Monday morning I woke up at 6:30 am in order to get to my 7:30 am class. This is the earliest I've gotten up for class since...well maybe, ever. I actually found it bizarrely easy. The way Legon smells in the morning is indescribable...but I will certainly try. For anyone who has been hiking, it smells like mountain air, mixed with the way air smells just after rain. Then you add in the smell of fires coming from the homes of the women and men who work at the night market. Home in this case is a liberal term, as they mostly live in their shops or in a small enclosure just behind the shop. Each morning, they start to boil water for the mornings porridge over what can only be described as a camp fire. Add a dash of earth and grass smells and voila: Legon in the morning. It's absolutely wonderful.
Monday night two friends and I decided it would be fun to go to the performing arts building and play the piano and sing. While I was waiting for my friends to arrive, I read in the courtyard. At one point, I began to hear some incredible jazz piano and looked up and saw a student playing the piano next to me. He was just improvising blues and jazz chords while occasionally singing along...it was incredible. I love the sound of Africans' voices. I don't know what it is that makes the tone different or overall sound but it's all wonderful. Then my friends came and we sang/played some ben folds with Michael (my new piano-playing, singing Ghanaian friend) singing along occasionally. Michael actually really liked some of Ben Folds' music, which I thought was very cool (among his favorites were The Luckiest and Gracie). In general, it was just fun to make some good music because my vocal chords have felt so unused lately!
Yesterday I bought a pot. This wouldn't be all that exciting if I were studying in Europe or the States but I promise, it's exciting. Ovens and stoves don't really exist here unless you're incredibly wealthy, so most people use camp fires or hot plates. Even now that I have a pot and a hot plate in our kitchen (which is literally comprised of a fridge, a hot plate, and a sink), it's incredibly difficult to find food I would be capable of making here. I love Ghanaian food but it can get fairly repetitive and I desperately need a change.
While on the topic of Ghanaian food, I realize I haven't said much about the food we've been eating here. To start off each meal, you choose one of several different types of rice: plain, jollof (which is red, spicy rice) or waakye (which is pronounced "wa-a-chee-ey" and is a brown rice with beans). Then you choose chicken, fish, and/or plantains. Lastly you can add a sauce: one is made of peppers and paprika, another, called "palava sauce" is make with spinach and another is called "red-red" which is made of beans and spices. All of it is spicy and flavorful. Other options are fufu and banku which are dough-like balls that you dip into a spicy stew. Kellewelle is an absolutely fantastic snack: fried plaintains covered in incredible spices.
In other news, I've discovered something new about the refugee camp situation. Although I will be doing my internship at the Domestic Violence Clinic (which I am actually quite happy with because I'll be able to shadow an actual Ghannaian psychologists), I have discovered that the refugee camp is still in existence, it's just that circumstance have changed. In 2007, UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) pulled all funds, people and resources from the camp. Since then, Liberians have slowly been trying to find placement elsewhere, due to the lack of food, educations, health care, etc left in the camp. The actually program I wanted to work with (the Child Soldier Re-integration Fund) has, in fact, also left the camp. This left practically no mental health professionals left in the camp for me to intern with: thus, my dilemma. However, now that I'm situated elsewhere with a mental health professional, I hope that I can visit the camp over a few weekends and just do some arts and crafts with the kids etc. Plus, I'd also like to see what the organization of a refugee camp is like, seeing as I've never been to one.
Tomorrow we have our first test in Twi so I'd better go study. Nante Yie!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday morning I woke up at 6:30 am in order to get to my 7:30 am class. This is the earliest I've gotten up for class since...well maybe, ever. I actually found it bizarrely easy. The way Legon smells in the morning is indescribable...but I will certainly try. For anyone who has been hiking, it smells like mountain air, mixed with the way air smells just after rain. Then you add in the smell of fires coming from the homes of the women and men who work at the night market. Home in this case is a liberal term, as they mostly live in their shops or in a small enclosure just behind the shop. Each morning, they start to boil water for the mornings porridge over what can only be described as a camp fire. Add a dash of earth and grass smells and voila: Legon in the morning. It's absolutely wonderful.
Monday night two friends and I decided it would be fun to go to the performing arts building and play the piano and sing. While I was waiting for my friends to arrive, I read in the courtyard. At one point, I began to hear some incredible jazz piano and looked up and saw a student playing the piano next to me. He was just improvising blues and jazz chords while occasionally singing along...it was incredible. I love the sound of Africans' voices. I don't know what it is that makes the tone different or overall sound but it's all wonderful. Then my friends came and we sang/played some ben folds with Michael (my new piano-playing, singing Ghanaian friend) singing along occasionally. Michael actually really liked some of Ben Folds' music, which I thought was very cool (among his favorites were The Luckiest and Gracie). In general, it was just fun to make some good music because my vocal chords have felt so unused lately!
Yesterday I bought a pot. This wouldn't be all that exciting if I were studying in Europe or the States but I promise, it's exciting. Ovens and stoves don't really exist here unless you're incredibly wealthy, so most people use camp fires or hot plates. Even now that I have a pot and a hot plate in our kitchen (which is literally comprised of a fridge, a hot plate, and a sink), it's incredibly difficult to find food I would be capable of making here. I love Ghanaian food but it can get fairly repetitive and I desperately need a change.
While on the topic of Ghanaian food, I realize I haven't said much about the food we've been eating here. To start off each meal, you choose one of several different types of rice: plain, jollof (which is red, spicy rice) or waakye (which is pronounced "wa-a-chee-ey" and is a brown rice with beans). Then you choose chicken, fish, and/or plantains. Lastly you can add a sauce: one is made of peppers and paprika, another, called "palava sauce" is make with spinach and another is called "red-red" which is made of beans and spices. All of it is spicy and flavorful. Other options are fufu and banku which are dough-like balls that you dip into a spicy stew. Kellewelle is an absolutely fantastic snack: fried plaintains covered in incredible spices.
