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Published: February 23rd 2008
First of all I would like to preface this with an apology to all my former teachers and mentors for my terrible spelling (which my parents have pointed out to me on numerous occasions). Anyway, I can't believe I've been here for 2 weeks. It seems as if I got here yesterday. I now feel very much at home and settled in my little house outside of the university campus. All of my house-mates and I have been getting along swimmingly without any drama or fights (lets hope that lasts). Because I've been experiencing so much, I figured that the best way to structure this blog entry would be go categorize it...so here goes.
FOOD
I've been trying all the local foods and have found that I'm not so much a fan of FuFu, which is basically like bread dough served with soup or stew. However, Jolaf (red rice) is very much becoming my favorite dish for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is still Milo, Nido, bread and Nutella. There is also a fabulous woman right outside our house who we have lovingly named "Egg Lady." She makes amazing egg sandwiches and sells delicious bread, but she only comes out at
night, and thus she is only a dinner option. I've asked her many times to sell here sandwiches in the morning so that I may have new variety for breakfast, but she just shakes here head and laughs at me...I have yet to figure her out. Then, there is Amelia who we have affectionately dubbed "Fruit Lady." She has here own fruit stand around the corner from our house and sells pineapple, apples, bananas, oranges, and starting Monday, my favorite fruit...MANGOS!! Because the rainy season is right around the corner, so is mango season...I'm very excited.
SHOPPING
I have had the pleasure of visiting quite a few markets in the last week. My first experience was at a place called Medina, which is a rather large market about a 15 minute drive from my house. There you can find anything you could possibly want. I myself purchased some shoes, a pair of sunglasses, as well as some fabric (to have tailored into clothes). It was quite fun putting my bartering skills to use. I have to say that I am pretty good. Because obrunies (white skinned people) stick out very well, and me especially with height and blond hair,
sellers are very quite to jack up the prices on almost anything. However, once you start to barter and learn the tricks of the trade, you can pretty much get anything you want for under $10, most of the time under $6. The women are the ones who usually dominate the marketing areas, with the men off to the sides. And you can usually find an apprentice (daughter, niece, granddaughter) along with the sellers who are learning the ways of the market.
I also went to Macola, the larges market in Accra. Let me tell you, it's an experience. Tents as far as the eyes can see. Fabric shops everywhere, piles of food and good smells for miles, and everyone shouting at you too look at their products. You must have quite a lot of energy for a day of shopping at a market.
EXCURSIONS
On Wednesday night, a bunch of us went to the beach for Reggae night. It was a very interesting time. There was lots dancing and meeting new people, but mostly the beach was full of what the Ghanaians call "Fake Rastas." People who pose as Rasta believers, but mainly just sit around drinking and
smoking various substances. Lets just say that after a few dances, many of us high-tailed it out of there.
Last night was much better. Our house went to a restaurant called Chez Afric which has a live band every Friday night. It was the most fun I've had since I've been here. We all tried the local beers, ate fun stuff including Octopus, and danced the night away to a great band.
Today our program went to a wood-carving village up in the mountains and were able to witness many generations of men carving beautiful masks, bowls, figures, and anything else imaginable out of various types of wood. I admit I splurged and bought quite a few things, but I assure you, there is a story and lots of hard work behind everything that I purchased. Following that, we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It wasn't as green as many of us had anticipated, but we intend to go back after the rains start to see if the flowers start to bloom.
FUN FACTS
Last Sunday I did my first load of hand-washed laundry. I can't believe I'm going to be doing this for the next four months....what
have I done! It's so difficult, but all the women around here make it look so easy. I had to scrub all my clothes so hard to get the dirt out, then rinse each item out four times to get the soap out...and when they dried, they were stiff and scratchy. I really hope I get the hang of it soon, otherwise I'm going to be itchy and scratchy for the next third of a year.
A few days ago, a few of us broke down and decided to go swimming at one of the hotel pools around here. It was glorious. I haven't felt that clean since I've been here. Once we hit the chlorine, the dust and dirt melted away and I felt germ free for about 3 minutes. But lying by the pool for an afternoon was well worth it. Relaxation is key in this country. We've also found that movie nights are another must. A girl in our program was very smart and brought a portable DVD player with her, which we can hook up to our television in our house and then watch movies on. When Harry Met Sally was the perfect movie two nights
ago...but the boys say that Mission Impossible is a must for this weekend.
I'm hoping that my classes start this upcoming week, but that will depend entirely on whether the professors feel like showing up or not. I'm eager to learn about Plato and Sacrates, the End of the Roman Republic, some Twi (the local language), and Development Studies. I will also be participating in a volunteering internship in two weeks, but I still don't know where that will be.
That is about all to report at the moment. Thanks so much again to all of you who are following this adventure with me!
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