Over the Culture Shock-- Let the Adventures Begin!

I’m in a tropical paradise and no one even knows it. Ghana is like this hidden jewel, with weather and scenes comparable to Mexico and Hawaii. This weekend I took a 5 hour trip to the western coast and it was amazing. Imagine an all inclusive resort, eco friendly, and famous for the Green Turtles that lay their eggs every year on their shores. The dry sand feels like caster sugar beneath your feet and as you approach the water the sand becomes more like compacted brown sugar, sticking to your feet with each step. The water is clear, you look to your left and you see nothing but the coastline, no buildings, no skyscrapers; you look to your right and all you can see in the distance are cliffs and a small seaside village about a 20 minute walk away. Tropical paradise. The Green Turtle Lodge where we stayed is owned by a British couple, so it was nice to have some familiar and greatly missed foods over the weekend (French Toast, salad, and curry). This lodge has one road leading to it, which from the closest small city still takes about 30-40 minutes, depending on how your taxi can handle the unpaved and hilly road. We were a group of 7 people and we slept in tents on the beach. Despite the sand that was inevitably and perpetually in our tents, I slept well and had no complaints. It cost $4 a night per person for the tent, (you could get an adorable bungalow for $20 a night, but we’re broke and don’t mind the sand!) and food cost a total of about $15 a day. So basically, I felt like I was at a luxury resort in Mexico for a total of $25 a night. Honestly this would probably be close to $100 a day in Mexico! It was amazing and we all want to go back. It is really expensive for Ghana standards, but we’re American, so it’s a relatively great deal for us. It was interesting though that there were no Ghanaians staying here. It was very much an Obruni spot, with most people there under 30 years of age. After this weekend I want to travel so much more. I want to see all that Ghana has to offer!

So now that I’m over the culture shock, I can move on to tell you what I’m up to and how life is here for me. Everything is wonderful and I’m loving the life I’m creating for myself. First off, I am legal here so I have the freedom to go wherever I please because I’m no longer restricted by age. Unfortunately, the harsh reality will hit once I get back to the states, for I will still be 19, but for now I’m enjoying it while I can! All this really means for me is that when there is nothing really going on, my friends and I can just go to the marketplace, hang out under the stars with bats flying overhead and get a domestically brewed beer. There are no late night spots here like frozen yogurt, coffee, or even restaurants for that matter, except for bars and clubs; therefore, it is nice that even if we have nothing to do, at least we can get a change of scenery accompanied by a cheap drink.

I feel like there is always something to do though, whether it’s going to the local salsa club, listening to reggae at a nearby beach, or just hanging out in someone’s room after a long exhausting day of walking in the heat. Fortunately I like, or maybe more accurately, I’m not annoyed by/ can stand the company of most people in my program, so it’s really easy to hang out with people. (wow that was harsh, ok I ENJOY most of the company, and of those that I don’t, I’m not necessarily bothered by them haha)

How are classes? I really love my classes. I decided when I got here that there is no point in taking classes that I won’t enjoy because I want to have the most positive experience I can here (although I am in a US history class here and it is probably the worst class I’ve taken, but more on that will follow!) So the classes that I’m taking are Xylophone for Foreigners, Philosophy of Human Nature, Textile Design (we get to dye our own fabric!), Colonialism and the African Response, and History of the US and Russia 1860-1939. All my classes are enjoyable for different reasons, but what makes my US class and Philosophy class especially different is that in classes of about 70 and 300 respectively, I’m the only Obruni. So I stand out. Big time. Oh well, at least I get noticed, right?! Haha

This is what I can tell about the education system here in Ghana, and it’s quite disappointing. I wouldn’t say that Ghanaian schools encourage memorization, (ie. No analyzation of facts given, just regurgitation), but that is how lectures are set up here. A prime example would be from my depressingly remedial, and on the verge of plain insulting, US/ Russia History class. My first lecture started off like this-- Prof: “Students write this down.” I’m thinking he wants us to write down a quote or something to look up. He says a couple sentences. Then a couple more and I’m thinking, why am I writing all this stuff down?! It wasn’t until like 20 mins of copying VERBATIM what he was saying that I realized “OH NO! THIS is how he lectures!!!” So basically he has typed up a few pages, which compares to a section written in a history book (dry, basic facts recounting the event), in which he reads sentence by sentence, while every single student is supposed to write every word he says. Oh the best part-- he let’s us know when it’s a full stop or comma. Thanks professor, I really feel like I’m learning so much.

My other history class however, is in the normal lecture style that I think most of us are familiar with: he lectures according to a fairly clear outline and we write what we deem important. However, our grade in the class is based on 4 open book tests and our final. This is the first time I haven’t had to write a paper in a history class and it astounds me! When are we supposed to interpret the facts ourselves and share our theories with the professor? Apparently that just isn’t a concept here. Maybe our tests will call for some analytical skills, I thought. Wrong. I took my first open book test and it was straight regurgitation of the readings. How boring.

Although I love the information that my professors give me, for it is quite interesting (minus US History), it’s unfortunate that students here are expected to take what is given to them without question and they are not expressly encouraged to “connect dots” or deduce from the information given. So are Ghanaians smart? Well yes, they know a lot. But it also depends on what your parameters are for measuring intelligence…

I’ve discussed this issue of teaching/ learning style with the other UC students, and we all agree and notice it. We don’t mean to seem elitist, but we didn’t really realize how great the UC education system was until we came here. But like I said before, I love my classes, I’m just noticing different teaching styles and expectations that are different…

I don’t do much in the day here except go to class and do errands, but for some reason I’m basically never home and I like that. Errands here take forever because campus is so SO large and with the heat it takes extra long to walk. Let’s just say, you know your campus is large when there are busses, tro-tros, and taxis driving around campus to take you point A to B. And surprisingly a lot of Ghanaians are more willing to take a cab from one dorm to another than us Americans. Also my dorm is far from central campus, being about 20 mins walk away, so most of us hang around central campus all day until our classes are done and we all run into each other throughout the day, so it is always easy to find someone to kill time with you!

Still loving it here! And two friends and I are taking a trip two hours east to where the River Volta and Atlantic Ocean meet. We’re staying at the “Estuary Resort” in Tiki huts and sanded floors on the beach! It’s another relatively expensive weekend, (it’s $7 a night!) but it should be completely worth it! The only way to get there is by a 30 min boat ride downriver from the closest town! Secluded beaches, here we come!

All my best,

And thanks for reading!

-Annabelle

P.S. Wanna check out my xylophone professor and see the type of xylophone I'm learning to play?!
Check it out-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sWoYc9C0AU

ok, I couldn't actually load the video so I don't know if it's any good, BUT that's my professor and you can search similar videos if interested!