I wrote a few days ago about how I feel like Jesus here. Along that heretical line I also feel quite like an Amish person who happens to wear comparatively revealing and brightly colored clothing. So with no further ado:
Top 5 Reasons I Feel Amish (with explanations to follow):
5. No elevators. Anywhere. If you can't climb it, you ain't going nowhere suckas.
4. My religion/instinct for survival won't allow me to drive here, but I will accept rides from those brave enough to bear the wrath of the road.
3. There are goats. EVERYWHERE.
2. The lawnmowers consist of a guy with a sickle and a machete. He holds the grass/weed steady with the sickle and slices with the machete. Very time-consuming, but fascinating to watch.
1. Here when you are doing laundry, you are doing laundry. Washing machines haven't made the trans-continental leap yet, so at least once a week you can find me scrubbing away at red-dirt-stained clothes with laundry soap and a bucket of water. I might just get pictures taken because I know that some of you will never believe it without actual proof. But I swear. It's true.
----------------------------------------------
Thanks for the comment K. I will definitely check out Champ's as soon as I quit being too broke to afford the obruni taxi price.
Trace- thank you so much for the letter you sent me!! I really enjoyed seeing familiar handwriting and will be thrilled at the prospect of receiving Pop-Tarts. Good luck with the bookstore and I hope your ankle is doing better!
So hint, hint to all. Write me postcards or letters. I will adore you forever!! P.S. Regular mail takes about two weeks to receive. Postage for a letter is around $0.90 I believe.
Also, this weekend I will be visiting Cape Coast and touring the Cape Coast Castle. You can read about it here. The occasion of our visit is the annual festival that takes place on September 1st and 2nd. We will also be visiting Kakum National Forest and doing a canopy walk there. A detailed adventure description will follow upon my safe return.
Bye all. Till I post anew!
-H
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Oh the Deliciousness that is Ghanaian Cuisine
Finally, alas, the time has come for my ever-awaited commentary on the oh-so-divine food of Ghana. Shelly and Parker- this one is especially for you two!
The food here can basically described as spicy and extraordinarily flavorful. Most courses use some type of rice: jollof (which is white rice mixed with a tomato based, spicy pepper sauce) or plain fried rice. There is often either chicken or fish (head and eyes included) as a part of each dish. My particular favorite meal thus far is red-red. Red-red is a bean stew paired with fried plantains. Oh lordy, it is unbelievably good.
It seems that everything here is really spicy. Back home, I hated spicy things but here it's a different kind. It's not just hot, it has a flavor to it. I think that is what makes the difference. They use a lot of cayenne pepper here, not Tabasco sauce or anything processed like that.
Everything is all natural. Everything. I literally could go to the market and buy a live chicken. I have seen the parts of the meat market where they are skinning animals. It is all kinds of fresh up here in Ghana. I think the fish is a little too fishy tasting for my preference, but the other meat is really good.
There are also a ton of vegetarian/vegan options. There is a little stand on campus that sells only vegan food and man is it delicious. We can get mushroom wraps, avocado sandwiches, tofu burgers, brown rice. All kinds of stuff that remind me of home.
You can get Chinese food, Indian food, American food, British food, etc. Pretty much if you want it, you can find it in Accra. It might be a little hard or expensive to get to but if you are dying for it, apparently it can be had. The thing I am really craving is some Tex-Mex. Man, I would love some quesadillas right about now.
I will try to post some recipes to be more specific if I can get some. Sorry it's vague, but I can assure you that I will do my best to get more information for all you foodies out there.
NB to Parker: I haven't tried the palm wine as promised and you can rest assured that I never will as it is actually carbonated. So sleep easy!! hahahaha
-------------------------------------------------------------
Top 10 Foods I Miss and Want Someone to Cook/Buy For Me When I Get Back:
10. Pop-Tarts
9. Duck
8. Actual potatoes, not yam potatoes
7. Freebird's Burrito
6. Polenta (don't know why, but I do)
5. Jerry's
4. Sticky brown rice
3. Huey's hamburger
2. Bagel with cinnamon cream cheese
1. Tacos al Carbon
------------------------------------------------------------
Also, I think I might be able to post some pictures to my flickr account sometime in the next few weeks. I might have found a way. So if I do, I will let you all know ASAP. Miss you all.
Much love,
Haley
The food here can basically described as spicy and extraordinarily flavorful. Most courses use some type of rice: jollof (which is white rice mixed with a tomato based, spicy pepper sauce) or plain fried rice. There is often either chicken or fish (head and eyes included) as a part of each dish. My particular favorite meal thus far is red-red. Red-red is a bean stew paired with fried plantains. Oh lordy, it is unbelievably good.
It seems that everything here is really spicy. Back home, I hated spicy things but here it's a different kind. It's not just hot, it has a flavor to it. I think that is what makes the difference. They use a lot of cayenne pepper here, not Tabasco sauce or anything processed like that.
Everything is all natural. Everything. I literally could go to the market and buy a live chicken. I have seen the parts of the meat market where they are skinning animals. It is all kinds of fresh up here in Ghana. I think the fish is a little too fishy tasting for my preference, but the other meat is really good.
