"You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang & you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best
Wherever you go, you'll top all the rest."
I survived my first week of school!... Which wasn’t very
hard since the first week of classes here doesn’t really involve going to class
at all. Most Ghanaian students use this first week to figure out their schedule
& start going to class next week. I still attempted to attend my first
class on Monday, leaving an hour early to give myself plenty of time to find my
classroom, or so I thought. I asked a group of girls where the room “R3” was
& they told me that is was on the 2nd floor of the physics
department, so I walked over there to find that the physics department is a one
story building. At that point I was definitely going to be late so I gave up
& made my way back to the hostel.
Later that afternoon a group of us went to check out the
drumming course list & also stopped by the study abroad office. It’s air
conditioned in there so we like to come up with excuses to go hang out. I asked
them where R3 was & found it later on that afternoon, so I’ll be at my
Monday class next week for sure!
Tuesday was out first day of drumming and it was so much
fun! It’s offered 4 hours a week, but we only have to attend 2 of them. I think
a lot of us will go to all of them because we had a blast. After class we went
for lunch at our favorite campus pub – Tacobel. I had a night class that night
but wasn’t brave enough to walk across campus in the dark just yet, especially
when most classes this week didn’t really happen. So I’ll find that one next
week too!
I didn’t have any classes Wednesday so I spent part of the day
at the mall & the rest of the night hanging out at the tables in the hostel
with a few of my friends. I also took another walk across campus to check out
the schedule for African dance courses. Looks like I’ll be beginning that class
next Tuesday morning at 6:30 am! At home I would never sign up for a class at
that hour but here the sun is always up by 6 am & set by 6 pm. My sleeping
schedule has shifted a lot. I generally head to bed around 8 or 9 pm & wakeup
around 5:30 every morning. Not only is that because it starts getting light
then, but it’s also the only semi cool part of the day where I can get some
exercise.
Yesterday we had drumming class followed by a meeting with
our director, Auntie Theresa. We call her Auntie as a sign of respect. In the
Ghanaian culture you call the adults in society Auntie & Uncle even when
there is no relation. We straightened out our volunteer programs with her, so I
will be working in the orphanage as well as a school for underprivileged
children.
After the meeting we went to a little outdoor coffee place
& hung out there for a bit with some more delicious African coffee. Then I
went to my last class of the day to find I was the only white person there.
That was a first! That might have been the moment that it really hit me that I
wasn’t in Montana anymore or the United States for that matter. It was the
first time I can remember being truly nervous in class. It’s pretty obvious I’m
not from around here & everyone stared at me as I made my way to my seat.
The men here are often a little friendlier than I’m used to with the “obrani”
women, but the women that are my age tend to be a little intimidating, and a
lot less friendly. I’m hoping that doesn’t last & I can make friends with
some more of the local girls here.
I got back to my room to find I finally had a roommate! She
is Ghanaian girl named Harriet, and she is beautiful. She is a senior &
wants to continue on to law school in the United States so it’s nice to have
something in common! All the Ghana locals are gorgeous people actually. I’m not
sure what’s in the water around here, but I’m a little disappointed we’re not
allowed to drink it :) I’m convinced Beyonce must have some Ghanaian blood
considering how beautiful the genes are in this part of the world.
Last night we gathered in one dorm room & played games,
laughing all night. We have all gotten to know each other pretty quickly here,
but I guess that’s what happens when you throw 25 Americans into Africa for 5
months. I never used to think I had an accent but I frequently get made fun of
for the way I say words like “bag” & “avocado,” but I don’t mind. It’s just
another reminder of how big the world is.
This morning a few of us went to check out the volunteer opportunities
at the West Africa AIDS Foundation & the Mawuvio Outreach Programme. The
AIDS foundation doesn’t have openings for volunteers right now, but the
outreach program really interested me. I wasn’t originally planning on doing my
volunteer work there, but when I walked through it I really felt like I wanted
to be a part of it. I would go over there a few days a week & help teach
the kids & tutor them. There are 65 children between the ages 5 & 14
who cannot afford schooling on their own so they come to this program.
When I was there, I looked over at a group of kids in their
classroom section sitting in front of a poster that read, “You can Change the
World,” and that was all the convincing I needed. Seeing that was just a huge
reminder of why I’m here, not so that I can change the world but because the
kids in that classroom can & I have the ability to help them get there. I
will start with the school sometime next week & the orphanage on Monday.
After the volunteer tour was over I attempted to go to my
last class of the week but after sitting in the room alone for a half hour, I
figured it probably wasn’t happening this week so I left and went to a soccer
game a few of our orientation leaders were playing in.
One pretty awesome thing about the food here is that there
are no preservatives in anything. It’s pretty crazy how much better that makes
you feel. I bought a loaf of bread last Thursday to make PB&J and the bread
was already moldy by Monday.
This is one of my favorite juices that I’ve found here, made
of all fresh fruit. It goes bad in only 6 days because there’s nothing but pure
fruit in the bottle. Any fruit juice at home would last months before going
bad.
Also, this is the size a banana is supposed to be naturally.
Crazy!! I actually feel way better without all the added stuff & it tastes better too!
Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you back home. I am missing
you all today but also very blessed by the love I am surrounded by here in Africa.
Love to you all,
Kasey
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