I cannot believe that two months have gone by so fast. I have seen so much and so many things have happened in such a short period of time. I wish I could slow time down so that this incredible experience could last forever.
I'm settling into life here. I've gotten familiar with the campus, learned the short-cuts and different routes to get to and fro quicker and easier, found my favorite eating establishment on campus, The Basement, and have acquainted myself with the various locations of the bathrooms on campus (this is very important!!!!). I ate something on Monday and had to bolt from the classroom and luckily I had explored the building before class and located a bathroom.
I'm even understanding my lecturers more and more and I'm finally starting to get their jokes. They tell jokes often and the whole class erupts into laughter and I could never "get it." One of the young ladies in my Anthropology class has taken me under her wing and now explains the jokes to me. LOL. Who knew I would need someone to translate jokes.
Many Ghanaians I've met seem to retire early in the evenings and wake up early in the morning. There are many Ghanaian students in the dorm and I notice when I get up to use the restroom in the early mornings, their lights are all on. The first month or so, I tried to get up early in the mornings and stay up late at night. Us Americans are used to burning the candle at both ends. As the young folks always say, I was doing too much. So, I've starting retiring early and this seems to be working better for me. Had to also find the balance between too many social activities and school work. They cautioned us during orientation that this experience is called "Study Abroad" not "Travel Abroad." So, this weekend I stayed in and wrote a paper and got caught up on all my school work. Thereafter, I will get all my studying done during the week so that I can get out and explore during the weekends. They posted the final exam schedule last week. I have two finals the end of November, which is right around the corner.
Finally made it to LaBodi Beach for Reggae on Wednesday nights. It was so much fun!!!!!!!! I went with Trisha, Shaye and Erin. Trisha and I had said we were only going to stay for one hour. We wound up staying until 2:30 a.m., which made getting up for my 8:30 a.m. Twi class very difficult. I have not danced that much in so long and dancing on the beautiful beach at night reminded me so much of Jamaica. The band was so good and the vibe was Irie!!!! Plan to go back there again and again while I'm here.
The weather has been getting hotter and hotter everyday and some days the humidity is too much for me and I have to stop, get plently of water and compose myself. Sweat is constantly dripping off of me now and I have my ceiling fan on 24/7. We arrived at the end of the rainy season and we are having fewer and fewer rainy days and more of the heat. I'm told that December is the worst month so I'm trying to brace myself.
Other than that, I'm busy planning my winter break vacation which is December 12th through January 12th. I'm trying to go to Senegal, The Gambia and Mali. It is proving to be a little more expensive than I planned so I'm working with a travel agency so that I can see and do most of the things on my list.
I'm still freaked out about the lizards, but as everyone keeps reminding me, they are harmless. I saw one last Sunday up on the third floor where my room is. I had previously only seen them on the first floor. Hoping that one does not get into my room. I've taken to stopping and watching them before class. The colors on some of them are really beautiful, but I've never been a fan of reptiles.
The lights going out now is common and the longest that they have stayed off is only a couple of hours. If it is at night, everyone gets out their flashlights and life goes on. I was sitting in the lobby last week when they went off and was trying to figure how I was going to get back up to my room. The lights came back on and a young lady from Charlotte, North Carolina came down with one sock on and one sock off telling me that she was trying to get dressed in the dark. She was saying how much she enjoyed the lights going out and I had to agree that I do too. We had a good laugh over that.
There is a weekend trip coming up in two weeks to Northern Ghana, and I'll be attending my first Black Stars (the name of the soccer team) soccer match next week. My friend Martin got me a Black Stars shirt from the market and I'm ready to cheer them on.
Friday was Nigerian Independence Day and as we have quite a few students from Nigeria on campus, there was a big celebration in the cafteria. Students were going from room to room inviting us to the celebration. There was food, dancing and the atmosphere was festive and happy. There are so many students here from all around the world and it makes studying at the University of Ghana such an interesting and fun place.
I do have my days where I want to leave and become an adult again and not live in this dorm, but I must admit that after two months, Ghana is becoming quite intoxicating and it is hard to imagine how I will ever leave this place.
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