Hey everyone,
So, I have arrived in Africa. Sorry about the delay on giving you this update. There have been a few matters that have required all of my limited internet access. I have recently learned of the passing of Ross Nykamp. I have had the privilege of being mentored by one of the greatest men that I have known and the father of one of the greatest men I know. I have been deeply saddened over the last few days by this loss and my heart still goes out to all of the Nykamp family. Know that I love you all and I think about you all the time. So, all of my internet time has been spent trying to stay in contact. Another issue is the matter of the internet, there is no wireless internet on campus and the only places with internet are a 20 minute walk and you have to pay for slow internet. This has been one of my biggest frustrations. Anyway, let me update you all on what has happened in the last week.
After changing planes 3 times and a 10 hour flight cramped up in a plane, I finally arrived in Ghana. This is not the same as getting off the plane in any other country either. You don’t get off and are greeted by a nice clean walkway and an orderly airport. No, in Africa, it is chaos. I walked off the plane and had to walk about 200 feet on a dirt path to the airport. Then inside a shady building there are a few people who get you through customs at their own pace. Then the airport “lost” my bags and a worker came and “found” them for me and asked for $20 in payment. I gave him $5 and walked away. Everyone in Ghana seems to not work until they are tipped. After another hour of weirdness, I finally found Nelson, the man who would take me to the college. He is a very nice Ghanaian man who was the thickest African accent I have ever heard. He then drove me to UCC… which took about 4 more hours. The drive was crazy too. In Accra (the capital of Ghana) there is a ton of traffic. At one point we were stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour. Of course, the people who live there knew where the traffic jam would be, so all of the merchants walked down the street selling all of their goods. It was nuts seeing hundreds of people walking between the cars selling goods and toys and everything you can think of… well not everything. One guy really wanted to sell me a soccer ball, but Nelson kept fighting him off. I finally took a nap and woke up outside the city.
We drove another 2 hours before arriving in Cape Coast. The drive was crazy. Drivers are crazy here. They swerve and weave while going over 80 mph. My driver was especially crazy as he swerved around everyone else while barely missing oncoming traffic. The drive was also weird because I noticed all of the villages along the side of the road. Almost all of them consisted of shacks and huts. It still seems like a very poor place, and this is supposed to be one of the most developed African countries. Finally though, we arrived at UCC.
The first couple days in Ghana I have spent trying to get accustom to the culture and also trying to get basic tasks accomplished. The first thing that I have noticed since arriving here is how much I stand out. In the airport and in Accra, there are a number of white people. However, at my school, I am one of 9 white people in a school of I would guess over 15000 students. So, needless to say, more than a few people stare at me. It gets really old when people point at you and yell “Obruni” (which is Fonti for “white person”). It seems to never get old for people to point me out. I will have to get used to that. It also is a bummer, because people think that because I am white, I have a lot of money. So, every time I get in a taxi, the driver tries to rip me off. It seems to get in the way, because you haggle over everything in Ghana. No price is firm. In only one week, I have found myself haggling over 10 peswey (about 6 cents). It is just part of the culture here in Ghana.
Another thing that seems to be different in Ghana is the use of time. In Ghana, it takes FOREVER to do anything. People are really chill here, so they have no problem with taking a ton of time to do an easy task, like registering me for classes. I had to take 6 hours to register, because the people working decided to hang out and talk for a while and not do anything. The mindset here is to take things as the come and tome doesn’t matter. I watched a soccer game yesterday that was scheduled to start at 2. It actually started at 3:45. Things like that aren’t a big deal unless you want to have something done in a hurry. It took me a week to get wireless internet and 5 days to get some basic things for our room. I kept nagging, but they just keep telling me not to worry and relax. I am still trying to get a fridge in my room. The Ghanaians tell me just to relax, but that is not how many Americans operate. Right now they moved us out of our room to actually clean it and tile it. They said we will be back in 3 days. I will give it 7 and see where we are then. I just have to get used to Ghanaian time.
Other than those things, it has been going pretty well here. I did get hurt a little bit on the second day, but I am O.K. now. I will tell you all the whole story at some other point. I am also playing basketball for my hall team. The fresher (fresh student) games are happening right now, and I am a starter for my hall team. (Halls are like dorms, and there are 6 of them. Think Hogwarts). It is cool, because it keeps me active. Being bored is one of the biggest problems here. Most of the students just chill and hang out all day. I am meeting people through basketball though. Everyone wants to learn my name, but I can not possibly learn everyone’s name, so basketball gives me a chance to just know a few people a lot better. I hung out with a guy named Dominick yesterday at the football match. He is a fresher from Accra. He plays basketball for our Hall and he is a pretty cool guy. So, hopefully I will meet more people.
So, that is about it for now. I can tell you more, but I don’t want this to get to long. I am supposed to start class this week, so hopefully that happens. Thank you all for your love and support. I will update you soon. Please feel free to let me know of any questions that you have about my experience and Ghana or anything else. Talk to you soon
Jordan
