Ruby Hammerhead

There is a little market out in back of our hall where you can find almost anything you need. We go there for produce and groceries and in the evening they set up a number of stalls where you can get kenke or banku for only 2,000 cedis. You can also have your hair braided. Even if you shaved your head just this past January, they can twist all those little hairs up into a braid. At first the woman said it couldn't be done, but another woman there said "oh, yes you can! obruni (me), sit here. She will do it." The old woman I buy a lot of tomatos from sat and watched and said it was "good good!" and kept calling me obruni even after she asked my name. I like her, ... read more

If you take a trotro to Kumasi in the morning, a woman will come by and preach and pray before you leave. This is the second trip this has happened on. The riders give her a little 'dash' (tip) for it and it is all in twi, so I didn't understand much except the "halleluia" parts. Then a blind man came and sang us a song while we waited. I could tell if he still had any eyes or not. He was blinking wetly over little pink crescents at the bottom lids and sang beautifully while accompanying himself on a small block clacker and collected a little 'dash' from the passangers as well. The trotro ride from Cape Coast to Kumasi took about three hours. At the little villiage stops on the way up you ... read more

Not to be critical, but the office building where we went to have our visas extended looks like they filmed part of "12 Monkeys" there. This is probably mostly due to my cranky mood, but it does make one a little anxious to leave ones passport there for a week... The look of the building was honestly a little suprising, the rest of Cape Coast is open and sunny and friendly. If I had been feeling better I would have gone to the market with Johana and Anna after we finished at the immigration office. The market is refered to as "the women's market" or "the walled market" and is an experiance in itself. Cars have the right of way here, so walking on the street is a little unnerving at times, but once you duck ... read more

Mary is going home to the U.S. tomorrow and mentioned having to go to Meijer's once she gets back, and the thought of it makes me cringe a little. This is how I know I'm getting used to things here. I go to the market and buy a few things, not more than enough to easily carry, and haggle over prices a bit or chat with the girls there. I wash my clothes in the bucket of water Anna or I carried up the stairs, the same bucket I will use for my shower and dishes later on. I walk a mile down the road to class where I sit at a long, dark, old desk on a long dark old bench, elbow to elbow with six other classmates. It is at least eighty degrees every ... read more

Here are the players- Ruby a.k.a. Akosua Bibini- GVSU student off on her big adventure in Ghana. Anna a.k.a Speedy Chicken- Also GVSU student. Roommate of mine. Lets me decorate however I want as long as I keep things tidy. Sherry- GVSU staff. Currently teaching Computers and Society to a bunch of Ghanian students who have a hard time understanding her accent. Also plays the part of "mom" to us young'uns. Lyndsey- Student from Iowa doing her internship in Health Studies. Lives in a room with both air conditioning and running water (hot and cold!) which is a good hang-out spot. Johanna a.k.a. Johanna Nakita- Austrian student. Fearless, independant, and resident expert on all things Austrian, German or European. She is currently teaching Anna and I useless german words. Jim- GVSU professor of English Lit. teaching ... read more

I have a few things to finish up with before I leave and I’ve been consistently anxious about this whole thing. A while ago I was nervous that I wouldn’t get to go at all, but facing the reality of it has become another thing to fret over. It’s not the actual trip I’m worried about at this point; it’s the looming hassle of straggling bits of paperwork and formalities I dread for the next ten days. I’ve got this hesitancy to leave and I’m anxious to go at the same time. I’ve been assured of the near universal kindness of strangers— especially in Ghana. I keep telling myself that I’ve got friends there waiting for me; we just don’t know each other yet. The director of their international program is an English professor and a ... read more