Sunday January 30, 2011
I am finally getting a feel for not only the campus, but also for the town of Legon. We went on a tour of Accra today, which was several hours long, but quite comprehensive. One of the u-pals was our tour guide and we ended up going to his home after the tour for a wood workshop. At his house they carve beautiful drums that are all hand made and painted. They also played the drums, bells, and danced for all of us. It still amazes me how talented so may of the locals are.
I also found out today that all school age girls have to keep there heads shaved this way there is less class distinction and less distraction for the boys.
After the tour we came back, took a nap, and went to one of the u-pals room and played scrabble. At mid-night it was the birthday of one of the girls on the program, so we woke her up and pawned her with five huge buckets of water. She didn’t get angry although I am sure that she did not appreciate the cold water being dumped on her. I miss and love everyone and will try to post again soon… Classes start tomorrow ☺
Monday, January 31, 2011
Paradise
Saturday January 29, 2011
Today we woke up early in the morning and made our way to Bojo Beach. It was paradise ☺ After three tro tros and two hours of traveling in the scorching heat we arrived at the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen. There were palm trees all around and we had to take a boat to the beach because it was the actual beach was on an island. There was no hawking allowed, so we didn’t have to deal with men attempting to grope us or sell us things. Now I have a small tan, but I still have to work on my color. We traveled back for three hours because the tro tro broke down twice on the way back.
Although the beach was gorgeous the adventure to get there was a true eye opener. I wanted to cry as we passed on the dirt roads with small shacks on each side that had entire families living in them. We passed a little boy standing outside naked and his dad was dumping water on him that was how he was getting a bath. There were young children performing hard labor jobs and carrying buckets on their heads and backs. We saw kids with no shoes and barely any clothes. The houses are all under construction and most of the infrastructure will never get finished. The land is deteriorating because there is no up keep and this poor families are forced to live in these homes with no doors, windows, or any type of accommodations I am being given at the dorms. Also at the beach the bathroom that was free was a tile room with a hole in the center, a very small hole that is.
Everyone got back hot and tired, so we decided to relax. We went to the night market and the super market, picked up beer and vodka, and went back to my room to just drink and hang out. However, some of the girls changed their minds and decided to go out. The four of them departed around 11 and two hours later we decided we would go out also. Sarah, Becca, Ibukun, Chukes, one other boy and me all went out at around 1 am to Bella Roma. We had such an amazing time and most men there were Lebanese, so the boys we went with were not keen on coming in. However, once everyone was inside we all had a really good time and enjoyed the music selection. We didn’t get home until around 4:00 am and we had to be up at 9:30 the next morning, so it was a rough morning.
Today we woke up early in the morning and made our way to Bojo Beach. It was paradise ☺ After three tro tros and two hours of traveling in the scorching heat we arrived at the most gorgeous beach I have ever seen. There were palm trees all around and we had to take a boat to the beach because it was the actual beach was on an island. There was no hawking allowed, so we didn’t have to deal with men attempting to grope us or sell us things. Now I have a small tan, but I still have to work on my color. We traveled back for three hours because the tro tro broke down twice on the way back.
Although the beach was gorgeous the adventure to get there was a true eye opener. I wanted to cry as we passed on the dirt roads with small shacks on each side that had entire families living in them. We passed a little boy standing outside naked and his dad was dumping water on him that was how he was getting a bath. There were young children performing hard labor jobs and carrying buckets on their heads and backs. We saw kids with no shoes and barely any clothes. The houses are all under construction and most of the infrastructure will never get finished. The land is deteriorating because there is no up keep and this poor families are forced to live in these homes with no doors, windows, or any type of accommodations I am being given at the dorms. Also at the beach the bathroom that was free was a tile room with a hole in the center, a very small hole that is.
Everyone got back hot and tired, so we decided to relax. We went to the night market and the super market, picked up beer and vodka, and went back to my room to just drink and hang out. However, some of the girls changed their minds and decided to go out. The four of them departed around 11 and two hours later we decided we would go out also. Sarah, Becca, Ibukun, Chukes, one other boy and me all went out at around 1 am to Bella Roma. We had such an amazing time and most men there were Lebanese, so the boys we went with were not keen on coming in. However, once everyone was inside we all had a really good time and enjoyed the music selection. We didn’t get home until around 4:00 am and we had to be up at 9:30 the next morning, so it was a rough morning.
January 27th and 28th
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Today was a day full of exhilaration and new events, although my roommate has not yet arrived!
The first exciting thing was the Internet was up so we walked to the IPO office to get online and register for classes. We walked pretty much the entire afternoon back and forth between buildings.
We went out to a new club Aphrodisiac, which was a blast. It was ladies night so it was free to get in for females, but the drinks were expensive so I decided not to drink. The guys were great dancers and less intrusive then the men at home. It is entertaining to reflect on the events of the night because they differences between Ghanian men and white men are extensive. When one of the three white men in the club came up to you to dance, it would always be from behind and you would know they were white immediately. First, because they couldn’t dance and second, because the Ghanian men always ask you to dance or take your hand while looking at you. Other differences appear in their form of dance also, Ghanian men always find the beat of the music and they take lead right away!
I also did laundry for the first time today and when it dried it had a pungent odor, so it as a failure. Everything is extremely stiff and rough against my skin, it took me forever and I hope I improve my skills in the future. I was hoping to do my laundry with people, but no one wanted to join me.
Some of the individuals here are getting frustrated with the way the Ghanian’s treat us, but it hasn’t seemed to faze me much. Our campus is now packed and there are people all over the place. Wherever we walk we get stared at and whenever we speak we get laughed at. People will talk to us in English, turn to their friends say something in Twi, and then laugh. When we ask what they are laughing at, they reply that it isn’t at us, although we know that it is. The men become so overpowering at times, we are constantly getting unwanted attention that not only bothers us, but frustrates the Ghanian women. These issues have appeared in our daily lives, but it is nothing more difficult than adjusting to a new community. I am not having much trouble adjusting, not having the Internet has not affected me greatly, but I will be so excited when the modems come in so we can use the Internet more often. Not having a TV has not hit me hard at all, I have not longed for it in anyway. Although I do miss the food at home and the ability to drink the water it is nothing I cannot overcome.
The program we are working with is amazing and the people have worked really hard to help us become adjusted. The u-pals come out with us all the time and they let us know how much we should be paying for our clothes and taxi rides to ensure we are not getting ripped off.
Other details I have learned about the culture : ) Even if an elder is wrong (ex: the dean told us the wrong information for dance classes) and a student realizes the elder is making a mistake is not permitted to correct them without being disrespectful.
Most individuals attending the university are much older than the average age of college students in the United States. And once they graduate they are required to do a year of community service before going into a career.
The city is very biblical: church is three hours long. Everywhere you go you can read about God or the Quran. Quotes are written on the back of the taxis, tro tros, on walls, and in all other places where words can be written.
Ghanians don’t rush through life, everything is slow. The service is slow, the speed people talk, the speed people walk is all slow. The students do not join many clubs or pack their schedules tightly; they live leisurely lives and have a lot of free time. (which is ironic because all I do here is run, I have no time to even sleep.)
Ghanians always dress nice and men always where pants. They sweat a lot, but it doesn’t seem to faze them. The men wear button up shirts and nice slacks almost everyday, it is incredible how put together they are. They iron everything and they always look neat.
You barely ever receive utensils when given food because all Ghanians eat everything with their hands including rice and they share one large plate of food.
Everything they eat is spicy, really spicy and many times they will say it is bland.
The men believe that American women only come to Ghana for good sex and nothing else. They perceive us as objects they will eventually obtain and sadly some Americans do not help to improve our image.
I was wrong earlier when I wrote Ghanians don’t eat strange food. Although they typically eat the same four or five meals, I have learned that liver, gizzard, cow feet, and cow intestine are easily accessible.
I am really enjoying myself here and becoming more in tuned with the customs of the local people.
