February 9th

This past week has been pretty nice. I’d been reading so much, but I started to feel bored with myself. Sometime last week I started hanging out at the vendor’s stand in the night market of a girl I met named Nana. We had only talked a little before, but she always has people just chilling around her stand so I thought I’d hang out too and try to make some more friends. We talked for a while, and she was really sweet. She’s probably my first legitimate Ghanaian friend. Maybe that sounds pathetic but it’s been kind of hard to branch out, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just me. There just so many white people in our hostel and the students in classes are very serious. So this week I’ve been hanging out with Nana some and meeting other people around there.

On Saturday, Emily, Allie, Amy, Jenna, Michelle, and I went to a beach called Kokrobite. It was about an hour and a half to two hours away and four tro-tro rides. On the way, it was nice to become familiar with other tro-tro stops like Circle and Keneshi Circle. We left midmorning so we would have plenty of time there. The beach was pretty low-key. There were only a few other white people there and the beach was lined with fishing boats. The water was very warm and the waves were pretty big by my standards. While I was there I sat in the shade and met a guy named KJ who is a musician. We just talked for a while about Ghana and he told me how delicious grass-cutter meat is. I’m skeptical but I’ll have to try it. Google ‘grass-cutter’ and see what you think about the animal. ☺ We left around 4:30 and by the time we got back, we were all exhausted. It was a fun tro-tro trip back when I was sitting five in a row of a van. That’s a pretty authentic Ghana experience.

Nana had invited me to go to church with her and visit her house on Sunday. I got up early and met her at her stand. We took a tro-tro to West Legon where she lives. By the time we got there though, she had to go to a meeting so I went with one of her friends, Raphael. Nana had to go to a meeting for a lending group she is a part of. She is their secretary. Each individual contributes to the group so that one at a time they can borrow the money. In microfinance I think it’s called a merry-go-round. I thought it was really interesting because it was something I had talked about in a global development class but now a friend of mine is involved with it. Anyways… so I went to church with Raphael at Providence Baptist church. There were probably about 150 people in the church. The service was pretty familiar. I was expecting it to be more different. The pastor preached in English and had a translator translate it into Twi. They don’t get too many Obruni coming to the church so I was singled-out a few times in the middle of service. That was pretty awkward, but they still made me feel welcomed.

After church, Raphael walked me to Nana’s place. Since Sunday, Raphael has been calling me a lot, so I know I have another friend. Calling incessantly is kind of a cultural quirk that all us Americans aren’t used to. I think I got called like five times in a row. It might have to do with the fact that there isn’t voicemail here. I’m not exactly sure but I happens a lot in Ghana, and I think it’s interesting.

Nana showed me her apartment and then we went and grabbed some food. I had waakye for the first time which probably isn’t my favorite. We went to her parent’s house and I got to meet her younger sister, one of her older brothers, and her parents. They were all very nice. Nana left to bring a baby present to a friend who was a new mother so while she was gone she told me to take a nap. I told her to wake me up when she got back but of course she didn’t… I ended up accidentally sleeping for about two hours. That made me feel bad. Who knows how many social faux pas I made on Sunday. I think Nana was very understanding though. After I woke up, we went back to campus so she could go back to work. Yesterday, Nana’s mom gave Nana some butter bread to give to me. It’s so nice to be making some deeper connections in Ghana.

Yesterday, Monday, was my busiest day with classes. Mondays are always exhausting. Today, I went to the library for the first time. I have to go there in order to get most of my reading assignment for class. It’s more complicated than the Wells Library, but I found my way around. A lot of the sources my profs want us to read aren’t found in any of the university libraries. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about that but we’ll see. Lately, I’ve been most homesick for how easy and organized classes are in the states. I miss having all my readings online, having lecture notes available before class, and using powerpoint presentations. I’m getting over it though. The trade off may be that it’s almost midterm season for my friends in the US and I have yet to do one legitimate assignment.

On Thursday, a group of my friends and I will be traveling to northern Ghana to Mole National Park, Larabanga, and Paga. It will take a couple days to get up there and a couple days coming back. Taking a week off of school is probably another thing my friends in the US can’t do… I’m not exactly sure of everything that we’ll be doing there but I know it will involve seeing wild elephants, monkeys, and perhaps feeding and sitting on a crocodile. I’m pretty pumped considering my typical aversion to skipping classes. I won’t have that many other good times to travel while I’m here, and I want to make the most out of being in Ghana!

That’s about all my news. I don’t have any pictures this week. I didn’t take my camera to the beach because theft is common there. My blogs seem to getting longer. Sorry..? If you’re curious about more details of our adventures (probably only my diehard fans such as Mom), you could probably check out my friend Emily’s blog. I haven’t read it before, but we have a bunch of the same experiences. Her blog is: Ereinik.blogspot.com I’m leaving Thursday for Mole and probably won’t be back until next Wednesday don’t expect a blog until later next week. Later!