Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 6:04am
Hello Friends,
It seems that we are now at the 5 week mark! Unbelievable!! I am still
trying to wrap my head around it. Every day feels more and more
comfortable for me. I feel like I no longer have to do some of things
we’ve been doing. For example, saying hello to everyone you pass. That
is an exhausting exercise. There are roughly 17,000 students on campus
and walking anywhere you pass so many! Hard to say hi to all of them but
the newness or novelty of us as new white people is wearing off, I
think. Or at least we are just not caring about the attention so much. I
just do my thing and not worry too much about everyone else. I try to
speak to a lot of people, though it feels a bit more natural and not
forced at this point. If I don’t feel like greeting every single person I
meet, I don’t and that’s ok.
I’ve never had the experience of
living in a dorm setting at home so experiencing it now, here, has been
quite an adjustment. The hardest part of living in Kwame Nkrumah Hall
is the noise. There is always noise. Loud music coming in from all
sides. Not only do they frequently blast loud music in the hall on
speakers as tall as I am, there is a small market behind the dorm that
is right by our rooms and there’s often music or other loud noises
coming from there as well, not to mention all the music playing in
individual rooms. Right now, its about 9:30am and there has been someone
talking on this sound system in the dorm since about 7am. It sounds
like a sermon that has music playing here and there. Kirk Franklin was
singing, “Stomp” for at least an hour, with someone talking over him off
and on. There is no blocking out all this noise, no matter how hard one
tries. Its too loud. When they are just playing music and not preaching
whoever is playing the music, the DJ, does the most irritating thing
most of the time. Instead of talking between songs, like we might be
used to from radio stations at home, they talk over the song, or stop it
every 5 seconds to say something. Ooooohhhhh!!! Its so annoying! Just
play the song and zip it!! Can’t stand that. If I have to listen to this
music, just play it and don’t be talking over it or through it all the
time. I can’t understand what they are saying anyway. And the play it so
loud. Its deafening oftentimes and you can hardly hear your own
thoughts, let alone the voice of someone you are talking to who is
sitting right next to you and they usually blast the music nightly,
starting around 6 or 7pm going till 10 or 11pm. And then they will start
up again very early.
There is a group of students that
practices for the choir they are in and they are out singing at 3:30am 2
days a week. They say that any time after midnight is ‘dawn.’ Now, I’ve
got a couple friends who are in this choir so I have less animosity
toward them and the music isn’t as awful so that helps. They were
practicing one evening and had invited me to go join them so I went and
listened. I wasn’t there to sing, though they wanted to hear me sing. I
don’t think I’m a terrible singer but I’m certainly not singing in front
of them!! No thanks!! They are a group of about 20 students and have a
lot of talent. Everyone here sings all the time I think. Walking around
you hear people singing or even sitting in your room, people walking by
are often singing some little song. That’s not so bad. Its not loud like
the stuff on the speakers.
They play an odd selection of
music when they are doing their very best to drive me mad. They play
American songs - country, rock, rap, soft rock, anything, and randomly.
Its so funny sometimes to hear the songs they are playing. Some are
current hits and others are older. They also play a lot of local music
which is mainly rap and hip hop but also High Life or Hip life which
isn’t all bad . .. In moderation. I like a lot of their music even
though I don’t often understand the words unless they are singing in
English.
We have discovered that Carrie Underwood’s song,
“Jesus Take the Wheel,” must be their national anthem. People love that
song!! Sunday mornings, when they are broadcasting sermons, as they are
now, that song plays over and over and over and over and over for nearly
as long as the sermon goes. It is the ringtone on cell phones and
people sing it like its their national anthem. Now, it’s a nice song and
all but every time I hear it, over and over and over and over and over,
like we do, I like it less and less. Pick another song!!! There are a
lot of songs out there!! How about some variety??
So that’s a
little venting about the noise and the music. I am noticing that lots of
it is sort of becoming background noise slowly. I have been able to
sleep recently without cramming earplugs into my ears and then cupping
my hands over my ears to drown out the noise every night. I still use
the earplugs frequently but its not so bad as it was. Thank God for
that!! I need my sleep, as you all know. Haha!!
