Day 2: Accra, Ghana

My day began sharply at 8:15AM when a friend called our room to notify us that we were going to be left by the buses if we didn’t get our arses downstairs asap. It turns out neither my roommate nor I heard our alarms and we had slept through breakfast. I threw on one of my cotton dresses and out the door I went. As with many things here in Ghana, it was a hurry up and wait situation…the buses were running late. People here run on what they refer to as ‘Ghanaian time’ – which means about 30-90 minutes AFTER the originally set time. It’s nice in times like this morning when your jet lag is in full force.

Today marked the official beginning of our program! We began at The University of Accra – Legon (UAL) which is about a 5-10 minute drive from our hostel, if traffic is smooth. Upon entering the University, two signs greeted us along with several white, drab-looking buildings with red dirt roads. Our first lecture was held in a lecture hall in the School of Social Work. The School of Social Work, not surprisingly is not the nicest building on-campus. In fact, it is not its own building, per say, rather it is several annex buildings cornered together with a quad area in the middle and a small patio area to the side. The morning lectures were perfunctory welcomes from our PD, our UAL advisor, and one of our local guides. We received some general background and cultural information about Africa, Ghana, and Accra and a list of Do’s and Don’ts for our behavior (including several warnings to not get drunk, since one lady who did “got raped” and it “might not have happened had she not been drinking and been aware of her surroundings.” Ahhh, victim blaming, gotta love it! Yep, the speaker is a man). After a brief lesson in Twi (thank you, or ‘medase!’) we had an opportunity to meet with our Ghanaian peers. Each group has been matched with a student from the University who will serve as our liaison to our agencies as well as our cultural guide on this experience. Our guide is a recent graduate who is completing his mandatory year of service with the Ghanaian government. How cool! I can’t wait til the US catches on to the benefits of domestic servitude (NOT only military service). One last quick lecture and then we took a driving tour of the University.

I took many pictures of campus through my glass window. I really wish we could have gone for a walk on-campus. Again, since there are 40 of us, I guess it is not ideal? At any rate, UAL has about 28,000 students. Many students live on campus (in non air conditioned dorms. Think Houston in the summer type heat. If that is meaningless, think 90 degrees, 90% humidity. Ugh) and walk 45-40 minutes to get to their classes. There are several majors of study offered and a few of the buildings I saw included Business, Social Work, Nursing, Archeology, and African Studies. They have post-graduate programs (I assume this is similar to a Masters?) in Communication and Law and also have a Medical School. In fact, our UAL advisor told us that Ghana is one of the leading African countries in producing doctors. Many of their medical students leave Ghana and go to Europe or Asia where they can make more money. It is even to a point where European and Asian people are requesting Ghanaians to stop coming because they are allegedly stealing jobs from local medical students. I thought that was pretty cool. Go Ghana doctors! Woo! Maybe they can specialize in reproductive health or something…

We took a stop at the University bookstore where I picked up a copy of The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective by Florence Abena Dolphyne, former Chair[person] of the Ghana National Council on Women and Development. It highlights what she believes women’s emancipation means to women in Africa, including how it relates to traditional beliefs and practices. Seems like a good read and, again, will provide some context to my work here.

Our next stop was for lunch at Monarch Hotel. A similar buffet menu was offered: fish, chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce, French fries, rice, fried plantains, cabbage salad, and some delicious local ice cream for dessert! Mmmmm, it was so creamy and delicious with just a hint of vanilla and maybe some nutmeg (?). So good.

We loaded back up on our buses to head out for our driving tour of Accra. We began in East Legon, where we are staying and passed through Airport Centre. This is where you will find upscale homes (equal to $100-200K USD) and “larger life.” At this point, I was not yet able to tell that it was a wealthier section of town – that came later. We passed a new addition in the East Legon section: HOTEL OBAMA (they sure love Obama here! I saw shirts with Obama’s face on them and several of his books for sale in the mall. Later, we saw a man passing by proudly sporting his Obama shirt).

Accra is divided by the Akon people which make up most of the population and include the Ashanit, Afani, Asanti, and Aguapimp. A small fraction of the Accra population is comprised of the Agha, the indigineous people. There are noticeable class differences between the groups – particularly the Akon and Agha.

Driving out of East Legon, we headed into downtown Accra. On the way we passed the home to the current President, John Atta Mills (our equivalent to the White House) which is a cool pointed space looking sort of building. We passed Black Square, the main town square where big rallies, speakers, and other events are held. Prior to the celebration of Ghana’s 50 years of independence a few years back, the visit by former President Bill Clinton brought in the largest crowd (Our guide said Clinton was loved and that is why so many came out to see him. Bush, however, was not greeted so kindly. Go figure.) We also passed the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, another highly trafficked space. Kwame Nkrumah was the reigning president before John Atta Mills and it seems that people LOVED him. I’ll have to ask some more questions and/or do some research to see why his crap doesn’t stink. Really, the love him.

Saw several of the political buildings (which we will be visiting and being greeted by the Assembly next week). Stopped for a potty break at a restaurant along the Atlantic Ocean which had a beautiful view…as long as you didn’t look too far to the right where the indigenous people are living and working. We ended up getting a closer look at this poverty when we passed Jamestown where many of the indigenous peoples live and work; it was intense. They live in tiny huts just big enough for sleep. Everything else, including cooking, must be done outdoors because there is such a lack of space. It is quite a sight to see and take in. The next place we went to, “Sodom & Gamur” is the most economically disadvantaged area I have ever seen. Houses were on stilts in the middle of what appeared to be the dump. Literally, piles upon piles of trash were within meters of where these people live. And, the smell was atrocious. Our guide said this is where many children end up who migrate from northern Ghana and other rural areas looking for work. The children, who are uneducated and vulnerable, often end up living here, working for less than 50 cents a day and frequently end up in sex work or slave trade. :( Sad stuff.

Finally, we drove through the Lima community which is primarily Muslim and immigrants from Niger, Senegal, and other West African countries. Interestingly enough, this, our guide said, is known as the “least safe” part of Accra with the most social struggles. Does Ghana have negative attitudes towards Islam? Do they hold similar ideals concerning immigrants as the US? (There was another time when he mentioned, “it is mostly the Nigerians” who commit crimes in Ghana.) Hmmm…

Other cool/random things I saw:
• A restaurant called McBonalds. With a ‘B”
• A sign on a wall saying “No urinating on wall” with a price listed afterwards. Do they charge to pee on the wall? Is even urinating not free anymore?!?!
• Goats meander freely all over the place…even on the side of a 4 lane road. They generally do not disrupt traffic or bother anyone, it’s just a sight to see 20 goats walking alongside your van.

While I am glad we had an opportunity to see the city (which is quite large and sprawling), I wish we were given a chance to walk around more and interact with people. I felt like I was on a driving tour through the zoo. I took several pictures even though I felt extremely awkward about it. I mean, here I am, my white privileged American self being driven around in an air-conditioned van gawking and snapping photos of these people. I have really grappled with my feelings around this experience all night. It just doesn’t seem right… I am hoping for more genuine interaction within the community.

Tomorrow we have lectures all day followed by our official Welcome Dinner Celebration at Chez Afrique restaurant and nightclub. Sound it out…what’d you come up with? ;)