Things I used to take for granted:
Refrigeration
Cold easily accessible water
Toilet paper
Internet
Electricity at all times
Assortment of food
Friday, January 28, 2011
Getting Lost
Today I woke up at around 8:00 to start registration, which I utterly failed at. I got hopelessly lost for over an hour on campus with no idea where to go or what to do. My heart started to speed up and I was getting so nervous. Although I made sure not to show it on my face, so no one would know I was turned around. I finally found my way back to where I came from, so two hours were lost but I got some much-needed exercise in. I got back to my room by ten thirty and I met up with Hannah to go look at timetables, again. We succeeded in figuring out our classes and registering at the separate departments before we returned to the room and got ready to go to the beach. We went to Lebodi Beach for a couple of hours, but it was very hectic and there were men harassing us to buy things constantly. The water was beautiful and so was the sand, but it was not as enjoyable as a typical day at the beach because of the constant harassment. Also people are known for using the ocean as a washroom (bathroom) because you have to pay to use the actual washroom. The horses go to the bathroom all over the sand and the sewage is dumped into the water, so it is not always sanitary.
After we got back we got ready to go to a welcome dinner, which was a blast. We went back to Chez Afrique, ate dinner, and danced for several hours. We danced to all different types of music from reggae to gospel and it was incredible to watch so many Ghanians dance in sync with one another. By the end of the night two Ghanian women had danced with Sarah and I, which is a huge break through for us abrunis.
Today was a day full of exhilaration and new events, although my roommate has not yet arrived!
The first exciting thing was the Internet was up so we walked to the IPO office to get online and register for classes. We walked pretty much the entire afternoon back and forth between buildings.
We went out to a new club Aphrodisiac, which was a blast. It was ladies night so it was free to get in for females, but the drinks were expensive so I decided not to drink. The guys were great dancers and less intrusive then the men at home. It is entertaining to reflect on the events of the night because they differences between Ghanian men and white men are extensive. When one of the three white men in the club came up to you to dance, it would always be from behind and you would know they were white immediately. First, because they couldn’t dance and second, because the Ghanian men always ask you to dance or take your hand while looking at you. Other differences appear in their form of dance also, Ghanian men always find the beat of the music and they take lead right away!
I also did laundry for the first time today and when it dried it had a pungent odor, so it as a failure. Everything is extremely stiff and rough against my skin, it took me forever and I hope I improve my skills in the future. I was hoping to do my laundry with people, but no one wanted to join me.
Some of the individuals here are getting frustrated with the way the Ghanian’s treat us, but it hasn’t seemed to faze me much. Our campus is now packed and there are people all over the place. Wherever we walk we get stared at and whenever we speak we get laughed at. People will talk to us in English, turn to their friends say something in Twi, and then laugh. When we ask what they are laughing at, they reply that it isn’t at us, although we know that it is. The men become so overpowering at times, we are constantly getting unwanted attention that not only bothers us, but frustrates the Ghanian women. These issues have appeared in our daily lives, but it is nothing more difficult than adjusting to a new community. I am not having much trouble adjusting, not having the Internet has not affected me greatly, but I will be so excited when the modems come in so we can use the Internet more often. Not having a TV has not hit me hard at all, I have not longed for it in anyway. Although I do miss the food at home and the ability to drink the water it is nothing I cannot overcome.
The program we are working with is amazing and the people have worked really hard to help us become adjusted. The u-pals come out with us all the time and they let us know how much we should be paying for our clothes and taxi rides to ensure we are not getting ripped off.
Other details I have learned about the culture : ) Even if an elder is wrong (ex: the dean told us the wrong information for dance classes) and a student realizes the elder is making a mistake is not permitted to correct them without being disrespectful.
Most individuals attending the university are much older than the average age of college students in the United States. And once they graduate they are required to do a year of community service before going into a career.
The city is very biblical: church is three hours long. Everywhere you go you can read about God or the Quran. Quotes are written on the back of the taxis, tro tros, on walls, and in all other places where words can be written.
Ghanians don’t rush through life, everything is slow. The service is slow, the speed people talk, the speed people walk is all slow. The students do not join many clubs or pack their schedules tightly; they live leisurely lives and have a lot of free time. (which is ironic because all I do here is run, I have no time to even sleep.)
Ghanians always dress nice and men always where pants. They sweat a lot, but it doesn’t seem to faze them. The men wear button up shirts and nice slacks almost everyday, it is incredible how put together they are. They iron everything and they always look neat.
You barely ever receive utensils when given food because all Ghanians eat everything with their hands including rice and they share one large plate of food.
Everything they eat is spicy, really spicy and many times they will say it is bland.
The men believe that American women only come to Ghana for good sex and nothing else. They perceive us as objects they will eventually obtain and sadly some Americans do not help to improve our image.
I was wrong earlier when I wrote Ghanians don’t eat strange food. Although they typically eat the same four or five meals, I have learned that liver, gizzard, cow feet, and cow intestine are easily accessible.
I am really enjoying myself here and becoming more in tuned with the customs of the local people.
Things I used to take for granted:
Refrigeration
Cold easily accessible water
Toilet paper
Internet
Electricity at all times
Assortment of food
Friday, January 28, 2011
Getting Lost
Today I woke up at around 8:00 to start registration, which I utterly failed at. I got hopelessly lost for over an hour on campus with no idea where to go or what to do. My heart started to speed up and I was getting so nervous. Although I made sure not to show it on my face, so no one would know I was turned around. I finally found my way back to where I came from, so two hours were lost but I got some much-needed exercise in. I got back to my room by ten thirty and I met up with Hannah to go look at timetables, again. We succeeded in figuring out our classes and registering at the separate departments before we returned to the room and got ready to go to the beach. We went to Lebodi Beach for a couple of hours, but it was very hectic and there were men harassing us to buy things constantly. The water was beautiful and so was the sand, but it was not as enjoyable as a typical day at the beach because of the constant harassment. Also people are known for using the ocean as a washroom (bathroom) because you have to pay to use the actual washroom. The horses go to the bathroom all over the sand and the sewage is dumped into the water, so it is not always sanitary.
After we got back we got ready to go to a welcome dinner, which was a blast. We went back to Chez Afrique, ate dinner, and danced for several hours. We danced to all different types of music from reggae to gospel and it was incredible to watch so many Ghanians dance in sync with one another. By the end of the night two Ghanian women had danced with Sarah and I, which is a huge break through for us abrunis.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Internet is Working_ For the Moment at Least!
Saturday, January 22,2011
Off too the International Student Hostel We Go !
Friday morning we had breakfast at 8:00, yes a late morning, for Ghanaians anyway. After breakfast, which we finished late once again, African time is a lot like Spanish time, never on time! We then continued our orientation where a police officer came and spoke to us about how to remain same if Ghana He assured us that everyone would be safe as long as we stick together. Our director than spoke to us about bridging the gap between cultures, he explained that any individuals in the program that is homosexual should inform any one else of their orientation. On a scale from 1 to 100, Ghana is about a two on how tolerable they are on homosexuals. Couples whom are heterosexual will rarely hold hands or kiss in public, but friends will commonly hold hands or wastes while walking. We are also referred to here as abrunis, which means white person. We stick out everywhere we go, but we are improving our skills of communication. To demonstrate the how becoming acquainted with a new culture is frustrating by giving out math problem with directions that indicated that a + means x and x means – and so on. As we tried to complete the problems quickly it was difficult to get the right answer.
We also learned that when people see someone getting robbed they always step in to help because they work hard for their money and can picture that thief stealing the things they have worked hard for.
Then we had an hour to pack our bags and bring them downstairs. It took us two trips each to get everything down the four flights of stairs. They then stacked our bags on top of the trucks about four feet high. When we finally arrived on campus we saw gigantic anthills, about four to five feet tall. They are gorgeous and the campus keeps them intact just for the ascetic look. One bus saw a monkey in one of the trees just hanging out there. The land here is full of lizards of all different colors and sizes, palm trees, and beautiful landscapes. Although everywhere you walk is red dirt, which gets your shoes and eat filthy. Between the constant sweating and the dirt we never feel clean even after a shower.
We got our pillows and sheets from the CIEE office, which were so much worse than we could have predicted. I am ecstatic that I have my own pillow and sheets with me. I could not image sleeping on the pillow that is provided by the program. We also received mosquito nets that are astonishing colors; they give our rooms a vibrant look since everything else in them is dull. We plan on going to the market to look for posters and other things that can be used o decorate the walls.
