Akwaaba means welcome in one of the tribal languages, Twi (pronounced chree).  There are 74 (not positive about that number) different tribal languages here in Ghana.  However, English is the universal language of the country.  So all the different tribes have different languages, but in order to communicate with each other, the majority of people know English.  The tribal language that people speak mostly depends on which region they live in.  There are ten different regions: Eastern, Western, Greater Accra, Brong-Ahafo, Upper Eastern, Upper Western, Volta, Central, Ashanti, and Northern.  In the Greater Accra region, the one I’m living in, most people speak twi which is one of the Akan languages.  Some words we’ve learned in Twi are:

                Ete sen (pronounced eh tay sane): How are you?

                Eye (pronounced ay yay): I am fine

                Akwaaba: Welcome

                Meda ase (pronounced Meh dah see): Thank you

                Abrooni (sp?): Foreigner (hear this ALL THE TIME)

                Mepa Wo Kyew (pronounced may patcho): Please

That’s all for now, folks. 

This past weekend has been my favorite thus far. It was a three day
weekend- Friday was founder’s day, so we didn’t have classes. I used
Friday to get all my homework done for the weekend, and the fun began on
Saturday. We left for Accra Saturday morning around 11. We (Sarah, my
roommate Bunmi, and I) walked down the hill to Berekuso, where we were
planning on finding a taxi. After a long (and incredibly HOT) walk with no
empty taxis in sight, we decided we were going to take the bus. The two
hour ride only cost us one Cedi (about 50 cents) where a taxi would have
cost about 25 Cedi. We arrived in Accra and went to Bunmi’s grandma’s house
for her birthday party. The party was lots of fun! It was interesting
going to a party here compared to home. Bunmi was explaining- everyone
kind of has their own place in the house depending on what age you are.
The grandparents sit inside. The adults sit/stand outside and the kids play
in a different room inside. We hung out there for a while, ate some
delicious food, and then left. Bunmi’s driver gave us a ride to a
restaurant close to Chandni’s (another roommate) house. We waited there
for a while for her to come back and get us and then we headed to her
house. We hung out at her house for while and then went out with some of
her friends. Sunday we woke up and headed to the Accra mall. Spent three
hours at the mall (just Sarah and I) and then took a taxi to a hotel near
Chandni’s house. We had been warned about the fact that taxi drivers would
rip us off because we were foreigners, but hadn’t yet experienced it. We
made the mistake of not negotiating the price before we got in, so we ended
up paying 35 cedi for a ride across town. (Shouldn’t have paid more than
5). Although I knew we were getting ripped off, I didn’t argue because I
was too scared. But we learned our lesson, we now negotiate the price
beforehand! Sunday night we slept at a hotel that cost 55 cedi for the two
of us (10 extra because we’re foreigners), so less than $15 each. Why was
it so cheap? Well…the toilet flushed once the entire time we were there, no
running water at all (shower, sink) and no air conditioner. Monday morning
we woke up and ventured our way back to Ashesi. We got into a couple
arguments with a taxi driver, but other than that it went well. All in
all, a tiring but awesome weekend!

Yesterday marked my two week anniversary of arriving in Ghana.  Crazy. I can’t believe that I’ve been here for more than two weeks already, time is flying! The transition here has gone way better than I could have ever imagined.   

            “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” – Freya Stark.  This was what I felt the first day I woke up here.  I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing, or how I was going to find out.  But I was HAPPY.  Any worries I had quickly went away the moment I stepped out of my room and met people.  I felt as though I had a welcoming committee just for me.  Everyone was so FRIENDLY.  I know I’ve talked about the hospitality here before—but It’s just something I haven’t ceased to be amazed about.  I’ve come to realize that each day I’m here I like better than the last. 

            There have been challenges, of course.  The first week was a lot of adjusting and learning.  I’ve learned to get over my hesitation about asking questions.  Like I said the transition has gone really well…but there are three things that stand out to me as the biggest <surprise?> <difference?>  You’ll never guess what they are.

            Hospitality: Let’s just say…when I get back to Coe and start saying “hi” to EVERY SINGLE PERSON I SEE, people are going to start giving me some weird looks.  Although I think that Iowa is one of the friendlier states in the U.S., it has nothing on Ghana.  I don’t even know how to describe it.  It’s awesome :) Everyone considers everyone else their “brother” or “sister” and treats them that way. 

            Electricity (or lack thereof): Oh boy. The internet connection here is random at best.  It’s caused a bit of challenge for staying in touch with people, but it’s gotten a lot better since the beginning.  Also, I’ve eaten meals in the dark a couple of times when the lights just go out.  Can’t forget…I WASH MY CLOTHES BY HAND.  New experience, that’s for sure.  Got laughed at and complimented all at the same time.  The first hint for people that I was new at this was when I brought my clothes down in a suitcase.

            Spiciness: The food here is spicy…Spicy…SPICY! Everything.  I stay away from the shito (really spicy) sauce, and other things that add extra spice.  But still! My stomach was mad at me for the entire first week, but I’m getting used to it slowly and surely. 

            That’s all for now folks. Stay classy. 