In other news, I've discovered something new about the refugee camp situation. Although I will be doing my internship at the Domestic Violence Clinic (which I am actually quite happy with because I'll be able to shadow an actual Ghannaian psychologists), I have discovered that the refugee camp is still in existence, it's just that circumstance have changed. In 2007, UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) pulled all funds, people and resources from the camp. Since then, Liberians have slowly been trying to find placement elsewhere, due to the lack of food, educations, health care, etc left in the camp. The actually program I wanted to work with (the Child Soldier Re-integration Fund) has, in fact, also left the camp. This left practically no mental health professionals left in the camp for me to intern with: thus, my dilemma. However, now that I'm situated elsewhere with a mental health professional, I hope that I can visit the camp over a few weekends and just do some arts and crafts with the kids etc. Plus, I'd also like to see what the organization of a refugee camp is like, seeing as I've never been to one.
Tomorrow we have our first test in Twi so I'd better go study. Nante Yie!
Monday night two friends and I decided it would be fun to go to the performing arts building and play the piano and sing. While I was waiting for my friends to arrive, I read in the courtyard. At one point, I began to hear some incredible jazz piano and looked up and saw a student playing the piano next to me. He was just improvising blues and jazz chords while occasionally singing along...it was incredible. I love the sound of Africans' voices. I don't know what it is that makes the tone different or overall sound but it's all wonderful. Then my friends came and we sang/played some ben folds with Michael (my new piano-playing, singing Ghanaian friend) singing along occasionally. Michael actually really liked some of Ben Folds' music, which I thought was very cool (among his favorites were The Luckiest and Gracie). In general, it was just fun to make some good music because my vocal chords have felt so unused lately!
Yesterday I bought a pot. This wouldn't be all that exciting if I were studying in Europe or the States but I promise, it's exciting. Ovens and stoves don't really exist here unless you're incredibly wealthy, so most people use camp fires or hot plates. Even now that I have a pot and a hot plate in our kitchen (which is literally comprised of a fridge, a hot plate, and a sink), it's incredibly difficult to find food I would be capable of making here. I love Ghanaian food but it can get fairly repetitive and I desperately need a change.
While on the topic of Ghanaian food, I realize I haven't said much about the food we've been eating here. To start off each meal, you choose one of several different types of rice: plain, jollof (which is red, spicy rice) or waakye (which is pronounced "wa-a-chee-ey" and is a brown rice with beans). Then you choose chicken, fish, and/or plantains. Lastly you can add a sauce: one is made of peppers and paprika, another, called "palava sauce" is make with spinach and another is called "red-red" which is made of beans and spices. All of it is spicy and flavorful. Other options are fufu and banku which are dough-like balls that you dip into a spicy stew. Kellewelle is an absolutely fantastic snack: fried plaintains covered in incredible spices.
In other news, I've discovered something new about the refugee camp situation. Although I will be doing my internship at the Domestic Violence Clinic (which I am actually quite happy with because I'll be able to shadow an actual Ghannaian psychologists), I have discovered that the refugee camp is still in existence, it's just that circumstance have changed. In 2007, UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) pulled all funds, people and resources from the camp. Since then, Liberians have slowly been trying to find placement elsewhere, due to the lack of food, educations, health care, etc left in the camp. The actually program I wanted to work with (the Child Soldier Re-integration Fund) has, in fact, also left the camp. This left practically no mental health professionals left in the camp for me to intern with: thus, my dilemma. However, now that I'm situated elsewhere with a mental health professional, I hope that I can visit the camp over a few weekends and just do some arts and crafts with the kids etc. Plus, I'd also like to see what the organization of a refugee camp is like, seeing as I've never been to one.
Tomorrow we have our first test in Twi so I'd better go study. Nante Yie!
Friday, August 21, 2009
School Week Number 1
There is nothing better than waking up in the morning, walking across the street and asking your friend Mary to make you an egg sandwich with eggs that were recently laid, fresh tomatoes and fresh avocado. I wish I could live across from a farmers market for the rest of my life.
This past week was the first week of school and I can't remember this week ever being this chaotic in the states. Figuring out classes that don't clash and factoring in how far you have to walk between classes, proved to be far more difficult than at Bucknell. Not to mention that, in order to sign up for a class, you had to go to that department. For instance, I signed up for Dance, Drumming, Social Work and Psychology so I had to go to the Theater Arts Department, the Social Work Department, and the Psychology Department to register each class. This whole system would be so much easier if they simply put it online, which I think they are beginning to develop. The issue is, a lot of students don't have regular access to a computer, let alone the internet.
I'm loving my Twi class. My professor is hilarious and it's a small class so we each get to speak. What's bizarre is how Asian the language can sound from time to time. I suppose this makes sense due to it's tonal nature, but I would never have made the connection before actually hearing each word spoken slowly.
My psychology class has 900 students. 900. Classes at Bucknell are approximately 12-15 and lectures can be up to 40. 900. This is a huge change for me. Luckily, she split the class in two so that one half meets mondays, the other wednesdays. But still....450. Insanity. And this is considered the best Educational Institution in the country, yet it's so different from schools back home.
On Wednesday we went to the beach for Reggae Night. It was so much fun. The beach was beautiful, there were lots of people there, and the music was great. It happens every week on Wednesday night, so I'm sure we'll be back there at some point. This weekend seems like it will be really tame with only the International students welcome dinner on the schedule.