We spent some time exploring the dorm, which is very different from a dorm at home. The bathrooms have no toilet paper and no one comes to clean them although they are communal. Also the building is opened and you walk outside of your room to the outside. I room is positioned in the most ideal spot. It is o the bottom floor right in front of the laundry lines and water reserves for when the water goes out. The bathrooms are also about ten feet away from my dorm entrance. We still don’t have roommates, but I am crossing my fingers that I get someone I get along with : ) I cannot wait to finally meet her. The bottom floor is all girls, the second floor all boys, and each proceeding floor alters sexes.
We then traveled to the night market, which is an accumulation of outside vendors who live in their stands and are there twenty four seven. We bought one large bag of water which has thirty small baggies of water inside of it, hangers, laundry detergent, a bucket to wash our clothes in and bath with, some people bought mirrors and garbage cans, others bought air time for their phones. We also found toilet paper, which people stock up on in great quantities here because it is not always available. Later on that night be walked to Pentagon, which is another dorm that CIEE students are living in. It was about a forty-minute walk. We ate dinner there, I got red-red (white rice and red beans that taste nothing like Spanish rice and beans) and chicken. The chicken also does not taste like the chicken at home; because you cannot order a certain piece of the chicken it is more of the luck of the draw. Also the restaurant did not have a menu, you could ask what they had, they would tell you and then you ordered. However, it seemed as if we were the only ones that were asking what type of food the sold. Everything here is also so spic, so my stomach is having a hard time getting used to the change. Also the bathrooms at the restaurants did not have toilet paper or hand soap either and the food took about an hour to come. Everything in Ghana is slower than in America. The u-pals always say that if you walk somewhere in American speed you will arrive in about ten minute and if you walk at a Ghanaian speed you will arrive at your destination in thirty minutes. And it seems that this statement is not an exaggeration, Ghanaians walk much slower than the typical American. They are more likely to stop and make small talk with people they pass on the street. The campus is huge and a lot of it is uphill. But it is beautiful everywhere you look, our views from the dorm are spectacular.
It was then time for a shower, which was not cool, it was cold! I first stepped in and thought I was going to have to get out right away. However, I dealt with the temperature and finished showering as quickly as possible. The Internet has been down so we cannot get on to post blogs, sorry for the delay.
Later that night we went out to Chez Afrique, which unbeknownst to us is more for older individuals. Therefore, it closed at 12:30, which is about thirty minutes after we arrived. Although the small amount of time we did spend there was fun, there was a live band and it was one of the CIEE students birthday. We danced and sang for a short time then one of the girls got sick from something she ate. She went to the bathroom and a Ghanian woman followed her, held here tight and said an intense prayer in her ear while holding her stomach. This was something we had never seen, but the women was attempting to heal someone she saw that needed help, even though we were abrunis (white people). We then went back to our dorms where we stayed up talking until about six thirty just telling stories and getting acquainted with one another.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Discovering the means of Dance in the Ghanian Culture
It was difficult to sleep through the night, the heat is almost unbearable at times, and the mosquito nets block out any breeze that comes in from the window. This morning I woke up at ten and I was infuriated because once again my alarm clock didn’t go off and I missed church! It may have been a sign from God, telling me to buy traditional African clothes before going into someone else’s church. Although I was disappointed I did not allow the one incident to ruin my day. We had a dance work shop later on and I was still thrilled about that opportunity. At 4:00 we all went together to a dance hall (which we have finally mastered how to find on our own). I have never listened as inspiring as our instructor whose name was Oh! Yes the exclamation point is a part of his name. His speeches were phenomenal and his head was filled with inspirational stories.
Pause: I would like to briefly mention some new things I have learned about the culture I am attempting to submerge myself into. Most of the knowledge I have gained is from the dance class I was describing, so I decided to interject some interesting information within my description of the African dance lesson.
1. Ghanians shake hands with almost everyone to demonstrate that everyone is on the same level and that the two people respect one another. To increase the meaning of such a simple action Ghanians always shake hands by traveling in a circle counter clockwise. The reason for this action is that you show the person your palm, which is washed clean. It also represents the openness and the truthfulness of the locals.
2. When a child is born they are not considered a human until eight days after he or she is born. Within those eight days the baby is just a spirit and the human does not come to earth until it is given a name by the father and the name ceremony is performed by the head of the family.
3. Ghanaian’s dance to show the differenced between families and to demonstrate similarities between different tribes. They dance at every occasion and by the time a child can walk they have already begun to learn how to sing, dance and in the near future they will obtain the skills necessary to play a set of instruments (if they are male). The Ghanaians dance at funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, festivals, church, and any other occasion you can think of.
4. Dancing is a celebration of life and the Ghanian’s say, “if you haven’t danced, you haven’t lived” and “those who cannot dance, do not spoil the Earth.” Oh! was trying to convince us that even if we did not master the steps at first, we would not make the world come to a stand still.
5. Ghanian females usually do not tell you if you make them angry, they choose to ignore you instead. It is easy to offend people in a country where you sometimes forget typical aspects of their lives.
6. Aunts and uncles can have as much or more power over the biological parents of a child. A child is not just for the parents or the family, they are for the community as well. The community supports the child and aspects that the child will return to the village when they are adults and support the community. Every child has a charge and they must give back to the community to fulfill it.
7. When people say hi they refer to people hey are not related to as aunt and uncle as a sign of endearment and they call people their own age brothers and sisters.
Continuation: The men would perform dances and then they would show us each step slowly and we would attempt to replicate the steps. We had a blast and did several exercises to try to build trust. In America we do trust falls where a person just falls back, in Ghana a person jumps back and hopes someone can catch them. After they land they are flung out and then they continue jumping back. We did an exercise where we jump into our group and traveled counter clockwise jumping into each proceeding group until we got back to our original group. We also learned a combination that we had to perform in groups of three! There were probably fifteen locals standing outside the door looking into the room- proof that we looked like fools. I am not sure I have ever sweat so much in my entire life, so I must have looked beautiful.
After the class we sang one of the girls Happy Birthday and then dumped water all over her. In Ghana they “pound” (throw water on) people on their birthdays!
After the class we went to the night market and I got my first egg sandwich. All of the students eat egg sandwiches for any of the three meals and you can get them at pretty much every stand. The good thing about them is that they cook them in front of you so they are hot when you receive them. We are not supposed to eat cold food from street vendors because then the germs are not killed. We then went to Champs which is a bar that is made for Americans !! They streamed the “American football” game onto a screen and the food and alcohol was as expensive as a typical sports bar. To put this in perspective realize that I spent 50 pesewas (35 cents) on lunch and for dinner I spent 1 cedi (75 cents); therefore, Champs was expensive compared to everywhere else we buy food. Traveling to the bar was also a production and it cost more than most taxi rides. I think that was because the taxi driver had no idea where it was and when we got in the car he began calling everyone to attempt to find out the location! But we did eventually get there and we had a great time. They had two flat screen tvs and they sold Mexican food (I didn’t eat) and there may have been two locals there. They made fun of football and said it should be called handball. They explained they hate watching it because they don’t understand the rules. We finally got back at around 4:30 and one of the boys we were with fell in the gutter (there are gutters that are about 1 to 2 feet deep on both sides of every road) and scraped his leg up. It looks like we will only go back there one more time to watch the Super Ball! I love and miss you all I will try to get another blog up as soon as I can get back to the Internet.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Today was another early morning we had orientation with all of the international students attending the University of Ghana this semester and it was no fun at all. I could barely stay awake because the Dean of the School and the other speakers just repeated everything CIEE had already told us plus they attempted to explain registration. It is nothing like college in America because there is no Internet. You have to walk to each department, which are much further than you would expect, to talk to the instructors and find out what time they are having their class and which classes are being offered. The explanation was confusing and during the speeches we were informed that women are not permitted to carry handguns on campus and that two people were already robbed! However, we have been well trained on how to avoid getting ourselves into situations that would end in getting robbed.
The rest of my day can be explained in just one word: HOSPITAL (Mom and Dad don’t worry it wasn’t for me).
First we went to the bank and it took an hour! While we were waiting a women came in and I remembered that you have to stand as soon as someone older does not have a seat. Everyone on the bench stood up until the omen decided which seat to take. Once she sat everyone else proceeded to sit back in their seat.
