August 30th, 2011 – Madina, Old Road, Accra, Ghana – Homestay
We have already done so much as a group that I cannot even believe that I have only been in Ghana since Friday. Up until Monday, we were all staying at the Suma Court Hotel. On Sunday, we were able to attend a funeral ceremony in a small village. The funeral ceremony was very interesting because unlike those in the United States, funerals are celebrations of the life that was lived and the entrance into the new after life. The entire village is usually expected to attend. In this particular funeral, we were outside under a small roof with wooden benches scattered in a small square. All of the women and men of the village were dressed in outfits made of the same fabric. People not dressed in this fabric were wearing black, red, or brown, which are traditional mourning colors in Accra. The men were on the other side of the square set up on benches in two rows facing one another playing drums. The drumming was amazing. As the songs were played, the women would get up and do traditional dances with one another. In a couple of our previous lessons we learned how to do some traditional dancing so the women of the village were able to pull us up and do some small dances. The women were so strong and powerful, and extremely beautiful. They were also extremely friendly and generous. The family of the person who passed away were dressed in beautiful black outfits and passed out ginger biscuits, a drink made from maize and water in a small baggie, and small baggies of gin. The entire ceremony was very interesting and filled with music.
On Monday, we arrived in our homestays in Ghana where we will be staying until September 9th, when we move on to Kumasi. I was fortunate to be placed with another girl because my homestay is a bit farther from the University campus. Terrin and I arrived at our house in the Madina of Accra. The streets are all made of red dirt and there are booths and vendors lining all of the streets. The streets are quite busy but smaller than the ones where the Suma Court Hotel was located. Our house has tiled floor and windows. There is no air conditioning or running water. This means for using the toilet, the sink, or the shower, we have to use buckets of water. Surprisingly, I am already used to this system. The shower was not at all as bad as I was expecting because of the heat in Ghana. And the teeth brushing is something I've gotten used to!
Our family consists of four siblings, ranging from ages 20 to 35. There are two boys and two girls, but I have only met three of them so far. Both of the daughters have daughters that live in our house. They are adorable! The youngest is 2 years old and the oldest is 5 years old. They are so fun to play with, and yesterday we got to color with the older girl. The food is excellent in the homestay, and I'm hoping to be able to cook often with them. The family has many cousins and friends also living in the house and in houses next door, yet the entire compound has one main gate to close it off from the street. Basically, I have only met a few people who are living in my house at this point, but I'm anxious to meet more. Terrin and I share a very nice room with a ceiling fan! Yesterday at dinner, we ate with one cousin who was 29 years old and one brother who was turning 30 on Wednesday. They were very welcoming and spoke English very well. We talked about a lot and even heard some popular Ghanaian music!
Today, on Tuesday, we left for our first day of school. We walked down and got a taxis to Legon, where the University is located. The taxis ride was only 1 cedis which is about 60 cents! In the afternoon we will normally catch a tro-tro that takes us home. The tro-tros are small buses that are cheaper than taxis and ride on specific routes. Yet the driving is very unpredictable and crazy here, and I've seen many accidents already. The tro-tros are also extremely crowded and something that will take some getting used to.
This afternoon we went to Nathaniel's aunt's home for his birthday celebration. The ride was a little hard because we were a large group of foreigners traveling together. Getting so many stares and being constantly beckoned was not something I was expecting to the extent that it exists in Accra. Yet, Nathaniel's family was super welcoming and gave us amazing food! We had an okra soup, fried plantains, different rices, fried chicken, and ice cream with guava, pineapple, and watermelon! Yum!!! Riding home from his family's home was extremely difficult and very stressful. Because Ghana is so close to the equator, the sun sets around 6 PM. This means that we should normally be home before the sun sets. However, when we drive home, this is also usually rush hour traffic. Nathaniel's family drove a group of SIT members, including myself, to a taxi round to get a taxi heading for the Madina. Without their help, I honestly am not sure we could have figured out how to get home. Eventually we were able to get off at a TBB Bank in Madina Old Road, which is the road our house intersects with, and we met Kwese, our middle homestay brother. Terrin and I were very happy to see him and have him show us the way home! The streets get very crowded in the dark and look much different than they do during the day.
The Internet has been a pain to get on however. I finally bought a modem that supposedly gives you Internet in any place, it is painfully slow though. And I am able to get on the Internet in my homestay. The Internet has been broken at the University for a week which is really unfortunate for both keeping in contact with friends and family, as well as blogging. I will try my best to blog as often as I can! And email!
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