There are also a ton of vegetarian/vegan options. There is a little stand on campus that sells only vegan food and man is it delicious. We can get mushroom wraps, avocado sandwiches, tofu burgers, brown rice. All kinds of stuff that remind me of home.
You can get Chinese food, Indian food, American food, British food, etc. Pretty much if you want it, you can find it in Accra. It might be a little hard or expensive to get to but if you are dying for it, apparently it can be had. The thing I am really craving is some Tex-Mex. Man, I would love some quesadillas right about now.
I will try to post some recipes to be more specific if I can get some. Sorry it's vague, but I can assure you that I will do my best to get more information for all you foodies out there.
NB to Parker: I haven't tried the palm wine as promised and you can rest assured that I never will as it is actually carbonated. So sleep easy!! hahahaha
-------------------------------------------------------------
Top 10 Foods I Miss and Want Someone to Cook/Buy For Me When I Get Back:
10. Pop-Tarts
9. Duck
8. Actual potatoes, not yam potatoes
7. Freebird's Burrito
6. Polenta (don't know why, but I do)
5. Jerry's
4. Sticky brown rice
3. Huey's hamburger
2. Bagel with cinnamon cream cheese
1. Tacos al Carbon
------------------------------------------------------------
Also, I think I might be able to post some pictures to my flickr account sometime in the next few weeks. I might have found a way. So if I do, I will let you all know ASAP. Miss you all.
Much love,
Haley
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
This is the Real World
So pretty much everything I have written about so far has been positive. I might have whined a bit about no running water/hot showers, but generally my experience in Ghana has been incredible. However to be fair and honest, I feel that I must share the following:
Last Friday two of my exchange student friends were robbed at both gunpoint and knifepoint. Dylan had a knife to his back while one guy searched his pockets and Jill had a gun put to her ribs and was made to give over her bag. Besides being scared out of their wits, they were not harmed. All in all they lost about $25, a cell phone, and they took Jill's room key. She couldn't sleep in her room that night and had to have the locks changed the next day.
This is apparently not common, but still a scary thing to have happen to two of your friends.
-----------------------------------------------------
On a much lighter note, our group + friends went hiking on Saturday to this place called Boti Falls. It was so beautiful. The hike was fun and the twin falls are absolutely breathtaking. I got a lot of pictures there and a ton of the local children. I am really excited to see how they will come out after post-processing and printing. I have high hopes for an exhibit out of some of these photographs. The kids have some incredible faces and eyes. They just capture your attention and hold it. So mesmerizing.
Last Friday two of my exchange student friends were robbed at both gunpoint and knifepoint. Dylan had a knife to his back while one guy searched his pockets and Jill had a gun put to her ribs and was made to give over her bag. Besides being scared out of their wits, they were not harmed. All in all they lost about $25, a cell phone, and they took Jill's room key. She couldn't sleep in her room that night and had to have the locks changed the next day.
This is apparently not common, but still a scary thing to have happen to two of your friends.
-----------------------------------------------------
On a much lighter note, our group + friends went hiking on Saturday to this place called Boti Falls. It was so beautiful. The hike was fun and the twin falls are absolutely breathtaking. I got a lot of pictures there and a ton of the local children. I am really excited to see how they will come out after post-processing and printing. I have high hopes for an exhibit out of some of these photographs. The kids have some incredible faces and eyes. They just capture your attention and hold it. So mesmerizing.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
A Different Kind of Spiritual Experience
I feel a little bit like Jesus here. Now before you all start running around screaming blasphemy or heresy, let me add a little disclaimer. I am not in any way, actually, literally, saying that I am some kind of deity or supernatural in any way. I am also not mocking religion at all. OK, so now that that is all clear, let me go on to explain.
1. I finally understand why washing some one's feet was a huge deal in Biblical times. Yo feet get NASTY. And I say that with a total Ebonics accent. Try combining sandals, red dirt, and the start of the dry season. We are talking about dust city. It gets so bad that I cannot tell if I got a tan or am just that dirty. Yeah, no joke. I have to take a shower before I get to excited. "Oooh yeah, nice glow. Oh wait, nope, ah damn, just a little extra dirty today." It is also kinda funny because my feet are a little tanner than the rest of me because I wear flip flops but sometimes wear pants. So it is legitimately hard to tell. That will go on the list of top 5 unique experiences of Ghana.
So anyways, back on topic, I would kill to have someone offer to wash my feet. It would be glOOOrious. But no one wants to because it's gross.
2. There are animals EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It is not an uncommon occurrence to see goats, chickens, whatever kind of farm animal walking around like they own this place. Yesterday I had to wait for a ram to cross the path so I could keep walking. I feel like if I needed to borrow a mule to ride into Jerusalem, it wouldn't be that hard. Man possessed by demons? I might not be able to cast them out, but I sure could find a herd of pigs for someone else to cast 'em into.
3. I glow in the dark. Well, comparatively at least. I am so freakin' albino pale here that you can spot the halo of WHITE that is me from a mile away. Everyone here has natural camouflage in the dark, but me? No hiding. Nope. Worst player at hide & seek ever. German spotlight? Not even gonna try.
