One Month In

The week after our trip to Volta region seemed to be pretty uneventful.

Classes went on, some of my professors showed up, about half didn’t. My Social Work and the Law Courts class (the one I was most excited about because it involves my two career interests), was pretty interesting. I don’t actually mean the material (which we haven’t gotten to yet), but the experience. Katy, Michael and I arrived at 7:15am to our class, which starts at 7:30am. By the time we got there, the room was already packed. I would estimate that this classroom was built to hold 50 people comfortably. However, by the time 7:30am arrived, there were at least 150 people crammed into every possible space in the room. I found myself sharing a desk / chair combo with Katy and Michael. The professor arrived around 8:15am and proceeded to spend the next two hours calling out students’ names and dividing everyone into 21 different groups. He then explained each group was in charge of a research project. He didn’t actually call out Michael, Katy or Is names and instead just said “Oh, the three of you in the back! You’re all in a group together.” (we’re the only non-Ghanaians in the class). He then told us to talk him after class so he could explain the project. We pushed to the front of the classroom as quickly as we could at the end of class; only to find our professor had left. We ran to the social work department only to be told that our professor had left for the day and that we weren’t allowed to have any of his contact information. This was extremely aggravating considering we haven’t received a syllabus or any information about this project we have to do. It’s really difficult to get used to the way the university operates.

On Sunday we left the hostel early and traveled into Accra for the Ghana vs. Sudan soccer game! It was a World Cup qualifier game and the city was alive with Black Stars spirit. We bought our tickets and bought drinks near the stadium. Whenever you buy a drink in a glass bottle (which basically everything comes in) you have to bring the bottle back to the vendor when you’re finished. We took our drinks to a food vendor and after we finished eating were enjoying our drinks sitting at a table under the shade. A woman eventually came up to us and tried to take our empty bottles. We told her we had purchased them from another vendor and had to bring the bottles back, but were still sitting at the table because we had finished our food. She started screaming that we were “stupid foreigners”, and that we weren't allowed to sit at her table without ordering more drinks. Catherine turned to her and told her that we would have bought drinks from her, but now weren’t going to because of her rudeness. The woman (who was probably about 6 ft and 200 lbs) turned quickly to Catherine and said, “the next time you insult me, I will hit you”. Needless to say, we quickly left.

Getting to our seats in stadium was also an interesting experience. I’ve noticed that anywhere there is a large crowd, Ghanaians don’t form a line, but instead just push each other to get wherever the line is going. The entrance to the stadium was a tiny doorway with a revolving door, and there were hundreds of people trying to get in. We ended up right in the middle of the crowd, and there were more than a few times I thought I might be pushed down to the ground and trampled to death at any time. After a few dozen minutes in the sweltering heat being pushed by hundreds of Ghanaians, we entered the stadium.
Everyone in the crowd was cheering basically nonstop through the game, which I loved. I tried to learn the cheers and songs, but I don’t think they were in English so I’ll have to try to pick them up next time. The game was really fun to watch and Ghana won 2-0! Near the end of the game, people in the crowd pulled out road flares and flame torches and set them off in their hands above everyone’s heads. It was pretty crazy / probably really dangerous. I can’t imagine what would happen if someone tried to set off a road flare at an NFL game…

After the game we went out with a graduate student we had met and a few of his friends in downtown Osu. We had a great time and they showed us some nice spots in the area to go at night.

Nothing too exciting has gone on since Sunday. A new vegetarian food stand opened in the market near the hostel and we’ve eaten there everyday this week. My favorite is the tofu sandwich which is marinated tofu, lettuce, beans, avocado, tomato, cucumber and sauce on wheat bread. It’s pretty delicious and I’m looking forward to trying other things from the stand. I’ve been surprised at how non-picky I’ve been since I’ve been here.

Catherine and I have been to the university hospital twice this week trying to work out volunteer opportunities. If all goes well, I’ll be volunteering in the HIV/AIDS clinic there.