University of Ghana

This is the University's Balme library, which is also coincidentally the image on Ghana's 5 cedi bill.  During finals I trekked to the library to view old examinations from past years that had been bound into enormous leather books over the last 15 years. 

These are photos taken on my last journey around campus before my final examinations.  This the night market that sits down the road from the International Students Hostel (where I live) and where I frequented for most of my meals.  My friend Julia and I befriended a woman named Cecilia who would dash us a free orange whenever we came to get fruit at her stand. 

Cape Coast/Elmina part deux

The pic above was taken in Cape Coast, a small but energetic fishing town a couple of hours west of Accra. Even though I had already been to the slave castles in Elmina and Cape Coast several weeks ago with my group, my parents wanted to see the capital of the Gold Coast from the colonial era.  (My parents visited me for a week - it was great to see them and pretty entertaining to watch them experience Ghana for the first time as I did over two months ago).  The car ride from Accra to Cape Coast was just as fascinating the second time around.  We passed through, what seemed like, hundreds of villages.  The lack of development in these villages never ceases to amaze me.  The villages don't appear to have any of the most basic modern appliances that we are so accustomed to in the U.S., little conveniences that I know I take for granted every day.  Even still, the area is undeniably gorgeous.  It is impossible to try to take it in all at once.  At any given moment one might look outside the car and see women balancing huge baskets on their heads (their sense of balance is incredible) full of various foods while goats and chickens weave in and out of huts and into the oncoming traffic.

Below is a picture I took of Elmina in the evening.  When the sun starts to set around 6 pm the fishing ports become a lot less hectic and the coast appears peaceful.  So so beautiful.

Adinkra printing

I'm exhausted from a long but exciting day in Kumasi.  Even though Kumasi is supposedly smaller than Accra, it seems much busier (probably has to do with the hours we spent stuck in traffic) and incredibly hectic.  Early this morning we drove to a nearby village that specializes in printing the Adinkra symbols of Western Africa.  The Adinkra ink is made by boiling Badie tree bark for a couple of days.  We each took turns printing some of the symbols on the traditional "kente" cloths.  I spent such a long time pouring through all of the symbols, and probably would have stayed longer but I didn't want to drive my group crazy, before deciding on:

-Ntesie-matemasie - "I have heard and kept it" A symbol of wisdom and knowledge. 

-Odo nyera fie kwan - "Love does not get lost on its way home" A symbol of love and devotion.

-Sunsum - "The soul"

Kumasi this weekend!

On Thursday my group is leaving early in the morning to head to Kumasi, the country's second largest city located in the center of Ghana.  I'm very excited because, as Mercy (our Ghanaian group leader) recently informed us, the largest market in Western Africa is in Kumasi!  Kumasi is considered to be the modern capital of the Ashanti people, one of Ghana's prominent tribal groups.  While we're in Kumasi we're going to a market, a local elementary school, a small neighboring town where the traditional "kente" cloth is woven, and a butterfly sanctuary.  I took a ton of pictures on my trip to Cape Coast but my camera card mysteriously fried midway through the trip and I lost over 200 photos :( Hopefully the new one my mom sent me will get here before we leave for Kumasi!

The image below is an example of an Adinkra symbol (also produced in Kumasi) that represent different Ghanaian proverbs.  There are over 50 symbols, each with its own meaning.  This one is the "Aya" or fern and it represents endurance and resourcefulness because the fern can grow in difficult places.

Elmina and Cape Coast Castle

A week and a half ago, my group took its first trip out of Accra to Cape Coast and Elmina.  Cape Coast and Elmina, which are about a 3 hour drive to the west of Accra, are home to Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle, two of the oldest buildings remnant of European colonialism in Ghana.  Cape Coast Castle was one of the largest slave-holding sites in the world from the colonial era.  Thousands of Ghanaians were forced into cramped dark dungeons as they waited to board merchant ships that would take them to Europe and the Americas as slaves.

