Oct. 29, 2010 Ghana…….
Hello from Ghana! So I’ve been in Ghana for almost three months (exactly 3 in another week). I have one refrain in my head that makes days both frustrating and funny. My closest Ghanaian friend tells it to me all the time: “THIS IS AFRICA.” In many ways it means “suck it up this is how it is here.” Sometimes it means “just laugh honey.” On the opposite side of this refrain sometimes sits my laughter others my response: “when do I go home” lol.
Here are my most recent adventures and stories:
Strike! (no just kidding, no sike it’s for real, actually no one knows, uh yes there is a strike)
That’s basically how the university faculty strike in all of Ghana went. Hear-say, they say, he say, she say, there was a strike. Eventually there was an official statement that in fact the university faculty all over the country were on strike for not being paid a pay increase they were promised a long time ago. So what exactly does this mean? All the university lectures refused to teach. The strike continued for a solid three weeks. No one attended class and campus was pretty vacant for the first week. After which the international students became afraid this would elongate our stay and/or disrupt our academic progress. Considering of my duration here and my purpose as a student, I was ready to pack my bags and head home. The second week International Programs at the University of Ghana arranged for international students to have private lectures. We did. Mines were very boring but I do believe I learned more during those two weeks than I have the entire stay so far. Due to the low number of students (sometimes just myself) we were able to hear, see, ask questions, and actually understand what was being taught. In my African dance class there was actually room to dance and enough air in the un-air-conditioned room to breath. The bad part was that professors found it appropriate to make us attend extended lectures that met at 3 hours a session to make up for lost time. It was not effective in that way because of course any person will stop paying attention if made to sit and listen to someone talk for 3 hours!
After three weeks the university policy was that the school would close but instead the faculty returned to the classroom and the academic calendar was extended. International students (ME) are not supposed to be effected by the extended schedule but some faculty is trying to say we have to attend class until Dec. 2, 2010. I find this ridiculous and terribly organized because we’ve done more than enough. It is especially grueling when you don’t feel like you’re learning much. My departure date is Dec. 12, 2010. It will not be compromised!!! I hope to stop attending class Nov. 12, 2010 which was the original date. I feel like the faculty were justified in their purpose for striking but I’m not sure if they achieved anything. Seems like the made more work for them and complicated my life.
Honestly, I would not recommend any student in need of fulfilling academic rigor to study in Ghana. Sorry.
The Attack of the Tro-Tro
To begin a “tro-tro” is a primary source of public transportation in Ghana. It is essentially an overcrowded mini-van that you pay no more than fifty US cents to ride pretty much anywhere in the city. They have little chairs that fold up on the end of each row to allow for as many people as possible to ride. You stand some place on the road and wait for the tro-tros to come by. There is a young boy/man hanging out the side of the sliding door yelling the destination the driver is going to. He is called the mate.
So what had happened was………
My friends and I got in a tro-tro back to campus. I was wearing a long, flowing pink dress. It’s really hard to find tro-tros with several seats empty, so we cram into one. I sit on the last seat before the folding one. Our stop comes. We yell “bus stop” to tell the mate we want to get off. I stand up, crawl over a woman’s lap and hear a loud ripping sound. A man that was in my row yells at me to come back. Mine you, I’m all of one foot from my seat hunching over in this little van. He begins to pull me back so he can pull my dress from in between the folding chair. Did I mention the metal in these tro-tros is typically rusty and sharp? So, I’m caught. A nice old guy is trying to pull me out. I’m sweating. The driver is ready to go. The guy rips my dress out and I have two large holes in my dress. The guy who helped me says “oh it’s spoiled.” I smile, laugh to myself, and hop down from the tro- tro. “THIS IS AFRICA.”
Playing Chicken
As a child growing up in inner city Indianapolis my siblings and friends used to play a game called “chicken” where the object was to run across the street with cars coming without getting hit. So, in Ghana crossing any road at any time is an extreme game of chicken. Believe you me, I am one terrified pedestrian. There are no pedestrian rights here and very few signs that tell you when to cross. The few I have seen don’t work. I have nearly been run over about three terrifying times. Once the car stopped like five feet from my body. People here drive extremely fast no matter where they are going so you have to run for dear life to cross the rode. I’ve adopted the habit of waiting for a Ghanaian person, greeting them, and saying “Hi Auntie/uncle can I cross the road with you?” They usually take my hand and say “let’s go.” My friends laugh every time but hey I’m still alive! “THIS IS AFRICA!”
Traveling by road
When I first arrived I was surprised by the amount of cars on the road. Then I learned that when you leave the city of Accra there are not many paved roads. So…….you’re in for one bumby ride Traveling by road in Ghana is like riding a wooden roller coaster with no seat belt. I nearly got whip flash riding to a city called Kumasi. I was in the back of the van and with every bump I hop and jerked my neck. Paved roads and side walks are something we take for granted in America! But of course….. “THIS IS AFRICA!”
Village Visit : Aygementi
Recently I visited another village to supposedly do some water sanitation work. Due to disorganization, road delays, and lateness that did not exactly happened. The one thing I did learn from this visit is that all things have to be considered in their own context. My America eyes see things like traditional villages (houses with mud walls, natural water source, limited resources, etc) and think the people are so bad off but that’s not necessarily true. Because people don’t have a lot or what we consider necessities doesn’t mean they are not happy or making it. For instance, in this village we met a woman who made annually about $25 from selling cassava. She had four children. I thought, wow that’s so little how can she live? But after discussing it I learned that she is a farmer, so she doesn’t have to buy food. She can make her own clothes. She owns her own home, so she doesn’t have to pay bills. Essentially she has what she needs. I don’t think that this should be used as an excuse not to help others but we should not be so critical of things we don’t fully understand.
General Reflections from my daily journal:
• Ghana is like the USA 200 years ago. She still has time to grow.
• I was asked why I didn’t want a perm when I went to get my hair braided. Funny, right? I thought this was Africa?
• The “female urinal” is like peeing in an animal stall. I prefer the bush!
• African dance is much fun but hard work! Sweat baby, sweat! AFRICA! Lol.
• Many educated Ghanaians strive to be western.
• “African men like their women fully endowed, round, and sweating.” –Ghanaian professor.
• The sun here is a smiling torture.
Poem, Titled: Accra
This is New York before the lights
Chicago before the buildings
This is every ghetto on a sweltering day
This is the south before King or Jim Crow
This is Africa.
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