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Published: January 19th 2009
Hey!!
Looks like I lucked out today, the internet is running pretty fast! So why not do a few updates before my classes get underway right?
So, for the last few days of orientation we spent outside of the campus, much to my enjoyment! One of the major factors that went into my decision to study abroad was the environment of not just the school but the area surrounding it; I wanted something completely different. In essence, I was looking for something big. And I definitely got what I wanted! The hamlet known as Emporia and the small town of Manhattan got nothin' on the Capitol city of Accra. Hopefully by the time I'm done, I can give you all a small slice of the enormous Ghanaian super pie I've just been served.
Our adventures started late last week as we traveled to the Medina Market. First impressions? MASSIVE!!!! It was incredibly intimidating, new sights, smells, tons of people, lots of products, shouting, yelling, running, selling, buying, and trading. Truly an awesome experience. They had everything from produce to sunglasses to watches to fish, you name it, they had it. This first trip was designed just to get our feet wet, but it definitely felt like total submersion. I tried my hand at bartering, and have found that it is something that needs to come back to the States. Seriously, haggling for prices is definitely the way to go, I was able to get a new pair of sandals for half of the original price! Yeh, for me 😊
Traffic in Ghana is a funny thing, don't expect to have cars stop for you...it just doesn't work that way...they will hit you...and drive away. Basically the rules are, there are no rules! Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but it is not uncommon to find people driving off road, up streets, as fast as they want, cutting here, and dodging this way and that. Yeah, I've already decided I'm never driving here...ever. But not to say that this isn't fun, because the Tro-Tros are a blast! What's a tro-tro you might ask? Basically they are huge fifteen passenger (Though usually much more) vans that ferry people wherever you want. They're very inexpensive, and easy to catch so they are very popular. But like I said earlier, you ride at your own risk.
Our tour of the actual city was really enjoyable. One of our first stops was at the national mausoleum to the first President of Ghana. It was fantastic! There were beautiful statues, multiple fountains, flags, a museum, gorgeous artwork and trees; it was just great. We also stopped at the Accra City Cultural Center to check out their products. As well as some of the major city streets to look at what goods other merchants had to sell. Vendors....oh vendors.... They had great stuff but they just can't seem to take no for an answer. I can not begin to tell all of you just how many "good friends" I made the other day. Still, aside from being overly smothered from street salesmen, It was an amazing adventure! I can tell I'm going to enjoy life in the city...well, at least for four months.
Yesterday was a monumental day, it was my very first time seeing and experiencing the ocean! Yeah, pretty crazy, huh? But hey, you live in Kansas for twenty years and see how many oceans you see. Not too many I would imagine 😉 Almost everyone in my group were really shocked, and couldn't help but laugh a little me, but all in good fun. It was an amazing day, running and jumping and swimming in the salty sea! Words cannot describe how amazing it was. For those of you that have been to the beach, just bear with me, it was a life changing experience, cut me some slack. At any rate, I'll definitely be going back in a couple of days, It was just soooooo incredible! At the end of the day one of the people in my group asked me to rank my experience on a scale from 1-10, I definitely said 12! The funny thing is, most of the people in my group told me that the beach we went to wasn't even that great of a beach, but that's okay because it means that things can only get better!!!
My roommate has finally moved in. He's a native Ghanaian, extremely friendly, helpful, and very laid back, I can already tell that we're going to get along just fine. His name is Michale, but his nickname is Gorgeous George. Of course when he told me this I couldn't stop laughing and I had to know where it came from, but he told me he would tell me the story another day. Something to look forward to! Anyway we talked for a while before calling it a night, and from first impressions, I can confidently say that I'm in very good hands.
Random thought that I just need to throw out; I love this hostel. I have met so many great people here. We get a lot of down time in Ghana because, well, that's just the way Ghanaian life is like! So we talk, and the great thing about it is you hear everyone's story. Sure we all have our superficial reasons for coming here, but there always seems to be something more, something deeper, something a little bit more personal that we wish to accomplish by coming here. And I've loved hearing about that stuff from people. As a student abroad you really learn to listen a lot more; I've been here a week, classes have not even fully started, but I've already learned so much. The individuals I'm traveling with are truly incredible. I gotta tell ya, I felt pretty good about myself when I decided to come to Africa....but over 80% of the people in my group have already done some form of travel already! Whether it was a semester in Costa Rica, a two week program in India, a month or so in England, France, Spain, Russia, and Poland, three months in Tanzania, a high school trip to South Africa, a home-stay in Ghana, or cruises in the Caribbean. Holy Cow! How do you compete with that? Right right, it's not a competition, we all have to start somewhere, yada yada yada, blah, blah, I still feel bad. No worries though, I'm loving Ghana, life couldn't be better. But you can bet that I'm already planning my next adventure!
Wow, I wrote a lot, sorry about that! I'm surprised if you made it this far though, I would have given up, but you, you = AMAZING!! But like I said, life is good here, very relaxed, with a real laid back sense of time. Classes won't get into full swing for another couple of days, so needless to say I'm still doing quite well! For my next entry I'll try and upload a gallery of pictures and videos, but I probably won't write anything for a while. Thanks for all the comments, messages, words of encouragement, thoughts and prayers, they mean more to me than you know!
Until next time, stay frosty
Jonathan
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WhereIsErika
Erika
hey! My name is Erika and I was just checking out the blogs on Ghana as I will be heading over in April for about 3 months. I've subscribed to yours, so I'll be living vicariously through you for the next little while, lol. I'll be staying in Accra and it sounds amazing! :)