My second full
week of school went well. In my Poverty Studies class, they made a
group leader of 1 of the 5 groups. Eeekkk!! There are often group
projects assigned in the classes, along with 2 quizzes and maybe an
individual project as well as the final exam. I think this poverty
studies class is my favorite. Its so interesting and the teacher is very
good. I’m usually able to understand the prof pretty well in all my
classes so far. I like them all, with the exception of 1 that is kind of
boring right now. Maybe it will get more interesting as we go.
When I got up to go to my 7:30am class on Thursday, it was lightly
sprinkling and was nice and cool. I guess that’s why they get up at 5am
all the time. I’m not up that early very often but its nice to be able
to enjoy the cooler air.
We usually go to the big market 1 or 2
times a week. We can find a lot of things at the market by our hall or
the one over by the science area but sometimes its better to go into
town for a bigger variety and sometimes better prices. If we go into
town, we will take a taxi. We have learned that just flagging 1 down as
we are walking down the road is better than going to the taxi stop there
since they charge you so much. If you flag one down, it’s a shared taxi
and is usually only 60p or 65p (around maybe 40-50cents US). If you get
a taxi at the spot, it’s a few cedis, (their currency). We are
learning. The taxis come in all types of conditions though I haven’t
been in one that has been so bad that I was afraid to ride in it. We
have heard horror stories. I don’t want to have my own. They say it’s a
good idea to get the license plate # when you get in a cab but I
certainly don’t think of that every time I take one somewhere. We
usually go in groups when we go into town, at least with 1 other person.
The traffic here is pretty crazy. They will run you down if you don’t
get out of the way of where they are driving and I think sometimes they
are aiming for you. They honk all the time, especially at white people
walking down the road. I may have already covered the communicative
driving culture some. Even the goats get out of the way when the cars
honk. That’s pretty funny. So not only do they honk incessantly at you,
they holler at you as well. “Where you going?” None of your business
where I’m going!! I’m walking, back off. If I need a ride, I’ll find
one. Everyone always wants to know where you are going. We are
apparently accountable to Ghana for our daily whereabouts. They
definitely didn’t tell us that before we came. There are lots of things
we have been surprised by, of course.
You can never assume
anything here. Don’t assume the prof is going to show up, that your
group will show up for a meeting, that the things you needed copied are
getting copied and you’ll have them soon, that the stores, cafes, shops,
etc. will be open during what you might consider regular business
hours, that the food on the menu they give you is actually available for
ordering and consuming, that the internet will be working at all, that
the questions you ask will illicit the desired response, that they will
know how to cash a simple international money order, that the only atm
that you can get cash out of will work on a regular basis, that the
books on the suggested reading list for your class are even available
anywhere in the country, and on and on. Those are just a few
suggestions, from me to you. Don’t assume anything or take anything for
granted. I hope you all are appreciating your constant running water and
readily available internet access as well as quiet and solitude when
you want it.
We are trying more and more of the local foods
and snacks, and by ‘we’ I mean mostly the others. I have tried some
dishes but am being very cautious so as not to get sick from things
hopefully. Plus, a lot of it is soup. Hot soup with room temp water on a
hot day . .. Doesn’t exactly suit me, though the soups I’ve tried have
been very good and I’ll try more of course. There is a groundnut or
peanut soup that you can eat with rice that is really good. They put
pepper in many things making it very spicy to me. They say pepper
“pe-pay”. If you thought I had an accent before, just wait till I get
home and speak like they do here. Haha!! Oh how fun that will be!! I’ve
also tried steamed yams with some sort of tuna fish type thing.
Tasty-ish. Yams don’t taste like much, maybe like a potato. Maybe
sometime I’ll take a video of how they eat some of the main dishes here,
Banku and Fufu. Of course, they use their hands a lot for may dishes.