Some more culture points:
1. Baby/toddler shoes don't seem to exist here, despite the incredible number of babies. Unlike college campuses in the US, where it seems like you never see anyone outside the ages of 17 and 22, the University of Ghana is crawling with children. In the night market, children run around and try to get you to play with them. In other campus stores and cafeterias, there seems to always be the pitter-patter of little feet. In fact, just the other day, I was walking out of the cafeteria I frequent and a little girl runs up to me, taps me on the arm and then hands me a little purple flower. She stares at me for a few minutes and then runs away. It was absolutely adorable....but back to shoes. None of these children seem to be wearing any. It makes sense if you think about it. When children are that small, they grow out of shoes at a ridiculous rate. When money is tight, why waste it on something your child won't use in about a month. I still found it interesting though.
2. No one here smokes and that's hardly an exaggeration. For a woman to smoke here, it is seen as a sign of promiscuity and the men basically only smoke in bars. I find this interesting considering the amount of western culture they seem to imbibe. Somewhere along the lines, this one never caught on. Cool, huh?
3. Another part of western culture that seems incredibly far from reaching here is the whole "Green movement." Trash cans are fairly difficult to find, there's a fair amount of litter, and the most popular way of getting rid of trash seems to be setting fire to it right out in the open. I've seen this done before in Nicaragua, but it can't be that healthy, although I suppose it is cheap.
I'll be starting my internship next week. I will be working with a Ghanaian Psychologist at a Domestic Violence and Rape Clinic. Gender violence is one of the most common, least spoken of problems through out Africa. It starts to get noticed a bit during conflicts due to the use of rape as a weapon but as the conflict fades, so does our attention to these atrocities that still afflict women. It is a common problem in homes, refugee camps, cities and villages all over Africa. Interestingly, just before I left my internship at Columbia University's School of Public Health, one of the professors, Neil Boothby, told me about a recent survey they had done in Northern Uganda. For people who don't know me that well, Northern Uganda is kind of my obsession and where I hope to do a little bit of my masters or Doctoral work. Neil told me that after speaking to a number of women, they ran a survey regarding domestic violence and the result was incredibly alarming. Due to the deconstruction of their society and culture caused by over 20 years of civil war, most people in Northern Uganda live in IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps. Within these camps, seems to be complete chaos, which results in a horrifying number of rapes and gender violence. This is something I will certainly keep in mind as I begin my internship next week. I look forward to seeing how a Ghanaian psychologists might differ in his/her techniques from those in the United States. I will update of what I find as soon as I can!
This past week was the first week of school and I can't remember this week ever being this chaotic in the states. Figuring out classes that don't clash and factoring in how far you have to walk between classes, proved to be far more difficult than at Bucknell. Not to mention that, in order to sign up for a class, you had to go to that department. For instance, I signed up for Dance, Drumming, Social Work and Psychology so I had to go to the Theater Arts Department, the Social Work Department, and the Psychology Department to register each class. This whole system would be so much easier if they simply put it online, which I think they are beginning to develop. The issue is, a lot of students don't have regular access to a computer, let alone the internet.
I'm loving my Twi class. My professor is hilarious and it's a small class so we each get to speak. What's bizarre is how Asian the language can sound from time to time. I suppose this makes sense due to it's tonal nature, but I would never have made the connection before actually hearing each word spoken slowly.
My psychology class has 900 students. 900. Classes at Bucknell are approximately 12-15 and lectures can be up to 40. 900. This is a huge change for me. Luckily, she split the class in two so that one half meets mondays, the other wednesdays. But still....450. Insanity. And this is considered the best Educational Institution in the country, yet it's so different from schools back home.
On Wednesday we went to the beach for Reggae Night. It was so much fun. The beach was beautiful, there were lots of people there, and the music was great. It happens every week on Wednesday night, so I'm sure we'll be back there at some point. This weekend seems like it will be really tame with only the International students welcome dinner on the schedule.
Some more culture points:
1. Baby/toddler shoes don't seem to exist here, despite the incredible number of babies. Unlike college campuses in the US, where it seems like you never see anyone outside the ages of 17 and 22, the University of Ghana is crawling with children. In the night market, children run around and try to get you to play with them. In other campus stores and cafeterias, there seems to always be the pitter-patter of little feet. In fact, just the other day, I was walking out of the cafeteria I frequent and a little girl runs up to me, taps me on the arm and then hands me a little purple flower. She stares at me for a few minutes and then runs away. It was absolutely adorable....but back to shoes. None of these children seem to be wearing any. It makes sense if you think about it. When children are that small, they grow out of shoes at a ridiculous rate. When money is tight, why waste it on something your child won't use in about a month. I still found it interesting though.
2. No one here smokes and that's hardly an exaggeration. For a woman to smoke here, it is seen as a sign of promiscuity and the men basically only smoke in bars. I find this interesting considering the amount of western culture they seem to imbibe. Somewhere along the lines, this one never caught on. Cool, huh?
3. Another part of western culture that seems incredibly far from reaching here is the whole "Green movement." Trash cans are fairly difficult to find, there's a fair amount of litter, and the most popular way of getting rid of trash seems to be setting fire to it right out in the open. I've seen this done before in Nicaragua, but it can't be that healthy, although I suppose it is cheap.
I'll be starting my internship next week. I will be working with a Ghanaian Psychologist at a Domestic Violence and Rape Clinic. Gender violence is one of the most common, least spoken of problems through out Africa. It starts to get noticed a bit during conflicts due to the use of rape as a weapon but as the conflict fades, so does our attention to these atrocities that still afflict women. It is a common problem in homes, refugee camps, cities and villages all over Africa. Interestingly, just before I left my internship at Columbia University's School of Public Health, one of the professors, Neil Boothby, told me about a recent survey they had done in Northern Uganda. For people who don't know me that well, Northern Uganda is kind of my obsession and where I hope to do a little bit of my masters or Doctoral work. Neil told me that after speaking to a number of women, they ran a survey regarding domestic violence and the result was incredibly alarming. Due to the deconstruction of their society and culture caused by over 20 years of civil war, most people in Northern Uganda live in IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps. Within these camps, seems to be complete chaos, which results in a horrifying number of rapes and gender violence. This is something I will certainly keep in mind as I begin my internship next week. I look forward to seeing how a Ghanaian psychologists might differ in his/her techniques from those in the United States. I will update of what I find as soon as I can!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Things we take for granted in the US:
1. Not having to constantly carry toilet paper
2. Milk
3. The guarantee that there will almost always be running water
4. Up-to-date textbooks
5. Standardized and organized public transportation
6. How easy it is to access almost anything by internet (this is NOT the case when the internet is as slow as it is here).