Based on some things people have asked me about my views of Africa, I feel like there is a necessity for some Americans to become enlightened about what Africa is really like. What brought this about? A couple questions that have been asked by friends. Here are some examples: My friend, Jessica, asked me “So…before you came here, did you think we lived in trees?” I have also been asked “Did you
expect there to be people holding baby lions at the airport?” and “Did you expect there to be elephants and giraffes walking around the city when you flew in?” So, for those people out there who actually wonder those things: No. They do not live in trees here in Africa. They have real houses. A lot more gated driveways than I expected, actually. Also, there aren’t just elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, and lions walking around the city. Yes, they are in Africa; but mostly in wildlife preserves and more “bush” (pigeon English for uncivilized; primitive) areas. We do have electricity here, although the internet isn’t quite as speedy as I’m used to. Depending on where you are in Africa, people still wear the traditional decorated clothing. However, people also wear more western style clothing as well. People do
sometimes use their head for carrying things as well as cloth wrapped around their waist for children. Hope this helps Don’t feel bad about our slight ignorance—I also got asked if all Americans have to wear chips in their wrists so the government can keep track of us.  :)

Hey all! Hope everyone is doing well back in the states.  I’m going to take another shot at doing a blog—we’ll see if goes better than my Japan one! (I’m starting on day 5, so that’s a bit of an improvement)  This will mostly consist of stories, thoughts, and me blabbering.  So, I’ll start from day 1.  The flights all went really well, no problems luckily.  My first flight was from Cedar Rapids to Chicago and it was the shortest flight I’ve ever been on—we were in the air for half an hour (and I still somehow managed to fall asleep!).  I had about a two hour layover in Chicago, and it was uneventful. I just played some games on my computer and ate my last meal in America (the ever tasty Micky Ds).  My flight from Chicago to London was about 7 ½ hours and it wasn’t too terrible.  I got really antsy a couple times, but luckily I was on an outside seat so I didn’t have to worry about getting up.  I sat next to a really nice lady who was heading to Ireland for a whole four days.  Then I had a FIVE HOUR layover in London.  At the London airport they don’t announce the gate until about an hour before your flight, so I sat in this lounge area for the majority of the time.  I was incredibly tired, but I couldn’t go to sleep because I had no way of setting an alarm to wake myself up.  Anyways, I survived that layover and boarded the plane to my last flight before AFRICA. I attempted to put my carry on in the overhead compartment, but it wouldn’t fit.  I kept trying everyone watched and I felt like I was holding up the entire plan.  Finally, some really nice Ghanaian man helped me.  He ended up moving it to a compartment further back in the plane.  (This was my first of many instances of Ghanaian hospitality.)  The lady next to me (who actually took my window seat, but I didn’t say anything) was also Ghanaian and SUPER friendly.  I was sleeping when they passed out the immigration form.  As soon as I woke up she told me about it and watched me fill out and helped me when I had any questions.  When I landed in Accra (the capital city of Ghana), things started getting interesting.  First, since my bags were behind me and I couldn’t go against the flow of traffic exiting the plane, I was going to wait until everyone got off and then go back and get my bag. BUUUT…the kind man who put my bag up there, without me even saying anything, grabbed my bags as he walked past J Told you people were nice…   Anyways, I waited in line at immigration for what seemed like hours.  When I finally got through that, I had to attempt to figure out which baggage thingy my bags would come in on.  Airport people saw me being a confused American and came over for the rescue.  They helped me and waited with me while I waited FOREVER for my bags.  When I finally found them, they walked down with me and one of them coerced me into tipping him.  When I got down to the area for pickup there were SO MANY people holding signs for who they were picking up.  It was a little overwhelming.  I was already slightly worried about this part, because it had been a while since I had been in touch with Rosemary (the lady who I was in contact with in the U.S. and who said she would send someone to the airport to pick me up).  I walked through all the people trying to read all the signs, but feeling like I was on a catwalk because everyone was staring at me.  I didn’t see anyone holding a sign with my name or anything that was familiar to me.  I kind of stood in the corner for a little while deciding what to do and hoping it all worked out (but at the same time not being able to ignore the fact that I was in a completely foreign country with no Ghanaian money and only the name of the school I’m going to for information—duhhhhh).  Another kind airport man came over to me and asked how he could help.  I said someone should be coming to pick me up. He asked if I had a number I could call to ask if they were here. Nope. Again—duhhhhh.  I waited for a bit longer, then the same man came over again and told me to go to the “internet café” and look up the number and then call it.  I did that and luckily I had an email from Rosemary giving me her number, etc. Anyways, I eventually found the person I was looking for and we got all my crap loaded in his car.  The man who gave me a ride back from the airport was Theo (even though I’m still sure he told me to call him Walter). We talked the entire way back (about an hour drive on lots of bumpy dirt roads), and he continuously told me how great Ashesi (the school I go to over here) is and how much I’ll love it.  Also, he had been at the airport since 8:00 and I didn’t see him until 10:00.  When we got to Ashesi (about 11 by this point for those of you who are bad at math), there were two RAs, Michael and Naa, waiting up to show me to my room and help me move in, etc.  I was so glad that the country I chose has such good hospitality, I would have been totally lost if I had been on my own for all of that.  Also, it was so great to be welcomed with such excitement and friendliness even though it was late and they had been waiting for me for quite a while.