Popcorn and Pythons

Good afternoon all,

Just finished up my first week of classes. It looks like I will have a good mix of topics all quite interesting to be studying while I am in this country. I am taking Politics of Sub Saharan Africa, Globalization and the Developing World, African Art: Past and Present, Africa in the International Setting, and I have yet to decide on my 5th course. It seems as though with the African Art class we will get to meet with the actual artists in their element and get many hands on experiences ourselves. Although I am a Political Science major I will be looking forward to that a lot.

Popcorn and Pythons you ask? Oh well I got to experience both yesterday at Reggae Night on Labadi Beach. Freshly made popcorn is served right next to the dance floor(the sand) and I took full advantage of that. Pythons... Well they don't serve them fresh, but my group was actually befriended by a rasta with two quite friendly pythons.

A good amount of dancing was done and a fun time all around even when one must constantly be turning away some sketchy creepers. More dancing coming our way...

Give the people what they want.

Pictures of some of my adventures thus far.

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/wheresbowski

Sunday was a wonderful day. We had a group brunch followed by a traditional Ghanaian drumming and dance performance. All the students were invited to dance along afterwards. Many many dance parties in Ghana. I was told today since it is an election year that those events only increase the dancing and songs throughout the country. Exciting.

In the afternoon we headed out to Labadi beach which is a hot spot on the weekends for locals. The beach was strewn with bars, vendors, and pick up soccer games(with no out of bounds). Players of the soccer games would dodge around people and sometimes have to retrieve the ball from between a horse's legs, a skill unbeknownst to even the most talented soccer player.

Along the beach people were selling bags, shoes, hardboiled eggs, ciggarettes, popcorn, meat sticks(animal product: unknown), bags of water, and more. It was definitely a site to see. I would go back to people watch again but the water was pretty unswimmable considering that it is a city beach with strong undertow. I think we were just getting our feet wet in the beach scene, so to speak. Many more beautiful beaches to be visited along the coast of Ghana.

Friday Aug 22nd Activities

Hey there,

This past Friday was filled with activities. In the morning we traveled a short distance to the Artist Alliance Gallery where we had a lecture by the Director of the Gallery Ablade Glover on the Arts of Ghana. We are told that he is a very well known artist in Ghana and we were also able to have him talk a little bit about his paintings in the gallery. The gallery consisted mostly of contemporary art in Ghana. There were three floors filled with many fantastic paintings and sculptures. The ones that stuck out most to me were ones that featured a lot of movement and vibrant colors. They also had most everything for sale and I can definitely see myself going back.

After the gallery traveled a bit down the road to Teshie to visit a famous coffin shop. Their business card is pink and reads " Daniel Obbie-- Hello Design Coffins-- Manufacturers of Proverbial Coffins." The Ga tribe of Ghana both mourns and celebrates death, so part of the celebration manifests itself in the design of the coffins. If a person was a pilot in his lifetime then his coffin might be a plane. It is seen that most times the occupation determines the design of the coffin. All of these coffins are carved out of wood by hand and then painted. They are very intricate and colorful. And don't you worry I took more pictures that I will post soon.

Following the coffin shop we departed for the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum where we were given a tour of the museum and burial site of Ghana's first president. It was probably one of the most thorough and scripted tours I have ever had. Our tour guide gave us an explanation for literally every single picture of Kwame Nkrumah in the museum.

Statue of Kwame Nkrumah, we were told he is pointing forward because he believed that we must always look forward to our futures never backwards.

We concluded our day with an information session about where we can do community service throughout our area. That included AIDS organizations, autism centers, childcare centers, community development programs, and more. I hope to check out a couple different places but I might end up working with children in some way. I think many of the students here are looking forward to that aspect of our stay here.

1)Sprouts(?) being sold roadside 2)Plants in NYU academic center 3)Entrance way of academic center 4)plant in the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial

ChipChoppy internet--- Long time no Blog

This is where I live Church Crescant building 2.

Right above me in the picture is actually my balcony.

Yes it is as fantastic as it looks.

Hello!


It has been a crazy week of orientation here. Crazy but very informative. We have learned bits of everything from "dos and don'ts" in Ghanaian culture to why our internet is ooh so fickle to some phrases in Twi(a native language).


We have also been able to get into the thick of it in the city streets finally. It has been an experience---when walking through these streets, especially in the begining you pay attention to many things you wouldn't normally in the states. Trying not to fall in open gutters is a new one- no sidewalks to be found as well. The smells of the city marketplaces are quite indescribable. It is not a bad smell at all... its a very rich hot earthy smell. Its a smell that really sticks with you and your clothes.

I hope to blog more I just want to send out this one just in case the internet stops.

Feel free to comment so that I know you are actually reading my blog!

Sending my love back home,
Ellie

Settling in

It was a fantastic feeling when I got my Internet to work on my computer just a moment ago. It feels so important to make contact with loved ones, especially when you are in a place both you and they are unfamiliar with.
It was an almost simple day of new experiences, simple yet quite enjoyable.
I started my day quite nicely with some luke warm milk that topped off my NYU program provided corn flakes this morning. We then proceeded to the academic center from our dorms. As we sat on a stone patio in an almost classroom like setting we were introduced to many of the faculty and staff of the academic center. We also heard a speech about safety. The tips given to us ranged anywhere from not carrying your handbag on the traffic side of your body (in case people grabbed your bag from a car) all the way to trying not to fall in love with locals(because some may have ulterior motives- mostly wanting to marry you, to come to the United States)..... We were told a story of how a former male student was dating a local...fell in love... and found out "the hard way" after two months that she was a 'night walker'.

huh well
that'll happen.

rest of the day--- exchanged some money (local currency= Cedi), ate some local Ghanaian cuisine, walking tour of our area, had dinner at Sunshine Salads(where some of our meal plan takes place), and then ended back at the dorms just hanging around the courtyard for a bit meeting some of the group.

nice day all in all.

not too hot just yet...
am I speaking too soon? :)

All my love,
Ellie

I have arrived.

Hello all,

I safely arrived here in Ghana last night around 8:30 pm. Going through Immigrations and baggage pick up went just fine for me (some people had their luggage lost).

I am living in a double which has both a bathroom and a huge balcony(not too shabby). The facilities are pretty stellar here. In our building there are about 7 students and I think one live in staff member.

have to dash at the moment........

Ellie

Packing

Oh boy.
If you know me you know that one of my biggest personal battles is deciding when to stop packing.... the problem is not necessarily the quantity that I pack, but the utterly ridiculous amount of time I take to pack.
It is a tedious process.

so here I sit procrastinating.

I ultimately realize that I procrastinate only to try and stave off the inevitable moments of having to say goodbye to loved ones.

packpackpack

Like I have been encouraged by a friend.... I will try and blog from the airport. I hear its a pretty cool thing to do.

First Post!

As I have informed many of you... I have decided to study abroad in Ghana. So for the next four months I will be writing as often as I can to give everyone an idea of what my experiences are and what I go through in this new culture. I will try to keep my posts as coherent and as gramatically correct as possible but I'm not making any promises :):)
I hope you all enjoy it....