Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8:22am
Dear Friends,
I’ve
now been here in Cape Coast for 2 weeks. Hard to believe and at the
same time feels like I’ve been here at least a month or so already.
Everyday is filled with lots of walking for anything we want to do and
walking means sweating profusely which is uncomfortable to say the least
but we are managing and I feel like I’m getting used to it though I’m
sure 2 more weeks will be even better. These first 2 weeks have been
busy with making friends, not only with the other international students
but with the regular students and people around.
My
roommate is Abby. She’s 19 and from W. Virginia. She is the youngest
and I’m the oldest of our little group. She is a lot of fun and keeps me
laughing a lot. She has mulitple piercings all the way up both ears and
also has 2 dermals below her left eye. Those are the little studs that
are put in and then the top or the front is screwed on and they just sit
there in your face. They look like she stuck a couple diamond things on
her face and everyone here points them out and some ask about them. She
has been here a week now. Jessica and Regina are next door and they are
from Michigan. Patrick is from Michigan, too, though he lives in a dorm
that’s about a 20 min walk from our dorm. He has a bike now so that
helps him a lot. There is also a professor and his family here for the
semester from MI.
The dorms are fairly basic but
seem luxurious when we see other rooms. We have a small sitting area
that has 2 comfy chairs, a desk with a chair, a small fridge, cupboards
along 1 wall with some cabinets that have locks that are for decoration
only. The floor is cement and has some cheap linoleum type stuff down
and taped together at the seems. There are windows on 3 of the 4 walls,
the kind with the ones you open for more air or close up for less. Not
sure what you call them but we had them in Indonesia, too. Fairly common
in hot climates I’m guessing. They are kind of like slats. There is a
small balcony off the sitting room that looks out on the courtyard in
the middle of the dorm. Our residence is called Kwame Nkrumah Hall,
after Ghana’s first president, and we are on the new site where most of
the dorms and lecture halls seem to be. At full capacity it may hold
1000 students, I think. They look like barracks and we joke about that.
There are 4-5 stories with a walkway going all the way around on each
floor and several flights of stairs spread out along the way. No
elevators of course. I’m on the third floor, flat D3.
The
bedroom has a wooden and somewhat wobbly bunk bed and a wardrobe that
goes floor to ceiling, also with decorative locks. It smells super musty
and I haven’t put much in it yet though I hope to do some today since I
bought some hangars in the market and can now hang some of my clothes.
One side of the wardrobe you can hang things in and on the other side
there are 2 deep shelves and then 4 drawers below. Above on both sides
are 2 cupboard doors that I can’t reach and haven’t used. There is a
toilet that is capable of flushing when there is water. Seems like we
can flush it maybe 1x a day which is slightly disconcerting though once
we are in the habit of carrying water up, we can flush it that way.
There isn’t much pressure up on the third floor, especially since most
of the students are here now. We often don’t have water all day. I have
been able to shower a few times late at night around midnight or so but
I’m not staying up just for that if I can shower out of a bucket. There
are communal or public showers and toilets on the floors and I haven’t
tried them for showering yet but I think I might have better luck using 1
on the lower floor sometime. The water is cold, of course, and I can’t
quite get used to that yet, no matter how hot and sweaty I feel. I’m
grateful for the water we have access to, though. So we do have a shower
and a sink in our bathroom area, too, but is more for looks sometimes
than for usage.
Most of the other rooms have
maybe 6 people in them without the bathroom or sitting area so we are
thankful for the space we have. They all know how to cook, clean, do
laundry and all that stuff that we are figuring out how to do here. It’s
a lot of work and I have so much admiration for anyone who does this
all the time. I’ll figure it out though, and get a system or routine
going.
So those are our rooms pretty much. I have a
mosquito net on my bunk, thanks Kassi!! I have had some bug bites but
not too bad yet. I got bit by something when we were sitting out under a
tree the other day and that stung off and on for a few hours which was
bothersome but it hasn’t been too bad. There is an overhead fan in the
living room and an oscillating one in the bedroom. They really help a
lot with moving the air around. Its so stifling here most days. The air
is hazy and there hasn’t been a clear day yet. Some of it is winds from
the Sahara bringing dust this way, I think they call them Harmattan
winds but can’t remember if that’s right. Part of it is the pollution
from the exhausts of the vehicles and the fires that just start cuz its
so hot and I imagine a lot of it is the garbage that’s everywhere adding
to the smell as well as the haze. It can be pretty potent in areas. And
of course part of it is from the ocean.