Viewing the castles from the outside, you can't help but acknowledge their architectural beauty.  However, upon entering the castles walls and walking through its incredibly small dungeons, these castles became two of the more horrible and sobering places I've ever been.  One room in particular, near the castle's exit to the sea, bears the name "the door of no return," where slaves were lined up in chains before they boarded ships to the Americas, never to return home to Africa.

Madina Market

Twi

In Ghana the national language is english (which is why Wesleyan's abroad office would let me study here) yet many Ghanians speak a dialect of a language called "Akan." It has 5 major dialects, Akyem, Fante, Akwapim, Asante, and Borong. Asante, otherwise known as Twi, is the dialect most commonly spoken by traders and people who live in Accra and is also the language I'm learning throughout the semester. Before beginning classes, my goal was to be able to keep up in a basic conversation with a Ghanian student about their life, studies, etc. Now that I'm actually learning Twi, I'm starting to think this is a much harder goal than I originally anticipated.

I consider myself to be fairly good with languages - I have taken Spanish for 8 years, can almost consider myself fluent, and it's always my easiest subject. Twi is much more challenging. Many of its tones are sounds that are not part of english, so I have to train my tongue to make the new sounds. Take "Twi" for example: the tw is actually pronounced chw with pursed lips so it sounds like "chwi." Here are some of the words we've learned so far:

Mepa wo kyew - please
Mepaakyew yefre wo sen? - what is your name?
Wo ho te sen - how are you?
Yebehyia bio - we will meet again/see you

Tro Tro

The Tro Tro (pronounced Tchro tchro when said by Ghanians) is the bus system in Accra.  My group has found it to be an endless source of fascination for us since we learned how to use them last week. Most importantly, tro tros are extremely cheap.  A ride ranges from 30 to 50 pesewas depending on your destination in Accra (less than 50 cents in the U.S.).  Each tro tro is an old van with 4 rows of seats and a sliding door.  When the tro tro approaches the bus stop (which, to the tourist would not appear to be a stop at all because there are no signs) a Ghanian man leans out of the window and indicates the direction of the car by motioning with his fingers.  If the finger is pointing straight ahead, the tro tro is going to Accra, if its pointing to the right, the destination is La Paz, and a circular motion is to the circle (i think you get the picture).  Because the tro tros are not the size of normal buses they are often packed completely full with over 20 people! The best part, however, is watching people trying to get on the tro tro.  When the van gets closer to the side of the street, dozens of people rush forward (they are literally running) to try to get on the tro tro first.  If you aren't prepared to push and shove your way on, you will be standing at the stop for hours.  It was a little scary at first, but I eventually managed to push my way onto a tro tro and get a ride into Accra1

akwaaba (welcome!)

I have survived my first full week in Ghana! Unfortunately, the internet is much spottier here than I originally anticipated, so I might not be able to post as frequently as I want. Ghana is unbelievable - there are no words to describe what it's like to be living here, but I'll do my best!

Last week was our orientation on the University of Ghana campus. It was pretty action packed, but it mostly consisted of becoming acquainted with the different departments and course levels. Coming from wesleyan where it takes about 10 mins to walk around the entire campus, it was a little intimidating to walk around the campus here and realize that it could very well take 20 to 30 minutes to walk from my dorm to the lecture halls. However, as my mom made sure to point out, my dad had to walk for 30 minutes to get to classes when he was in college so I shouldn't complain (thanks mom).

The campus is beautiful. Hopefully at some point I'll be able to post a picture or two of some of the buildings. There are some central roads made of cement that connect various parts of the campus but the majority of the smaller roads are dirt. Many of the classrooms look like what you might expect them to look in Africa: open rooms with lots of windows, one story buildings that look like little houses, and rows of desks facing a chalkboard.

Ghana, particularly the region where I am (just outside Accra) is incredibly beautiful. I'm constantly amazed by the plethora of aromas and vivid colors I smell and see wherever I am. If only women in the United States dressed in such vibrant colors!