The night I fell in a gutter

So, last night I sustained my first real injury in Ghana. I was going out with some friends to a birthday party and we got lost so we were all standing out in the street trying to figure out where we needed to go. A quick explanation about the gutters here: they are essentially giant concrete open-air drainpipes that collect all sorts of water, trash, mud, etc that run the length of most roads. They generally smell bad, and vary in size and depth, and contents. We constantly have to step over them in order to cross the road, and I thought I had been getting more aware of my surroundings.

Continuing on with the story. My friend who was driving, ended up driving his car into a gutter, which I thought was funny. So, I turned around to laugh, and I started walking backwards. Well, I ended up walking backwards straight into a gutter. I caught myself before I completely fell in, but this was a very deep gutter. If I had fallen in all the way, it probably would have been chest deep. Also, this was not a clean gutter, it was full of sewage (hopefully not human waste). I ended up seriously cutting my little toe and foot, and bruising my knee. Also, I am pretty certain that my little toe is actually broken.

We finally got to the party and I washed out my toe, and luckily someone had a band-aid so that I could cover it. When I got back to my dorm I cleaned it out even more, because I have absolutely no idea what was in that gutter and what effect it might have on my body. I have been limping around all day, but there isn't really anything that I can do for a broken toe. So, I will just have to deal with it until it heals.

Other than that, I am dealing with some other health issues, I think I have bronchitis. I started antibiotics today, so I should be getting better in a few days, I hope. Besides that, everything else is swell!

Health care, Classes, and Football

So this was my first week of real classes, and I think I have finally figured out which classes I will be taking. They are: Population and Development, Issues in International Relations in Africa, Economic and Political Reform and Democracy in Africa, and African Drumming. As far as I can tell, they will be decent classes. I have one class per day Monday-Thursday (only 2 hour classes) and then no classes on Friday. One of the more frustrating things is that many of the books required for readings are not really available, or there is only one copy in all of Accra, which means I have to go to the library and read it all there, or make copies. Among other things, I found out where I will be interning, Hope Orphanage. I am going there for the first time tomorrow morning, but I have been told that I will be tutoring the kids in English and Math, and also working on a project to get all of the children under a health care plan.

I also got sick this week. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I figured that when I did get sick it would be a stomach issue. Not the case, it seems that I have a chest cold of sorts. A few people in my building had similar symptoms as me, and they went to the hospital and got prescribed medicine, so I figured I would go and get myself checked out in case it was something more serious. Well, I got to the University hospital across the street, only to be turned away and sent to the on-campus clinic. I got to the clinic and preceded to wait in line for two hours in order to be seen by a doctor. When I finally got to see the doctor, I described what was wrong with me. This doctor (if she even was a real doctor) did not even touch me. She didn't look down my throat, take my temperature, or listen to my breathing. She simply prescribed me pain killers, allergy medicine, and Vitamin C pills. I have yet to take any of the medicine she gave me, and I will not be returning to that clinic if I get sick again. Needless to say, there is definitely a shortage of qualified doctors in this country.

Finally, the African Cup of Nations is going on right now, which is a continent wide football (soccer) tournament being played in Angola. And, exciting news, Ghana made it to the finals! I just watched the end of the Ghana v. Nigeria game, and Ghana won 1-0. No matter where you are, whether or not you are near a TV, you always know when Ghana scores a goal because EVERYONE starts screaming. When Ghana won, the city pretty much exploded. People were running around with their flags, cars were honking their horns, and one car (trying to make noise) crashed into the gutter. I don't know when the final game is, but we are playing either Egypt or Algeria- and I can't wait!

Accra

I was talking to my parents last night and they said something that was very true. The pictures that I have posted do not really show what Accra is actually like. Sure, I have taken pictures of the beach or Aburi Gardens, but downtown Accra? So, until I get some pictures I figured that I can tell you what it is really like here. Ghana is supposed to be the "rising star" of Africa, and I have noticed that it is a bit more developed than Zambia. But, I still feel like I am in the developing world every single day. There is a ton of traffic, the air is full of exhaust, and there are people everywhere. The roads are full of potholes, and the sidewalks are not much better (if there are sidewalks). Many of the time, there is no real distinction between where pedestrians are supposed to walk and where cars are supposed to drive, so I often find myself within inches of being hit by a car. The sewers are usually not covered, so there are giant holes in the ground that you have to watch out for (I am convinced that I am going to fall into one eventually). Because of these open air gutters/sewers, the smell in Accra is not very pleasant, basically a mix between sewage, garbage, and body odor. People also tend to burn their trash piles, which does not seem very environmentally friendly to me. Not as many people beg for money as did in Zambia, but the unemployment rate is still very high, 25%. At an street corner there are people selling a variety of things, from cell phone minutes, to food, to shoes or bras. I believe there is a community of women in Accra who are from Niger, and they tend to stand on the street and send their children out to beg for money, which is always heartbreaking. So, Ghana is not just beaches and gardens and resort hotels. Poverty and underdevelopment is very much present, which makes for a challenging life. However, these challenges are really the reason that I decided to come to Ghana in the first place, and it makes every day an adventure.

Classes (or lack thereof)

So, I am nearing two weeks in Ghana, and classes started Monday. Or, so they told us. I registered for all my classes last week and expected them to start on Monday. However, that is not really the case. Registration continues all week, and many of the Ghanaian students are not even here yet. Therefore, the professors feel no need to show up for class because no one comes. So far, I have been to three classes and no professor has shown up. As a student from America, paying a lot of money to have my professors show up to class, I find this very frustrating. But, when in Ghana, do as the Ghanaians do. So, I will continue to go to class this week, and I will probably not see any professors, oh well. Among other things:

I took my first bucket bath the other night (no water, again). It really wasn't that bad, I felt totally clean after. However, it is a little tricky washing your hair haha.

