The weather has not been at all like I'd imagined so far. From everything I'd read and heard I was expecting a relentless and draining heat all day long, but for the last month its been mostly cloudy and cool, it even verges on cold during the heavy down pours! When the sun does emerge it is still hot, but as long as your not going on long treks during the mid-day its very bearable. Also I'm surprised that I haven't really needed any sun cream so far, normally I get burnt just opening the fridge door but here I've been fine. I think its because you can really feel the sun when it is beating down on your skin so you are very conscious of covering up or finding shade.

A while back Annabelle arrived at the house as the new cook, she's a very welcome addition to the group not only because of her excellent cooking but because of her friendly and chatty presence. On Sunday she had very kindly invited us to Kumasi for her cousins wedding. Holly was not feeling too good, but Danielle (another volunteer) and I were fit to go. We didn't see the ceremony as this was done in private but we did get involved in the party afterwards. There were over a hundred people there singing and dancing and taking part in various well wishing customs and rituals that mainly seem to involve smearing money on the faces of the happy couple. After this we went to Annabelle’s home in Kumasi for a delicious (meaty) meal, and then off on the now very familiar tro-tro ride home.

The big news of the last few weeks has been the visit of Mr B H Obama to Ghana. I doubt it has made much of a splash back home but here its been unavoidable news, mainly because radio stations have been playing an infectious song on loop which goes "Barrack, Barrack. Barrack Obama! [something something] is coming to Ghana!" Also the one nationwide channel had been repeating a documentary about his early life for several days.

When he did finally land in Ghana the same channel was entirely devoted to covering the event - although this consisted mainly of long silent shots of people waiting for his arrival at various locations. It was all worth it though when he made his address to the Ghanaian Parliament. Although I'd read a lot about last year's election and heard a lot of sound bites, I'd never seen him make a speech in full before. It was very impressive - the speech itself was very well written, talking objectively about the history of the African continent and then linking it with his own family background. Moving from there to the early hope of independence, and on to the present day where people must now forge their own legacy (he loves the "make your own history" line!). He implored Ghanaians and Africans to not use the colonial past as an excuse for the problems of today, and to take control of their own situation as individuals and as governments. To be democratically responsible and to create the institutions needed for a truly independent Africa not so reliant on foreign aid and NGOs. This main thrust of the speech could have sounded chastising (and I don't think it could have come from a white president) but it was delivered with such eloquence and charisma that it was inspiring.

From time to time I have picked up a sense of helplessness from people here, and it’s good to see Obama challenging it. This fatalism must come in part from the very real lack of opportunities here, but it also seems to me to stem from the powerful religious beliefs most people hold. For example at the tro-tro park a big things one notices is that all the trucks and taxis have some religious slogan daubed on the front windscreen. Things like "in God we trust", "Jesus Power!" and "God is in control" I'm sure this last one is very reassuring for the devout but I'd much rather feel the driver was taking full responsibility for the vehicle.

Also I was talking to one person about jobs and the economy and they were pessimistic, but then calmly announced that it didn't matter too much because the world was going to end soon anyway. Still I suppose these attitudes can be encountered the world over, and I any case it certainly makes for a more relaxed society.