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Away from home, I have found that having Swedish friends is crucial for my well-being. To be able to fully express myself, to have fika with everybody involved understanding the concept, for a while coming down on Ghana instead of always siding with things that go on here. Those moments feel like breathing in the chilly air of Swedish autumn, Ahhhh.
Then imagine my sadness when my two Swedish companions A and J left for Sweden last week. A whole year, these two have been my confidents, my close friends and obvious plannning mates for midsummer and xmas (ok, thats not quite true, for xmas they eloped to Mali and I had herring and potato all by myself, but you get what I’m saying?)
And now it is just me and the scolding sun, thousand pairs of curious eyes and noone to share a good cup of coffee with. Until…
…I got a comment on my blog from Maya. A Swede living less than 10 minutes from me here in Tema. Hurray! We are to meet up for the first time this weekend.
And then S called. S is a Swede living in London with her Ghanaian husband and we have been in touch since a couple of months. S found my blog when researching their idea to relocate to Ghana. I invited the Ghanaian-Swedish couple over for dinner on Thursday!
So thanks to this very blog I am getting to know my (Swedish) readers, and I don’t have to feel so terribly lonely.
In the pic: Like Gulder and Star, J and I. Will miss you!
Ghana has next to its modern democracy a system of traditional leaders or chiefs. They are well organized and each “stool” or “skin”, that is chieftancy, play an important ceremonial role, but are also involved in solving family disputes, managing land assets and facilitating development collaboration. Sometimes they are also important politically, even though that is forbidden by law. 
