Class..

.. began last Monday, and its apparent that I had put it in the back of my mind when preparing for this trip. I hadn’t really been anticipating the long school days, which has been evidenced by the fact that I do not feel ready to get back into “school mode” so soon! Despite my unpreparedness, the classes that I have had thus far have been incredibly interesting! I am taking six classes in total here; West African Literature, Persons and Cultures of Ghana, Politics and Development, Twi, Religion Family Life and Social Practices, and Drumming/Dance. Most of these classes are conducted by faculty at the Institute of African Studies on campus.

I am so excited for my drumming and dance classes in particular. I am anticipating that the dance class will end up being an intensive work out for two hours each week. It’s not easy dancing in this humidity. I don’t believe I ever thought about how much concentration and coordination even the simplest dance moves actually require. As my roommates boyfriend Benjamin was quick to say, “ white women can’t dance, they just jump around.” While I don’t like the generalization, I can’t say I completely disagree with him. The drumming class will most likely be less physically demanding, but demanding nonetheless. It will still require a lot of concentration and constant practice in order to improve. 

We have every Friday off from class, and this past Friday we travelled to the GA district (Greater Accra). We weren’t quite sure we were actually going till the morning of. There are three areas of GA, east, west and south. Apparently there was some controversy over the transportation they rented for last years group to get there, with one division finding the transportation mode completely unsuitable. I guess the same argument was being had this year as well, but we did end up going. I would assume they didn’t improve upon our vehicle, as an old tro-tro came to pick us up. The drive seemed to take FOREVER even though it was only a few moments out of the city. I think the potholes and helter-skelter traffic caused most of our delay.  

In order to enter some areas of a muncipality or district one must first ask the chief for permission. Chieftaincy is still widely practiced over the entirety of Ghana. So we headed to the chiefs location, alongside the mayor of GA east, the director of education and several other dignitaries whose positions I can’t recall. We asked for permission and offered a gift to the chief. The gift was locally made Schnapps. The chief  used the Schnapps to perform libations ( a prayer to god through the ancestors) and then the schnapps was passed around for us to either drink or pour a bit on the ground, so there we all went and began to drink Schnapps, which was 40% proof, at 10 a.m. in the morning.

We spent the day exploring an old Danish planation, Fredericksgave, that was used after the abolition of the slave trade, then drove to a community radio station. This particular radio station is run solely by volunteers, and is radio programming for the local communities. It focuses its efforts on programs concerning health, the environment and gender issues. Community members are welcome to contribute. 

Perhaps its interesting to point out that GA and Grand Rapids are sister cities, so Grand Rapids offers much support to things such as this community radio station. This is also why we spent the day there and will spend several more in the days to come. 

Some of us spent the evening at the Madina market. Here we were looking for fabric to get some clothing made. My roommate was kind enough to find me a seamstress who she made a good deal with for me. I wish I could speak fluently in the native language! We are beginning our Twi classes and so can practice simple greetings, but nothing near being able to communicate in the market or with the seamstress for example. A large number of people in and around Accra can speak English, but I think it is much more appreciated when we attempt to speak with the locals in their native language. 

This Friday was particularly difficult for me because I wanted more than anything to be home for Kalina and Caleb’s wedding. I think I spent most of the day imagining what was going on, and I am confident that it was absolutely wonderful, and everyone looked amazing. I was crying like a baby  in my disappointment for being absent, but more so in my happiness for the occasion. I am so excited for the two of them! So much love to both of you!

Saturday was a free day for us and so we finally got to the beach! I love the ocean, and was completely immersed in salty ocean water as soon as I got there. This was not intentional. Somehow I was the only one standing on the only rock against which the biggest wave crashed and came over me. I was soaked from head to toe and had a mouth full of salt water. I’m sure it was quite entertaining for everyone else to see, but I must say it felt really good, and my dress dried out fairly quickly in the wind. Later in the day we explored Osu, an area in Accra which is targeted more towards tourists. This was not my most favourite place thus far. Many restaurants selling American style food for a fairly expensive price. It does however have some nice bars, and patio’s that play live music on weekends. It’s an excellent place for a weekend evening. 

The rest of the weekend was spent reading and catching up on emails etc. It was nice to have the weekend off, as that won’t happen to often over the next three months..

love.