This one is a soup, either fish or chicken usually, that comes with a
large . . . Blob of mashed cassava or corn that is kind of like a thick
and sticky grits if I had to try and describe it, a thick dough type
thing that you put on a couple of your fingers, the first 2, and then
dip in the soup and then eat. Very messy but not too bad taste-wise.
I’ve tried it but haven’t ordered a dish myself yet. Gotta work up to
it. Course not only is the soup hot in temperature, its hot spicy too.
Hard for me to eat. I eat a lot of fried rice and chicken at the café’s
here. That usually comes with a ‘salad’ which is like coleslaw that has
the salad dressing stuff just drizzled on and sometimes ketchup. I don’t
eat that. I tried it but I’m not a fan of cabbage. There is also a
couple sauces that the put on that I don’t love. One is really hot, the
other isn’t bad but so oily. They cook with some palm oil though I don’t
usually notice the smell or taste when I’m eating it so its not too
bad. Course, I notice it when I sweat or sometimes a bad taste in my
mouth. Yuck!! But so far, its not so overwhelming that it bothers me too
much.
They have some pretty tasty little snacks that we are
getting courage to try. Marte bought some yesterday and one was salty,
kind of like a trail mix and the other tasted like crispy French toast.
Yumm!! Oh, and they make toffee here!! So good! My friend Selorm (sounds
like sa-lowm and means God loves me). She is really cool and is
teaching us a lot, very patiently as we are slow to learn things
sometimes. Thank God for the patience of Job they have here. They also
make some little pastry items that have been good. Be careful when
getting a little ‘pie’ since its like to be a meat pie, like a pizza
pocket sort of thing, rather than one with apples and cinnamon or
something. Haha!
The fruit here is so good, especially the
pineapple and the bananas! Those or my favorites. The pop here has a
better flavor, too, and I drink Sprite quite a bit. They have this other
drink, Alvaro, which is a carbonated fruit drink that is yummy!! Pear,
passion fruit, and pineapple are the flavors. Pineapple isn’t my
favorite but its ok. The others are really good. We drink a lot of
water, too, of course. We buy these bags that have 30+ sachets of water
and that usually lasts us a couple days. This is water for drinking or
brushing our teeth with, those sorts of things, not for bathing or
flushing the toilet. We have to go get that in buckets from tanks out
front of the dorm. When there is water in our bathroom, we fill
everything up so that saves on trips out front. We have running water
maybe once or twice a week, more if we are lucky. Its usually at random
times, like the middle of the afternoon or late at night/early morning.
Whenever we notice we have it we try to bottle or bucket as much as we
can, shower, then do dishes or laundry if we still have it. Its just so
much easier to do dishes and laundry when you have the water. It takes a
lot of water to do these simple things.
I wanted to tell you
about the most common questions we get from everyone. (Keep in mind that
while I’m telling you the questions, the way I’m writing it is not
necessarily how they say it. It usually has a strong accent and is more
pigeon (sp?) English). So here are the questions, in no particular
order, some followed by the required or expected response or my
response:
1. How are you? I’m fine.
2. Can I have your
phone number? No, I don’t know you and I don’t want you calling me 20
times in a row for no reason and calling at all hours of the day. Or you
can give it to them and hope they don’t abuse it.
3. Are you
married? Yes. Or, in some cases, no but for the sake of being here and
for avoiding annoying inquiries, comments, intentions, I am. (That’s
what that ring is for! It works! If you’re married, they respect that.
If you just say you have a boyfriend, that’s like how people at home
might date and is considered more casual and therefore a cause for hope
for them.)
4. Where do you live? What room are you in? Nkrumah
Hall. I don’t know my room number. Or (gesturing in the direction if we
are nearby) over there. (You always know where to find the white people
here. Everyone knows. Those of us that live on campus live in the same
area, with the exception of Patrick who is in the back of campus in a
dorm/hostel back there.)
5. Where you from? Which state?
America. Washington State. Not the capital, the state. Its in the
northwest corner. Yes, we have a state by that name as well as having
the capital with that name + DC. Where are you from? (always good to
find out since people come from all over the country to attend here. If
they aren’t from here I like to ask them what they think of being here,
of Cape Coast.)