4. People stop me on the street to ask if I will give them medicine, money, kiss their babies, or autograph something. People even take pictures. They run ahead and announce where I am going. It is like being Jake Gyllenhall in an all girls Catholic middle school.
----------------------------
Another reason I used this title is because I am reading a book I found in Molly's room about this woman who goes to India on a search for self-discovery in an Ashram and studies with a Guru. It's really cool. She talks about all these mystical experiences where she travels through the light and finds her inner energy and the divine within herself. Pretty crack-pot-esque, but very similar to the trippy dreams I am having from my Mefloquine. A word of advice: Do not take this drug if you already get nightmares. You will flip. Everyone I have talked to says the same things about this particular malaria medication. You will dream that everyone you know dies in some horrific manner that changes only slightly by night. It's pretty freaky. It is not for the faint of heart. But some of the dreams are what I would imagine taking LSD would be like. Psychadelic and NUTS. So it's like experimenting with drugs, but totally legal. I don't think I will ever try LSD. Mefloquine is quite enough.
Thanks for all the comments you guys! I miss you very much!!!
-Haley
1. I finally understand why washing some one's feet was a huge deal in Biblical times. Yo feet get NASTY. And I say that with a total Ebonics accent. Try combining sandals, red dirt, and the start of the dry season. We are talking about dust city. It gets so bad that I cannot tell if I got a tan or am just that dirty. Yeah, no joke. I have to take a shower before I get to excited. "Oooh yeah, nice glow. Oh wait, nope, ah damn, just a little extra dirty today." It is also kinda funny because my feet are a little tanner than the rest of me because I wear flip flops but sometimes wear pants. So it is legitimately hard to tell. That will go on the list of top 5 unique experiences of Ghana.
So anyways, back on topic, I would kill to have someone offer to wash my feet. It would be glOOOrious. But no one wants to because it's gross.
2. There are animals EV-ER-Y-WHERE. It is not an uncommon occurrence to see goats, chickens, whatever kind of farm animal walking around like they own this place. Yesterday I had to wait for a ram to cross the path so I could keep walking. I feel like if I needed to borrow a mule to ride into Jerusalem, it wouldn't be that hard. Man possessed by demons? I might not be able to cast them out, but I sure could find a herd of pigs for someone else to cast 'em into.
3. I glow in the dark. Well, comparatively at least. I am so freakin' albino pale here that you can spot the halo of WHITE that is me from a mile away. Everyone here has natural camouflage in the dark, but me? No hiding. Nope. Worst player at hide & seek ever. German spotlight? Not even gonna try.
4. People stop me on the street to ask if I will give them medicine, money, kiss their babies, or autograph something. People even take pictures. They run ahead and announce where I am going. It is like being Jake Gyllenhall in an all girls Catholic middle school.
----------------------------
Another reason I used this title is because I am reading a book I found in Molly's room about this woman who goes to India on a search for self-discovery in an Ashram and studies with a Guru. It's really cool. She talks about all these mystical experiences where she travels through the light and finds her inner energy and the divine within herself. Pretty crack-pot-esque, but very similar to the trippy dreams I am having from my Mefloquine. A word of advice: Do not take this drug if you already get nightmares. You will flip. Everyone I have talked to says the same things about this particular malaria medication. You will dream that everyone you know dies in some horrific manner that changes only slightly by night. It's pretty freaky. It is not for the faint of heart. But some of the dreams are what I would imagine taking LSD would be like. Psychadelic and NUTS. So it's like experimenting with drugs, but totally legal. I don't think I will ever try LSD. Mefloquine is quite enough.
Thanks for all the comments you guys! I miss you very much!!!
-Haley
Monday, August 20, 2007
Weekend of Fun
This weekend was awesome! In fact, it might be titled epic. I met so many totally sweet internationals that it's not even funny. They are all sooo cool! I think you have to be a little nuts to come to Ghana in the first place just because it's so different from the US culture (note the posts below), but everyone has been really chill and down-to-earth.
Friday night I fell asleep at 7pm and slept until the next day. AKA. AWESOME NIGHT! I cannot tell you how much I needed to sleep. It was so good. I didn't even really hear the people screaming outside my door at 6am the next morning. I think maybe I'm just getting used to it.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with our program and they treated us to an amazing meal at Chez Afrique. P.S. Ghanaian food is super good. I will devote a whole post to it sometime soon. So after, we went to Ryan's Irish Pub in Osu (the trendy neighborhood of Accra). This is the only Irish pub in all of West Africa, so it's a rarity, and pretty cool. When the ten of us who went finally got there, it was surreal because everywhere we looked, there were WHITE PEOPLE. This is not a shock to anyone in the US, but once you come to Ghana- that's it... your quota of white people is over. No more. Like not allowed. So needless to say, we walked in a dreamlike state thinking the Mefloquine was finally causing those foretold hallucinations.
