Two Months in Ghana

Monday, March 21, 2011

I have finally gotten used to the trotro system, I walk more slowly, talk more slowly, have a good idea of the two language at least enough to get by, I bargain with the taxis and market women as well as any Ghanaian, and the food is becoming something I enjoy. The culture and the atmosphere have become routine and it finally feels like I am part of this world, although I am still very much a foreigner. The men seem to understand that I have been here for some time, so the harassment has decreased significantly and I am sure my tolerance level has something to do with it. I feel more confident now than I did in the past and I greatly enjoy the feeling of knowing that everyday will no longer be a struggle. I know I have to leave hours to get my laundry done, I know how much time it tokes to get to class and what time class will actually begin, I have improved on my timing skills exponentially although I am still so much earlier than everyone else. I am so content here and I am finally starting to get over Sashi dying although I am not sure I will ever truly be over it.
A for my day today I went to work like usual, but something amazing happened in the morning. I was running a bit early, but I decided to leave anyway considering I never know how long my journey will be. As I was walking toward the junction I saw a bus and I began to speed up in hopes that it would stop to load. Then I realized I should not get my hopes up because there was not a chance I would be that lucky. To my astonishment the bus stopped right as I arrived and I was one of only four to squeeze on. The passengers were annoyed because the bus was already over capacity, but I was thrilled. I got to thirty-seven extremely early, so I shopped for a bit and ended up buying another watch. They have been my go to shopping item instead of shoes. I got to work forty minutes early and in a great mood. I worked diligently and left in time to go to the night market and buy the items I ran out of before class. At twi we reviewed for the test that we would have the following day and were we learned new material just to ensure I was completely freaked out.
Later on I had dance and one of the girls asked me to go early to help her with the steps. As usual I said yes even though I knew I would have two exams the following day. I prepared well and brought my twi material along so I would not be upset when the girl arrived late. She certainly did arrive late and there was barely anytime to work on the moves. Atsu arrived and we worked on the dance for about three hours, so I was exhausted when I got back to the room and I still had hours worth of studying to do. I studied both twi and practiced two for as long as I could before my body would no longer with stand being awake.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

I was able to wake up extra early and get studying done this morning. It is incredible how my body can function in the morning while I am here, but in America I am unable to do anything constructive before noon. After I studied to my capacity I got ready for class and headed off. Luckily on my walk over I met up with someone from my other political science class and we walked the rest of the way together. We sat next to each other in class, which is always helpful because I cannot always properly understand the professor. Also we received questioners to give out to students and if it was not for this individual I probably would not have obtained them.
Then I continued on to the CIEE office to relax and study more before twi. When I arrived I found Mickey, who dances extremely well and drums in the dance department. So logically I asked him to drum, so I could practice the dance and he could evaluate me. We did this for about thirty minutes with two other students who are also in my dance class. Then we went back into the office and began studying for twi. I was getting overwhelmed by all of the information. My nerves were on high gear and I had to stop studying. I had reached the point where it was to late to learn additional facts and I knew everything I had already studied to the best of my ability. When it was time I headed off to twi with the hope that my studying would pay off. The exam was exceptionally simple and I was in high spirits to go perform for the dance exam.
I am not sure how I secured the job of being the official person to call out the names of all of the foreign students, but I actually enjoy it. I was given the list and I had to line up three foreign students for each group that would be six students all together to make sure the exam ran in an efficient manner. When it came time for me to perform I was relaxed because I had kept busy calling students as opposed to stressing about the dance. I went on with a smile on my face and I feel confident that I performed to the best of my ability. It ended up being a terrific day although it was long and hectic. I ended up not returning to my room until after ten because we continued the exam until all of the foreign students had finished. Three Ghanaian students performed with three foreign students and in the end there were still about thirty Ghanaian’s that would be examined during the following class without any foreign students in their group. After class I went to the night market and had redred with other students from class and then made my way to my room to get reading done for class tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Daily Life: I forgot to inform you that although it is typical for the water to stop flowing, for the last two days not only has the water not been flowing but the poly tanks are empty. Therefore, there is no back up water so we need to walk to the other hostel to fill our buckets to get water. Although it is a hassle the other hostel is not that far and they have running water, so the porters allow us to shower there.

This morning I was walking out of my room to go to class and someone informed me that my second class of the day was canceled. I was thrilled with the news and continued onto my morning class with high hopes for the day. After my first class I had time to go back to my room and do some reading before my tutorial and my meeting with my advisor. Tutorial was interesting, but he switched the time for the following weeks so I will no longer be able to attend class. I then went to see my advisor that did not have any interest in seeing me, so I left after about only five minutes. Luckily the office is extremely close to my tutorial, so it was not out of my way.
I got back to my room and immediately started to soak my laundry with hopes that I would finish before dark to avoid the mosquitoes. I washed all of my clothes with difficulty because of the water flow problem, but I was ecstatic when I finished right before the sun had completely disappeared. I hate knowing that laundry in pending and if I don’t get it done I will have to spend five hours one day doing it. When I do it two or three days a week it only takes about two hours and my fingers are not badly affected. When I finished hanging the last of my laundry I made myself a “salad” and went upstairs to watch the new show I have become obsessed with called Chuck.
I watched two episodes and then got an unexpected phone call from Mickey. He told me to meet him downstairs and when I got down he said he had kenkay that I was invited to eat with him. Since I only had cabbage and vinegar for dinner I decided to join. I quickly learned that he would be making the sauce right there in my room and we would be eating it with sardines, onions, avocados, and his mom’s homemade shito. I was so excited to try the shito I had heard so much about and it was delicious. I do not think I will be able to eat it from the night market again. I also tried sardines for the first time, dad you would have been proud. It was not salty like I expected and they also looked different from the ones at home. I loved the food and ate way more than my share and by the time we were done it was after midnight so the porter came in to tell the boys they had to leave. However, while they were over they filled out my questioners, which I was very grateful for. We ventured out front where we met up with some of the other students from the program and we sat and talked for some time. At around one we went up to Johnny’s room where he gave us all a cookie that was amazing and completed my night beautifully. I had to leave to go to bed because I knew I needed to be up at five forty the following day for work.