The Past few days

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I uploaded some pictures to my previous entry. It took sometime that is why I only uploaded a few. Plus, I haven't been acting touristy enough, so I only have but so many pictures.

We had orientation that the University put on for all the new International students. We make up about 4% of the 30,000 students here. Their goal is to get to 10%. We sat through about 3 hours of different people talking to us. All were very welcoming to Ghana and to the University. We had heard a lot of what they were talking about in a previous orientation which ISEP had for us. They basically went over local customs and dos and don'ts. I don't think I mentioned this, but in Ghana it is considered very rude to do anything with your left hand. You should always greet, wave, anything with the right. It is considered a great insult to do anything with the left unless the other arm is full and you cannot do anything to change it. Also, Ghanaians like to shake hands a lot. It's not a normal hand shake, it has got a twist to it. Basically you shake, and then when you pull away you snap off each others middle fingers. I will have to show yall one day, it's pretty nifty.

They also discussed areas to be cautious of and how to protect ourselves. Basically, we have to be cautious everywhere. There are a lot of thieves. As some nice Ghanaians pointed out a few days ago when I was accra, they could see my money and I should do best to put it elsewhere. There is no 911 system. The man talking to us works for the University now and was once a police officer. He gave us his personal phone number. There is a separate number to the ambulance, but generally, if you are sick you take a taxi to the hospital. There is a student clinic on our campus, but it is a good 30-40 min walk from our hostel.

After we sat through the talks we had a break and then were invited to come back for the welcome
durbar. I think a Durbar is like a barbeque. It was really amazing how they transformed the outside of the backside of the library. There were lots of tables, 3 buffet lines, and a live band and dancing group. In true Ghanaian style, they were not ready on time, but that is what I've grown accoustomed to. They served traditional dishes- jollof rice, plain rice, and saffron rice. Jollof rice is my favorite, its rice with a bunch of local spices. There was also chicken, beef, and fish. I got the chicken and beef (I eat chicken EVERYDAY here, it is a main staple). There were noodles that are also served in most dishes here, and a lasagna (but it was like no other lasagna I've tasted, I think there was cream cheese in it). At the end there are two spicy sauces that most people put on their dishes, and I love one of them, it is pretty spicy but very flavorful. There were a few performances but different international students and another dance performance and then at the end they invited everyone up to dance, they played reggae. It is funny, in Ghanaian culture you see a lot of dancing which is why they are so good, and when you see a Ghanaian paired up with an obroni (term they use for white man, its not offensive) it is a site to be seen.

One other note I'd like to point out- Ghanaian culture is deep rooted in religion. Not all practice the same, the majority are Christian or Catholic (Christians outweighing the Catholics by a lot) with about 10% which practice the ancient religions, but it is everywhere. I am not sure if there is separation of church and state because through all our orientation, we were being blessed by God left and right. There were two prayers that were said at the Durbar. It is weird to be in a culture where you don't have to fear a lawsuit if there is a mention of God in public settings. There are a few churches on campus and the plan is to go to at least one while I am here. The reason why there is so much religion in this country is due to the fact that their history is filled with it. The best schools in this country were set up by missionaries years and years ago. Because of these missions, there has always been the intertwining of religion and schools.

Next week, I will hopefully get to experience my first real classes. I have them Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and we still have to set up our twi language course through ISEP.

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Comments

[Sara]

Beautiful Pics
Vanessa, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blogs. I feel like I'm living your trip through you. The pictures you posted on the previous blog are great. The campus and country look beautiful. Loved the lizzard. I'm amazed at how much you are enjoying the food. When you come home, our food will probably seem so bland!