I was at the hospital for the next 5 hours waiting with one of the girls on the trip, Kylee, to get admitted. Her ankle is swollen from some type of animal bite. The waiting area is outside, so we were sweating and so tired. When we finally got close to the front of the line people got to go in front of us because they had more vital problems. We eventually got our turn and we were in the office for about 2 minutes. The doctor made small talk and Kylee told him what happened. He did not even look at her foot he just prescribed her medicine and sent her on her way. I did meet the cutest little girl and her mom let me take a picture with her ☺. Although I don’t think the mom actually understood what I was asking her, but when I took the camera out she understood and did not seem to mind.
By the time we got back it was really late and I was hungry so we went to eat at somewhere different then usual. The Bush Canteen, which is right on campus serves traditional food. We got fufu, it was my first experience with this type of dish, and I did not enjoy it. You have to grab dough with your fingers and roll it (which is much more difficult than it sounds because the dough is very sticky) and then you dunk it in a spicy stew and swallow it. You don’t chew the dough! There is also a piece of chicken, beef, or goat in the stew that you pick apart with your hand and eat. People share one bowl and keep dumping their fingers in it and licking them after each bite. It was gross and I couldn’t eat more than one bite of it. Plus it is hard to eat because you can only use your right hand. Also you wash your hand with soap and water that they bring to the table with a towel, before and after the meal.
On the way back to the dorm we have to walk through the Night Market and Hannah my neighbor was carrying cookies in her hand. A young boy kept touching her bag and trying to stop her so she gave him a cookie. In about ten seconds she had a trail of little kids following her waiting for a cookie. Needless to say, she did not have those cookies for very long.
When we got back to the dorm there was a seamstress in the kitchen who called us over. She took our measurements and we picked fabrics and ordered dresses in the style of our choice. I bought one for me and one for Lori, and I also got a wristlet made out of material. We then played a card game called spot it for about three hours, it is made for seven year olds, but it was a blast. Then we went off to bed because we were exhausted.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A quiet day
Today we had to be up early for part to of the useless banter, they called orientation. Although many groups found it helpful, it was useless to CIEE because we were already given that information.
After orientation we went around to different departments to look for our class, ate lunch (red-red and maduros which were amazing), and we went to a lector by a political science professor. We returned to the dorm with a lot of new knowledge about politics in Ghana.
It was a long day so we were drained and just stayed in and talked until it was time for bed.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Art Market
Today was full of excitement and adventure! We went to the art market in the morning, which only took us about thirty minutes or so to walk to from campus. On the way there we saw a large part of the city. First we passed a baby goat that was just walking on the side of the road, then we saw a rooster, and on the other side of the road was Obama Hotel (they seem to think he is great here, many people stayed up until 2 am to watch the State of the Union Address) I got a beautiful painting to match my bedroom (the mistake was letting the storekeeper know it matched my room- he proceeded to tell me that he would like to get to know what my room looks like!) Not to worry we were with one of our new friends Abuku, who is Nigerian. I also got a new satchel that has tons of different African fabric. I got Annette and Lori each a bracelet that says Ghana, it was the only thing I saw so far that says Ghana on it. We were harassed by every storekeeper, but it was certainly a blast and we are getting much better at bargaining.
When we finally got back to our rooms everyone was exhausted so we went to our rooms to get water. I plopped down on my bed and fell asleep! When I woke up everyone was gone and I was running late for our lector at 3:00. I walked as quickly as I could as I tried to figure out where to go. The campus is gigantic, bigger than some towns! All of the buildings are beautiful, but the all look the same and there are cars driving all over the place. Some people take taxis to class, but that gets expensive and the shuttle has not started running yet. However, I think that we will get used to walking long distances to class and just make sure to leave thirty to forty minutes to be on time depending on the building we are in. I have made a lot of new friends here from the program; conversely, Ghanaians are sparse because they haven’t moved in yet. I have one Ghanian friend named Chief and the Nigerian friend I spoke of earlier. I am still attempting to remember names; they are sometimes hard to understand making them impossible to remember! Our roommates are expected to move in on Friday, so we are going to attempt to do laundry tomorrow, so they move into clean rooms with no dirty clothes or shoes around : )
After the lector which was on the History of Ghana, we went to Bush Canteen where I ate white rice with white beans (they tasted nothing like yours mom- they scooped them right out of a can : ( - and maduros that did not taste very good either). The vegetables that can be found in Ghana are sparse so I haven’t had a salad in a very long time. So that is something I am really craving. They sometimes have cabbage but they put ketchup on it because they don’t have dressing. However, I have been really careful to take things slow and not try to many new things all at once. My stomach has not bothered me at all although I do have hives all over my arms. Someone said it may be heat rash, but I think it is hives I just took medicine so they should be gone soon.
When we got back we got dressed and went out to Coconut Grove Hotel, which has salsa dancing. Mom you would have been so disappointed, I could not keep up with the men. Although we do plan on going every week and improving exponentially by the time we return. The djs play about three formation dances songs in a row where everyone at the hotel stands up and dances in lines with the exact same motions. The locals say that you learn the moves by watching and standing in the back while trying to replicate the steps. However, this is much more difficult than it sounds and I was very disappointed that I couldn’t get the steps straight. Then they play regular salsa music that couples dance to for about twenty minutes. The formation dances then start again and this process goes on all night. We were told that if we go early at around seven they give out informal lessons, so we are going to try that out next week. We had a hard time getting to the hotel in a trotro so we hope by next week we have the system down better. And on the way home our taxi driver got into an argument with the security guard at the front gate of campus and we thought we were going to have to walk the rest of the way. But the argument was resolved and our driver returned to drive us the remaining distance. We had such a great time tonight and Dad you would have been proud of me because instead of going to the beach which is known for being unsafe with all of the students on the program I went with Chief and four other girls to the hotel which is one of the most expensive places to stay in the city. We were completely safe and although the men were very anxious to teach us how to salsa, they never made us feel uncomfortable.
We got back at a decent hour, so we decided to go to one of the Internet cafes that we were told would have wireless available so we could use our own computers. However, what I am doing currently is sitting on my computer in the café with no Internet typing my blog, it is very disappointing. I was hoping to be able to post the entirety of my blog tonight. We are returning to our dorm now, but I will write again soon, if you ever get to see this!
Off too the International Student Hostel We Go !
Friday morning we had breakfast at 8:00, yes a late morning, for Ghanaians anyway. After breakfast, which we finished late once again, African time is a lot like Spanish time, never on time! We then continued our orientation where a police officer came and spoke to us about how to remain same if Ghana He assured us that everyone would be safe as long as we stick together. Our director than spoke to us about bridging the gap between cultures, he explained that any individuals in the program that is homosexual should inform any one else of their orientation. On a scale from 1 to 100, Ghana is about a two on how tolerable they are on homosexuals. Couples whom are heterosexual will rarely hold hands or kiss in public, but friends will commonly hold hands or wastes while walking. We are also referred to here as abrunis, which means white person. We stick out everywhere we go, but we are improving our skills of communication. To demonstrate the how becoming acquainted with a new culture is frustrating by giving out math problem with directions that indicated that a + means x and x means – and so on. As we tried to complete the problems quickly it was difficult to get the right answer.
We also learned that when people see someone getting robbed they always step in to help because they work hard for their money and can picture that thief stealing the things they have worked hard for.
Then we had an hour to pack our bags and bring them downstairs. It took us two trips each to get everything down the four flights of stairs. They then stacked our bags on top of the trucks about four feet high. When we finally arrived on campus we saw gigantic anthills, about four to five feet tall. They are gorgeous and the campus keeps them intact just for the ascetic look. One bus saw a monkey in one of the trees just hanging out there. The land here is full of lizards of all different colors and sizes, palm trees, and beautiful landscapes. Although everywhere you walk is red dirt, which gets your shoes and eat filthy. Between the constant sweating and the dirt we never feel clean even after a shower.
We got our pillows and sheets from the CIEE office, which were so much worse than we could have predicted. I am ecstatic that I have my own pillow and sheets with me. I could not image sleeping on the pillow that is provided by the program. We also received mosquito nets that are astonishing colors; they give our rooms a vibrant look since everything else in them is dull. We plan on going to the market to look for posters and other things that can be used o decorate the walls.