We are
about a mile from the ocean, maybe 2 at our dorm. We’ve been several
times now but only swam once at the resort. The beaches are dirty and
have lots of trash in many spots and the current is really strong with
big waves crashing all the time so we don’t swim just anywhere. At the
resort there was a small area that had a lifeguard and was clean. The
beaches are sandy and really nice in that respect, with lots of shells
along them. Little sand crabs scurry about looking like spiders that
match the color of the sand. There are palm trees that line the coast in
most areas and some tall grasses, too. There are some people there,
most trying to sell you something, but no one is swimming or just laying
on the beach that I’ve seen. There was a guy bathing in the ocean at
the beach and that was awkward. He wasn’t close to us or anything. They
are fairly open with bathing outside and all that and with going to the
bathroom, too. You will see mainly men urinating in the gutters or
wherever. I hear its illegal and they aren’t supposed to do that but it
happens all the time.
The dirt here is reddish
and covers everything. It settles on the trees and bushes and it looks
like someone sifted the dirt on them, with it being thicker closer to
the ground and thinning out the taller the trees or bushes are. If you
wipe a counter off in the morning, its covered in visible dust by the
evening and feels like an exercise in futility. Trying to keep the
dishes from collecting all the dirt is a challenge but we are working it
out. I don’t want to have to wash my dishes before I use them all the
time, especially since I don’t have running water, so we keep them
turned over or in a cupboard or something in an attempt to subvert the
dust.
We have been to the market several times and
are getting used to it and getting better prices for things as we learn
to haggle some. Its hard for me to do but you get quite motivated when
you know how much you are being overcharged for everything. The market
is crazy and pretty cool too. The more I go the more I like going. There
is the main market, Kotokuraba, that has most of the things we have
needed and for better prices than the little markets on campus. There is
a long road lined with hundreds of little stalls on both sides of the
street. There are gutters, sometimes covered, sometimes not, that run on
either side of the road. All manner and size of vehicles squeeze down
the roads going both directions, honking their horns for any little
thing. They use it tell you to get out of the way, that they are
turning, that they are passing another car, to warn other cars they are
going by, if they are a taxi and want to see if you need a ride, if they
see a white person, and who knows what else. They honk for everything
and even the goats roaming about get out of the way with a few honks.
The honking at us cuz we’re white is irritating to me cuz they do it
like 10-12 times sometimes as they drive by. I get it!! Sheesh!! Just
annoying.
All the stalls have any manner of
things. Some have clothes and clothe, some have bags, purses, wallets,
etc. You can find many things there though you might have to ask
someone. We didn’t find any mustard today but we’ll try again next time.
You can get your fresh fruit and vegetables - bananas, plantains,
oranges, mangoes, pineapple, grapes sometimes, lettuce, cabbage, lots of
tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, yams, cassava, peppers, eggplant, onions,
garlic, potatoes and some things I don’t recognize and lots more I’m
sure. You can get your fresh-cut pigs feet - saw that today and had to
try not to gag, fish, chickens, seafood of many varieties, and who knows
what else. I can’t look at the meat sitting out like that attracting
flies and such as it turns my stomach. The smell only makes that worse.
It is pretty aromatic in the fresh food area and not in a good way. But I
still love walking through there looking at all the stuff. I bought
about 3 cups of rice today out of a big bag at one stall. Here they will
often throw in a little more once you buy something, like she added 2
extra handfuls of rice after she had measured it. I forget what that’s
called. Jerry, can you remind me? I think its great and 1 way to get you
to return for future purchases. You can also get fresh eggs and bread
which are really good. I love the bread. Its kinda sweet and so fresh.
Its yummy!
You can get canned, jarred, bottled
goods as well - oils, soaps, tomato sauce, hot dogs, cheese, butter,
jam, peanut butter - lots of things. We’ve been able to find most things
we want though some of it seems expensive to us. Like spiral notebooks
here are much more than we’d pay at home and are hard to come by too.
