PICTURES

Hi!!

So the only update since the last one is that the sockets were working last night, so we had a fan!!!! Also Maya (my roommate who also goes to W&L) and I decided to open the window and just close it before we left the roo

m in the morning which made the room a lot cooler. That in addition to taking some NyQuil meant I

got a prett

y good nights sleep! But I am still feeling rather sick, o well. Auntie gave me a huge glass of orange juice (that she squeezed herself) so that I could h

ave

more vitamin C.

Anyway, here are pics from yesterday (and one from the day before):

A little sick : (

Hi everyone!

So after I posted yesterday I had a great experience, I went and played soccer with some local Ghanaian kids on a tiny patch of grass in the middle of a market. At first my touch was pretty rough, which is to be expected since the ball was just the bladder with some pieces of cloth dangling off. I had always wondered how the ball didn't kill one's feet playing bare foot but when the ball is like that it is not bad at all actually It was amazing. Once I got my touch down they were all super impressed that I could juggle; both because I am an abruni and because I am a girl. There are a ton of pictures from the experience on another girls camera (the kids got super excited about the camera, both with taking picture and having pictures taken of them). She says she will e-mail them to me and I will post some. The kids want us to go watch their game on Saturday. They taught me some Twi (one of the native languages). The other guys who came with me to play with them are going there now and giving them a healthy ball. Unfortunately, I am feeling rather sick (most likely a sinus infection) so I think I am going to take a nap in the Aya Centre while I am in air conditioning. The only sad moment yesterday with the boys was when one asked us "Why do you like Ghana?" (in a tone that suggested he was asking 'how can you like Ghana?'). We tried to explain to him that we love the laid-backness and the friendliness of everyone, things that are hard to come by in the US, but his only response was "I want to go to the US to see how awesome it is". Our hosts are upper-middle class to upper-class, but the homes barely compare to impoverished homes in the US (last night the sockets in my room were not working, and nearly no one has electricity (even the repaired homes in the lower 9th ward in New Orleans that I visited had steady electricity-which is not to say that everyone in the US does but it certainly is not nearly as common and certainly not in upper-middle class).

Last night was pretty rough: my host has decided that we should not open our window since too much dust comes in through it, and our fan wasn't working. So we were basically sleeping in an oven, and we felt it. As of this morning the sockets still weren't working, but cross your fingers!

Today we went to the University of Ghana, a premier (public) university in Ghana. There are about 28,000 students and the prof to student ratio we were told is about 1:500 (though our prof said he heard it was 1:280 - which is still incredible considering my prof to student ratio is around 1:8). They are also having a housing problem. Rooms which are meant to house 4 have 12 students in them, but the University costs less than 2,000 cedis to attend so...it def has its pros and it offers a HUGE range of classes.

We then went to the Botanical Gardens in Abrui which were gorgeous! The variety of plants were beautiful. One of my favorite plants was the strangling ficus. It is a plant which wraps around already existing trees, strangling them until they eventually die. As the dead tree deteriorates it leaves a large hole where it used to be, which we could walk through!! Also a section of the garden is dedicated to spice plants. I found a plant which contains the active ingredient of Vicks! So I took a handful of it and used it as medicine for quite awhile...it worked pretty well! Unfortunately, I left my usb cord at my homestay, but I promise I have pictures and I will put them up soon!!

Lots and lots of love,

Hannah

Addition

It was hilarious hearing the merchants try to mimic my jersey accent

First Full Day in Ghana

Hello Everybody!!

So yesterday was our first full

day in Ghana. Due to a rain storm the night before (we are now in the rainy season) it was a lot 

cooler (though still very warm) making everyone a lot happier. After class we had lunch at a local restaurant. I had jouffle (a seasoned rice) with goat, which was delicious. Goat tastes a lot like beef, but I found it to be a little more 

flavorful and juicy. Afterwards we went to Krumah's Mausoleum. For those who do not know Ghana's history (I didn't before my courses began) Nkrumah was a Pan-African a

ctivist who fought against colonial rule not just in Ghana (which was ruled by Britain). He subsequently became Ghana's 

first prime minister and then president. Though he was democratically elected only 18% of the voting population (won by 57% less than 50% of the pop. voted) voted for him, and he subsequently became a corrupt authoritarian. As a result he has a mixed legacy. Some love and idolize him much like George Washington in the US, others view him negatively for his corruptness and becoming an authoritarian.  He was overthrown by coup while out of the country; betrayed by one of his best friends.  Many idolize him for being a champion of decolonization and African rights, but others focus on his corruptness. My homestay has several of his books and a tray with his image so you can guess her opinion of him.

