Celebration!

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So this was the first week I went to all of my classes. Ok, before you start to judge me as a bad student, let me explain classes here. They’re a joke. My religion class isn’t too bad, the material is interesting because its about different African myths and symbols. I see the Adinkra symbols all over around here so its really cool to learn what they all mean. I have a group project in that class in a few weeks and Im trying really hard to not get frusterated with my group. They just work differently here. Something as simple as deciding on a meeting place turns into a big ordeal and compromise is not an option. For example, one lady in our group has 2 classes on Wednesday and gets out of class at 1:30. She doesn’t want to meet at 2 because she “needs a break” after such a strenuous day in classes and demands that we meet at 2:30. No one else in the group want to do that because they have other things later in the day and want to get it over with. Do you seriously need an hour break between classes and having a group discussion? Then deciding WHERE we would meet turned into a presidential debate. It wouldn’t be so bad if when we got together we were productive, but they aren’t task oriented and we spend majority of the time socializing. I don’t really know what our project is even on yet! My sociology courses are a little disappointing. Rural development is the only one that is slightly interesting and the professor isn’t too bad. Last class someone had printed off old final exams and was selling them as study aids. I bought them (for 20 cents!) and realized that they weren’t kidding when they said the finals were easy. Each semester the format was the same. It is about 6 or 7 really broad essay topics that I could write about without ever knowing what the class was even on because they are based on your opinions, and to make it even better, you only have to pick 2!!! So if there is a topic you don’t know much about, just write one of the other essays! My development and underdevelopment class is miserable. First, its at 7:30 on Friday morning, and then the lecturer stands in the front of the class and slowly reads his notes word for word. He reads so slow that you cant just sit back and listen to him and take bullet points of what hes talking about. You are forced to write down his entire lecture word for word. So mine and everyone else’s notes are just a transcript of his lecture. I read back over them after class and realized that we could have gotten the information in about 15 or 20 minutes of an American style lecture and it took him the full 2 hours! Oh Africa… It will be hard to make myself go to that class when I can just get the notes from someone. Then my 5:30 pm Friday class is really interesting material, unfortunately the lecture isn’t great. Its actually an anthropology course, societies and cultures of Africa, but there isn’t an anthropology department here. The problem is that we are supposed to read these articles before class and the lecturer spends 2 hours talking about what the article said. All I can think in the class is “I know… I read it…” so that’ll be another tough one to go to. Its not just bad luck on my part, that’s just how the classes are here. I would say about 80% of the classes are ones where they just read off their notes so I’m pretty lucky that I only have one of those. Its just a very different learning style here.

Things are going well at the school. Thursday I went to the store with Bethany and we bought some stuff for Michael and Comfort and the school. Mostly rice, some hygiene stuff, and school supplies. Its no wonder they don’t have the resources they need, the school supplies are so expensive!! A pack of 4 dry erase markers was 10 cedis!!!! That’s INSANE!!! We got them just a little bit of stuff and I hope it helps some. Bethany found this website that a friend of hers uses for his organization where you can donate money and they give it to the organization directly so we don’t have to work around money transfers or anything. The problem right now is that you have to have 100 votes before you can start collecting money. This is so the website knows that the organization has supporters and is worthwhile. Please, if you would just take a few seconds and vote so we can start collecting money I would REALLY appreciate it. They wont spam you or ask for any personal information, they just need your vote. The website is: www.givemeaning.com/proposal/globalcivicpres

Most people went out of town this weekend so its been really quiet here at the hostel. We were supposed to go to Green Turtle Lodge just outside Cape Coast. To make reservations, you have to text the hotel. Yup, text. You can e-mail them but they don’t check it very often, and it is in such a remote location they don’t have a very good signal so its hard to call them. It was really strange texting a reservation for a resort, but I finally got a hold of them. They were all booked up this weekend so we are going next weekend. I am really excited about it and it worked out for the best because we ended up having some stuff at the school on Saturday and I was glad we were able to go there instead.

So Friday was uneventful really other than going to classes. I went to Osu between classes and picked up a dress that was getting altered. There is a big ordeal with this dress. I have probably gone to Osu at least 5 times for this dress. The first time they made it too small so they had to let it out. Then they let out the bust but not the waist. Then I went there and the seamstress still hadn’t brought it to the store so it was sitting at her house. There were a few other times I went that it “wasn’t ready” even though I went several days after they told me it was ready. Then this last time I went it was the right size, but the zipper broke!! By this point me and the lady in the store had had enough of this dress and I just picked out a different dress. (Returns are nonexistent here, so I couldn’t really just ask for my money back) so I picked out a new dress, but since I have been “blessed” with no boobs it also had to be altered. So on Friday, I successfully picked up my new dress and a cute pair of shorts that were thrown in for free since I had such an ordeal to get the dress. Thank goodness it’s a cute dress… it’s amazing the things a girl will go through for a sundress. Friday night was a little more low key since most people were out of town. I went to Jerry’s (roadside bar with music) with Bethany, Max, and Ryan. I’m a fan of Jerry’s because you can go out and have a really fun time for easily less than 5 cedis. That includes a taxi there and back!