So here we were with all of the white people in all of Africa, at this one Irish pub. It was some kid's 20th birthday so all the people in his program were out celebrating. We joined in. And it was SWEET. After a while we went to a local dive called Bywel's and listened to some local music and got to make some local friends. It was back to regular, good-old, no white people Ghana. I made friends with this lady named Stella and she taught me a few phrases in Twi (pronounced Chwee). I like her. She was cool.
Afterwards, we went back to my room and ate cornflakes, the only cereal available in Ghana, then went to bed. It was great.
On another note, my Twi lessons will start this week. We are meeting with the prof tomorrow to arrange and negotiate a class time that works for all thirteen of us. Wish me luck! Pretty soon I will be able to tell people that no, I do not wish to give them my room number, and no, I will not be able to buy all their prescriptions for them. I mean I can already say it, but soon I can say it in Twi and that will be badass. Oh yeah.
-------------------------------------------
Random Bits
Best advertising tagline: "GEISHA SOAP: Lasts and lasts like a mother's love." I am not even kidding. I swear to God that I saw this very wording on an ad in this small village on the way to Akosombo. I thought it was so funny at the time. I mean come on... Geisha soap?? First of all that's just hilarious- I mean geisha's aren't exactly known for being pure and clean. And then why would someone ever equate soap to a mother's love? How cheesy can you get???
Marriage Proposal Count: 1 (So far only from an old man in the fruit market. I told him we'd have to see about that when he insisted I would marry him.)
Obruni Count: At least one hundred. I can't even describe the number of times I have been called an obruni by the children in the market, by guys trying to hit on me, by old people trying to sell me stuff. It is just insane. The dance class I am taking this semester is even called the "Special Obruni Dance Class." This would be like having "Cracka Break-Dancing Lessons" - totally inappropriate in America, but somehow acceptable here.
Total Days Without Water: 8. That's a bitch. No doubt the first thing I will do back home will be to take a looong HOT shower. Here, even when you get a shower, it's cold. Like, hell frozen over, cold. Not even joking cold. Teeth chattering cold. I think you get the idea.
Total Days I Am Glad I Came Here: 13. Every single day I know that no matter how hard it is, this is the best decision I have ever made. I am learning so much about what is really important in life. And that everything else is just a tiny bonus.
Bye for now. I'll post again soon. Hope you are all having a lovely week. AND HAPPY O-WEEK TO ALL YOU RICE PEOPLE. I better hear some awesome stories. I will not forget about Dis-O. (Even though you might :) haha)
I will also respond to any emails to my gmail account. Just give me some time. haleyeray@gmail.com
Friday night I fell asleep at 7pm and slept until the next day. AKA. AWESOME NIGHT! I cannot tell you how much I needed to sleep. It was so good. I didn't even really hear the people screaming outside my door at 6am the next morning. I think maybe I'm just getting used to it.
Saturday night we went out to dinner with our program and they treated us to an amazing meal at Chez Afrique. P.S. Ghanaian food is super good. I will devote a whole post to it sometime soon. So after, we went to Ryan's Irish Pub in Osu (the trendy neighborhood of Accra). This is the only Irish pub in all of West Africa, so it's a rarity, and pretty cool. When the ten of us who went finally got there, it was surreal because everywhere we looked, there were WHITE PEOPLE. This is not a shock to anyone in the US, but once you come to Ghana- that's it... your quota of white people is over. No more. Like not allowed. So needless to say, we walked in a dreamlike state thinking the Mefloquine was finally causing those foretold hallucinations.
So here we were with all of the white people in all of Africa, at this one Irish pub. It was some kid's 20th birthday so all the people in his program were out celebrating. We joined in. And it was SWEET. After a while we went to a local dive called Bywel's and listened to some local music and got to make some local friends. It was back to regular, good-old, no white people Ghana. I made friends with this lady named Stella and she taught me a few phrases in Twi (pronounced Chwee). I like her. She was cool.
Afterwards, we went back to my room and ate cornflakes, the only cereal available in Ghana, then went to bed. It was great.
On another note, my Twi lessons will start this week. We are meeting with the prof tomorrow to arrange and negotiate a class time that works for all thirteen of us. Wish me luck! Pretty soon I will be able to tell people that no, I do not wish to give them my room number, and no, I will not be able to buy all their prescriptions for them. I mean I can already say it, but soon I can say it in Twi and that will be badass. Oh yeah.
-------------------------------------------
Random Bits
Best advertising tagline: "GEISHA SOAP: Lasts and lasts like a mother's love." I am not even kidding. I swear to God that I saw this very wording on an ad in this small village on the way to Akosombo. I thought it was so funny at the time. I mean come on... Geisha soap?? First of all that's just hilarious- I mean geisha's aren't exactly known for being pure and clean. And then why would someone ever equate soap to a mother's love? How cheesy can you get???
Marriage Proposal Count: 1 (So far only from an old man in the fruit market. I told him we'd have to see about that when he insisted I would marry him.)
Obruni Count: At least one hundred. I can't even describe the number of times I have been called an obruni by the children in the market, by guys trying to hit on me, by old people trying to sell me stuff. It is just insane. The dance class I am taking this semester is even called the "Special Obruni Dance Class." This would be like having "Cracka Break-Dancing Lessons" - totally inappropriate in America, but somehow acceptable here.
