WOW...I know i have been slacking on my posts, so here comes a long one~ i will do my best to share my expereinces with you all, but I don't have alt of time at the moment.
Well, I have been here for three weeks now, and I am finally starting to get into the swing of things. After the first week and a half of euphoria, I started to noctice some cultural differences that I need to get used to- I defintely experienced a little "culture shock," but thanks to my "culture shock" class I was expecting the "culture shock 'W' "...and I am sure I am on my way to the top of the "W" now that I expereinced my low (which quite honestly was pretty mild and short lived!)
The hardest thing for me to adjust to so far is school...it is not so much that it is more difficult, but the teaching style is much different, and the thick Ghanaian accents are really hard to understand. Unfortunately, that makes physics much harder for me ( and those of you close to me know how good I am at physics!) My traditional singing class, drumming class, and all my dance classes are really fun- I think I am starting to blend in a little more...I am learning the African talents the best i can! While everything about school so far is pretty positive, i must say that 6 a.m classes kill me! I have two 6 a.m. classes, and on the other three days I have class at 7:30 a.m. Needless to say, I am pretty tired a lot of the time since it is almost impossible to nap here!
Last weekend was my first travel expereince in Ghana- we went west to Cape Coast...the first day we were there, we went to a slave trade castle and one the second day we did a conopy walk over the rainforest. The castle was a little bittersweet....it was this amazingly beautiful, white castle ( that was ironically build by the enslaved people) that overlooked the ocean. Unfortunately, the tour was very catered to tourists...nonetheless, most of it was still in its origional form- it was a very powerful feeling to be there...such a beautiful place for such a tragic happening. The rickety canopy walk above the rainforest was also pretty amazing, although I expected to see more animals...I only saw one money! To end the weekend, I shaved my head...my previous post is about that.
Aside from school and traveling, I also had the chance to check out a charismatic Ghanainan church. It was quite the experience for me...not just the church service, but the whole day turned into a big adventure.
The worship and the sermon were pretty much how I expected them to be- very lively! I love how much the people love praise here...they all sing and dance so happily- we did that for the first hour and a half! After worship, the pastor gave a very passionate sermon on brotherly love...such a beautiful, wonderful message- love, love, love...return evil with love! Unfortunately, the sermon took a few turns into societal/gernder roles, good and evil/heaven and hell- if you do evil and don't repent you go to hell....if you have God on your side, you will be saved from suffering....ect.. They also took 3 offereings!!! They said things like. "show your brotherly love" and "test God's mercy....give all your money and see how he will get you home!"
The message made me cringe a bit...but it got me thinking about "right" and "wrong" beliefs. Who am I to say they are wrong, and who are they to tell me that I am ging to hell for having a differnt perception?
The whole thing lastede 4 hours, and when it was done, I realized I had not money to get back to the University...needelss to say being stuck in the middle of Accra- hungry and with no money or phone credit- was an adventure! Don't worry, i made it home safely!
Well, my time is up...i will try to post more! If anyone wants to call me, try calling me from Skype
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