On another note....in case I didn't already love this country enough, I think my dance class will push me over the edge. We had our first session tonight and it was incredible. It's a class of about 75 in a fairly large auditorium; one third of the students are Ghanaian and the other 2/3s are foreigners (I mean, it's Traditional Dance - are we surprised?). Apparently we are going to learn three different dances this semester. They did demos of each of them tonight and though I'm a little intimidated, I couldn't be more excited. We started to learn the first one and I'm going to have to ask someone how to spell it, but it's sooo much fun. The instructor told us that unlike almost every other dance technique, your posture is supposed to be completely bent, your knees and your back at about 45 degree angles. I loved the explanation for this: Each of the dances we're learning were created for a specific ritual or purpose (obviously). Since all the dances were created while most Ghanaians were farmers, the dancers would be slightly bent over from carrying loads on top of their heads all day. Actually, Ghanaians still carry almost everything this way. You see women and men all over campus with the goods that they are selling on a tray which is then balanced on their heads.
The class is doubly fun because we have students from the Performing Arts school playing the traditional drums while we dance and they get really into it. One of our U-Pals is actually the Master Drummer (apparently, this is a role) and he's really fun. He is a Theater major concentrating in stage directing. I asked him if we were allowed to audition for the plays and he says we are, so I might check if any of the plays need an oburoni.
Twi, one of the 45-50 languages of Ghana, is obscenely difficult to pronounce and the spelling looks practically nothing like it sounds but the grammar is fairly simple. Unlike my experiences learning Romance languages (*cough*french*cough*), I find that the locals are absolutely ecstatic when you say you are learning Twi and they are simply dying to help you. After our first Twi class, it seemed as though the entire Night market knew we had started and so each vendor spoke to us in Twi - only the basic greetings but I'm sure that conversation will increase over time. It's a lot of fun and the locals are incredibly helpful. Twi is one of the largest subsets of the Akan languages meaning that it, or a similar variation, is spoken by approximately 50% of the population. Our professor taught us that even some people in Cote D'Ivoire speak Twi because of how large the Akan Kingdom used to be.
Another striking cultural difference: In America, at least the America that my parent's brought me up in, it is fairly rude to snap at someone to get their attention. Here, it seems like the snapping never stops and they never mean any offense by it. They will snap in the direction of something if you are asking where to go. They will snap at you on the tro-tros so that you pay the fare. They will snap at the end of a handshake if you are their peer. It honestly seems like there is constant snapping. I'm starting to get used to it, but it was incredibly strange at first.
If you have been emailing me and been frustrated that I haven't gotten back to you, it is because it's nearly impossible to access my Bucknell Email on this internet. Therefore, if you would like to reach me, emailing me at makethemostofmusic@yahoo.com is the safest bet.
1. Not having to constantly carry toilet paper
2. Milk
3. The guarantee that there will almost always be running water
4. Up-to-date textbooks
5. Standardized and organized public transportation
6. How easy it is to access almost anything by internet (this is NOT the case when the internet is as slow as it is here).
On another note....in case I didn't already love this country enough, I think my dance class will push me over the edge. We had our first session tonight and it was incredible. It's a class of about 75 in a fairly large auditorium; one third of the students are Ghanaian and the other 2/3s are foreigners (I mean, it's Traditional Dance - are we surprised?). Apparently we are going to learn three different dances this semester. They did demos of each of them tonight and though I'm a little intimidated, I couldn't be more excited. We started to learn the first one and I'm going to have to ask someone how to spell it, but it's sooo much fun. The instructor told us that unlike almost every other dance technique, your posture is supposed to be completely bent, your knees and your back at about 45 degree angles. I loved the explanation for this: Each of the dances we're learning were created for a specific ritual or purpose (obviously). Since all the dances were created while most Ghanaians were farmers, the dancers would be slightly bent over from carrying loads on top of their heads all day. Actually, Ghanaians still carry almost everything this way. You see women and men all over campus with the goods that they are selling on a tray which is then balanced on their heads.
The class is doubly fun because we have students from the Performing Arts school playing the traditional drums while we dance and they get really into it. One of our U-Pals is actually the Master Drummer (apparently, this is a role) and he's really fun. He is a Theater major concentrating in stage directing. I asked him if we were allowed to audition for the plays and he says we are, so I might check if any of the plays need an oburoni.
Twi, one of the 45-50 languages of Ghana, is obscenely difficult to pronounce and the spelling looks practically nothing like it sounds but the grammar is fairly simple. Unlike my experiences learning Romance languages (*cough*french*cough*), I find that the locals are absolutely ecstatic when you say you are learning Twi and they are simply dying to help you. After our first Twi class, it seemed as though the entire Night market knew we had started and so each vendor spoke to us in Twi - only the basic greetings but I'm sure that conversation will increase over time. It's a lot of fun and the locals are incredibly helpful. Twi is one of the largest subsets of the Akan languages meaning that it, or a similar variation, is spoken by approximately 50% of the population. Our professor taught us that even some people in Cote D'Ivoire speak Twi because of how large the Akan Kingdom used to be.