We spent some time exploring the dorm, which is very different from a dorm at home. The bathrooms have no toilet paper and no one comes to clean them although they are communal. Also the building is opened and you walk outside of your room to the outside. I room is positioned in the most ideal spot. It is o the bottom floor right in front of the laundry lines and water reserves for when the water goes out. The bathrooms are also about ten feet away from my dorm entrance. We still don’t have roommates, but I am crossing my fingers that I get someone I get along with : ) I cannot wait to finally meet her. The bottom floor is all girls, the second floor all boys, and each proceeding floor alters sexes.
We then traveled to the night market, which is an accumulation of outside vendors who live in their stands and are there twenty four seven. We bought one large bag of water which has thirty small baggies of water inside of it, hangers, laundry detergent, a bucket to wash our clothes in and bath with, some people bought mirrors and garbage cans, others bought air time for their phones. We also found toilet paper, which people stock up on in great quantities here because it is not always available. Later on that night be walked to Pentagon, which is another dorm that CIEE students are living in. It was about a forty-minute walk. We ate dinner there, I got red-red (white rice and red beans that taste nothing like Spanish rice and beans) and chicken. The chicken also does not taste like the chicken at home; because you cannot order a certain piece of the chicken it is more of the luck of the draw. Also the restaurant did not have a menu, you could ask what they had, they would tell you and then you ordered. However, it seemed as if we were the only ones that were asking what type of food the sold. Everything here is also so spic, so my stomach is having a hard time getting used to the change. Also the bathrooms at the restaurants did not have toilet paper or hand soap either and the food took about an hour to come. Everything in Ghana is slower than in America. The u-pals always say that if you walk somewhere in American speed you will arrive in about ten minute and if you walk at a Ghanaian speed you will arrive at your destination in thirty minutes. And it seems that this statement is not an exaggeration, Ghanaians walk much slower than the typical American. They are more likely to stop and make small talk with people they pass on the street. The campus is huge and a lot of it is uphill. But it is beautiful everywhere you look, our views from the dorm are spectacular.
It was then time for a shower, which was not cool, it was cold! I first stepped in and thought I was going to have to get out right away. However, I dealt with the temperature and finished showering as quickly as possible. The Internet has been down so we cannot get on to post blogs, sorry for the delay.
Later that night we went out to Chez Afrique, which unbeknownst to us is more for older individuals. Therefore, it closed at 12:30, which is about thirty minutes after we arrived. Although the small amount of time we did spend there was fun, there was a live band and it was one of the CIEE students birthday. We danced and sang for a short time then one of the girls got sick from something she ate. She went to the bathroom and a Ghanian woman followed her, held here tight and said an intense prayer in her ear while holding her stomach. This was something we had never seen, but the women was attempting to heal someone she saw that needed help, even though we were abrunis (white people). We then went back to our dorms where we stayed up talking until about six thirty just telling stories and getting acquainted with one another.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Discovering the means of Dance in the Ghanian Culture
It was difficult to sleep through the night, the heat is almost unbearable at times, and the mosquito nets block out any breeze that comes in from the window. This morning I woke up at ten and I was infuriated because once again my alarm clock didn’t go off and I missed church! It may have been a sign from God, telling me to buy traditional African clothes before going into someone else’s church. Although I was disappointed I did not allow the one incident to ruin my day. We had a dance work shop later on and I was still thrilled about that opportunity. At 4:00 we all went together to a dance hall (which we have finally mastered how to find on our own). I have never listened as inspiring as our instructor whose name was Oh! Yes the exclamation point is a part of his name. His speeches were phenomenal and his head was filled with inspirational stories.
Pause: I would like to briefly mention some new things I have learned about the culture I am attempting to submerge myself into. Most of the knowledge I have gained is from the dance class I was describing, so I decided to interject some interesting information within my description of the African dance lesson.
1. Ghanians shake hands with almost everyone to demonstrate that everyone is on the same level and that the two people respect one another. To increase the meaning of such a simple action Ghanians always shake hands by traveling in a circle counter clockwise. The reason for this action is that you show the person your palm, which is washed clean. It also represents the openness and the truthfulness of the locals.
2. When a child is born they are not considered a human until eight days after he or she is born. Within those eight days the baby is just a spirit and the human does not come to earth until it is given a name by the father and the name ceremony is performed by the head of the family.
3. Ghanaian’s dance to show the differenced between families and to demonstrate similarities between different tribes. They dance at every occasion and by the time a child can walk they have already begun to learn how to sing, dance and in the near future they will obtain the skills necessary to play a set of instruments (if they are male). The Ghanaians dance at funerals, weddings, naming ceremonies, festivals, church, and any other occasion you can think of.
4. Dancing is a celebration of life and the Ghanian’s say, “if you haven’t danced, you haven’t lived” and “those who cannot dance, do not spoil the Earth.” Oh! was trying to convince us that even if we did not master the steps at first, we would not make the world come to a stand still.
5. Ghanian females usually do not tell you if you make them angry, they choose to ignore you instead. It is easy to offend people in a country where you sometimes forget typical aspects of their lives.
6. Aunts and uncles can have as much or more power over the biological parents of a child. A child is not just for the parents or the family, they are for the community as well. The community supports the child and aspects that the child will return to the village when they are adults and support the community. Every child has a charge and they must give back to the community to fulfill it.
7. When people say hi they refer to people hey are not related to as aunt and uncle as a sign of endearment and they call people their own age brothers and sisters.
Continuation: The men would perform dances and then they would show us each step slowly and we would attempt to replicate the steps. We had a blast and did several exercises to try to build trust. In America we do trust falls where a person just falls back, in Ghana a person jumps back and hopes someone can catch them. After they land they are flung out and then they continue jumping back. We did an exercise where we jump into our group and traveled counter clockwise jumping into each proceeding group until we got back to our original group. We also learned a combination that we had to perform in groups of three! There were probably fifteen locals standing outside the door looking into the room- proof that we looked like fools. I am not sure I have ever sweat so much in my entire life, so I must have looked beautiful.
After the class we sang one of the girls Happy Birthday and then dumped water all over her. In Ghana they “pound” (throw water on) people on their birthdays!
After the class we went to the night market and I got my first egg sandwich. All of the students eat egg sandwiches for any of the three meals and you can get them at pretty much every stand. The good thing about them is that they cook them in front of you so they are hot when you receive them. We are not supposed to eat cold food from street vendors because then the germs are not killed. We then went to Champs which is a bar that is made for Americans !! They streamed the “American football” game onto a screen and the food and alcohol was as expensive as a typical sports bar. To put this in perspective realize that I spent 50 pesewas (35 cents) on lunch and for dinner I spent 1 cedi (75 cents); therefore, Champs was expensive compared to everywhere else we buy food. Traveling to the bar was also a production and it cost more than most taxi rides. I think that was because the taxi driver had no idea where it was and when we got in the car he began calling everyone to attempt to find out the location! But we did eventually get there and we had a great time. They had two flat screen tvs and they sold Mexican food (I didn’t eat) and there may have been two locals there. They made fun of football and said it should be called handball. They explained they hate watching it because they don’t understand the rules. We finally got back at around 4:30 and one of the boys we were with fell in the gutter (there are gutters that are about 1 to 2 feet deep on both sides of every road) and scraped his leg up. It looks like we will only go back there one more time to watch the Super Ball! I love and miss you all I will try to get another blog up as soon as I can get back to the Internet.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Today was another early morning we had orientation with all of the international students attending the University of Ghana this semester and it was no fun at all. I could barely stay awake because the Dean of the School and the other speakers just repeated everything CIEE had already told us plus they attempted to explain registration. It is nothing like college in America because there is no Internet. You have to walk to each department, which are much further than you would expect, to talk to the instructors and find out what time they are having their class and which classes are being offered. The explanation was confusing and during the speeches we were informed that women are not permitted to carry handguns on campus and that two people were already robbed! However, we have been well trained on how to avoid getting ourselves into situations that would end in getting robbed.
The rest of my day can be explained in just one word: HOSPITAL (Mom and Dad don’t worry it wasn’t for me).
First we went to the bank and it took an hour! While we were waiting a women came in and I remembered that you have to stand as soon as someone older does not have a seat. Everyone on the bench stood up until the omen decided which seat to take. Once she sat everyone else proceeded to sit back in their seat.
