Hello family and friends! So this blog is really long because I have been typing it on word, and now I am posting it… so it is filled with many of the experiences I have had since getting here! So far I am loving it. The first night was a little rough. First I was like… 1.5 days sleep deprived. 5 other people arrived when Jess and I did and then 4 were already at the hostel and meeting people can be exhausting when you are already exhausted and in a new place. Of course outside the airport there was an outdoor Chinese restaurant playing football (soccer) and tons of Ghanaians were watching. Anyways just getting our stuff into the bus to get to campus was a hassle. Immediately our Ghanaian student guides told us to not let anyone but them touch our luggage. As we worked our way over to the bus taxis were yelling out “hey lady hey lady” hoping to give us rides. Soon young men came asking us to help but the bus driver kept saying to them “no, please go away” (Ghanaians are always polite) but he followed us anyways and other joined. They would put their hand on our luggage even though we said no to the help. Of course once we had all of our luggage inside the bus they asked for a “tip.” Rose, one of our guides told them no and to go away. But they stood outside the bus for another 15 minutes. It took us so long to leave the parking lot because things seem to take a long time in Ghana… they never really rush and when dinner is at 6:30 you can bet that you wont be late at 7. Anyways we finally drove to campus and I quickly realized that Ghanaians are very aggressive drivers. One Ghanaian told me that we are taught protective driving and they are taught aggressive. However, if a Ghanaian was not aggressive they would never get anywhere because there is so much traffic. When we got to the hostel we signed in and were given a 1.5 liter water bottle, dinner, and toilet paper. For some reason they buy there own toilet paper here and we have to bring it into the bathroom… it is strange and took sometime to remember to bring it with me into the bathroom. As usual when I first travel somewhere I lost my appetite, so I did not eat much for dinner. After dinner and chatting with everyone (maybe about 40 of us?) I went to my room with Jess and unpacked hoping that would make us feel better. Unpacking did help but most of all the sleep did. When I woke up I felt a million times better and excited for the day which didn’t start until noon so we could sleep in… which means it started at 1. That day and the next consisted of lectures from professors about Ghana, and getting to know everyone. On Friday the 16th we went to two different markets in Accra. The first one we went to was Madina Market. I have mixed feelings about this experience. It was wonderful to leave campus and be able to wander around in smaller groups. It was fun seeing Ghanaians, especially the kids who would either chase us with excitement or run away in fear of our weird white skin. Two little girls actually cried. But the smell of the market was awful. One factor of the smell was all of the fish and meat in the market. But overall the smell was caused by the gutters. They have these deep gutters… maybe two feet deep and one foot wide that run along the streets, and they are filled with garbage and questionable liquids. To be honest it is rank. The market is filled with little booths packed closely together with little isles. Food, clothing, shoes, belts, cds, dvds, jewelry, cell phones, cameras, tvs, and much more littered the market. Of course the people shouted out sometimes “Obruni,” meaning foreigner or white person, and “Obama’s people!” The later of which I was happy to hear. Some vendors were aggressive yelling out to us and others would politely ask, “Obruni, do you want to buy my stuff?” I was nervous about the physical grabbing I had heard of and pick pockets, however neither seemed to be an issue, at least today. I did not buy anything though because I know I will go back and I wanted to just become used the place. Of course it was also hard to see the poverty. Although they are making a living selling in the market, it is easy to see it is not a good one. I even suspect some live in their booths. For lunch we took tro-tros (we rode on these to Madina market too) to a place called Bonjour. Tro-tros are basically 15-20 passenger vans. They have a driver and then one man in the back seat who yells out what stops they will be taking. The vans are really junkie and unreliable but it is a very cheap way to travel and overall safe with other people. For example I only spent a total of about 95 US cents on 5 rides. Anyways the restaurant was VERY American, and slightly expensive. They had a Pizza Inn, Chicken Inn, and some ice cream and convenience store foods. Kind of like the Travel Stop in Albert Lea. I split a pizza with a girl for 6.5 Cedi, which is more expensive than usual but splitting it brought the price down to a little above normal. The Chicken Inn has hamburgers and chicken sandwiches which I plan to try if I get homesick or just want some familiar food. Anyways then we went to 37th street, which was another market area but also had a small mall. It was very American too, it had a little coffee shop, electronics, perfumes, clothing, children’s toys and a grocery store. Then we finally made our way back to campus and we are now waiting to go get dinner. Before I forget I wanted to mention the lizards. They are everywhere! I think they are kind of like our squirrels. Anyways I have enjoyed them so far! Another random thing is that none of us really have become sun burnt or tan. My theory is that there is so much dust and dirt in the air that it is acting as a sun screen. Anyways, after dinner a group of us went a bar called Champs (no not the chain) in Accra. It was a sports bar and has a lot of international people, both from Africa and the rest of the world. It was Karaoke night which made it lots of fun and very entertaining to say the least. Some were bad some, some good, and one girl from our group is amazing! There was a really strange man from Nigeria there who was extremely effeminate but constantly hitting on us girls… I personally think he is sexually confused. Anyways it was annoying and creepy, but slightly entertaining and we all looked out for each other. . I also met a nice man from Canada