Another striking cultural difference: In America, at least the America that my parent's brought me up in, it is fairly rude to snap at someone to get their attention. Here, it seems like the snapping never stops and they never mean any offense by it. They will snap in the direction of something if you are asking where to go. They will snap at you on the tro-tros so that you pay the fare. They will snap at the end of a handshake if you are their peer. It honestly seems like there is constant snapping. I'm starting to get used to it, but it was incredibly strange at first.
If you have been emailing me and been frustrated that I haven't gotten back to you, it is because it's nearly impossible to access my Bucknell Email on this internet. Therefore, if you would like to reach me, emailing me at makethemostofmusic@yahoo.com is the safest bet.
Monday, August 17, 2009
This picture is a view of what you can directly see in the back of our hostel. In case you aren't aware of what the Ghanaian flag looks like/means, I will give you a brief tutorial. The flag is horizontally striped: The red on top commemorates those who had died for or in working towards independence. Gold in the middle referring to the fact that Ghana was originally known as the Gold Coast due to their ample supply of gold. Green on the bottom representing the beautiful color of their landscape. This is perfectly demonstrated by this picture. There is also a black star in the middle referring to the Black Star Line which brought black people from all over the black Diaspora back to Africa. This star is EVERYWHERE (even their football team is named the Black Stars).
This is a picture of the Night Market taken from our balcony. The Night Market is where you can get homemade food, drinks, random supplies and other goods. Each little shop is owned by a family for the most part and you can eat right there and talk with them, which is fun.
The first picture is of the courtyard in our hostel, what you can't see if the pretty purple leay bushes surrounding each bit of grass, making it kind of reminiscent of Barney (the dinosaur...anyone?). The second picture is of my room from the other side of the hostel (I'm the far left with the door kind of open).
I'm lazy today...
...and don't have much to update at the moment so instead, I will post a few pictures! This is a view of Greater Accra from my Hostel.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Ghanaian lesson #1:
August 12, 2009
Go with the flow. Nothing will be on time. You were barely know where you're going or what is happening. Scheduling will hardly be existent and planning ahead is ridiculous because things change constantly. But when you get there, it happens, it starts and its incredible. Whatever it may be. We had a lecture on the History of Ghana that started 30 minutes late today and the lecturer was absolutely amazing. SO cool and that's only one example.
So we signed up for classes today and I got some of the worst news ever. The Budubarum Refugee Camp and it's associations have disbanded recently due to the vast majority of Liberians moving home because of the increasing safety of their country. I was absolutely crushed. But fear not! I have full faith that Kwasi (the Program Director) will hook me up with an amazing program. We talked it over and he is going to talk to the head of the Social Work Department because she does trauma counseling. Also, I think I'm going to volunteer either to teach acting to kids or to teach/help/play with disabled orphans. Acting would be cool but its with a program that seems to have a lot of money and a lot of the students are interested in volunteering there. The orphanage really doesn't seem to have a lot of money at all but a fair amount of need.
So the classes I'm signed up for so far:
Intro to Traditional Drumming
Intro to Traditional Dance
Personality Psychology
Social Work: Working with Individuals
Twi
Internship
So that's 16 credits and we're supposed to take between 15 and 18...I kind of want to take Swahili too but can't decide. Plus, in true Ghanaian fashion, the class schedules haven't been generated yet so for all I know, they're all on the same day at the same time. Here's hoping they aren't!!
I am going to have to be so organized about getting to class. From my hostel to the psychology/social work departments, its a 30 minute brisk walk. And Ghanaians do not rush. They just don't.
A few more observations about Ghanaian people and culture:
1. They say "please" and gesture when they want to do something for you. For instance, a woman selling fruit gestured to the orange I just bought and then pointed at her knife and said "please" instead of asking me if she could peel the orange for me.
2. They talk ABSURDLY softly. This may partly have to do with their vocal tones but I also think it has to do with the lack of personal space and the intimacy of conversation, because they can certainly yell to their friend across the road!
3. When a store is out of something, they simply say: "Finished."
4. For the most part, they won't greet you or smile at you if you're not looking at them. The MINUTE they catch your eye and you smile at them, their faces will brighten entirely and they will say "Hi!!" or "Welcome!!" This is not always the case, sometimes they will simply always say "Hi" and smile. The smile is the foreigner's greatest tool and the Ghanaian's greatest asset.
WARNING: FAMILY AND FRIENDS MAY NOT WANT TO READ THE FOLLOWING.
I absolutely absolutely love it here and might never ever want to leave Africa. The more I learn about Ghana, the more I pick up about other West African nations, as well as some of the other countries in Africa. It makes me want to spend the rest of my life going to school in each different country and just learning about each one. I wonder if anyone would pay me to do that....not so much I expect hah.
This isn't to say there aren't bad parts. It's frustrating for men to constantly be asking for your number or wanting to show you around simply because you're white. It's sad that it isn't really safe for a girl to walk across campus alone once darkness falls (and it gets fully dark by about 7 and man, it's a THICK darkness). I sweat constantly from the heat and you stub your toe constantly due to the poor pavement (or lack thereof). But for every man that asks you out, there's a guy who will just want to say "hi" and "welcome." There are almost always people to walk through the night with. And (people, hold your shock) the heat's not that bad, right?
So far It's safe to say that being here is outrageously worth the little struggles.
Go with the flow. Nothing will be on time. You were barely know where you're going or what is happening. Scheduling will hardly be existent and planning ahead is ridiculous because things change constantly. But when you get there, it happens, it starts and its incredible. Whatever it may be. We had a lecture on the History of Ghana that started 30 minutes late today and the lecturer was absolutely amazing. SO cool and that's only one example.
