So far in Ghana...

     I've been in Ghana for about one week now. Weird. While I am amongst the wealthier part of the Ghanaian population, compared to my life in America, I am still not living a luxurious lifestyle. The water runs sporadically, and is only cold. I also need to spray myself with DEET every day and take anti-malarial medication and multivitamins. I've pretty much been living on rice, fruit, and plantains (similar to bananas) so far since I keep kosher and can't eat the meat here. I've already been called "Obruni" a couple of times, which literally means "white person," but applies to all tourists no matter their race/ethnicity. One local who works at the airport also told me he loved me. Haha.
     Nonetheless, so far I've been having a really great time! I am in the middle of a 2-3 week orientation. We've been taking classes about Ghanaian culture, history and society (I was already familiar with much of what was taught in my classes, as I researched the country beforehand). We've also been taking African drumming and dance classes, which have been a blast!! I'm still surprised my EAP group took a liking to the dance classes. Soon, however, life in Ghana will become a lot more difficult. Right now, we Americans are receiving a tremendous amount of help from the EAP (education abroad program) office here, but once orientation concludes, the office here will provide us with some assistance but definitely not to the extent that they are helping us now.
     We've also been traveling a bit. The other day, we toured the campus. IT'S HUGE!! It reminded me of my university a bit, because both are very green. Since Ghana has a tropical climate, the campus is gorgeous. I am looking forward to walking it every day. =] I will post pictures of it. Later, we visited downtown Accra, Ghana's capital. People came up to our van while it was sitting at a red light or in traffic, and were tapping on the windows to see if we wanted to purchases what they were selling. This practice is quite common, not just with tourists, but with all people - people do their shopping while sitting in traffic. Our tour guide gave his cell phone number to one of the vendors, who followed us to the WEB DuBois museum located in Accra.
     I really enjoyed the WEB DuBois museum. The Ghanaians have a museum dedicated to him, as he lived in Accra for many years of his life, and contributed greatly to the Pan-African movement, or the movement that seeks to unify all African people into one unit.
     Last night, we went clubbing in Accra, Ghana's capital. Of course, we received many stares and a lot of attention. Haha. Today, we went to the beach, and then had another dance class which is always fun!
     Anyway, more to come! Hope life is great outside of Ghana. =] Sending you all much African love! Pictures to follow! The internet is pretty slow here.

Love,

Rachel

Ghana Prep!

Wow! I cannot believe I'm heading to Ghana in about 2 weeks. It still hasn't hit me, but I'm trying to prepare for my trip in advance (but of course, I'll probably end up packing at the last minute). I'm becoming more and more excited as days progress, but I'm nervous too. I've made numerous contacts who have given me advice and tips for my trip. Nothing I do prior to my travels will completely prepare me. I will have to adjust to the Ghanaian lifestyle and culture once I arrive. Shalom for now. =]

-Rachel