The First Couple Weeks

The Trip

The 30+ hour trip started with a bus ride from Grand Rapids to the Detroit Airport. We then flew from Detroit to London-Heathrow and then on to Accra, Ghana. We had a 7 hour layover in London, so Melinda, Cassie, Chelsea, Stephanie, Joel and I decided to go into the city. Melinda had a friend who had been in London for a few days, so he met us and helped us find our way around and make it back to the airport in time. It took us at least an hour to get through customs and out of the airport and we were supposed to be back 3 hours prior to the flight so we didn’t have as much time in the city as we had hoped…but it was still definitely worth it. After taking the Tube into the city, we only had a half an hour to walk/run around looking at the sites. We saw Big Ben and Buckingham Palace along with double-decker buses and some of the other objects associated with London. We got back to the airport and honestly got through security in 15 minutes. I guess we could’ve spent a little more time in London. After arriving in Accra, we took a bus to the University and moved into our rooms. And by the way, the rooms are very nice. They are quite big and each room has its own balcony.

Orientation

Our first day in Ghana was a day of familiarizing ourselves with the campus. We were shown where our classes would be held along with some of the other parts of campus. The campus is huge compared to Calvin. It takes me at least 20 minutes to walk to class from the hostel. There are all sorts of places to eat on campus, along with stores, churches, markets, bars, internet cafes, laundry places, and all sorts of other places. It really is more like a small city. We also went into downtown Accra with our guides (students from the University). We took trotros (big vans that hold 20-30 people) to Tema Station in Accra. From there we walked to Makola Market, which is a bunch of street vendors that takes up a huge amount of the downtown area. It was very crowded and overwhelming. There were people everywhere and everyone wanted you to buy stuff from them. I don’t think I’ll be going back there unless I’m with someone who knows what they’re doing. To me it seemed like a crowded maze. I had my first bartering experience in Ghana when a bought a pair of sandals…I still probably paid too much though.

On Sunday, we were all supposed to meet at Legon Interdenominational Church. Somehow, Melinda, Sarah DN, Joel and I ended up at the Catholic Church next door. The funny thing is that I really didn’t realize it was the wrong church until it was at least half way done. It also turns out that we got there an hour into the service…oops. After church, we had a couple hours to kill until everyone else got out of church. Our group then went up to the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Akropong for the weekend and for some more orientation. Since it was up in the mountains, it was a bit cooler and quite rainy when we were there. It was also very peaceful and quiet. On our trip up there, we passed by the house of Bob Marley’s wife and we got passed by the Presidential motorcade which consisted of 3 motorcycles and probably 20 black cars. A lot of the time in Akropong was spent without electricity since a storm came through the first night we were there. We were able to walk around the town one day and meet some of the people that lived there. They were very friendly and overall it was a very good stay. Before returning to the University, we stopped by the Cedi Bead Factory and saw how they made beads and jewelry. We also visited the Akosombo Dam which provides all of the electricity for Ghana and some for its neighboring countries. Since the water level is low, there is an energy crisis here in Ghana. We also saw Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world.