So we signed up for classes today and I got some of the worst news ever. The Budubarum Refugee Camp and it's associations have disbanded recently due to the vast majority of Liberians moving home because of the increasing safety of their country. I was absolutely crushed. But fear not! I have full faith that Kwasi (the Program Director) will hook me up with an amazing program. We talked it over and he is going to talk to the head of the Social Work Department because she does trauma counseling. Also, I think I'm going to volunteer either to teach acting to kids or to teach/help/play with disabled orphans. Acting would be cool but its with a program that seems to have a lot of money and a lot of the students are interested in volunteering there. The orphanage really doesn't seem to have a lot of money at all but a fair amount of need.
So the classes I'm signed up for so far:
Intro to Traditional Drumming
Intro to Traditional Dance
Personality Psychology
Social Work: Working with Individuals
Twi
Internship
So that's 16 credits and we're supposed to take between 15 and 18...I kind of want to take Swahili too but can't decide. Plus, in true Ghanaian fashion, the class schedules haven't been generated yet so for all I know, they're all on the same day at the same time. Here's hoping they aren't!!
I am going to have to be so organized about getting to class. From my hostel to the psychology/social work departments, its a 30 minute brisk walk. And Ghanaians do not rush. They just don't.
A few more observations about Ghanaian people and culture:
1. They say "please" and gesture when they want to do something for you. For instance, a woman selling fruit gestured to the orange I just bought and then pointed at her knife and said "please" instead of asking me if she could peel the orange for me.
2. They talk ABSURDLY softly. This may partly have to do with their vocal tones but I also think it has to do with the lack of personal space and the intimacy of conversation, because they can certainly yell to their friend across the road!
3. When a store is out of something, they simply say: "Finished."
4. For the most part, they won't greet you or smile at you if you're not looking at them. The MINUTE they catch your eye and you smile at them, their faces will brighten entirely and they will say "Hi!!" or "Welcome!!" This is not always the case, sometimes they will simply always say "Hi" and smile. The smile is the foreigner's greatest tool and the Ghanaian's greatest asset.
WARNING: FAMILY AND FRIENDS MAY NOT WANT TO READ THE FOLLOWING.
I absolutely absolutely love it here and might never ever want to leave Africa. The more I learn about Ghana, the more I pick up about other West African nations, as well as some of the other countries in Africa. It makes me want to spend the rest of my life going to school in each different country and just learning about each one. I wonder if anyone would pay me to do that....not so much I expect hah.
This isn't to say there aren't bad parts. It's frustrating for men to constantly be asking for your number or wanting to show you around simply because you're white. It's sad that it isn't really safe for a girl to walk across campus alone once darkness falls (and it gets fully dark by about 7 and man, it's a THICK darkness). I sweat constantly from the heat and you stub your toe constantly due to the poor pavement (or lack thereof). But for every man that asks you out, there's a guy who will just want to say "hi" and "welcome." There are almost always people to walk through the night with. And (people, hold your shock) the heat's not that bad, right?
So far It's safe to say that being here is outrageously worth the little struggles.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
August 11 2009
Things I learned today...
1. There is no hot water in our showers at the hostel.
2. I can melt (jk...?)
3. The Greater Accra region is positively ENOURMOUS
4. If you make friends with the woman selling goods at the local street market, you can buy things for cheaper prices.
5. Random pets milling about the campus is perfectly normal. Including the two untethered horses grazing right outside our hostel.
6. There is a beautiful Ghanaian instrument that is somewhat shaped like a guitar but with a round back and a wide wine glass-shaped body. (I must discover its name!!)
7. It is also seemingly normal to have a pet monkey on a leash tied to the tree in your front yard. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Today we moved into our hostels. I am living in the International Student Hostel, which is on campus (although that's not saying much considering the campus's size). I have a good sized room on the 4th floor with a little porch facing the rest of campus. My hostel is directly across from the Night Market which sells anything from shoes to telephone minutes to shish kabobs. This is really just a few rows of family run stalls and children play at their mothers feet and stare with wide open eyes at us oboruni. In fact, after looking at all of us, one walked right up to one of the black girls in our group and held out his hand to be held by her. I think this is an incredibly interesting commentary on how the people around us as we grow up shape our expectations of others and our comfort level around those who are different from what we immediately know. Granted, this boy was about 2 and therefore little has been shaped about the man he will be - but interesting nonetheless.
In the hostel we're all in doubles. It turns out that I'm with another CIEE student. I was bummed about this at first because I wanted to have a Ghanaian or other African roommate. However, while Meaghan is from the United States, she is from an entirely different world than I know. Born and bred in St. Louis, she goes to school at Spellman College - an all women's college in Atlanta Georgia. This is an HBC school and I was horribly ashamed to admit that I had absolutely no idea what that was. HBC stands for Historically Black College. I knew there were all black fraternities and sororities and mostly black universities. I had no idea that there were such places that have a specific history of black students. She tells me there are about 2 white people at the school and I laugh and think: wow, she lives the exact opposite experience from me. I hate to say it, however true, Bucknell and Bronxville are HWS - Historically White Schools. I just made that up but honestly, Bronxville High had 2 black kids while I was there and Bucknell has about 15 black kids per class and they are rarely a part of the main social world - meaning they often choose to live in the African American Studies House and be friends with mostly other black kids. This is definitely not true for all Black students at Bucknell, but it does seem to be the case most of the time. I can't help but think that neither situation is the most healthy one but I'm really happy to be living with Meaghan because I've learned so much already.
We went and got our ID cards from the the Office of International Programmes and then walked back. From the OIP to ISH (my hostel, yes it is pronounced that way - so fun, right??) is about a 15-20 minute walk and man it is hot - this will be interesting. On our way however, we're walking by a few houses and suddenly we see something moving in front of a house slightly ahead of us. Thinking its a dog, I didn't think much of it until I saw other girls running over to it, pulling out their cameras. Whoever lived in that house, had tethered his monkey to a tree in his front yard. What?!?! Where am I?!! It's awesome!