I was at the hospital for the next 5 hours waiting with one of the girls on the trip, Kylee, to get admitted. Her ankle is swollen from some type of animal bite. The waiting area is outside, so we were sweating and so tired. When we finally got close to the front of the line people got to go in front of us because they had more vital problems. We eventually got our turn and we were in the office for about 2 minutes. The doctor made small talk and Kylee told him what happened. He did not even look at her foot he just prescribed her medicine and sent her on her way. I did meet the cutest little girl and her mom let me take a picture with her ☺. Although I don’t think the mom actually understood what I was asking her, but when I took the camera out she understood and did not seem to mind.
By the time we got back it was really late and I was hungry so we went to eat at somewhere different then usual. The Bush Canteen, which is right on campus serves traditional food. We got fufu, it was my first experience with this type of dish, and I did not enjoy it. You have to grab dough with your fingers and roll it (which is much more difficult than it sounds because the dough is very sticky) and then you dunk it in a spicy stew and swallow it. You don’t chew the dough! There is also a piece of chicken, beef, or goat in the stew that you pick apart with your hand and eat. People share one bowl and keep dumping their fingers in it and licking them after each bite. It was gross and I couldn’t eat more than one bite of it. Plus it is hard to eat because you can only use your right hand. Also you wash your hand with soap and water that they bring to the table with a towel, before and after the meal.
On the way back to the dorm we have to walk through the Night Market and Hannah my neighbor was carrying cookies in her hand. A young boy kept touching her bag and trying to stop her so she gave him a cookie. In about ten seconds she had a trail of little kids following her waiting for a cookie. Needless to say, she did not have those cookies for very long.
When we got back to the dorm there was a seamstress in the kitchen who called us over. She took our measurements and we picked fabrics and ordered dresses in the style of our choice. I bought one for me and one for Lori, and I also got a wristlet made out of material. We then played a card game called spot it for about three hours, it is made for seven year olds, but it was a blast. Then we went off to bed because we were exhausted.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A quiet day
Today we had to be up early for part to of the useless banter, they called orientation. Although many groups found it helpful, it was useless to CIEE because we were already given that information.
After orientation we went around to different departments to look for our class, ate lunch (red-red and maduros which were amazing), and we went to a lector by a political science professor. We returned to the dorm with a lot of new knowledge about politics in Ghana.
It was a long day so we were drained and just stayed in and talked until it was time for bed.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Art Market
Today was full of excitement and adventure! We went to the art market in the morning, which only took us about thirty minutes or so to walk to from campus. On the way there we saw a large part of the city. First we passed a baby goat that was just walking on the side of the road, then we saw a rooster, and on the other side of the road was Obama Hotel (they seem to think he is great here, many people stayed up until 2 am to watch the State of the Union Address) I got a beautiful painting to match my bedroom (the mistake was letting the storekeeper know it matched my room- he proceeded to tell me that he would like to get to know what my room looks like!) Not to worry we were with one of our new friends Abuku, who is Nigerian. I also got a new satchel that has tons of different African fabric. I got Annette and Lori each a bracelet that says Ghana, it was the only thing I saw so far that says Ghana on it. We were harassed by every storekeeper, but it was certainly a blast and we are getting much better at bargaining.
When we finally got back to our rooms everyone was exhausted so we went to our rooms to get water. I plopped down on my bed and fell asleep! When I woke up everyone was gone and I was running late for our lector at 3:00. I walked as quickly as I could as I tried to figure out where to go. The campus is gigantic, bigger than some towns! All of the buildings are beautiful, but the all look the same and there are cars driving all over the place. Some people take taxis to class, but that gets expensive and the shuttle has not started running yet. However, I think that we will get used to walking long distances to class and just make sure to leave thirty to forty minutes to be on time depending on the building we are in. I have made a lot of new friends here from the program; conversely, Ghanaians are sparse because they haven’t moved in yet. I have one Ghanian friend named Chief and the Nigerian friend I spoke of earlier. I am still attempting to remember names; they are sometimes hard to understand making them impossible to remember! Our roommates are expected to move in on Friday, so we are going to attempt to do laundry tomorrow, so they move into clean rooms with no dirty clothes or shoes around : )
After the lector which was on the History of Ghana, we went to Bush Canteen where I ate white rice with white beans (they tasted nothing like yours mom- they scooped them right out of a can : ( - and maduros that did not taste very good either). The vegetables that can be found in Ghana are sparse so I haven’t had a salad in a very long time. So that is something I am really craving. They sometimes have cabbage but they put ketchup on it because they don’t have dressing. However, I have been really careful to take things slow and not try to many new things all at once. My stomach has not bothered me at all although I do have hives all over my arms. Someone said it may be heat rash, but I think it is hives I just took medicine so they should be gone soon.
When we got back we got dressed and went out to Coconut Grove Hotel, which has salsa dancing. Mom you would have been so disappointed, I could not keep up with the men. Although we do plan on going every week and improving exponentially by the time we return. The djs play about three formation dances songs in a row where everyone at the hotel stands up and dances in lines with the exact same motions. The locals say that you learn the moves by watching and standing in the back while trying to replicate the steps. However, this is much more difficult than it sounds and I was very disappointed that I couldn’t get the steps straight. Then they play regular salsa music that couples dance to for about twenty minutes. The formation dances then start again and this process goes on all night. We were told that if we go early at around seven they give out informal lessons, so we are going to try that out next week. We had a hard time getting to the hotel in a trotro so we hope by next week we have the system down better. And on the way home our taxi driver got into an argument with the security guard at the front gate of campus and we thought we were going to have to walk the rest of the way. But the argument was resolved and our driver returned to drive us the remaining distance. We had such a great time tonight and Dad you would have been proud of me because instead of going to the beach which is known for being unsafe with all of the students on the program I went with Chief and four other girls to the hotel which is one of the most expensive places to stay in the city. We were completely safe and although the men were very anxious to teach us how to salsa, they never made us feel uncomfortable.
We got back at a decent hour, so we decided to go to one of the Internet cafes that we were told would have wireless available so we could use our own computers. However, what I am doing currently is sitting on my computer in the café with no Internet typing my blog, it is very disappointing. I was hoping to be able to post the entirety of my blog tonight. We are returning to our dorm now, but I will write again soon, if you ever get to see this!
Friday, January 21, 2011
AKWAABA to the mall !
I was up this morning at 6 am; yeah I know it was brutal. The first eventful morning adventure was when my roommate Hannah’s blow dryer sparked and almost went on fire. I guess the converter was a fail! Also the showers do not always work, the water starts coming out, then it stops, and then it turns back on really strong. The toilet then starts to make the worst noises, which it is currently making right now! However, I have no complaints about it, I am just thrilled that water has come out of the spout for my first two days in Ghana. The next thing we did was take (Ghanaians replace eat with take) a delicious breakfast, which consisted of fresh papaya, watermelon, pineapple, and bananas. There was also a juice that none of us had never seen before; we found out later that it was made out of a leaf not a fruit. It left everyone’s tongues feeling almost numb. We then continued on t orientation were we learned some valuable information about the basis for names in Ghana. Everyone is named after the day they are born so I would be Julie Akosua, because I was born on a Sunday. Also the head of the family is the one who gives the names to the children. We also made a large circle, which resembled a conga line, and then Kwasi our director told us to message. This is just one instance where the kindness of Ghanaians is demonstrated. We then had a break where we traveled to the mall.
Everyone will be astonished to know that today’s mall could have passed for a small American mall! That may be a small exaggeration due to the fact there were about thirty stores in total, but it was so much nicer than I expected. However, we were informed that is designed for tourists, which was proven by the easy access to the cell phones we bought today and temporary Internet connection. Also, there were many foreigners in the mall and very few natives. Our u-pal informed us that we should abstain from purchasing items at the mall because it is the most expensive place to obtain any supplies we may be in need of. There were about five different cell phone stands, a Shoprite (which sold everything, not just food), a couple of clothes stores one being Nike, and a store called Game (which is essential Wal-Mart).
