akwaaba!

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to say that ghana is different from the U.S. is more than an understatement. not only is it very evidently a developing country, but time is pretty relative here, the people more relaxed. i have a lot to learn but this is my experience so far.

the campus is huge. in addition to classrooms, lecture halls and dorms, there are stores and markets, restaurants, bars, clubs, pharmacies, a hospital, a post office and banks. there are about 300 international students and 30,000 students total at the main campus. many people besides students come to the campus and it's easy to get a taxi or get or a tro-tro to take you to the city or any of the surrounding areas. all of the dorms have internet cafe's, but none of them work very well. the internet is pretty slow and unreliable everywhere.

it's been much cooler here than i expected and very humid. it gets hot for a few hours during the day but begins to cool off again by about four pm. it's the end of the rainy season right now and it should start getting hot and dry next month.

the program that i came with, ISEP, consists of about 23 people from the states and one person from mexico. we're from all over the U.S. and so far everyone has been friendly. we've been doing orientation all week, getting used to the campus, learning how to get around and what to expect here.

registration begins tomorrow (and lasts all week, it's quite the process) and classes begin the following monday. we've seen a lot of freshman on campus but most of the ghanaian students have been moving in this weekend. the students here dress very nice, it kind of makes us look bad ha.

i've actually really liked the traditional food so far. a lot of our meals have consisted of rice or noodles, cabbage and peppers, plantains and sauce and most of the food is spicy.
the 'night market' is really close to our dorm, mostly selling food. there are stands where you can have a fresh pineapple, mango or coconut cut up and given to you for one cedi -about .75 USD.
the stands all have names like 'god is king market' and 'my redeemer beauty salon.' it's pretty funny.

we made our first trip outside of campus on wednesday. we went to the mall (about ten minutes away) to pick up some things we couldn't find at the markets on campus -mainly cell phones. it's been very nice to have a little connection to the world back home. also, a fellow student and i got left at the mall, so the cell phone came in handy right away.

we had our first experience with the tro-tro's on friday. tro-tro's are basically large vans that loop through accra and the surrounding cities/villages. you can flag them down on the street and pay to go as far as you want -it's about 25-40 pesowas for a ride anywhere within a half hour, very inexpensive. we first went to the larger market in madina. (another girl and i bought some fabric at the market and took it to a seamstress at 'the bush canteen,' an outdoor market on campus, to get custom made dresses for about 7 cedis each -about 5 USD. they will be good for occasions when we need to dress up and should be ready by next friday!) we then took a tro-tro to an area called "37" where there are vegetable stands, a grocery store that sells a lot of american food and appliances, a coffee shop!! and some american food places. i'm still in awe when i see women walking around while carrying huge objects on there heads. apparently it's supposed to be easy.

we finished orientatiation yesterday morning and i think we all feel fairly comfortable and ready to be on our own. a few of us girls went out last night with some locals that my roommate knew before coming here. it was awesome seeing a side of ghana different than campus and markets.
the night life here is similar to that in the states but much more crowded and with ghanaian music -it was a lot of fun.

we went on a tour of accra today -saw some historical stuff, walked around the city and briefly went to see the ocean. i'm very excited to make a day trip to the beach in the near future.

it's only been a week, but so far i really love it here. i'd say that i'm already pretty used to my clothes and bed constantly being damp from the humidity, taking cold showers and getting called 'obruni' -meaning foreigner.

i'm going to try to get some postcards sent this week. other than that, i have my cell phone and it's only a six hour time difference, so give me a call!

much love

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Comments

[Mom]

Miss you like CRAZY!!!
Thanks for the update. It makes me feel as though you are just a few miles away! As soon as I get your address, I'll send your Rx. We had a crazy week with Christy and family here. The Powell team took 3rd. I think I already told you that, didn't I? Neal Rappelye's wedding reception is tomorrow night. That's about all the news. Have you sent your blog to your brother? I know he'd love to keep in touch with you. Let me know when you run out of goodies and tell me what you're craving and I'll try to get a care package to you. I love you and miss you more tha you will ever know...til you have kids of your own. Be safe and think of us once in awhile. Love you forever! Mom