Saturday was much more of an adventure. On Friday night I finally got a slip for the post office saying the package from my parents came in after 5 weeks! It arrived in Ghana 3 weeks ago and has been sitting at the post office the whole time. Oh Africa. I was a little confused about the whole process because the lady at the front desk here hands me a piece of paper and goes, “here, you got this.” I just stood there and didn’t know what on earth is was she was handing me. She tried to explain it to me, but the explaination consisted of “you have a package, you have to go get it.” Um, what kind of package, and where? Luckily my neighbor Edem was walking by and I asked him and he explained that I had to go to the post office and gave me directions on how to get there. Since it was 4 on Friday afternoon I had to wait until the next morning to get it. He said the post office was open 8-12 on Saturdays. I decided that I would go on the way to the school and pick it up before the PTA meeting. I had to take a trotro there and when I got off I asked about 8 people how to get to the post office and all they would do was point down the sidewalk. I stopped and asked a security guard outside of this huge building and he told me that the giant unmarked building behind him was the post office. Oh, ok, duh, how could I not know that? Then I walk up to the post office and show a guy the slip and guess what? “Oh we don’t do that on Saturdays, you have to come back Monday” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! I couldn’t believe it, and almost when off on the guy and I believe the direct quote was “ARE YO…” and then I realized it wasn’t his fault and just bit my tongue, took a breath, and walked away. Off to the school now…

We were lucky that there was a trotro from Circle (the station we were at) that went straight to the school. Me and Bethany have this new game that anytime something like that happens we come up with 3 positive things before either one of us has time to turn into Negative Nancy. One of the positive things was that I had never been to Circle and it was really cool to see it because it’s a major part of town but Obrunis don’t really ever go there. So I got to learn Circle a little better.

We got to the school just in time for the PTA meeting. The meeting was supposed to start at 10. We didn’t start until a little after 11. That’s Ghana time for you. Michael talked most of the time, but Martin talked a little too. It was 80% in Twi because the parents don’t know English that well and its easier to get important information passed on to them in Twi. I think the best part was that me and Bethany not only didn’t talk the entire meeting, but we were never even introduced. We were just the token white girls sitting at the front of the room. Comfort’s mom was at the meeting and we talked to her for a bit. She is still in town, but may have to leave soon. I don’t know the details, but I got the impression she is out of her house and just crashing at friends houses whenever they can take her. Definitely not a lifestyle suitable for Comfort. We talked to her mom at the end of the meeting for a bit and Comfort was sitting in her lap crying. As her mom started to leave Comfort just lost it and she couldn’t even stand up she was so upset. I didn’t even try to hold back tears. It was just awful seeing her being ripped away from her family and not knowing the next time she would get to see her. I just hope that being at school will give her some sort of stability. Its just a tough situation.

One of Michael’s friends was throwing a party to celebrate her promotion and we were invited to go. When we showed up I was in shock at the celebration. They rented out the hotel/night club in Teshie and had a huge brass band playing music, food was catered so there were people walking around with trays of African versions of hors oeuvres which included spring rolls? And spiced goat meat on a stick. Yup. I ate goat. And it was delicious. I also drank coconut milk straight from a coconut that a guy cut open with a machete for me. There was a buffet with banku (corn dough similar to fufu, they beat the corn and corn meal with this giant pistol and mortar until it breaks down to this doughy mess) chicken, rice, tilapia (with the head still on it!!) some yam balls with some sort of spicy sauce, and 2 different kinds of rice. It was quite a spread!! Drinks were flowing, food was being passed around, music was playing, and people were dancing. Since we were the only Obrunis there we were an attraction. People kept pulling us out of our chairs to dance with them. All I had to say about the dancing… I look like a little white girl when I try to dance in the States; can you imagine me dancing with Africans?! I just looked ridiculous! I got to the point where I didn’t even care anymore and started to have a really good time. When it was time to pop the champagne I was recruited to open one of the bottles. Before we opened it we were supposed to shake it really hard so it would pop and go everywhere. I was so scared I would take someone out with the cork! It went flying off really hard and I still don’t know where it flew off to. Its probably in outer space by now. Then I went around and poured the bubbly to everyone and we had our toast to Danielle’s promotion. There was this little boy who was a year and 7 months old that just latched onto me. He sat in my lap and fell asleep. When he woke up he just walked around with me and when we started dancing I picked him up and danced with him and he would just smile and laugh and laugh. He was so adorable; I just wanted to steal him. We met a lot of really fun people and it was nice hanging out with Michael. One of his friends, Patience (they have some of the most interesting names) invited us over to her house where she would cook for us and we could hang out with her and their friends. After this day I will definitely take her up on any invitation! I wish we celebrated promotions like this in the states! Its really cool to me how they celebrate everything here.

Today is Sunday and I decided to just relax on campus. I think I have gone out and done something every single day so today Im going to be Ghanaian and take it easy on a Sunday. I slept in until 10 which is by far the latest Ive slept in since Ive been here. I usually wake up around 7 or 8 because of the sun and noise outside. Next weekend and part of the week will be spent at Green Turtle and then we are planning a trip the next weekend up north to Mole National Park where we are going on a walking safari where we might see elephants and baboons! Then going further north to Wa to canoe at the hippo sanctuary! Really excited about both of those trips. Sorry for the novel, hope you enjoyed it!

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