First Day of Classes

Although our journalism classes will start next week, this week we are having lectures about Ghana. Today we focused on a brief history of Ghana, from ancient empires to independence, and the importance of religion in the Ghanaian culture.

In the afternoon, we visited TV Africa--a private television station that produces news and daily programs. During dinner, we saw a monkey playing outside in a tree. It was amazing to think that I was in Africa watching wild monkeys.

A la Plage

After a quick car tour of Ghana University, we went to the beach! Our group spread our towels in the sand and headed for the water.

We spent about four hours there, playing in the sun and listening to the drummers who were performing at the nearby restaurant. I'm sandy, slightly sunburned, and have sea-hag hair, but it was fun!

Tonight, we're going to a sports bar to watch the EuroCup final. Go Germany!

Mausoleum and Market

Today was orientation, so we drove to the NYU center in Ghana. There are only two classrooms in the center, but we only have 16 students enrolled in the program. After orientation, we had a sampling of traditional African foods at a restaurant named Headlines (how appropriate).

Afterward, we drove to the mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah--the first president of Ghana. We also visited the Accra marketplace, which was filled with people and goods. My friend Kendal bought fabric and asked the seller if she could take a picture. The woman happily agreed, but only if Kendal would pay her two cedis (equivalent to about two dollars).

For dinner, we met in the same restaurant where we had lunch, and the owner offered us glasses of wine on the house. We made a toast to our program and the people who are a part of it.

First Day in Ghana

I woke up to Raisin Bran at the Days Inn by JFK, then took the Shuttle to the Delta Check-in. Our group was supposed to meet at 2:00. By 2:15, I had found someone else going to Ghana. By 2:30, Danny went to see if he could found our group anywhere else. Apparently, JFK has three Delta check-in areas, and we were at the wrong one.

The flight was uneventful, just long, but we landed at Kotoko International Airport at 8:37 a.m. GMT. Vans dropped us off at our dorms, then we went out to exchange money and eat lunch.

My roommate, Emily, and I fell asleep around 4:00 p.m. and didn't even wake up for dinner; we just slept straight through until morning.