January 26 (I can't think of a good title)

This is my third blog entry. I’ve had a week of classes and although it is questionable if a lot of my classes will transfer to IU, I think I am going to enjoy them. The classes I am taking are:
Human Rights in Africa
Conflict in Africa
Africa and the Global System
Geography of Gender and Development in Africa
Economic History of West Africa (1890-1960)
Strategies of Development in Africa

They are all Africa specific classes which is exciting because IU doesn’t offer that many political science Africa classes and that is exactly what I want for my major. The classes all meet once a week for 2 hours and soon we will be starting discussion sections. I have people I know in all of my classes, which will be nice come finals time.

Last Thursday, I went with some friends to a bar called Ryan’s Irish Pub. It was mostly Obruni (white foreigners) there which I guess is a downer on cultural integration, but I had a lot of fun.

On Saturday, I went to a market in Medina. It was huge and packed and definitely a culture shock. Most of the market was food and most of the food was fish. The smell was overwhelming. There were also live crabs, snails, grass cutters (big rodents), pigs’ feet, and lots of other goodies. It was really fun to be in a setting like that. I felt extremely conspicuous, but it was fine. I’m looking forward to going to some other markets in Accra. At the market I bought some fabric that I am going to get made into a dress. It is very cheap to have clothes made here and the fabrics are beautiful. I also picked up some bead necklaces. Whenever I see jewelry stands here I think of my sisters (shout out!) because the jewelry here is so beautiful and fun and I know that they would love it. It won’t be a surprise what I bring them back from Africa.

Last night, some friends and I went to Osu to a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant also has individual tv rooms and a bunch of dvds that you can choose from to watch while you eat. We picked Pineapple Express. I’ve had Chinese food here a couple times and unfortunately I’ve been disappointed. It’s just not the same and they don’t even have General Tso, the best Chinese dish known to man. I’ll be looking forward to getting Chinese food when I get back.

All in all, things are going well. I get homesick from time to time. Going out to the pub last week made me miss going to the bars with my friends, for one thing. Being in Ghana this semester is definitely worth it though. Keep in touch! P.S. Check my facebook for new pictures. I’m posting new ones pretty much every week.

Update 2

Last time I blogged was Sunday and the power and water had gone out. Thankfully it came on this morning right after I had finished hand washing some of my clothes. It was just in time for me to take a shower. Yesterday I took a bucket shower which wasn't half bad. The latest word is that the power has gone out again though. Ol well, I guess. Supposedly the International Student Hostel still has it a lot better than the other dorms. Last night, my friend Emily and I went to go get candles, so we're prepared tonight.

Yesterday classes started. I had three classes: Human Rights in Africa, Conflict in African States, and Africa and the Global System. They were all interesting but I think I might drop Human Rights in Africa. Today I didn't have any classes and tomorrow I have one class: Strategies in Development in Africa.

Last night, Emily and I ran into a Liberian man asking for money so he could go to the hospital. I couldn't say no because his ankle was huge and irregularly swollen and when he showed us under his bandage, there was just an open wound. I couldn't give him enough money to go to the hospital and I didn't have anything to say to comfort a man who has lost his family, is a refugee from his own country, and has no healthcare, so naturally I've still been thinking about him a lot. Ultimately, I'm telling you about this whole story because I think it was some sort of sign (or whatever you want to think of it) about where I should intern while I'm here. In the Education Abroad office I saw a notice about various local internships, one of them being a refugee camp. I'm going to look more into it tomorrow and try to get involved with it. The encounter I had was seriously haunting and I want to be able to contribute.

That's the latest haps in my life. I uploaded some more pictures and a couple videos on my facebook. Keep me posted about what's going on in the states. I miss everyone and I don't get much news here. Keep in touch!

P.S. I have a couple addresses to give if you are curious

My letter address is:

UC-EAP Centre

P.O. Box LG 356

University of Ghana

Legon

Accra, Ghana

For packages:

UC-EAP Centre

Room 4, Ground Floor

K.A.B. Jones - Quartey Building (right wing)

Osu Street

University of Ghana

Legon

Accra, Ghana

Orientation

Hi!

I decided to write a blog to keep everyone informed. First disclaimer, I don't like using paragraphs. Anyways, it's really overwhelming to try to tell you everything I've been doing. My orientation finally ended yesterday. It was an intense week and a half of lectures and tours to get us adjusted to Ghana. The orientation was led by other Ghanaian students. We've taken a bus tour of Accra and I've also gone to the Accra mall a couple times (that's where I'm writing right now). Last weekend we spent a couple days in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. There, we took a tour of the Royal Asante Palace Museum and also visited some craft villages that are known for making traditional kente cloth.

A couple days ago we took a trip to Cape Coast and went on a canopy walk in Kakum National Park. The park is in the rain forest and the bridges we were on are tied to platforms built onto huge trees. In some spots we were over a hundred feet high. It was scary but also amazing. After that, we took a tour of the Elmina slave castle where millions of slaves were kept. It was very disturbing and sad to be in dungeons were countless people died.

Last Thursday, we registered for classes which was a long and frustrating experience. I'm so used to things being automated and done on the computed. To register we had to go to each department to sign up. It took about the whole day. I still need to finish registering tomorrow.

A lot of orientation was spent in lectures learning about different aspects of Ghanaian history, language, culture, etc. I'm looking forward to classes starting so that I can have some routine.

I'm living in the International Student Hostel on campus and rooming with another girl from the US. I like our living situation. We definitely have it better than the other dorms on campus. It's not unusual for the power or water to go out for sometimes days. Last night our power went out and today the water went out on the top floors (I'm on the top floor) because there wasn't enough power to pump it up there. Hopefully the power will be back by the time I get back tonight. I'm getting settled into my room though. I did my laundry today by hand and last night I rearranged my room so that I could hang up my mosquito net. I'm posting some pictures on my facebook. They're probably be more interesting than my blog. I'd post the link but I'm not even sure if they'll all get uploaded tonight. I hope to hear from everyone soon!