We kind of chilled and settled in for the rest of the night because we have class registration tomorrow - exciting!!!!!!!
More updates to come!
1. There is no hot water in our showers at the hostel.
2. I can melt (jk...?)
3. The Greater Accra region is positively ENOURMOUS
4. If you make friends with the woman selling goods at the local street market, you can buy things for cheaper prices.
5. Random pets milling about the campus is perfectly normal. Including the two untethered horses grazing right outside our hostel.
6. There is a beautiful Ghanaian instrument that is somewhat shaped like a guitar but with a round back and a wide wine glass-shaped body. (I must discover its name!!)
7. It is also seemingly normal to have a pet monkey on a leash tied to the tree in your front yard. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Today we moved into our hostels. I am living in the International Student Hostel, which is on campus (although that's not saying much considering the campus's size). I have a good sized room on the 4th floor with a little porch facing the rest of campus. My hostel is directly across from the Night Market which sells anything from shoes to telephone minutes to shish kabobs. This is really just a few rows of family run stalls and children play at their mothers feet and stare with wide open eyes at us oboruni. In fact, after looking at all of us, one walked right up to one of the black girls in our group and held out his hand to be held by her. I think this is an incredibly interesting commentary on how the people around us as we grow up shape our expectations of others and our comfort level around those who are different from what we immediately know. Granted, this boy was about 2 and therefore little has been shaped about the man he will be - but interesting nonetheless.
In the hostel we're all in doubles. It turns out that I'm with another CIEE student. I was bummed about this at first because I wanted to have a Ghanaian or other African roommate. However, while Meaghan is from the United States, she is from an entirely different world than I know. Born and bred in St. Louis, she goes to school at Spellman College - an all women's college in Atlanta Georgia. This is an HBC school and I was horribly ashamed to admit that I had absolutely no idea what that was. HBC stands for Historically Black College. I knew there were all black fraternities and sororities and mostly black universities. I had no idea that there were such places that have a specific history of black students. She tells me there are about 2 white people at the school and I laugh and think: wow, she lives the exact opposite experience from me. I hate to say it, however true, Bucknell and Bronxville are HWS - Historically White Schools. I just made that up but honestly, Bronxville High had 2 black kids while I was there and Bucknell has about 15 black kids per class and they are rarely a part of the main social world - meaning they often choose to live in the African American Studies House and be friends with mostly other black kids. This is definitely not true for all Black students at Bucknell, but it does seem to be the case most of the time. I can't help but think that neither situation is the most healthy one but I'm really happy to be living with Meaghan because I've learned so much already.
We went and got our ID cards from the the Office of International Programmes and then walked back. From the OIP to ISH (my hostel, yes it is pronounced that way - so fun, right??) is about a 15-20 minute walk and man it is hot - this will be interesting. On our way however, we're walking by a few houses and suddenly we see something moving in front of a house slightly ahead of us. Thinking its a dog, I didn't think much of it until I saw other girls running over to it, pulling out their cameras. Whoever lived in that house, had tethered his monkey to a tree in his front yard. What?!?! Where am I?!! It's awesome!
We kind of chilled and settled in for the rest of the night because we have class registration tomorrow - exciting!!!!!!!
More updates to come!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Discovering Accra
How do I even start..for the first time in my life, I'm actually experiencing culture shock...and weirdly, not in any way I had truly thought.
But moving back to the beginning:
I arrived last night on a flight from Amsterdam at approximately 7 oclock. It was already dark and when I stepped off the plane, I was hit by a wall of pure humidity. So much for dry heat - don't know where I read that but it could not have been more wrong. The airport reminded me of those I'd been to in Barbados/Hawaii/Nicaragua/BVI - open and tiny. Mind you - this is the main airport for the capital of Ghana - one of Africa's best developed nations.
I was greeted by several Ghanaian people from CIEE (whom I would soon learn are our "U-pals" = Students at the University of Ghana employed by CIEE to help us make the big transition). We (the U-Pals, CIEE assistant director, several students and I) drove to the Coconut Grove Regency - a beautiful little hotel with a pool and AC! We checked in to our rooms only to be greeted by several CIEE students on their way out to a local hang-out/bar (they'd either been there since this morning or for several days). Well, not wanting to miss out on the bonding, I dumped my bags in my room and turned right back around - not a Cedi in my pocket (Cedi and Pesues are the Ghanaian currency). It was well worth it. I met a good number of students as well as some local Ghanaians.
A note on Ghanaians: It's a little disconcerting at first (which is a very interesting commentary on America) but the sheer friendliness and happiness of the Ghanaian people is entirely overwhelming. In the bar, people had absolutely no trouble just walking over to us, shaking our hands and introducing themselves. My media-fed, manhattan bred mind was immediately suspect. What did these people want from me?!? Over the past 24 hours, I've had a few of them ask for money but for the vast majority of them, they were just being polite and interested in making a connection/ learning something new. Just today, while walking through a market, I had a man touch my shoulder (Ghanaians have absolutely NO concept of personal space). I absolutely flinched and did a little jump away. He laughed a little (but not unkindly) and said "Do not be afraid, I just wanted to say hello and welcome to Accra!" He shook my hand and introduced himself (and I back) and simply walked away with a smile. Now there's an example of American paranoia meets common decency if I've ever heard one!
At about 1 am, we hopped in a car and wound our way over the choppy pavement back to our hotel. I fell right to sleep and woke up at 645 to start a new day. Breakfast was served from 7-745 - a bizarre amalgam of boiled eggs, some cottage cheese - esque stuff, cereal and a few other things I didn't recognize.
