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.