who was 30 and has been living in Nigeria for the last 3 years working on helicopters and it was his first night in Ghana. Anyways it was really cool to find out why so many people from around the world were there. I am also a huge fan of “Star” beer, it is the most popular Ghanaian beer. On Saturday the 17th, we went to the Kwame Nkrumah museum and garden. He was basically the man who got Ghana its independence and was the first president until a peaceful military coup. He is loved by many Ghanaians (except some older ones who were alive when he was in power) even though he put the country in HUGE amounts of debt. Anyways the Garden and his monument is ridiculous. It has a huge stone sculpture with his and his wife’s grave inside and then a large fountain. . The museum was a little small and lacked organization and detail but was interesting. I really enjoyed seeing it but was a little disturbed with how nice that was and how awful the living situation is for some people. We also drove past the stadium where the black stars play and the new president’s palace (like the white house), both were really nice and possibly too extravagant for the living situations of the people. After we went to the cultural center market most of the vendors were really pushy and tried to take advantage of our ignorance to Ghanaian prices but I met an artist who was very kind and talented and I told him I would come back because I loved how he ran his business and his paintings. After we went to lunch and got Chinese… which just tasted like Ghanaian food again and then we went to the large mall in Accra. I basically felt like I was in the US. It was really nice, definitely the nicest place I have seen inside so far. I did get a small mocha thereJ. I had a pineapple at the night market for dinner and then played Frisbee and soccer with other ISEPers. It was a lot of fun but oh my goodness I am out of shape. On Sunday I went to mass, where I met Father Eben (a friend of my priest at home). Mass was fun, almost all the women wore traditional Ghanaian clothing and about half the men did. Which means very vibrant bright and colorful outfits. The choir was absolutely amazing even though I could not tell what they were singing because of their accents. It was hard to understand the sermon too but just being there was really nice. After mass we all went to the beach. It was fun and interesting… The water is actually quite nice and the waves were really fun. The Ghanaian men would kind of swarm around us though, but they were not disrespectful, some even invited us to play a large game of monkey in the middle. Some men were on horses and rode up and down the shore selling rides and many other vendors walked around, but they were not too pushy. There were a lot of Rastafarians at the beach too, which we are constantly told to avoid. Some ISEPers built sand castles with Ghanaian kids. At the beach I bought plantain chips for 20 paswas (sp?) which is less than 20 cents. They were really good and to me better than potato chips. That night we just went to the Night Market, but it was actually really good. The stand we went to was new and had both Ghanaian and “American” food. I has “spaghetti with vegetables.” Which was angel hair pasta with ketchup and hot Ghanaian spicy veggies, but surprisingly it was fantastic. The ketchup made the spice not too hot and it all worked well together so I think I will be going back because it was only 1.5 Ghana Cedi. After that about 8 of us went to a bar called Jerry’s. It is basically a patio bar and is really chill. It was fun just to sit and talk in the pretty atmosphere. On Tuesday the 20th a group of us went to Medina. It was less overwhelming than the first time because there was less of us. I got a knife for eating fruit and then a group of us bought a large pot to cook in. At 3pm a bus took us all to the Du Bois center to watch the inauguration. It was really cool. There was a lot of booths selling Obama things and a band and then when the inauguration started it was projected on a big screen (it was outside). It was really cool to be in Ghana for such a historical event, and I feel lucky to have such a unique experience of watching the Ghanaians watch the inauguration. It was really moving and almost brought me to tears a handful of times. After we went to a pizza place where the food actually tastes American, if not better. It is by one get one pizza on Tuesday nights. On Wednesday the 21st, we played soccer with about 6 ISEPers and then some Ghanaians (who were amazing) came and played with us. It was a lot of fun and a really good workout! Ghanaians are so good at soccer (football). At home you can kind of read a persons body movement and tell where they are taking the ball, but not here. They could dribble around me for hours. I hope it works out again. Then we had our second twi class (over half the country speaks twi.) The prof is really fun and the language so far is not too challenging. He always says, “hallelujiah praise the Lord!” when something is easy, and if its difficult he says, “dats killin’!” It is really humorous. At night we went to the beach because Wednesday is Regge night at the beach. It was fun, there was a live band and a lot of little bonfires. It was fun to dance, but we had to constantly avoid creepers or find a kind was to not dance with them. Overall it was fun though. Today I went to the beach with 2 friends just to layout and be in the water. It is much cheaper on weekdays and less crowded so that nice. Whenever a vendor started to walk over I just pretended I was asleep. After we came back and had lunch at a new vegan (that’s right, VEGAN!) stand in the night market! It was delicious!!! She even has peanut butter! I had a Ghanaian version of a veggie burger and some plantain chips. Being a vegetarian here is actually really easy, and I practically have been since I got here because I am weary of the meat. After lunch I registered for 3 of my classes. I will be taking Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghanaian Politics, Local Government Administration in Ghana, and Human Rights in Africa. I will also be taking an African drumming class and then Twi. I might take a religion too but I have not decided. Okay that is all I have time for, but I will be writing soon about a trip up North! I love and miss you all!