TIA: THIS IS AFRICA

Tuesday Jan. 24
Theme: “Funny the Way It Is” by Dave Matthews Band
Lately, I am starting to get used to the trash all around and the way Ghana functions, but I can’t help but have the lyrics of DMB pop and make me realize how different it is here and FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE I have taken so many things for granted.

This song seemed to fit into my experiences for today. We sat through another boring orientation session. This session was about health, safety, and SPORTS. The only interesting news is I found out that I can probably run for the University of Ghana cross country team. We’ll see if I will be able to handle the distances with this heat and other variables. Apparently if I am good enough I will compete in Nigeria at their very BIG MEET, which would BE AMAZING! I will try to go on and off of running for a little while and see what fits me. The running may interfere with volunteering at a school I may not do it, but I will show up to some cross country practices at U of G. Their practices start next Monday at 6am, so we shall see. 

Second tour
After this news, we went on a second tour of the camps which entailed a tour of the Bush Cantine. It is a market with bars in the back. One of the ISEP students from last semester said that all the children there have their own culture to feed and take care of each other. I am excited to go get a soda and observe this mini “Lord of the Flies” society. We also went to the library, which has a VERY STRICK POLICY OF SILENCE…very foreign to me after Hendrix College (because the library has an area of loudness and softness).
We are slowly getting less buffet meals and more meals perfect for one sitting. When talking to Rachel and Heather over the years they did indeed say that Ghanaians have a few selections of meals and I am excited to see if I can spice up the variety. RICE IS THEIR BEST FRIEND…and it shall be mine as well. 
I am slowly adjusting to all the stares on campus and DEFIANTELY OFF CAMPUS. It is odd to think just because of the color of my skin they will automatically assume I am from a foreign country. I know I have had so many great benefits and SO MANY THINGS GIVEN TO ME…but I am also a college student who can’t give money to everyone I see on the street. I wish I could, but that’s just not in the cards. At least a SMALL group of Ghanaians are starting to see me as friends. I LOVE ALL THE GHANAIAN GUIDES! They are my babysitters to guide me through a bit of this world. Soon they won’t be babysitting us any more.

GHANA VS. BOTSWANA FOOTBALL GAME
After the tour we went to a bar and watched on of the African Cup games, which was perfectly aligned with Ghana playing. The screen was difficult to look at and the Ghanaians sometimes seemed more curious at what we were doing than the screen. I had a couple sips of the Ghanaian beer, STAR, which was a light beer, like Budlight. I had a soda to treat myself and it was nice just to kick back and talk to Emma and Kaite (two of the ISEP students I am falling in LOVE WITH). Mentioning that, I LOVE THE ENTIRE GROUP! THEY ARE ALL SOOOOOO WONDERFUL. Everyone has a very different and interesting perspective. One of them, Cierra, I love talking to from an African American perspective. In fact, a Ghanaian approached her the other day and asked why she is wearing shorts. Ghanaian women DO NOT WEAR SHORTS. They can wear skirts, pants, or dresses, but shorts are out of the question. She was flattered by this interaction and I was fascinated. So our little plan is to have her in a Ghanaian dress and for her to bargain at the market and for me to accompany and observe the change over time. WE MIGHT GET THE SAME DEALS.
After the game, we proceeded to a fulfilling meal. I was told to be grateful of these meals because large meals will be far and few later in the semester.

Wednesday Jan. 25
Theme: TIA: This Is Africa
The Run
I decided to go on a run this morning, a run with another ISEO kiddo, Kim, who I think will keep me motivated to run enough to stay in shape for a potential cross country race and a half marathon this next summer. DON’T WORRY IT IS EXTREMELY SAFE WHERE WE ARE…ESPECIALLY WITH ANOTHER PERSON. There was never a moment of fear. In fact the Ghanaian just laugh at us, with no sound of danger in their laughter. We ran to the track, to see what sort of track it was. It was a normal red track, with a STEEPLE WATER JUMP! Maybe I can convince them to have a water jump so Stephanie Davenport doesn’t out steeple me.  We only ran of a half hour but the humidity was ever so present. I ran VERY HARD the last ten minutes to relieve all the stress build up over the last week of getting here and building relationships with complete strangers. There are so many dirt paths around the school creating a perfect environment for me to run in the morning soon. I don’t think tomorrow morning I will do a run, on and off will be appropriate to make sure I don’t push myself over the edge. But I REALLY LOVE RUNNING HERE. The sound of birds, the different scenery, and the change in buildings, makes this experience another way to see the school and Accra.

CLASSES
We registered for CLASSES. I am really, really EXICTED ABOUT MY CLASSES. Here are my classes so far. Be AWARE that they may change because the departments may not offer them…and then I’ll have to change what I want completely. It also seemed odd that we register classes before the natives of Ghana, making us stand out even more.

But here are them so far:
HISTORY 302 GHANA IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES (3 CREDITS)
This course traces the history of Ghana in considerable detail, the many influences to which Ghana was exposed throughout its existence, before, as well as after its independence; Christian missions, education and social change; the growth of British colonial power and jurisdiction and Ghanaian reactions; Anglo-Asante wars; the era of the “Scramble” for Africa; Ghana under British rule; Social, political and economic developments under colonialism; the rise of nationalism between 1900 and 1945; the impact of World War II; the struggle for Independence; Ghana since 1957; Kwame Nkrumah; the period of coups; 1966 to 1981 and the Second, Third and Fourth Republics.

HISTORY 306 ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY IN AFRICS (3 CREDITS)
In this course an attempt is made to strike a balance of the influences of the two great monotheistic religions on Africa. Topics treated in the course include early Christianity in North and North-Eastern Africa; Islam and the conquest of North Africa; Islam and Christianity in Ethiopia; Islamic expansion in West and East Africal growth of Islamic influence through Sufi Orders; the influence of Christian Pietism i.e., Evangelical revival and the Missionary movements; Islam and reform in the 19th Century: Mahdism in the Sudan, Muslim society; imposition of European (colonial) rule, church and the growth of nationalism; Ethiopianism; self rule; church-independence, and church and state in post colonial Africa.

GEOGRAPHY 302 INTRODUCTION TO RESOURCE ANALYSIS (3 CREDITS)
This course introduces students to the various natural resources used by mankind and how these relate to wider environmental processes. It discusses the linkages between the use of natural resources, development and the environment within a political ecology perspective. Man-environment relationships are analyzed using a global case studies with special focus on Ghanaian examples.

SOCIOLOGY 308 POVERTY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (3 CREDITS)
Imperative of African rural development; Development and underdevelopment in theory and comparative perspectives; Globalization and the political economy of rural poverty; Rural poverty indicators; The roles of the state in rural development; Social infrastructure and rural development; Women, children and rural poverty alleviation; The land question and rural development; NOGs and local initiatives in the rural sector; Environmental issues in rural development; A critique of selected rural development projects.

ENGLISH 344 INTRODUCTION TO AFRICAN LITERATURE (3 CREDITS)
This is essentially a survey course to offer a formal introduction to African Literature in its broadest historical and cultural contexts. Our aim is for each student to gain a close personal familiarity with selected representative texts of major forms/genres and of the major writers of various periods. The texts will be placed in the general socio-political and cultural contexts of their production.

STUDIES OF RELIGONS 348 AFRICAN MYTHS AND SYMBOLS (3 CREDITS)
Theories of Myths; the universality of mythical motifs and symbols, and the functional value of myths and symbols. Detailed study of selected myths from various religious traditions especially African/Ghanaian ones. Cross-cultural comparison of Myths and Symbols.