Towels seem to be spendy too. We did find a place, Melcom, that is
almost like a supermarket at home, like a K-Mart sort of place with an
odd collection of things, some helpful, some odd. It is nice to be able
to get many things in one location though and the prices are set in
there and even marked so that’s nice. We always have to ask how much
things are in the stalls. In Melcom anytime you pick up something to
buy, you have to get a little slip of paper with the upc # on it since
they don’t have barcodes and such so there are employees in nearly every
aisle. Sometimes you have to go find one but not to often, then you
take your stuff with your slips up to the counter, the put that in the
computer and ring you up. Then someone checks the receipt against your
items and when you leave you get a stamp on your receipt from the guard
at the door. An interesting system.
The more I go
to the market, the more I enjoy the experience. I’ve taken some photos
but I want to get a better feel for how they view people coming in and
photographing before I do more. I want to be respectful especially if
I’m doing business with them on a regular basis but I’m dying to go and
shoot in there!! I could be there for hours and not even scratch the
surface of all there is to see. That is my kind of place. We’ll often
see other white people in town and usually wonder where they are from
and what they are here for. Its funny how quickly you spot them, too.
Maybe part of it is because we stand out so much and that attracts a lot
of attention, making us more aware when there are other white people
there.
Did I mention there are no stars to be
seen??? I’m shocked and saddened by this discovery and I hope that isn’t
the case the whole time I’m here. I see the moon frequently but I’ve
only ever seen 1 single, lonesome star that might be a satellite after
all. Its so strange to me. I know they are there but there’s so much
pollution and dust that you can’t ever see them.
We
registered for classes on Thursday and that was the most confusing and
frustrating thing. We didn’t have the lists for all the classes that are
available and none of them had times on them. Some of the times are now
posted and you have to go find the boards by the classes and see when
you have to be there. I have no idea of any of mine overlap or anything
but I’ll check this weekend. A pretty hard way to do things it seems. If
we need to add or drop anything we will do that next week. The classes I
picked are: social structure of Ghana, deviance and social problems,
Ghanaian culture, democratization and development in contemporary
Africa, and slave trade and colonialism, with a couple alternatives
being women and religion in Africa and parables and proverbs. I think
they will all be very interesting.
If you want to
mail something to me, of course I’m happy to get packages, but here are a
few things to note. Don’t pay for expedited shipping since it is a
waste of money. My sister sent a 3lb package and paid to have it 5-6 day
delivery and its still not here. It will be 2 weeks on Monday. That’s
about the time frame I’ve heard for packages regardless of what you pay
so don’t pay extra. I will have to pay to pick up my package at the Post
Office I guess. I was floored to hear that and honestly irritated. Not
only does it take so long to get here but I have to pay to get it
depending on what’s in it. So they will open it there and charge you a
fee depending on what’s in there. Also something that doesn’t exactly
please me. I think it will cost more if its expensive things that they
think I might try and sell like any sort of electronic items or the
like. They also said that you can sort of hide stuff by using those
packing popcorn things that are Styrofoam or whatever and then put cheap
things on top, like snacks or anything. Food shouldn’t be too bad and
it may only be a few cedis to get it but if we can reduce that amount in
any way, I’m all for it. Until I get my package and have more info on
the time frame and the validity of the address, you might wait before
sending anything. But my address as I think it is:
Catherine Stoothoff
University Cape Coast
No. 9 Odamten Rd.
Centre for International Education
Cape Coast, Ghana, West Africa
My
phone number is: country code 233 then 0205373905. I can send and
receive texts and it doesn’t take much off my time. Incoming calls are
free for me. Outgoing international aren’t too bad but will be spendy
after a while if I don’t figure out Skype soon. If you want to call, I’d
love to hear from you! Incoming texts for you seem to cost about $.20
to receive and $.25 to send so just be aware of that. That isn’t for
everyone but I think its fairly standard for most phones. I don’t want
to be ringing up anyone’s bills without informing them first.
I’m
going to try and send this now. I know I still have a lot to catch you
up on so please be patient. I may try to type another one up tomorrow
about some of the activities we have done. I’m also going to try and put
photos up but I have heard that its super slow and hard to do so I
don’t know how that will go. Gonna give it a shot, though.
I
really am enjoying myself and having a good time so far. Of course the
heat gets to me and the lack of running water but I’ll adjust and it
will be fine. I’ve met some great people and I can’t wait to meet more.
They are really nice people, very generous and hospitable and helpful,
not to mention beautiful. I’m so thankful for this experience and
thankful that I get to share it with you. Please send me any questions
you have or any comments. I’m happy to receive them and will try to
respond when I am able.
Love to you all!!
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