Orientation started at 8. Lectures on culture shock, transitioning, housing, safety, health, communication, money, and other logistics were broken up through out the day. It was broken up with one major excursion - a scavenger hunt. These are among my favorite things to do abroad. I remember doing it in Amboise, France on my very first study abroad trip and it was a blast. It was INCREDIBLY different this time. There are no good maps of Accra. Public transportation has a very bizarre form of "organization" but you can hardly call it that. And my God, the city is big. We were given a few key twi phrases, an U-pal, and a list for each group of 5 and were sent out into the city. We only made it to a couple of the places in the time we were given but this is where I started to truly experience culture shock.
There are people selling things EVERYWHERE, talking in Twi right and left, babies wrapped to mothers backs with a beautiful Kente fabrics, cars that never seem to stop, women and men walking around with baskets of goods and water on their heads, and who knows what else - it was so much to take in! The gutters are literal moats dug into the ground with wooden boards over them. Buildings look neither old nor new - simply cheap. People everywhere say "Hi Oboruni! (which is fittingly the name of my blog - meaning foreigner, or in most cases, white person)" and people crowd together on barely-there sidewalks. While I'm still yet to be overwhelmed by the racial differences between Ghanaians and most people I'm surrounded by, the cultural differences are obvious. Personal space is non-existant and introducing yourself constantly is customary. On a couple of occasions, I got to greet local Ghanaians in Twi and ask for directions - which was really exciting!!!
My computer is dying to I've got to go but it's been an incredible journey already and it's just been two days!
But moving back to the beginning:
I arrived last night on a flight from Amsterdam at approximately 7 oclock. It was already dark and when I stepped off the plane, I was hit by a wall of pure humidity. So much for dry heat - don't know where I read that but it could not have been more wrong. The airport reminded me of those I'd been to in Barbados/Hawaii/Nicaragua/BVI - open and tiny. Mind you - this is the main airport for the capital of Ghana - one of Africa's best developed nations.
I was greeted by several Ghanaian people from CIEE (whom I would soon learn are our "U-pals" = Students at the University of Ghana employed by CIEE to help us make the big transition). We (the U-Pals, CIEE assistant director, several students and I) drove to the Coconut Grove Regency - a beautiful little hotel with a pool and AC! We checked in to our rooms only to be greeted by several CIEE students on their way out to a local hang-out/bar (they'd either been there since this morning or for several days). Well, not wanting to miss out on the bonding, I dumped my bags in my room and turned right back around - not a Cedi in my pocket (Cedi and Pesues are the Ghanaian currency). It was well worth it. I met a good number of students as well as some local Ghanaians.
A note on Ghanaians: It's a little disconcerting at first (which is a very interesting commentary on America) but the sheer friendliness and happiness of the Ghanaian people is entirely overwhelming. In the bar, people had absolutely no trouble just walking over to us, shaking our hands and introducing themselves. My media-fed, manhattan bred mind was immediately suspect. What did these people want from me?!? Over the past 24 hours, I've had a few of them ask for money but for the vast majority of them, they were just being polite and interested in making a connection/ learning something new. Just today, while walking through a market, I had a man touch my shoulder (Ghanaians have absolutely NO concept of personal space). I absolutely flinched and did a little jump away. He laughed a little (but not unkindly) and said "Do not be afraid, I just wanted to say hello and welcome to Accra!" He shook my hand and introduced himself (and I back) and simply walked away with a smile. Now there's an example of American paranoia meets common decency if I've ever heard one!
At about 1 am, we hopped in a car and wound our way over the choppy pavement back to our hotel. I fell right to sleep and woke up at 645 to start a new day. Breakfast was served from 7-745 - a bizarre amalgam of boiled eggs, some cottage cheese - esque stuff, cereal and a few other things I didn't recognize.
Orientation started at 8. Lectures on culture shock, transitioning, housing, safety, health, communication, money, and other logistics were broken up through out the day. It was broken up with one major excursion - a scavenger hunt. These are among my favorite things to do abroad. I remember doing it in Amboise, France on my very first study abroad trip and it was a blast. It was INCREDIBLY different this time. There are no good maps of Accra. Public transportation has a very bizarre form of "organization" but you can hardly call it that. And my God, the city is big. We were given a few key twi phrases, an U-pal, and a list for each group of 5 and were sent out into the city. We only made it to a couple of the places in the time we were given but this is where I started to truly experience culture shock.
There are people selling things EVERYWHERE, talking in Twi right and left, babies wrapped to mothers backs with a beautiful Kente fabrics, cars that never seem to stop, women and men walking around with baskets of goods and water on their heads, and who knows what else - it was so much to take in! The gutters are literal moats dug into the ground with wooden boards over them. Buildings look neither old nor new - simply cheap. People everywhere say "Hi Oboruni! (which is fittingly the name of my blog - meaning foreigner, or in most cases, white person)" and people crowd together on barely-there sidewalks. While I'm still yet to be overwhelmed by the racial differences between Ghanaians and most people I'm surrounded by, the cultural differences are obvious. Personal space is non-existant and introducing yourself constantly is customary. On a couple of occasions, I got to greet local Ghanaians in Twi and ask for directions - which was really exciting!!!
My computer is dying to I've got to go but it's been an incredible journey already and it's just been two days!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Halfway there
So I've officially left the United States...with far too much luggage, a healthy dose of excitement and a fair bit of nervousness. I have two full bags, a backpack, a messenger bag, and a guitar. My ipod is nearly fully stocked and my kindle has a fair amount of books, although admittedly, probably not enough to get me through the semester (knowing me).
Wish I could be spending a bit more time in Amsterdam but I suppose that is for another adventure down the road. Computer dying - must go.
Ciao!
Wish I could be spending a bit more time in Amsterdam but I suppose that is for another adventure down the road. Computer dying - must go.
Ciao!
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