Bucket Showers and Beads

The past week and a half has been filled with commotion and confusion, beginning with the flights to my current residence at the University of Ghana in Legon, Ghana. My scheduled course was to fly from Des Moines to Chicago and meet my group at the airport there, and then go to London and then to Accra. My original flight was cancelled and I managed to catch the next flight to Chicago; however, the rest of the group was stuck in Grand Rapids so I ventured on to London and Accra on my own which was quite the experience as I have not flown very much and never by myself. I had seats in the middle of the plane for all of my flights so I unfortunately did not see any landmarks such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Sahara Desert which was slightly unfortunate.

The first week was filled with orientation meetings at the Institute of African Studies where all of our classes will be held and also an opening Calvin retreat at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Akropong. This has made for a challenging first week mainly due to our living situation in the dorm as we are on the fourth floor and often we do not have water. This results in taking a bucket shower with water we can get from a kitchen in our dorm but it is always cold. While on the opening retreat we had running water consistently and we also had hot pots so we could heat water for a shower or, like my friend Meghan and I, you could heat up a bucket and soak your feet! And it felt marvelous on sore feet!

 We will be visiting ACI several times throughout the semester for various festivals or retreats. We have also explored different parts of Accra which included markets and an art festival. From the art festival we experienced a poor fishing village on the coast which made me glad that I could even take a bucket shower. We walked through the village and down onto a pier which was mostly destroyed, but turning back and looking at the shoreline it was a hauntingly beautiful sight with a combination of the poverty-stricken village and mist from the Gulf of Guinea swirling up through the houses and shops of nearby Jamestown.

On our way home from Akropong we stopped at a business called Cedi's Beads. Started by a man named Cedi, the bead factory has some of Ghana's and more specifically the Krobo people's most traditional beads that are made for chiefs and queen mothers, but also for the general public to purchase. Cedi has beads that are on display at an African Studies museum in Newark, New Jersey and has been to art expositions all over the world. We were fortunate to have Cedi himself give us a tour and demonstration of both how they make traditional beads and also how he can make blown glass beads. Needless to say, most of our group purchased beads of some sort and were sporting them today. Below top: is Cedi giving a demonstration of how he makes beads for chiefs and queen mothers. Below bottom: Meghan and I in front of a sign on the Cedi's Beads facility- "Bead is Good for Everyone"

That brings me to today- our first day of class! In honor of a longstanding tradition in my family, I took a first day of class picture with Meghan, which we happened to be matching quite well:

This is taken in front of the Institute of African studies where all our classes will be held. Today we had our first Peoples and Culture of Ghana lecture discussing media in Ghana and then we also had our first Twi (language) class as well. We learned maakye (good morning), maaha (good afternoon), maadwo (good evening), and me di kwadu (I eat banana). Speaking of food, this morning we were able to enjoy fresh pineapple juice or fresh orange juice which is offered at a local vendor on campus. We are able to get this delectable treat for breakfast every morning often supplementing it with an egg sandwich. Despite feeling culture shock as to the conditions of the dorm room I am staying in as well as the constant noise, I have met so many wonderful Ghanaians who are welcoming to me and offer help or friendship. I am starting to get used to the routine here which is not a routine rather it is flexibility in our schedule and flexibility in the way we care for ourselves and flexibility in what we choose to eat. 

Looking forward to sharing things that have yet to come to pass, I don't want experiences to pass me by- hence the title of this blog, with all my family and friends back home!