Ghana Time

Hello!

Updating this blog has been more difficult than I imagined. It's been hard finding quick and reliable internet. The servers are down more often than I expected. The free computers rarely world well. I usually have to pay for time, and by the time I check my e-mail and bank account statement, my time is up. I've typed a bunch of entires on my laptop containing my thoughts and reflections on the trip thus far. Hopefully, the wireless internet that supposedly exists in my residence hall will start working soon so I can upload those entires. and pictures too. I have a lot of pictures to upload.

Aside from that, I am well! I've adjusted pretty well to the food, the weather, and the lifestyle here. The water has gone out once since I've been here, and it wasn't so bad. The water reservoir is pretty close to my room so getting buckets of water for my daily needs isn't too bad.

Um, I bet many of you are curious to know about what life is like here. Let me try to sum it up.

I currently live in Volta Hall, the all female dorm on campus. The UC EAP girls are the only non-Ghanaians that live in this hall. Many famous women in Ghana have attended this University, and most of them lived in this Hall while they attended. There's a lot of pride from the ladies of Volta Hall, especially right now, since it is currently going through its 50th year anniversary celebration. Volta is nice, but the wear and tear of the humid weather and rain on the infrastructure is definitely visible. The rooms are cozy, a bit dirty, but very cozy. There are two rooms connected together, with the main door entering into the first room and a second door entering into another room. Three rooms exist on a floor, and the rooms share two showers and a toilet that is located at the end of the hall. The accommodations are simple but adequate.

The food here is cheap and very carb heavy. I'm still getting used to it all. I feel like a lot of stuff here is served in little plastic baggies. The water, the ice cream, the fruit, your to-go orders.. Its very convenient to carry, but it's also very unsustainable. It actually drives me nuts how much plastic is used each day here. At the end of the day, I feel like I'm walking home with a huge carbon footprint. On top of all this plastic waste, I notice that a lot of trash all over campus. There definiatly a waste management problem throughout Accra. People litter everywhere and I assume this is because there isn't really a service where trash can be disposed of. When piles get to big, people just set the trash to fire. I don't think they have landfills here, which is probably another reason why so many people toss and burn their trash. All this burning of trash has resulted in a very gray and polluted sky and a constant stench of burning plastic in the air. It's quite unhealthy. I can imagine my lung tissues dying bit by bit each day. That bothers me a lot too. I want to help develop some kind of recycling program here, but at the same time, there are so many other issues that need to be dealt with first (such as sanitation and proper hygiene) before we start talking about stuff like recycling.

Sigh.

Going to school in Ghana has been quite an experience. I just finished my first week of classes... however, I didn't actually have any class. Apparently, many of the professors (and the students) don't take week one of classes very seriously. I found myself walking to empty lecture halls quite often this week only to find other foreigners that have also showed up expecting a lecture. I spent most of last week trying to enroll of classes. Since online registration is not set up at this university, you are required to travel to all the departments and to fill out paperwork. Also, the final examination times have not been posted yet, and they will not be posted until one month before examinations begin. Thus, I just have to hope that my final exam times don't overlap.. It's actually been quite a stressful experience

On another note, the people are very friendly, as long as you greet them first, and the time schedule Ghanaians run on is very relaxed. According to my Ghanaian education abroad adviser, Americans go by the watch, Ghanaians go by the time. Thus, nothing every really ever starts on time, and there is usually a good twenty minutes of down time before any scheduled event begins. It's good and bad though- it gives you time to get to know the people around you, but gives me little motivation to rush and be ontime anymore!

Alright, its almost 11:30pm here. And I think I shall sleep now. I woke up early this morning so I could travel to the market to buy fabric for a dress I'm getting made. It's been a long, productive, but slow day.

More thought provoking updates to come!

Love,
Alice