I hand-washed my clothes for the first time too. Now, this was a lot more difficult than I expected. You essentially buy a bar of laundry soap and a brush and you have to scrub your clothes in one bucket, rinse them out in the sink or shower, wring them out, and then hang them on the clothesline. Let me tell you, it was a serious work out. I was sweating profusely and my back was killing me from bending over the bucket. I need to manage my laundry and just do a few articles of clothing at a time, 2-3 times a week. Also, because of the humidity, it takes about two days for your clothes to dry, so you really have to plan it out.

There are so many lizards here. I would say that they are the equivalence of squirrels in America.

We got a fridge for our room, however, it seems to have only one setting...frozen. EVERYTHING is frozen solid.

I am learning Twi (a local language). Here are a few words/phrases:
Ete sen? (How are you?)
Eye (good)
Na wo nso e (and you too?)
It is a really tricky language because you can't necessarily sound things out, for example Twi is actually pronounced something like Chwi. There are also words that have multiple meanings, and depending on how you say them or in what context, you are supposed to know what they mean. But to me, all the pronunciations usually sound exactly the same. For example, Papa can mean father, good, or hand-fan. I have a test tomorrow, should be interesting.

I went to the beach on Sunday and it was really nice! A few of us managed the tro-tros all by ourselves (well, with the help of some nice Ghanaians). There were a lot of hecklers and people trying to sell us stuff, but the weather was beautiful and the water was warm. Definitely not like the beaches in America (there was a lot of trash in the water), but still a nice way to escape from the heat.

The fruit is delicious here. You can buy a full pineapple and have it cut up for less than $1. I don't think I will be able to eat the pineapples in America after tasting the ones here.

That's all for now! More updates to come later.

Earthquake!

Just kidding, there wasn't really an earthquake...BUT there were rumors of one. At about 4 am this morning, someone started pounding on my door. I was told not to open the door in the middle of the night, so I was afraid it was someone coming to murder me. But, it was my suite-mate telling me that an earthquake was coming so we needed to evacuate the building. Now, the idea of an earthquake seemed pretty horrifying to me, especially after reading about what is going on in Haiti right now, so I booked it out of my room. Well, after sitting outside for about 45 minutes waiting for an earthquake, we found out that it was just a rumor. What kind of sick person spreads a rumor about a natural disaster coming?! Needless to say, life in Ghana is always full of surprises.

Akwaaba Ghana

I decided to make a blog so that I could record my next four months in the lovely country of Ghana. Since I have been here for 8 days, I can't possibly say everything that I have done in one blog post- but I will fill everyone in on the basics.

I am attending the University of Ghana in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The university has over 30,000 students and it is HUGE. I am used to tiny little American, so walking 30 minutes to class is an adjustment for me. I am living in a dorm that is suite style- so there are three rooms (2 people in each) with a common room, a kitchen (but the kitchen is just some counters and a sink), and two bathrooms (that occasionally lose water). My roommate and two of my other suite-mates are from the program that I am on, and apparently two Ghanaian girls are moving in too. The building that I am in has a good amount of Ghanaian students, so I hope to make some friends!

I am taking 16 credits while I am here, but I have not decided which classes I am taking. Because of the way that registration is set up, it is smart to sign up for more classes than you can actually take because the times of the classes are not always up when you register. So far, I know I am taking an internship for credit, a Twi class (the local language), and African drumming.

There is a lot to do here, but it requires a knowledge of the public transportation system. The cheapest way to get around is by tro-tro, which is a type of mini-van that takes you pretty much anywhere in the city for less than 50 cents. But, it is SO confusing because I usually have no idea where I am going in the first place, and you don't really know the stops when you get onto a tro-tro. So, i am trying to figure it out- I plan on being a pro by the time that I leave Ghana.

Culturally, Ghana is a big adjustment, but definitely in a good way. First of all, everyone is super friendly, and it is very important to say hello to people that you plan on needing help from, because if you ignore them, they will ignore you right back. Also, shaking hands is really important- and they have a special handshake that involves a snap, and I am still trying to figure that out. Everything here is very slow-moving, and there is no point in making a checklist because you won't get everything you need to done in one day. The weather is HOT, in the 90s every day. It would be slightly bearable, except the humidity is like nothing I have ever experienced. I have already gotten used to being covered in sweat all day every day. I also have to get used to being called an "obruni", which means white person or foreigner. You hear it pretty much everywhere you go, and its not necessarily considered offensive- they are simply pointing out a fact. Also, women are constantly cat-called by men, which is flattering at first (I got called an empress twice in a day), but it also gets annoying.

As far as what I have been doing since I got here, I will fill everyone in! The first few days I was in a hotel just doing orientation stuff. On Sunday (a week ago) I moved into my dorm at the University. On Wednesday, orientation started, so I ran around trying to sign up for some classes. On Thursday we took a field trip to the first cocoa farm in Ghana, a wood carving village, and Aburi Gardens. The cocoa farm was really cool, they let us taste the inside of a cocoa bean and its tastes like a fruit, I have no idea how they make chocolate out of it. The wood carving village was also really awesome. It is basically a line of shacks along a street, and each wood carver has their own little hut where they sell their goods. It was absolutely amazing woodwork, and some of the carvers were really young, I bought some stuff from a 15 year old boy! Aburi Gardens is just a huge garden with lots of trees and different types of spices. We got to smell Allspice, Cinnamon, and a bunch of other ones. It was nice to get out of the city for a day too, because the air in the city is so heavy, dusty, and full of exhaust fumes (which does not feel good on my lungs).

That is about all that I have for now- it's getting late and I start class tomorrow at 9:30. I am having a great time, and I know that I am going to fall in love with Ghana during my time here.