What I remember most about Ghana as a youth are the youth groups. My elder sister (Maggie) took me to one of her groups and I learnt some songs that were used for demonstrations. I didn't even know what “demonstrations” were. Maggie was smart. She took me to all these places. And we would sing songs and march in the demonstrations to support Kwame Nkrumah. I did not fully understand the importance of independence at the time but I loved the songs and being part of the group. I still remember some of the songs. I liked school generally. What I didn't like about school were sports. What I liked the most about school was telling stories. I had an aunt, who was not educated, but she could tell good stories. My father said no one should teach if they do not love children. He was a teacher so he should know. He said that even before he died. I asked him several times: "who doesn't like children?" Once I completed high school, the person who inspired me to finally pursue teaching is an uncle I would stay with during the long vacations. He asked me what I was planning to do. I hadn't even made up my mind because I did not want to disturb my mother to help me with the fees. He asked me whether I thought about being a teacher because he and the wife felt I would be very good at teaching. Right there and then we took a taxi straight to the teacher training school. I showed them my certificate and he calculated everything that I needed and paid for it. That was another testimony. That was a big testimony.

The word that describes my childhood is freedom. I had the protection of my grandmother. She always made special foods for me. We grew up with a lot of people. I had two older sisters but at any time there could be six or seven other girls in the house - it was like living in a boarding house. I remember the food, rice, ripe plantain, soups, tea and bread. Most of the time, I played football. I would run out and play out with my friends all day. When I started Primary School, my sister had to take me to school. My school was close to the Abom house. We would walk down the main road from Cape Coast and we could go over the bridge over the lagoon. We lived with my aunty from my father’s side. In our Akan tradition, we belong to our mother’s family. We do not belong to our father’s side. I do not think my aunt’s family liked us very much because they did not see us as family. We were the other people to them. My parents would send us money for our upkeep. My sisters would buy the things we needed and then take most of it for themselves. I did not complain as long as they bought me a football or toffee. They became my substitute mothers in a way, which made us very close. We spent time with my parents during the long summer holidays. We did not live with them for most of the year because of my father’s work. My first job as a highschool teacher allowed me to get my first car. My father was so happy. I would drive to their house once a week and have a drink with him on the porch. He liked me to drive him to church on Sundays. He always insisted on going early so that nobody took his seat. He liked to sit at the front with his peers. I did not like to sit with him and all his old friends. I remember he and his friends would wear suits and meet at one of their houses every so often and eat fine foods and salads. They were real gentlemen.

The expectation I had for Ghana as a youth did not come true. I thought we would be at a certain level today but essentially we have been deteriorating. That's disappointing. We were excited for independence at the beginning. When we were young, we had so many things that were better than now. We had a public address system that the government would use for mass education. They would advise us to gather at a central place and talk to us about points of concern like a public health issue or customs. Usually, they would play some music and show some cartoons before the speeches. There was also an order at school. But it was also an adventurous time. I remember in our dorm rooms we would wait until late at night and then eat secretly. A few of us would take different foods we had in our chopboxes and eat together. We would say “no contribution no chop”. I had a love for Mathematics and Physics at school. But I learnt about the atom in my Chemistry class. Then I heard that the Americans and the Russians are working with atoms. I didn't know they were using atoms to make bombs. I wanted to know more. I tried to learn more in the libraries. When I found out that America and Russia were giving scholarships to African students, I applied. I did my MSc. in Nuclear Physics and Russian Language at the Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia So that’s how I moved into nuclear physics as a lifelong passion.

We had a dog called Snoopy when we lived in Ghana. I loved the dog to come into our room so it would wait for Theresa to leave and then run in. She did not like the dog at all. The day I left for Vienna, the dog ran away. It followed the taxi I took to the airport but could not keep it. It was as if he knew. My work as an International Inspector was focused on countries such as Japan, Iran and North Korea. My focus was assessing the nuclear reactors to ensure they were not trying to build bombs. We were promoting nuclear peace not for war. North Korea was interesting because it was closed to the outside world. At the height of the tension with the US, my colleague and I were the only ones permitted into the country because of the sensitivities. We were two African nuclear experts who had to go into place of American, Canadian and British colleagues. Our knowledge was valued and our access to these countries in the middle of complicated geopolitics was essential. People always say that North Koreans eat dogs so as Africans were concerned. We tried to limit where and what we ate to make sure it did not include dog meat. The truth is, we were always treated like royalty - they would make an effort to give us access to foreign foods, cognac and wines. I always enjoyed the times we were in North Korea. In 1994, we traveled to North Korea at a time of extreme heightened tension which required President Carter to fly into the country. For a few days, the outside world assumed we were lost. Theresa was listening to the news but had no idea where I was for a few days. Normally, I made an effort to call when I was away on inspection but North Korea was always an anomaly. Because there was no access to the media of the outside world, we had no idea what was happening. But the deliberations between the presidents were successful which meant that the two of us were not deported out of the country.