Today, we traveled through Accra, the capitol, to Kumasi, Ghana’s second capitol. The ten of us were driven by Adjudase (no clue on any of the spelling of the Ghana words I use). He greeted us at breakfast and was very friendly and enthusiastic. The bus ride took much longer than expected- 6 hours minimum. Reminded me of the long car ride to Geneseo. Driving through the towns, it was complete chaos- but in a good way. People were roaming the streets, again, with the hats carrying fruit, bread and fish? Cars, buses, and motorcycles competed for the road. Our driver, Adjudase, is very good at driving in Ghana, driving about 110 kilometers part of the way when the speed limit is 50 km…Sherry, our supervisor, was not too happy!
Nonetheless, we arrived safely in the Ashante tribal region where Kumasi is located. It is easy to notice the difference between the tribe Ga, located in Accra, and Ashante. Accra definitely seemed more commercial in a way. Although, none of Ghana is commercial (Told you Tony- there aren’t any McDonalds!). We drove up to our dorm, Baby Bruni, and dragged our loads of luggage upstairs. Definitely received some funny stares during that half hour. Honestly, the dorm room is not bad at all. I am in a triple with Minji and Emily across the hall from Jane, Meredith and Segan. The triples each have a bathroom and are connected by a halfway with a door to the main hallway.
After settling in and admiring our balcony view of the courtyard and other people’s laundry, we headed to a Jazz event where two guitars, a keyboard and drums made amazing, smooth Jazz with bits of poetry in between. Not what I would have expected of Africa! I, honestly, do not feel like I am in Africa just yet. I think once I visit the schools and maybe see an elephant I will! After the show, we went to eat with a professor of chemistry from KNUST University and her assistant, Savior. Surprisingly (and fortunately) the restaurant had food of all sorts- Chinese, American, Italian. I know it is too soon to be craving some home food but it was a nice refresher!
Savior helped all of us with some of the language, Twi. Hello is just typical Hello (its nice that it is universal!). How are you? is etesse. What is your name? is ye fiase. I’m fine is aya. Again, I have no clue how to spell these words, I am just going by how I say them and who knows if that is even right! A very interesting fact is that the day you are born gives you a nickname for your family to call you. Since I was born on a Saturday, my family would call me Amma. A person born on a Saturday has certain personality traits according to their culture. Savior told me that I am the type of person who would pave the way for someone else. I guess that is fitting for my chosen profession!
I, honestly, cannot believe how much information I learned today. I feel like it was much more than I have in a long while. I appreciate the friendliness of the Ghanians that helped us navigate the campus today (like Daniel who approached us with”White people, yay!”- Haha) and the enthusiasm of the girls I am with. Again, I just wonder what tomorrow will bring!
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