Total Days Without Water: 8. That's a bitch. No doubt the first thing I will do back home will be to take a looong HOT shower. Here, even when you get a shower, it's cold. Like, hell frozen over, cold. Not even joking cold. Teeth chattering cold. I think you get the idea.
Total Days I Am Glad I Came Here: 13. Every single day I know that no matter how hard it is, this is the best decision I have ever made. I am learning so much about what is really important in life. And that everything else is just a tiny bonus.
Bye for now. I'll post again soon. Hope you are all having a lovely week. AND HAPPY O-WEEK TO ALL YOU RICE PEOPLE. I better hear some awesome stories. I will not forget about Dis-O. (Even though you might :) haha)
I will also respond to any emails to my gmail account. Just give me some time. haleyeray@gmail.com
Does that make me CRAAAAA-ZY?
I have decided that MUSIC is the key to keeping sane. Funny that I titled this with a Gnarls Barkley song, but sometimes you just feel a little nuts when everyone seems to get something that you just completely miss. That's the thing about being on an exchange-it's like everyone has an inside joke that you just don't seem to get. Like this morning, I went to my first class, but when I got there the room was pretty much empty. Weird, I thought. Then a couple of locals came up and informed me that the prof wouldn't be coming because it was the first day of class. Apparently nothing here starts on time. So I won't really start class until next week. I still haven't even gotten a roommate yet. I think she is part of the secret society that somehow knew that classes wouldn't be going on yet. Anyways, I have to go now to show up for another class that probably won't exist. Sorry this was short. I'll try to post again later today. I should be able to do something.
Also, sorry about this but I missed a call and the voicemail was indecipherable. The number was an unavailable too. So try calling back. (I think it was you, Mom, but I'm not sure...) I will try to be around to answer.
When I post again, I will update on my super-fun weekend! Until then, it's time for Traditional African Dance. Woo-hoo!!
Also, sorry about this but I missed a call and the voicemail was indecipherable. The number was an unavailable too. So try calling back. (I think it was you, Mom, but I'm not sure...) I will try to be around to answer.
When I post again, I will update on my super-fun weekend! Until then, it's time for Traditional African Dance. Woo-hoo!!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Oh the Times, They Are A-Changin'
So I've really been missing and loving Bob Dylan lately. Weird I know, the things you miss but never thought you would. Like Pop-Tarts. So, anyway, I've been listening to Bob Dylan all week thinking that the man was a genius and a prophet.
Two lines from the third verse of the title song are particularly touching to me. "And don't criticize / what you can't understand". I think this is so important to learn when living in a culture that is completely different from your own. We, as foreigners, don't have the cultural background that the local Ghanaian people have been raised with. Thus, we can't ever understand exactly where they are coming from or why they act the way they do. We must strive to learn and understand the upbringing and the typical Ghanaian family life before we can attempt to make judgements on how people act.
I think most people forget that one's home culture is vastly different from those of other nations, races, regions, ethnicities, religions, etc. We interpret the words and actions of others through our own cultural lens. This is quite dangerous, because in doing so, we are imposing our cultural meaning onto someone who might have no knowledge of this paradigm. It's like playing a game of Monopoly and you start using the rules of Parcheesi instead without telling the other player. It will inevitably cause chaos.
----------------------------------------
On another note, top ten things I miss, but didn't know I would:
10. Pop-Tarts
9. Toilet paper already being in the bathrooms
8. Tape
7. Littering Fines
6. Being able to walk around and not have people stare at me
5. Veronica Mars
4. My hair
3. Refrigerators
2. Those wall hooks that you can stick on the wall and won't rip off the paper when you remove them (odd I know, but I said things I didn't know I would miss)
1. Running water
Two lines from the third verse of the title song are particularly touching to me. "And don't criticize / what you can't understand". I think this is so important to learn when living in a culture that is completely different from your own. We, as foreigners, don't have the cultural background that the local Ghanaian people have been raised with. Thus, we can't ever understand exactly where they are coming from or why they act the way they do. We must strive to learn and understand the upbringing and the typical Ghanaian family life before we can attempt to make judgements on how people act.
I think most people forget that one's home culture is vastly different from those of other nations, races, regions, ethnicities, religions, etc. We interpret the words and actions of others through our own cultural lens. This is quite dangerous, because in doing so, we are imposing our cultural meaning onto someone who might have no knowledge of this paradigm. It's like playing a game of Monopoly and you start using the rules of Parcheesi instead without telling the other player. It will inevitably cause chaos.
----------------------------------------
On another note, top ten things I miss, but didn't know I would:
10. Pop-Tarts
9. Toilet paper already being in the bathrooms
8. Tape
7. Littering Fines
6. Being able to walk around and not have people stare at me
5. Veronica Mars
4. My hair
3. Refrigerators
2. Those wall hooks that you can stick on the wall and won't rip off the paper when you remove them (odd I know, but I said things I didn't know I would miss)
1. Running water
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Market
Yesterday I went into the market at Madina with some of the girls in my group. Madina is the local market where everyone buys everything from cloth to fish to mirrors. Really anything. It's always fun to go because you can practice your bargaining and meet lots of people. I'm trying to buy from the same ladies most of the time so that they recognize me and won't rip me off. People here usually double the price if you're an "obroni" or white foreigner. So you have to get to know them and bargain with them in order not to pay exorbitant prices for whatever it is you want.
