Akwaaba means welcome in Twi

I can’t believe I am finally here in Ghana. It all happened so quickly. I find it even harder to believe that I was still in India only a week ago. I miss India. I miss the intensity and stimuli. The busyness of the city. The hardness of the people. The “head wiggle”. Cows on the roads. I miss my duparta and being able to cover my head whenever I want to. I miss the modesty and the humbleness. I miss the things that became so familiar during the past 2 months – the challenges that I learned how to overcome. It’s funny how your perception of an experience changes once you have completed it. As ready as I was to leave, part of me really wishes I were back in India. Anther part of me wishes I were back in the US. And part of me is excited about the adventures that lie ahead.

I left Mumbai at 3am on Saturday morning, spent 6 hours in London, and finally arrived in the capital city, Accra around 8:30pm (local time) Saturday night. I was incredibly relieved to see an EAP (Education Abroad Program) student coordinator waiting for me since I wasn’t able to fly with the group. When I finally got to the International Student Hostel at the university, the other students were having dinner by candlelight – the power had gone out earlier in the day (and has gone out multiple times since). I am currently living with one of the Ghanaian Student Coordinators, Efua who has been a big help. The past few days have been jam packed with lectures, logistics, and fieldtrips. The University of Ghana campus is beautiful and lush – red dirt roads and all kinds of trees and shrubs. The campus is currently very quiet since school doesn’t begin till mid-August. I have to admit; I am definitely looking forward to a little bit more action.

On Sunday, we spent most of the day at the beach (which is super touristy) listening to live music, getting out of our seats only to dance or dip our toes in the water. We also had our first African dance lesson. Our teacher was an older man with glasses, a grayish beard, and a walking stick. He says he walks with a cane, but when he dances, “the cane falls away”. He spoke a little about the history and importance of African dance, explaining that it is about celebration and communication - about being able to let lose and have your soul transcend your body. It’s about being free to express yourself. Dancing is about family and acceptance. It was a blast (and a total workout!!)

On Wednesday we finally made it into the center of the Accra. Well kind of. We had a bus tour of the city. Accra is broken up into multiple parts depending in part by who colonized the area (i.e. Jamestown was colonized by the British). While the main roads were nicely paved there were many dirt alleyways lined with shanties (aka “low cost housing”). As in India there were some stark contrasts. There are many large buildings, center road dividers, and traffic lights, but then there are people living in their selling stalls, on the streets, in small door less shanties. There were children in the street barefoot and sometimes shirtless. There were women cooking and washing laundry only 100 yards from a fast food restaurant. Its odd to actually see the effects of globalization and development and to wonder how it is all affecting the informal markets.

Tomorrow we are traveling to Kumasi to learn more about Ghanaian festivals and funerals. We will return to Accra on Monday.

Miss everyone!! Love from Ghana!