We arrived late on Friday night and spent the night at The University of Ghana - Legon guest house. Saturday and Sunday we went to Cape Coast where we toured the Elmina and Cape Coast castles and went on a canopy walk through Kakum National Park. It was great that in our first two days we were able to see three of the major tourist attractions in Ghana. From the castles I gained a greater appreciation for the impact of the slave trade on Ghana and the cruelty that so many Ghanians had to endure. They are the two largest slave-trade history museums in the world! The canopy walk was 40 meters over a rain forest and had really cool views of the surrounding area. The next two days (Sunday and Monday) we were back in Accra. Our time here included a visit to the U.S. embassy where we talked to the Chargee (who is the person in charge right now since they are in between ambassadors) and other staff. We also walked through the largest market in Accra and learned how to use the tro tro, which is a large van packed with people that they use instead of buses. On the second day we had several orientation classes at the AFS office and met all of the staff there. We also went for a night time walk around the university and spent a lot of time just sitting and chatting, getting to know each other.
Yesterday the exchange students split up to go to their host communities and I spent most of my day at the AFS office because no one was at my house until about 4. It was great to finally go to my house and meet my host family. Right now extended family is here from out of town for a funeral that was last weekend, so the house is packed full of about fifteen people. I think only about eight live here normally. Everyone has been very nice to me and made me feel welcome. They've hosted every year since 2005 (seven exchange students so far!), so they are pros by now.
I think that I came here expecting Ghana to be more developed than Paraguay (not sure why) but that's not what I have found. My house is very simple - we do not have running water inside and the electricity goes off frequently. I share a small room with my host sister, Pearl. To wash hands, brush teeth, flush the toilet, or do anything really, we fill a small tupperware with water from a big sealed bucket and use it to pour for whatever task we're doing. Then we re-seal the bucket and put the tupperware away. This morning I took my first bucket shower and actually loved it. My sister, Pearl, filled a medium bucket with about 5 gallons of water for me (I assume that eventually I'll fill it myself) and I washed my hair and body by using the tupperware to pour water over myself. I was able to get just as clean as I do using 25-50 gallons of water in the US with just 3 or 4 gallons here (there was leftover water in the bucket at the end of my "shower"!) I like living this way because I feel like I am getting a really authentic experience, as opposed to living with a wealthy family where everything is pretty westernized.
All of the things I heard about Ghanaians being super friendly has proven true. They love "obrunis" (white people) here and everyone smiles and waves at us or tries to talk to us on the street. Little kids especially get excited when they see us. It is nice getting this kind of attention, but it can also work the other way - at Elmina Castle all of the AFSers were mobbed by people trying to sell us things or get our email addresses and phone numbers. It was overwhelming and a little scary, but we were told that this is something we will have to get used to because everyone here assumes that foreigners have tons of money, so they will try to take advantage of you.
In Ghana English is the national language, but it is not the most frequently used. My host family speaks pretty much exclusively in Twi unless they are talking to me. This is frustrating because I can't really follow the conversation or know what's going on unless it's someone trying to converse directly with me. It is good, though, because it makes me even more determined to learn it as quickly as possible.
The food leaves something to be desired...I have not liked the majority of the traditional dishes I've tried so far. It's hard to describe the flavors here but most of their dishes are very spicy stews eaten with very sour dough that tastes a little like uncooked bread. The dough is called fu fu or banku or kenkey depending on whether it is made from cassava, maize, or something else. This is eaten with the hands which also takes some getting used to. Our bus driver was teaching me how to eat and he pointed to each of his fingers saying "there are five, they spell S-P-O-O-N" - hahah. Since I have gotten to my host family they've been serving me simple dishes, I think to ease me into the cuisine. The two meals I have had here have been really, really good. My host-aunt is a caterer so she is an awesome cook. AFS warned us that nutrition is kind of a problem here because vegetables hardly exist in their diet (it's mostly carbs, with some meat too). Glad I brought those vitamins!
I am happy to finally feel somewhat settled in and be done travelling. I start school on Monday at St. Margaret Mary's Catholic Technical Secondary School (that's a mouthful!). AFS staff here said that instead of going to school for half the day and teaching for the other half (which was the original plan), I should go to school for the first 4-5 months and teach for the last 5-6 months so that we don't jeopardize my student residency permit. If I can fit it in my schedule while I am in school I may still volunteer at a school after classes 1 or 2 days a week. I am also hoping to join the soccer or track team. I'm excited for all of this to begin! I have a feeling that the rest of this week will be low-key. Later today my host siblings are taking me for a walk to get to know the neighborhood and a host cousin is going to teach me the traditional Ghanaian azonto dance. Hah! We'll see how that goes :)
I was thinking that I should include a Twi word at the end of the each post, so here's the first one:
Akwaaba - Welcome
Pronounced "ah-kwah-bah"
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