So far I have bought at the market:
Cloth
Mirror
Lock
Bracelet
Hangers
Bowls
Knife
I think that's it, but I'm not sure. The prices here are so much cheaper than at home. I paid 20 cents for the knife. Cloth is usually $1.50 per yard. $2.00 is an expensive fabric. It's so crazy coming to a place where everything is so much cheaper. I think going back home will be hard. I'm going to be so stingy. Yesterday I laughed at myself because someone told me they paid $8 for a pair of hand sewn, tailor-made pants and I looked at them shocked because I thought that was a lot of money. Then I remembered that I couldn't buy a pair of hand-made tailored pants for less than probably $100.00 at home. So I'm going to get some pants made today. hahaha. It's cool because the seamstresses will come directly to our hostel and take our measurements. We get to pick the cloth right there. Then a few days later, bam! A pair of pants, a dress, a top -whatever- that fits you perfectly. It's totally great. And I'm so embracing the beautiful patterns here. All you who know that I have been trying to break out of my solid color rut would be so proud of me.
Anyways, enough for today. Wish me water and I'll write again soon. Don't forget to post!!
P.S. If you want to send me anything, my address is:
Haley Ray
PMB 26
University of Ghana
Legon, Accra, Ghana
I'll include a wish list later. haha.
So far I have bought at the market:
Cloth
Mirror
Lock
Bracelet
Hangers
Bowls
Knife
I think that's it, but I'm not sure. The prices here are so much cheaper than at home. I paid 20 cents for the knife. Cloth is usually $1.50 per yard. $2.00 is an expensive fabric. It's so crazy coming to a place where everything is so much cheaper. I think going back home will be hard. I'm going to be so stingy. Yesterday I laughed at myself because someone told me they paid $8 for a pair of hand sewn, tailor-made pants and I looked at them shocked because I thought that was a lot of money. Then I remembered that I couldn't buy a pair of hand-made tailored pants for less than probably $100.00 at home. So I'm going to get some pants made today. hahaha. It's cool because the seamstresses will come directly to our hostel and take our measurements. We get to pick the cloth right there. Then a few days later, bam! A pair of pants, a dress, a top -whatever- that fits you perfectly. It's totally great. And I'm so embracing the beautiful patterns here. All you who know that I have been trying to break out of my solid color rut would be so proud of me.
Anyways, enough for today. Wish me water and I'll write again soon. Don't forget to post!!
P.S. If you want to send me anything, my address is:
Haley Ray
PMB 26
University of Ghana
Legon, Accra, Ghana
I'll include a wish list later. haha.
School
I am actually able to get internet again. Hooray!! But we still have no running water. It is quite sad. I never thought I would miss being able to wash my hands this much. But anyways, on to talking about the University of Ghana.
The school is really cool. The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the campus. It is huge!! I think you could fit at least 4 Rice campuses inside one of these. It is literally a town unto itself. There are 5 banks, a post office, hair salons, laundromats, lots of restaurants, bars, bookstores, gift shops, anything you can think of really. There is even a mini-market where you can bargain for goods. It is insanely big. I mean over 20,000 students attend every year and about 1,000 international students come from all over the world. Most people are from the US though, I have noticed.
I still haven't met my roommate yet, but she is supposed to come today. She will be a fourth-year Ghanaian student who has chosen to be paired with an international. So that should be fun. I am really looking forward to meeting her and I really hope we get along. The rooms are pretty small and definitely a step down from Rice's dorms. The floors are interesting. They are tile, but then I think in the 70's, they decided to put down some linoleum in a weird orange color (for my room at least). But they ran out so only sections are linoleum. The rest is still tile. It is quite odd.
The beds are a slab of wood with a thin cushion over it as a mattress. It was really hard to sleep the first few nights, but now I'm used to it so it's not too bad. We also get a desk, wardrobe, chair, and bookshelf. The furniture itself is fine, just really old and out-dated. We are a little afraid though, because the wardrobes all smell like mold. One of the girls has already had to change rooms because she was getting sick from the mold.
Classes haven't started yet and aren't supposed to until around the 20th. They said it might get pushed back a few days. However, we have started registration. It is so different from how we do it at Rice. At Rice you go online, type in five or six codes and you're finished. Here, you have to go to each department and register for the classes individually. The only problem is that they don't have the timetables out yet. So you have to register for a lot of classes not knowing if some of them will conflict. And some of the departments just tell you to come back later. I have to go back to Archaeology on Thursday after I tried to register on Monday. It's very unorganized and inefficient. But everyone has been really nice and helpful throughout the process. So that makes it a little better.
