Author Archives: Katja

Mr. P at Arlanda Airport, being welcomed by the king and queen. Being a world traveler and all, Mr. P can appreciate most kinds of climates and landscapes. But there’s just something about the clean, simple smell of air below freezing. Especially after having been in a place like Accra, with the humidity and heatContinue reading “Mr. P returning to Stockholm”

And as if by some weird chance, the marine biology student was seated next to me in the plane from Addis to Stockholm. We continued telling stories from our fieldwork, and I asked her about Zanzibar. I have such fond memories from the island in the Indian ocean, and am almost a bit afraid ofContinue reading “coming home (December 29th)”

Despite for being uncommonly bumpy, the flight was uneventful. I read “The Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James. Ate – the whole feeding procedure was really something, starting with drinks, then food, drinks, coffee, tea and then drinks again, it took at least two hours. A strategy to keep the passengers busy, perhaps? IContinue reading “returning to Bole International Airport (December 28th)”

Bidding West Africa farewell.

The airport city hotel that I had found for us turned out to be a pretty weird one. Aspects of it were definitely luxurious, with large rooms and crystal chandelier in the lobby and a swimming pool, but also – construction fraud. As if their goals had been set so high, but they hadn’t bothered toContinue reading “a night at the make-believe hotel (December 28th)”

We had to wait for the bus to leave Cape Coast, so I took the opportunity and bought some Magic Malt, a very popular soft drink in Ghana according to the volunteering Belgian doctor that was staying at Stumble Inn over Christmas with his girlfriend. Magic Malt was like drinking the Finnish dessert mämmi, orContinue reading “from Elmina to Accra (December 27th)”

I woke up early, before breakfast, and couldn’t fall back asleep. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted to go home more than now. I went down to the beach to watch the waves and write in my journal. The fishermen were returning from the sea. The calm ocean and the mil-colored sky melded togetherContinue reading “lasts (December 27th)”

Oh, he’s gonna miss them.

Woke up this morning, the world was gray. I read, and watched the sea, and read. Finished “The Golden Notebook”. All the dogs came to hang out, one after the other, crawling in underneath the chairs and tables. A safe combination of shadow and containment, I guess. I asked if it would be possible forContinue reading “endings and coconuts (December 26th)”