6. What are you reading? Reading? Well I’m
reading this great book called . . . Oh, you mean what classes am I
taking? Oh!! Haha! African studies and sociology courses here. At home I
study anthropology so these courses fit with that somewhat.
7.
What level are you? Huh?? Oh!! Grade level!! 300 or 3rd year (holding
up 3 fingers to ensure understanding). At home we call it Junior.
8. Where are you going? This way. To lecture (they call them lectures, not classes). To eat. Next door. Just walking.
9.
(On Sundays mostly) Did you go to church? Where do you go to church? I
didn’t go this morning but I look forward to attending some here. At
home I go to Vintage Faith. Here you might call it interdenominational.
Its not Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or any of those.
10. How
do you find Ghana? Find it? Well on a map you just find Africa and then .
. . Haha! I find it to be hot, the people very friendly, it’s a lot of
fun. I love it here. How do you find Ghana? (Its always fun to turn
their questions back on them. They don’t always know what to say. Its
funny. Hehe!)
So those are the top ten I’d say. We get them
everyday from anyone we give more than a passing ‘hello’ to, and even
sometimes to those people as well. They all want to know what we’re
doing, who we are, all of it. Sometimes its fine, sometimes it just gets
annoying. I’m feeling more comfortable being here so I don’t feel the
self-inflicted pressure to talk to everyone. I still talk to lots of
people but not everyone and I’m getting a feel for how to decline
requests for phone numbers and info I don’t want strangers having. The
campus if pretty safe, I think, with security personnel everywhere, who
are fairly friendly so far, but I still don’t want everyone knowing
everything about me. I don’t give my number to many people or if I do it
will only be after having hung out with them a few times and I’ve got a
better sense of who they are.
I can usually tell by the order
of the questions in the interrogation if I want to be friends with
someone. If the 2nd or 3rd question is if I’m married I’m not likely to
encourage more conversation. Same with the phone number question. Some
people just want to be able to say they have a white friend, I think, or
they seem to think we can get them things or something. I have met very
few people who were blatantly rude, at least to my knowledge. Who knows
what they are saying in Twi or Fante or Ewe? I don’t know enough yet to
understand much. Medaase (meh-dah-SEE) is thank you in Twi. In Ewe its
akpe (awk-bay is what it sounds like to me). Most people here speak Twi
or Fante as it is more local to this area but I’ve got some friends who
speak Ewe (eh-vay) as well so I’m trying to learn how to say things in
as many languages as I can. Its slow going since I don’t always have a
pen and paper to write it down with and you all know how crap my memory
is most of the time.
There is a whistle that someone has been
blowing sporadically for at least an hour now that is absolutely
maddening to me!! Grrrrr!!!!! I think there are some cadets doing
training or something and that’s what that blasted whistle is for. Not a
fan, people, not a fan!!!!
Well that’s about 5 pages for you.
I hope that’s enough to keep you for another week. If not, well . . .
I’m not sure how to help you. You are on your own with your boredom or
entertainment. I can’t help you!!! Or maybe I won’t.. . yah, that’s
probly it.
Oh, one more thing. I’m so excited to be
celebrating my 30th birthday on Wed!!! What a huge milestone to be
having in such a place, where so many dreams are coming true! You don’t
even know, yet. ;) Just trust me when I say that dreams do come true
when you work toward them, believe you are deserving and have God on
your side! He makes all things possible, even if it seems as though He
has forgotten you and your dreams. He created you and gave you those
dreams and He is working things for the good in His time. I’m not saying
its easy, waiting for things to happen because its very difficult
sometimes, but perseverance and faith will take you far. I’m a living
example of that. I pray you are all well. Miss you lots but not as much
as you might think. Haha! I don’t mean that to be harsh or anything, I’m
just settling in here and enjoying myself to the fullest. You are here
with me and I am so grateful for that. It has made this whole thing
possible and an incredible experience so far. Love you all!! Until next
time, take care and God bless.
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