The school is really cool. The first thing you notice is the sheer size of the campus. It is huge!! I think you could fit at least 4 Rice campuses inside one of these. It is literally a town unto itself. There are 5 banks, a post office, hair salons, laundromats, lots of restaurants, bars, bookstores, gift shops, anything you can think of really. There is even a mini-market where you can bargain for goods. It is insanely big. I mean over 20,000 students attend every year and about 1,000 international students come from all over the world. Most people are from the US though, I have noticed.
I still haven't met my roommate yet, but she is supposed to come today. She will be a fourth-year Ghanaian student who has chosen to be paired with an international. So that should be fun. I am really looking forward to meeting her and I really hope we get along. The rooms are pretty small and definitely a step down from Rice's dorms. The floors are interesting. They are tile, but then I think in the 70's, they decided to put down some linoleum in a weird orange color (for my room at least). But they ran out so only sections are linoleum. The rest is still tile. It is quite odd.
The beds are a slab of wood with a thin cushion over it as a mattress. It was really hard to sleep the first few nights, but now I'm used to it so it's not too bad. We also get a desk, wardrobe, chair, and bookshelf. The furniture itself is fine, just really old and out-dated. We are a little afraid though, because the wardrobes all smell like mold. One of the girls has already had to change rooms because she was getting sick from the mold.
Classes haven't started yet and aren't supposed to until around the 20th. They said it might get pushed back a few days. However, we have started registration. It is so different from how we do it at Rice. At Rice you go online, type in five or six codes and you're finished. Here, you have to go to each department and register for the classes individually. The only problem is that they don't have the timetables out yet. So you have to register for a lot of classes not knowing if some of them will conflict. And some of the departments just tell you to come back later. I have to go back to Archaeology on Thursday after I tried to register on Monday. It's very unorganized and inefficient. But everyone has been really nice and helpful throughout the process. So that makes it a little better.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Physical Landscape
The landscape is incredibly beautiful here. The contrast between the red dirt, bright green grass and clear blue skies is wonderful. It really overwhelms your senses to look out at something so natural every day, not marred by skyscrapers or parking lots. However, there is a lot of litter on the ground. For some reason, there are no trashcans to be seen, so people just throw whatever down wherever they happen to be standing.
The temperature is not too hot actually, it even gets coldish at night. The humidity is pretty high though, but it's not bad as I am used to the Houston weather. Everyone says it gets way hotter though towards October and even more into December. It's so weird that it will be getting warmer, not cooler as the year ends. I've never had that happen before, so that's another difference. It sure will be a shock going to 40 degree weather for Christmas in Memphis.
Another thing I found interesting about the landscape is the sheer number of ditches around. They are everywhere on campus! The students in my program all joke that we will fall into them some day. They are made out of concrete and are only about a foot wide, but they run just along the sides of the road, so it would be quite easy to accidentally fall into one. And that would suck as they are about 3 or 4 feet deep. They are quite useless right now because Ghana is having a drought. There has been irregular rainfall in the North, so the South is having water rations. Hence the no running water in 4 or 5 days. I got one or two blessed cold showers in before I had to start taking sponge baths out of a bucket. Now that is an experience- let me tell you. haha. But honestly, you feel pretty clean afterwards so it's not too bad. Heavy to haul the water from the nearest working tap, but all in all a doable feat.
I'm running out of time on the internet, so I think it is best for me to end here, but please do comment and I will try to post again as soon as I can. It's just hard when the electricity keeps going off all the time. (I am so glad I brought the solar powered lantern by the way!!) I think once school starts, my connection will be better.
P.S. I am starting to get a tan!! Imagine that I know, but still- it's true.
The temperature is not too hot actually, it even gets coldish at night. The humidity is pretty high though, but it's not bad as I am used to the Houston weather. Everyone says it gets way hotter though towards October and even more into December. It's so weird that it will be getting warmer, not cooler as the year ends. I've never had that happen before, so that's another difference. It sure will be a shock going to 40 degree weather for Christmas in Memphis.
Another thing I found interesting about the landscape is the sheer number of ditches around. They are everywhere on campus! The students in my program all joke that we will fall into them some day. They are made out of concrete and are only about a foot wide, but they run just along the sides of the road, so it would be quite easy to accidentally fall into one. And that would suck as they are about 3 or 4 feet deep. They are quite useless right now because Ghana is having a drought. There has been irregular rainfall in the North, so the South is having water rations. Hence the no running water in 4 or 5 days. I got one or two blessed cold showers in before I had to start taking sponge baths out of a bucket. Now that is an experience- let me tell you. haha. But honestly, you feel pretty clean afterwards so it's not too bad. Heavy to haul the water from the nearest working tap, but all in all a doable feat.
I'm running out of time on the internet, so I think it is best for me to end here, but please do comment and I will try to post again as soon as I can. It's just hard when the electricity keeps going off all the time. (I am so glad I brought the solar powered lantern by the way!!) I think once school starts, my connection will be better.
P.S. I am starting to get a tan!! Imagine that I know, but still- it's true.
I'm here!!
