Days 19-22

It’s my second week of classes, and I have already attended more than I did last week. I suppose that is probably due to the fact that they actually happened this week! I have been here for about three weeks now & finally starting to feel like I am actually living here, not just on a vacation… unless you call another 16 weeks a vacation, but to me I am definitely living here.

Saturday I helped out at our director’s granddaughter’s fifth birthday party. It was so much fun! But definitely much more of a celebration than we have back home. The bus came at noon to go to the party & I wasn’t back at the hostel until 8 that night.

The birthday girl’s name was Myah & she was absolutely precious. I would say I played with babies much more than anything else, and also got some cake & ice cream out of it so it was a pretty good deal for me! We sang her the regular happy birthday song before she blew out her candles but they add on three more verses here. After the regular “Happy Birthday to you” they sing “how old are you now? How old are you now?...” with the same tune & then Myah responded “I’m 5 years old now, I’m 5 years old now…” And then we finished with “May God bless you now, may God bless you now…” I thought it was pretty cute & a great birthday wish as well. 

 "I'm 5 years old now!"

Sunday I wasn’t feeling too great, but the weather wasn’t great either. It poured rain & stormed nearly all day. I spent the day reading several different books & listening to the sermon online from my church at home since I wasn’t feeling well enough to attend church that day. I read parts of two Christian books (Not a Fan & The Resolution for Women) that a couple of friends gave me from home & the first half of a book called The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I also finally got to talk to my dad on the phone & my mom too, though we have talked a few times since I’ve been here :) It was really nice to talk to them. I miss them so much! 

Here is a picture I took of the rain that was inside the hostel, though it really doesn't do the weather here any justice at all.

Monday I was feeling much better and was wide awake by 4 am, so once the sun was up I set out for a run bringing some money with me so I could finish my run at the coffee place on campus & sip it while I walked back to the hostel. I guess I am becoming more & more like my mom everyday. On my run that morning I noticed a car slowing down right next to me & keeping the same pace as me which really creeped me out at first but when I looked over there was an older woman looking out of her window so I took out my headphone as she shouted “Oh, you running! That good fo you! Bye Bye!” I said thanks & laughed a little bit as she drove away.

I attended class later that day (I found the right building this time!) & was actually very fascinated by it. Luckily it was the first time the class met, so I didn’t miss anything last week. It’s a human development course so we started learning about gender roles in society & sexuality, which is very interesting when you’re in a whole different culture. When class ended all of the sudden about 20 Ghanaian girls were asking my name & wanting to be my friend. I even got asked to eat a traditional dish with them for lunch after class next week! So I guess the women aren’t so bad here after all. I couldn’t remember very many of their names, mostly because I can hardly understand anything anyone says to me here but I am starting to catch on to the accents a little more each day. One girl was shouting to all her friends “Come! Meet an obrani everyone, meet an obrani!” So I’m not sure if they actually want to be MY friend, or just friends with any obrani. Either way I was happy to be getting acquainted with some more locals.

I went back to my room where I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing The Fault in Our Stars, only taking a break to go get some fruit at the night market while my roommate napped & entertained herself on her computer. She also made dinner & gave me a plate. It was just some noodles & veggies so I figured I was safe to eat it. It was incredibly spicy, for my taste at least, but since she gave me a plate I toughed it out & ate it all while chugging about 2 whole water bottles to soothe the burning in my mouth.

This morning I woke up bright & early for dance class but unfortunately wasn’t able to take it due to a scheduling mishap, so I’ll have to shoot for another one later in the week or next week. Instead I just got some fruit for breakfast & killed the time before drumming class, which was awesome again. Our instructor danced around in the center while we drummed away & even the lizards came out to listen to the beat! This was definitely something new as most lizards I’d ever really encountered were locked in a glass box in someone’s basement.

After drumming I got even more fruit & rested a little before I braved my way out to my night class. I was starting to feel a little homesick & getting some culture shock, as well as starting to REALLY miss American food. But as I walked across campus into the sunset I was quickly reminded that I’m here in Africa for only four more months out of my entire life. I’m 21 years old & so incredibly blessed to be here & allow this opportunity to shape the person I will become. I have the rest of my life to eat good food & live with the beautiful mountains surrounded by all the familiar things that make it home. And I think that’s what makes this experience so amazing.

 

I got to class & was yet again the only white person. It was a psychology class with about 300 students. The teacher showed up about 20 minutes late & was very quick to ask me in front of everyone where I was from, though I didn’t mind. It was certainly keep my attendance rate for that class in good standing since it would be pretty obvious if I weren’t there. Though I think I would show up to every class anyways because he was an awesome professor. He was funny & engaging & helped two hours pass really quickly. He told me his English wasn’t great so to excuse him for that, definitely another first for me. I also had a few more students ask to be my friend so that was comforting.

I walked home in the dark by myself, but it actually wasn’t so bad. Even though the location is on the complete opposite side of campus, taking at least 30 minutes of walking to get there, there were many other students walking in the same direction so I felt safe.

An older woman named Auntie Louise is always out by our hostel selling some kind of dinner & “tantalizing” baked goods, as she says, though I’m not so sure I’d use that same word to describe them myself. I decided to use the money I could have spent on a cab to buy a muffin from her. It was 3 cedis, but I only had bigger bills so I gave her a 5 & told her to keep the change, which is not a common thing here. It’s actually so uncommon that her face lit up & she told me I was a blessing & to keep on blessing. Little does she know that people like her are way more of a blessing to people like me than I could ever be to them.

I ate part of the banana muffin I bought from her, but they are very dense and almost chewy in texture so I can only eat so much. Unfortunately we weren’t able to make it to the orphanage yesterday so we are headed there in the morning & I will hopefully finally have my schedule somewhat figured out. Love to you all,

Kasey