It was a fascinating experience to travel too and from the mall. We took a taxi to the mall that we had just learned how to flag down during orientation. You point your finger strait down. To give you some ideas of the differences in culture I will describe some of the situations we have encountered as strangers to a very cultural country. It is extremely rude to use your "toilet hand" (your left hand) when doing almost anything in the country. If you raise your left hand in class your professor will choose to ignore you, if you take food from a communal plate with your left hand no one else will eat from it, if you take money with your left hand or receive a gift people view you as disrespectful, waving a taxi down or waving hello with your left hand will lead to you being ignored. Additionally giving someone a thumbs up is equivalent to giving the middle finger referring to the persons mother. If you put your thumb up and then down it is even worse! The first thing you do when approaching anyone is greet him or her with good morning, afternoon, or evening. When you are speaking with a taxi, which you bargain with before you enter you must first greet them before speaking. When sitting next to someone on a bus, asking for direction, or just passing someone who looks your way on the street. When you enter a room you should greet everyone in it, if you do not and you need something later on they will choose to ignore you. When you ask for directions people do not use maps or street names. They will give you some landmark and then you will get there and ask someone else where to proceed too. When you are eating something and someone walks in the room you always say, "you're invited" and they reply with thank you. In theory they are then invited to share your plate; however, no one ever shares the meal. In the taxi the driver stopped for food, he proceeded to invite us!
While you drive on the roads where there is always terrible traffic and no designated lanes, people swarm the windows asking you too buy just about anything, from fruit to toilet paper! The women are extremely inventive and not only are they able to balance gigantic buckets on their heads; they also tie material around their waist with infants hanging on their back. They then have two free hands to use at their leisure. I have never seen anything like it, these women are the future, it is as if they have four hands!
All of the people were extremely kind when we were at the mall, but again it was not a very common mall. It was indoors and had a play ground in the center of it, which was outside. It was thrilling to see the vendors surrounding the walls waiting for foreigners to rip off as they walk by. Thankfully every three people in the program were assigned to a u-pal, I was with Gifty, that is a University of Ghana student, so they were able to guide us in how much things should cost. We will not be returning to that mall, but it was necessary since it is the only place to get prepaid phones.
We also learned that the taxi drivers do not like it when you slam the doors shut, we were informed that was because the cars are weak and the doors may fall off. We also informed that after dark it is better to find a hotel and stay there, even if it means missing class, rather then drive on the roads. The group leaders told us that the streets at night are extremely dangerous and not worth driving on, under any circumstances. We saw the president’s house today, which the president does not live in. The current president does not condone the building and refuses to live there, so it is currently empty. Many people speak English, however, there are just as many that do not. They speak many different dialects of Twi, which we have just begun to learn.
On the way home we traveled in a tro tro, which is a common source of transportation in Ghana. They are like small busses that seat about twenty people, but many times about thirty are squeezed in. Seat belts are almost unheard of here, and no tickets are given out in Accra. So the driving is questionable and very much so a different experience than in America.
When we returned we went again to orientation where we discussed health. Essentially the doctor told us to take our malaria pills because they don’t like when students die. We then went down to dinner where I ate my first traditional Ghanaian meal; it was so spicy I thought my mouth was going to light on fire. We continued out to the pool area where Ghanaian music was playing. Atsui is one of the u-pals and he is a dance major at the university. He began performing amazing steps that everyone sat in awe just staring at. He recognized our pleasure when watching him dance, so he proceeded to teach who ever wanted to join a couple of simple traditional steps. We then had the most amazing dance lesson, which about ten of us participated in. Atsui patiently demonstrated each step. I am sure we all looked like a bunch of white kids and the u-pals got a great kick out of our performance, but it was exhilarating ☺ It is definitely nothing like any dance I have done in the past. We were exhausted and drenched in sweat so we quickly ran uo the four flights of stairs to our room, which is secluded with no other students around it, to change into our bathing suits. We swam for a while and then just relaxed and began talking with one another. Our u-pals soon informed us that they were unable to swim. We attempted to teach them the proper technique when it comes to kicking your feet, but we failed miserable. I presume it is a lost cause, but we will keep up the efforts in hopes of improvement in the future.
This is where my first view of the nightlife began. The u-pals asked if we wanted to go to Ebo, which is one of the more American clubs in the city. We of course accepted the invitation. There is about 50 CIEE students and 15 u-pals. About 30 of the students decided to travel in five different taxes to the club. Thankfully, the u-pals bargained our taxi fairs down to a good price (only 3 cedis, which is less than 3 dollars to travel about 15 minutes) and made all of the taxis wait until everyone was inside a car and they could follow each other. When we got their five of us went strait inside, where we discovered that 11:30 is way to early to show up to a Ghanaian Club. We were the only people there; it was terrible, at first. It ended u being a blast, more people showed up at around one and the place began to get packed. Also, more CIEE students entered the club, which the Ghanaian women were not very excited about. The DJ was trying to be kind by playing American music; finally we got one of the u-pals to tell him we wanted Ghanaian music. At about 2:00 the Ghanaian music began and both the CIEE students and the natives danced along side one another and everyone was having a blast. The Ghanaians are much more respectful then Americans, they never just come up behind you and start dancing. They take your hands and dance almost like we would dance a slow dance in America they just speed up the tempo. They were all very nice to us and no one tried anything disrespectful. We all decided to leave the club; we traveled back in our five respective taxicabs and made our way to our rooms.
We have to be up early tomorrow again and we have to be packed this time, because tomorrow we move into our dorms. I am going to get to bed, Good Night!!
Everyone will be astonished to know that today’s mall could have passed for a small American mall! That may be a small exaggeration due to the fact there were about thirty stores in total, but it was so much nicer than I expected. However, we were informed that is designed for tourists, which was proven by the easy access to the cell phones we bought today and temporary Internet connection. Also, there were many foreigners in the mall and very few natives. Our u-pal informed us that we should abstain from purchasing items at the mall because it is the most expensive place to obtain any supplies we may be in need of. There were about five different cell phone stands, a Shoprite (which sold everything, not just food), a couple of clothes stores one being Nike, and a store called Game (which is essential Wal-Mart).
It was a fascinating experience to travel too and from the mall. We took a taxi to the mall that we had just learned how to flag down during orientation. You point your finger strait down. To give you some ideas of the differences in culture I will describe some of the situations we have encountered as strangers to a very cultural country. It is extremely rude to use your "toilet hand" (your left hand) when doing almost anything in the country. If you raise your left hand in class your professor will choose to ignore you, if you take food from a communal plate with your left hand no one else will eat from it, if you take money with your left hand or receive a gift people view you as disrespectful, waving a taxi down or waving hello with your left hand will lead to you being ignored. Additionally giving someone a thumbs up is equivalent to giving the middle finger referring to the persons mother. If you put your thumb up and then down it is even worse! The first thing you do when approaching anyone is greet him or her with good morning, afternoon, or evening. When you are speaking with a taxi, which you bargain with before you enter you must first greet them before speaking. When sitting next to someone on a bus, asking for direction, or just passing someone who looks your way on the street. When you enter a room you should greet everyone in it, if you do not and you need something later on they will choose to ignore you. When you ask for directions people do not use maps or street names. They will give you some landmark and then you will get there and ask someone else where to proceed too. When you are eating something and someone walks in the room you always say, "you're invited" and they reply with thank you. In theory they are then invited to share your plate; however, no one ever shares the meal. In the taxi the driver stopped for food, he proceeded to invite us!
While you drive on the roads where there is always terrible traffic and no designated lanes, people swarm the windows asking you too buy just about anything, from fruit to toilet paper! The women are extremely inventive and not only are they able to balance gigantic buckets on their heads; they also tie material around their waist with infants hanging on their back. They then have two free hands to use at their leisure. I have never seen anything like it, these women are the future, it is as if they have four hands!
All of the people were extremely kind when we were at the mall, but again it was not a very common mall. It was indoors and had a play ground in the center of it, which was outside. It was thrilling to see the vendors surrounding the walls waiting for foreigners to rip off as they walk by. Thankfully every three people in the program were assigned to a u-pal, I was with Gifty, that is a University of Ghana student, so they were able to guide us in how much things should cost. We will not be returning to that mall, but it was necessary since it is the only place to get prepaid phones.
We also learned that the taxi drivers do not like it when you slam the doors shut, we were informed that was because the cars are weak and the doors may fall off. We also informed that after dark it is better to find a hotel and stay there, even if it means missing class, rather then drive on the roads. The group leaders told us that the streets at night are extremely dangerous and not worth driving on, under any circumstances. We saw the president’s house today, which the president does not live in. The current president does not condone the building and refuses to live there, so it is currently empty. Many people speak English, however, there are just as many that do not. They speak many different dialects of Twi, which we have just begun to learn.