So I couldn't quite think what I should write about first. I've been in Ghana for about 6 days now or maybe 5. They are all starting to run together. I guess I will talk about my first impressions. I adore living in Ghana for the most part. Of course there are drawbacks, and not just slight ones, but they are negligible in comparison to the good things. My first thought was about how friendly people are here. They really want to help you and care about how your stay is going. They wonder why you wanted to come here and why you are trying to learn their language. It has been so interesting to see people react when they see me and talk to me. They just don't expect a 20 year old American white girl to come to Ghana and eat traditional foods and say thank you in Twi. It is very strange for them.
Other than that I wanted to break down my posts into broad topics. So far I have come up with: physical landscape, school, health, and culture. These will be further broken down as well. I don't know how many I will be able to get through today but we shall see...
Other than that I wanted to break down my posts into broad topics. So far I have come up with: physical landscape, school, health, and culture. These will be further broken down as well. I don't know how many I will be able to get through today but we shall see...
Monday, August 6, 2007
D-Day
Not exactly D-Day as no one should be dying and I'm not petrified down to the core, but you know what I mean. So today's the day. It's been so long in getting here. I'm glad it's finally happening.
Wish me luck everybody. I'll miss you all more than you know. And I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the support everyone has given me over the past months in preparing for this trip. It really means a lot to me. So thank you, thank you all.
I hope to keep you all entertained with the hilarious things that I do being culturally inept and awed by the beauty that can be found in the Ghanaian landscape, people, culture, and wildlife. I hope to be able to express my excitement, frustrations, victories, and fears on this blog. I hope that you all will understand and be able to share vicariously in my joys throughout this experience and accept the inevitable low points that will occasionally occur.
That being said, I would like to say goodbye to all those with whom I could not see one last time and say hello to the people of Accra, Ghana. It's going to be one incredible semester!!
Wish me luck everybody. I'll miss you all more than you know. And I just want to say that I truly appreciate all the support everyone has given me over the past months in preparing for this trip. It really means a lot to me. So thank you, thank you all.
I hope to keep you all entertained with the hilarious things that I do being culturally inept and awed by the beauty that can be found in the Ghanaian landscape, people, culture, and wildlife. I hope to be able to express my excitement, frustrations, victories, and fears on this blog. I hope that you all will understand and be able to share vicariously in my joys throughout this experience and accept the inevitable low points that will occasionally occur.
That being said, I would like to say goodbye to all those with whom I could not see one last time and say hello to the people of Accra, Ghana. It's going to be one incredible semester!!
Friday, August 3, 2007
So close
Departure is so near, I can almost taste it. In less than 72 hours, I will be over the Atlantic on my way to the most fabulous adventure of my sheltered little life. (Just kidding about the sheltered part.) But it still will be pretty fabulous. I've had special requests for posts about both the food and the music, so I will try my best to write about the culture in as much detail as I am able to describe.
Tonight I said goodbye to a lot of my family. That was a sad thing. I will indeed miss them, but I know that time will fly and I will be right back among the ones I love. Tomorrow will be the same thing as I will say farewell to my mother's side of the family. Wish me luck...
Now on to the next topic-
A few of the odd things I have purchased:
A solar powered/rechargeable lantern
Mosquito netting to hang over my bed
Spot-on bug bite salve
One cool thing I have purchased:
A CANON EOS 30D!!!
If you can't tell I am so excited about this camera that I had trouble breathing as I signed for it. Yes, I now have the most kick-ass camera that my amounts of money can buy. All that is left is to give it a name. I shall be thinking about it in the days ahead, but if you have any suggestions, I am glad to hear them. Maybe I will make it a contest... hmm. But then I have to think up a prize. We shall see. I'll think about it. It will be up to you readers to decide the gender identity of my camera as well. I am leaving it open for whatever creativity abounds. Maybe I will just bring the winner back something cool from Ghana. Or develop a picture especially for them to make it a little more personal in regards to the naming of the camera.
Until later then, I still have the last two books in the Harry Potter series to re-read before I go abroad and can't take any one item heavier than 8 ounces with me.
Leave comments and I will love you forever.
Tonight I said goodbye to a lot of my family. That was a sad thing. I will indeed miss them, but I know that time will fly and I will be right back among the ones I love. Tomorrow will be the same thing as I will say farewell to my mother's side of the family. Wish me luck...
Now on to the next topic-
A few of the odd things I have purchased:
A solar powered/rechargeable lantern
Mosquito netting to hang over my bed
Spot-on bug bite salve
One cool thing I have purchased:
A CANON EOS 30D!!!
If you can't tell I am so excited about this camera that I had trouble breathing as I signed for it. Yes, I now have the most kick-ass camera that my amounts of money can buy. All that is left is to give it a name. I shall be thinking about it in the days ahead, but if you have any suggestions, I am glad to hear them. Maybe I will make it a contest... hmm. But then I have to think up a prize. We shall see. I'll think about it. It will be up to you readers to decide the gender identity of my camera as well. I am leaving it open for whatever creativity abounds. Maybe I will just bring the winner back something cool from Ghana. Or develop a picture especially for them to make it a little more personal in regards to the naming of the camera.
Until later then, I still have the last two books in the Harry Potter series to re-read before I go abroad and can't take any one item heavier than 8 ounces with me.
Leave comments and I will love you forever.
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