paris totally fit the bill.
We took gloves, hats and coats and loved being able to see our breath because it was cold. Our coldest was 3 degrees C. We had rain, but no snow. We loved the Christmas decorations. The biggest Christmas tree we saw was in front of Notre Dame.
We took time to see the Louvre (boy, that's a hike walking inside that place), Musee de Orsay (I loved the impressionists and Gregg tolerated it well), Versailles (our coldest day, so looking at the stuff inside was better than the gardens), the Eiffel Tower (they lit it up like a Christmas tree), and Notre Dame. We went to a huge mall and a hypermarket twice the size of Costco. We even spent time with the sharks and seahorses at an aquarium called Sea Life.
Gregg thought the best part about the trip was the French cooking. He literally moaned during some of the meals. I must admit that savoring well-prepared beef is heaven. I enjoyed the duck immensely (I had it at 3 different meals). Wow, you can tell we live in Africa when we spend a whole paragraph talking about food!
Some of the things we enjoyed were orderly traffic flow, smooth streets without potholes, restrooms that are clean and available, drinking water out of the tap and salads with every lunch and dinner.
In an exciting moment, someone tried to pick-pocket Gregg as he entered the subway turnstile. They picked the wrong hombre and Gregg set them straight.
Gregg went to all the Employee Christmas Socials in West Africa this year...and he took me with him! The largest one was in Accra, where we have the greatest number of employees. We also visited employees in Lagos, Nigeria as well as Aba, Nigeria (Niger River Delta) and Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast).
Ivory Coast is a French speaking country. Everyone was kind enough to employ their English while we were there. Abidjan totally amazed me. They have a downtown with skyscrapers! The freeway (yes, freeway) is 3 lanes each way and flowing. Abidjan has a wonderful 5 star hotel, the Tiama (only equalled by the Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria) with a wonderful restaurant. There are some things the French do very well....
Each social had a Christmas program. That is really important in sharing the spirit of Christmas; the music, the story, and a gift from the First Presidency to each employee. We enjoyed the premier performance of the Ivory Coast Employee Choir (all five of them sang). They said they were very honored by my visit; the first wife of a DTA ever to visit Cote d'Ivoire!
Due to security concerns, I wasn't sure I would ever get to visit the Aba, Nigeria Temple. But with special security arrangements and travel plans, I made it! This was a very eye opening experience for me. I am thankful for opportunities that help me better understand Gregg's world.
Gregg has often told me that Aba is his favorite temple because he was there when President Hinckley dedicated it and had some very special experiences there. The grounds remind him of the Garden of Eden and there is a profound feeling of peace in this sometimes troubled region of the world.
We were there for the Employee Christmas Social. The employees were visibly happy that Gregg came. One person there described it like this, "every time Gregg Dunn comes here it gives us all a boost." I don't think anyone knew we were coming. I have often taken comfort that part of what keeps him safe is that he just shows up unannounced and leaves just as quietly.
It was very interesting for us to be THE only white people around from the airport to the temple grounds. At some of the traffic stops, there are vendors (including some children). They would enthusiastically point at me and smile. Gregg explained, "They haven't seen a white lady in quite a while." We passed through 10-15 military/police checkpoints. It gave me an eery feeling but Gregg says it helps keep the bandits and kidnappers in check. He reminded me that these are the "good guys."
Thanksgiving in Ghana is a unique and fun event. We gathered with 40 of our dearest friends at the home of our Area President and enjoyed a very traditional Thanksgiving Feast. With us were the Area Presidency, the Accra Temple Presidency, Mission Presidents from Accra and the MTC, missionary couples and expat employees. There is nothing like a taste of home when you live abroad.
We probably enjoyed the same things you did: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, relish tray, fresh fruit salad and homemade rolls and pies.
In my quest to make the perfect stuffing, I do admit that I spent $15 for a bunch of celery. I'm sure it is imported and this is the one time a year that I give myself permission to indulge and buy celery. Everything we buy here costs 3-4 times what we would pay in the U.S. because it all has to be brought in from elsewhere. Local fruit and vegetables are the exception.
The most unique thing about our Thanksgiving in Ghana was how we got a turkey. You can buy a frozen turkey here and it will cost $100. When we returned from Conference in October, Gregg packed a frozen turkey in his carry-on. As long as it is frozen, TSA has no problem with it. They did want to take a look at it and wondered why he would pack a turkey. He told them that he works in Ghana, Africa and he wants turkey on Thanksgiving! Their response was to give him a high five. And it arrived still frozen!
You may not have known this, but Western fast food has not made it to West Africa..until now. We have no McDonald's, no Burger King, no Carl's Junior, and no In-N-Out Burger. But we have a pioneer effort happening right here. KFC opened in Accra at the end of 2011 and we have seen KFC in Lagos, Nigeria. This may not seem momentous to you, but for us it is a BIG DEAL. 
