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Published: September 3rd 2007
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Home Sweet Home
A view of the other International Student Hostal, from our Hostal..
Picture by Rosalee Walker Wow. So here I am in Legon, Ghana. I've been here for a little over 2 weeks but this place already seems like home. I live on the University of Ghana Campus in the International Students Hostel (ISH). Mostly, it's made up of Americans, Nigerians and Ghanaians although there are a few Europeans scattered around. I wasn't expecting it, but our rooms here are much nicer than the room I lived in freshman year, although running water and electricity aren't guaranteed.
The other exchange students are amazing. Everyone is in Ghana for a different reason and we all come from completely different lives. Despite the differences, we've become close quickly. Something about living in a new, slightly scary place makes you bond with people instantly. We all lug buckets of water up to the 4th floor to have bucket showers, attempt to do laundry by hand, escort one another around campus, try new food, struggle at figuring out the currency and travel- together.
When we first arrived we had a week long orientation. It included tours of campus and Accra, the capital of Ghana which is about 20 minutes away. We also had lectures on culture, health, safety and
Market
A man cutting coconuts to drink and eat
Picture by Rosalee Walker politics. They all pretty much scared the crap out of us. In the health lecture we were told of what seems like hundreds of illnesses that we are at risk of getting, but they followed it by, "Luckily, we can treat all of these very easily here in Ghana." In the safety meeting we were warned of all of the ways people will try to scam us or get us into bad situations. The culture lecture was filled with ways that we're sure to offend Ghanaians. Pretty much, we ended every day scared of everything. However, it only took a few days for us to realize that it was a huge scare tactic. We have found that everyone is extremely friendly and loves helping us. We haven't found ourselves in any scary, dangerous situations. Only one person has come down with Malaria, and it only took about 3 days for her to feel well again.
As it turns out, this is one of the most welcoming countries I've ever been to. I was telling my parents the other day that sometimes people are even TOO friendly. For example, we try to go to the market and there ends up
Town
A shot of town...it's chaotic!
Picture by Rosalee Walker being a flock of children holding our hands, and women trying to give us things. The men usually offer to take the group of us around as a guide, for free. We go out at night and are greeted by people who want to help us find volunteer positions or who have endless suggestions of which beaches and cities we HAVE to go to while we're here. Bartenders love the fact that American women will drink beer, because apparently, it's not too common in Ghana. Pretty much everywhere we go people yell "Obyruni," which kind of means gringo, "come and talk with me!"
However, things are different on campus. First of all, campus is pretty much its own town. It's fenced in and has restaurants, bars, markets, stores, cafes, public transportation...everything. The people here are much more used to foreigners since there are hundreds of us here every semester. The students are kind, but much less in your face about it. Something I wasn't really expecting was that everyone here dresses really nicely to go to class. Guys all wear slacks and dress shirts and girls when designer clothes and are extremely fashionable. This was a huge surprise to
Beach
So the beach isn't really for swimming, more for partying adn entertainment.
Picture by Rosalee Walker all of us since it's not uncommon to roll out of bed and wear your pajamas to class in the states. We've already made friends with a group of guys who are members of the Vandals. The Vandals are kind of like a fraternity, but their goal is to keep peace on campus, and have fun while doing it. They've taken us reggae parties on the beach, and out to different places in town that we wouldn't have found if it weren't for them. It's just really nice to have people around who know what's going on and make us feel safe.
As for classes, who knows. So far professors don't show up, but if they did, they'd only find a handful of Americans to teach. Apparently, most classes don't meet until about 3 weeks into the semester. Once they actually start, I'll be taking Freshwater Ecology, Marine Ecosystems of West Africa, Medical Geography, Ghanaian Lit, Marine Biology, Coastal Management, Twi(the local language) and Geography of the developing world. It sounds like a lot, but it's only about 16 credits! Everything is so laid back here that it's sometimes frustrating. No one is ever in a hurryand nothing inconveniences
Monkey
This is a monkey that lives on campus....
Picture by Megan Laughlin Ghanaians. It sometimes takes an hour to get the sandwich you ordered, and then when they've made you the wrong one, they just laugh and apologize and make a new one. When we walk through campus, our pace seems excruciating. We quickly realized that Ghanaians walk slowly because walking quickly ensures you to be drenched in sweat, and really early, when you reach your destination.
What else,what else. Last weekend we went to town called Kumasi. It's in central Ghana and it the home of the Ashanti King. We visited his palace and learned about all the different Ashanti traditions and history. We also visited a traditional weaving village and got the chance to print our own. The market in Kumasi is the largest in West Africa and therefor is a bit overwhelming. I was walking through, looking at tube socks, when I heard a train whistle. Although my friend Halley and I (same name!) were walking on train tracks, it didn't dawn on us that they were still functioning. I turned to her and commented about how I thought I had heard a train, as she was responding that no way was a train about to come throughthe
Megan
My roomate Megan at the market...
Picture by Megan Laughlin middle of the market, we were pulled off by some locals. Low and behold, a train was coming down the track, not that it stopped anyone from haggling down the prices of the tube socks. We stood there, about 6 inches away from a moving train in complete astonishment. I think it was just the first of many similar moments.
Well, I guess that's allfor now.I hope this finds you all happy and healthy. If anyone is so inclined to send me a letter, my address is
Halley Petersen-Jobsis
ISEP
University of Ghana
PMB L4
Legon, Ghana
West Africa
I LOVE YOU ALL!And once again, uploading pictures is a complete pain in the ass, but once I figure it out, you'll get to see them!
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Uncle Marco
non-member comment
Hi Halley
Wow! What an adventure you're on. I can't imagine all the things you'll see and do. Stay healthy and safe and learn as much as you can. I was wondering if you have a computer to send and receive email? It would be great to write you that way, but if not I'll break out pen and paper. Take care, and watch out for trains :o) Love ya, Uncle Marco