On the way home we traveled in a tro tro, which is a common source of transportation in Ghana. They are like small busses that seat about twenty people, but many times about thirty are squeezed in. Seat belts are almost unheard of here, and no tickets are given out in Accra. So the driving is questionable and very much so a different experience than in America.
When we returned we went again to orientation where we discussed health. Essentially the doctor told us to take our malaria pills because they don’t like when students die. We then went down to dinner where I ate my first traditional Ghanaian meal; it was so spicy I thought my mouth was going to light on fire. We continued out to the pool area where Ghanaian music was playing. Atsui is one of the u-pals and he is a dance major at the university. He began performing amazing steps that everyone sat in awe just staring at. He recognized our pleasure when watching him dance, so he proceeded to teach who ever wanted to join a couple of simple traditional steps. We then had the most amazing dance lesson, which about ten of us participated in. Atsui patiently demonstrated each step. I am sure we all looked like a bunch of white kids and the u-pals got a great kick out of our performance, but it was exhilarating ☺ It is definitely nothing like any dance I have done in the past. We were exhausted and drenched in sweat so we quickly ran uo the four flights of stairs to our room, which is secluded with no other students around it, to change into our bathing suits. We swam for a while and then just relaxed and began talking with one another. Our u-pals soon informed us that they were unable to swim. We attempted to teach them the proper technique when it comes to kicking your feet, but we failed miserable. I presume it is a lost cause, but we will keep up the efforts in hopes of improvement in the future.
This is where my first view of the nightlife began. The u-pals asked if we wanted to go to Ebo, which is one of the more American clubs in the city. We of course accepted the invitation. There is about 50 CIEE students and 15 u-pals. About 30 of the students decided to travel in five different taxes to the club. Thankfully, the u-pals bargained our taxi fairs down to a good price (only 3 cedis, which is less than 3 dollars to travel about 15 minutes) and made all of the taxis wait until everyone was inside a car and they could follow each other. When we got their five of us went strait inside, where we discovered that 11:30 is way to early to show up to a Ghanaian Club. We were the only people there; it was terrible, at first. It ended u being a blast, more people showed up at around one and the place began to get packed. Also, more CIEE students entered the club, which the Ghanaian women were not very excited about. The DJ was trying to be kind by playing American music; finally we got one of the u-pals to tell him we wanted Ghanaian music. At about 2:00 the Ghanaian music began and both the CIEE students and the natives danced along side one another and everyone was having a blast. The Ghanaians are much more respectful then Americans, they never just come up behind you and start dancing. They take your hands and dance almost like we would dance a slow dance in America they just speed up the tempo. They were all very nice to us and no one tried anything disrespectful. We all decided to leave the club; we traveled back in our five respective taxicabs and made our way to our rooms.
We have to be up early tomorrow again and we have to be packed this time, because tomorrow we move into our dorms. I am going to get to bed, Good Night!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
I Have Arrived !!
To start from the beginning of my travels, I will bring you to Newark airport. I first became alarmed when I received my boarding pass that read "gate not yet assigned" for my connecting flight. So I asked the receptionist where to go, when I land in Germany, to find out what gate my flight would be departing from. She replied "I have no idea." I asked if they would speak english and again she replied that she did not know.
I put that all aside and decided that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. I found my gate at Newark, where I learned there is no free internet in airports, and sat for over two hours before we began boarding the plane. The plane may have had 30 people on it; therefore, I had an entire row to myself! That was glorious, although I was unable to sleep because it was not normal sleeping hours. I watched three movies, red a book, and perused through the different games that were available, while making friends with the boys near by who were also on a journey to study abroad. When we departed the flight, I easily discovered my numer gate and I proceeded on my way.
I landed in a world where no one spoke english, there where lifts instead of elevators, and toiletes instead of restrooms. Within the first ten feet of traveling through the foreign airport the wheel broke off my luggage and I was forced to awkwardly pull it the rest of the way. My gate happened to by the last gate at the airport, which is gigantic, so I traveled for about twenty minutes before I reached my destination. While waiting for the plain I made another friend who actually have me contact information in case I need anything while I am in Ghana, although I am sure I wil never use the information. We finally got on the plane after an excruciating three hour wait. The plane was once again partially empty and I was able to stretch across the seats, where I peacefully slept for about two hours. Then the pilot called for a doctor because someone on the plane was getting sick, and there was a baby that cried the entire rest of the way. I survived the plane ride and discover three other individuals who were in my program so we were able to void off all of the unwelcome attention from men together and find the man who would drive us to the hotel.
We are living in luxury currently. We arrived at the Coco Resort at around 5:30, got dinner (which we didn't eat because we had eaten on the plane), then sat outside at the bar. Everyone is so pleasant and seemed to get along very well. I have made some great acquaintances already and I am sure we will get to know each other better everyday. The hotel is beautiful and the workers have been so kind to us.
The hotel not only has toilet paper, airconditioning, and a pool, it also has hot water in the shower as long as you turn the heat on thirty minutes before you use the water. I only left it on for ten minutes before my shower, so I took a cool shower. However, it was refreshing after sitting in the heat for several hours. I also have wireless internet here and tomorrow will begin my real adventure. We will be taking public transportation and going to the mall to get cellphones! I will leave you to ponder what tomorrow holds for me, because it is time for me to get to bed. We have breakfast at 7:00 AM tomorrow !!
I put that all aside and decided that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. I found my gate at Newark, where I learned there is no free internet in airports, and sat for over two hours before we began boarding the plane. The plane may have had 30 people on it; therefore, I had an entire row to myself! That was glorious, although I was unable to sleep because it was not normal sleeping hours. I watched three movies, red a book, and perused through the different games that were available, while making friends with the boys near by who were also on a journey to study abroad. When we departed the flight, I easily discovered my numer gate and I proceeded on my way.
I landed in a world where no one spoke english, there where lifts instead of elevators, and toiletes instead of restrooms. Within the first ten feet of traveling through the foreign airport the wheel broke off my luggage and I was forced to awkwardly pull it the rest of the way. My gate happened to by the last gate at the airport, which is gigantic, so I traveled for about twenty minutes before I reached my destination. While waiting for the plain I made another friend who actually have me contact information in case I need anything while I am in Ghana, although I am sure I wil never use the information. We finally got on the plane after an excruciating three hour wait. The plane was once again partially empty and I was able to stretch across the seats, where I peacefully slept for about two hours. Then the pilot called for a doctor because someone on the plane was getting sick, and there was a baby that cried the entire rest of the way. I survived the plane ride and discover three other individuals who were in my program so we were able to void off all of the unwelcome attention from men together and find the man who would drive us to the hotel.
We are living in luxury currently. We arrived at the Coco Resort at around 5:30, got dinner (which we didn't eat because we had eaten on the plane), then sat outside at the bar. Everyone is so pleasant and seemed to get along very well. I have made some great acquaintances already and I am sure we will get to know each other better everyday. The hotel is beautiful and the workers have been so kind to us.
The hotel not only has toilet paper, airconditioning, and a pool, it also has hot water in the shower as long as you turn the heat on thirty minutes before you use the water. I only left it on for ten minutes before my shower, so I took a cool shower. However, it was refreshing after sitting in the heat for several hours. I also have wireless internet here and tomorrow will begin my real adventure. We will be taking public transportation and going to the mall to get cellphones! I will leave you to ponder what tomorrow holds for me, because it is time for me to get to bed. We have breakfast at 7:00 AM tomorrow !!
Friday, January 14, 2011
I leave in five short days!
I leave in only five days for Ghana, Africa and I will not return until the middle of June!! I am extremely excited to depart from New Jersey and arrive in the foreign land of Accra, but I know I will soon long for all who are staying behind. I will try to periodically update the blog to keep anyone who is interested in finding out about my travels up to date.
While abroad I hope to meet new people and become emerged in a culture that is so different from my own. Hopefully, the experience I have there will change my perspective on many of the aspects of everyday life.
I have heard crazy stories about what to expect, but I will form my own opinions in my own time and report them back to everybody! My biggest worry is probably the driving situation which I have heard is insane. I just hope that I will be able to get around without an exorbitant amount of difficulty. Although I am sure it will take me a sufficient amount of time to acquaint myself with the bus systems and appreciate the encounters I will have in my everyday life, I will work tirelessly to adjust to the world around me and deal with any difficulties that are bound to cross my path.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)