Then we went to the Art Center, a large market which primarily sells crafts. When the merchants saw our bus full of 'arbunis' they flocked towards it, banging on the windows trying to sell us goods before we even got off the bus. The moment my feet touched the ground several merchants swarmed around me shaking my hand in the traditional Ghana manner (a pronlonged hand shake that ends with the two people snapping their fingers against one anothers - I'm sure that You tube has a video of it which might better explain what it looks like) the unending string of hands attempting to shake mine has made me pretty good at it now. I now understand how celebrities feel being swarmed by fans and paperassi, its kinda cool for a couple seconds, and then quickly becomes rather stressful. We were all pulled and pushed by merchants to various stands and had things thrust into our faces. They are very intense barterers and I can't help but feel somewhat guilty when I force the price to less than 1/2 of their original demand. Even though I know they are trying to rip me off, I also know how badly they need the money, it is obvious from the intensity of their voice and their desperation when you begin to walk away. The most awkward moment was when, with one merchant I tried to explain to him that though I knew the item was worth more than I was willing to pay I could not afford to meet his demand, and that I would have to buy something of lesser quality and value. They all assume that since I am white and not from Ghana that I have endless amounts of money and that it is not of a concern to me. Which, relative to what Ghanaians make, is true (average wage in Accra, where the more wealthy people live, is 1,000 cedis a year (reminder 1 dollar = 1.4 cedis), the average teacher makes $2,000 cedis a year. Auntie Vic was complaining about how much college costs in Ghana (1 year tuition = 5,000 cedis)) yet I still have to watch what I spend, naturally.

I do not mean in any way to give the merchants a bad rep. They were all extremely friendly, far more friendly than any store clerk I have ever interacted with in the States, there is just a lot of them all at once, and unlike the US you do not have the opportunity to just browse, so I think the stress came more from the overstimulation and strangeness of it all, than anything a merchant did. I had a great experience.

Ta Ta For Now

-H

Akwaaba!

Hello everyone!

So I am in Accra, Ghana. One of the first things I noticed from the plane was how red (not grey) the streets are and how green the trees are. Even in the city most roads are dirt (clay) so it takes forever for us all to be picked up by the bus in the morning to go to the Aya Centre where our lectures are even though we all live relatively close to one another.

Yesterday, I moved into my homestay and met my host, Auntie Vic (Victoria Dei Tutu), who is so sweet and friendly. She says that she wants us to be fat by the time we go home, so that everyone in the States will see that people in Ghana have plenty of food. Both because the food is delicious and it is an insult to turn down a gift, she will probably succeed. Auntie and the other members of the compound (there are two houses and a courtyard within a walled area) are starting to call me Augua because I was born on a Monday and Ghana has a naming system based upon the day of the week one is born on and one's gender (there are websites where you can find out what day of the week you were born on and the Ghana naming system). My homestay has electricity (but due to a re-circuting or something we frequently have "lights off" or a power outage. Unlike some homstays, we also have working showers (some have to take bucket showers) though app. the tank tends to run out of water and then we too are forced to take a bucket shower (there is no plumbing system like in the US: people have polytanks which sit on platforms outside the house, higher than the house, that provide water for showers that need the help of gravity-- as a result showers are cold- which is great since its so hot- and a lot like standing under a waterfall.) Unlike some homsetays we do not have air conditioning or a PS3 but I think this makes the experience more authentic.

Children on the street frequently yell out "Abruni" when I walk by which means white person. Unlike in the US people openly call each other "white" "dark" "fat" "skinny" but it's not at all rude, it's actually quite heart-felt and warm.

Ok, well we are about to leave for lunch. . .

GOING!

So tomorrow (or i guess at this point later today) I am flying to Ghana! We are catching the bus bright and early at 5:45 for a flight out of DC at 1 PM and arriving in Accra, Ghana at 8:10 AM on Sunday (with a stop at JFK) total travel time is expected to be: 15 hours and 10 minutes which is actually less than I would have guesstimated. 

Introduction

I am going to be spending a month in Ghana beginning this Saturday. I am going as part of Washington and Lee University's Spring Term study abroad program in Ghana. There are about twenty W&L students in the group and two professors. We are studying "African Political Economy" and "African Economic Development"(if you would like a reading list for either or both courses e-mail me). We are studying at the University of Ghana located in Accra, Ghana. We have been assigned a home-stay in Accra who will house and feed us breakfast and dinner. In the morning we have a class taught by one of the W&L professors and in the afternoon we either have an excursion or a class taught by a professor from the University of Ghana. On the weekends we have excursions outside of the city of Accra.