Things To Get Used To

There are several things that I’m going to have to get used to while I’m here. Some will be easier than others. One thing that you notice from the very beginning is the traffic. In Ghana, pedestrians do not have the right of way so you have to be careful when crossing the street. There is a ton of honking. At first I thought the drivers were being rude, but I’ve realized that it is just their way of warning you that they are coming up behind you. Also, there are very few traffic signs or lights. I have seen many close calls but somehow the cars never hit each other. I would definitely not want to drive here. Also, along every road, even on campus, there are cement gutters that are 2-3 foot deep and probably a foot across. You have to be very careful when you’re walking around, especially at night, or you just might fall into one. I’ve actually seen someone fall into one at night, but I’ll be nice and not mention her name. It was pretty funny after I found out she wasn’t hurt. When you go into Accra, the gutters have sewage in them which makes it smell quite bad in some areas. Another thing that has been hard getting used to is the cold showers. It takes some serious will power every morning to step into the shower of shockingly cold water. The food has taken some getting used to too. Lunch and dinner consist mainly of rice, beans, and chicken, and the food is really spicy sometimes. My breakfasts are usually egg sandwiches. I really would prefer a greater variety of food, but I can definitely survive on what they have here because it isn’t bad. The internet is very slow here and I either have to pay to go to an internet café or wait in a line for a computer if it’s free. Also, since there is a power shortage in Ghana, we usually lose our power every three days. Everywhere in Ghana is on a rotating schedule. If we lose ours Sunday morning from 6am to 6pm, then we’ll lose it again on Wednesday night from 6pm to 6am. It really doesn’t bother me that much, especially since I usually know when it’s going to happen, but it doesn’t always stick to the schedule. One last thing that I’m getting used to is the early rising of the sun. It is usually light here before 6am. Because of that, many people are up and around by 6, which means that I usually wake up around then too. The sun also set at around 6pm, so it gets dark really early. Although some of these things may seem a little annoying, I’m getting used to them and realizing that it is the way of life in Ghana. None of these are things that I couldn’t get used to, and none of them are really detracting from my love for this place.

The Beginning of Classes

My class schedule while I’m here in Ghana is as follows:

Monday:

8:30-10:00 African Politics and Development

10:30-12:00 Peoples and Culture of Ghana: Guest Lecture

2:00-3:30 West African Literature and Drama

Tuesday

8:30-9:30 African Drumming and Dance (Dance)

10:00-11:30 Justice and the Common Good

2:00-3:00 Twi Language

Wednesday

8:30-10:00 African Politics and Development

10:30-11:30 Peoples and Culture of Ghana: Guest Lecture

1:30-3:00 Twi Language

Thursday

8:00-9:30 West African Literature and Drama

10:30-11:30 African Drumming and Dance (Lecture)

1:00-2:30 Twi Language

3:30-5:00 Justice and the Common Good

Friday

9:00-10:00 African Drumming and Dance (Dance/Drumming)

All of my classes are with Calvin students. Professor Groenhout, who came with us from Calvin teaches our Justice and the Common Good class. The rest of our classes are taught by professors at the University of Ghana. Except for our dance class, our classes all meet in a small classroom in the Institute of African Studies building. The room barely fits all 16 of us, but it does have air conditioning which is really nice. Our dance class meets in a public place where anybody can come and watch us. There usually is a pretty big crowd watching us Americans attempt to dance…a little bit embarrassing, but still pretty fun.

The first week of classes also included a lot of fun nights. I went into Osu (a nicer part of Accra) one night with four other people from our hostel. Another night there was probably about 30 people from our hostel that went to a bar with live Ghanaian Highlife music. I met a lot of great people and had some good conversations. Us Calvin peeps also went to Kokrobite Beach on Friday afternoon.

Deborah’s Birthday

September 9^th was Deborah’s birthday so all 16 of us Calvin students decided to go out to eat to celebrate. We ended up going to The Dynasty Chinese Restaurant in Osu. It was a really nice place with great food. It was also quite expensive, at least by Ghanaian standards. We were all seated in our own private room at a huge circular table that fit us all. The surprise came with the bill, 1.5 million cedis! Little did we know that there was a huge import tax added to the price of each of our meals. Still, at only around $150, it wasn’t that much for 16 of us, but compared to our normal meals that cost from $0.30 to $1.00, it was a huge shock. It honestly took everyone throwing in all the money they had for us to cover the cost. It took us about 20 minutes to count out the right amount of bills and the stack was probably 3 or 4 inches high since the highest denomination any of us had was 10,000 cedis (although there is supposed to be a 20,000 cedi bill that I have yet to get my hands on). After the meal we had to get taxis to go back to the university. We actually had so little money left that we had to have someone run into the hostel when we got back to get more money to pay the drivers (and the fare was only about a dollar per person). It was a fun night and definitely a learning experience.