Well, I am quite annoyed with the redundancy of the registering process at the University of Ghana. I found out today that not only is it impossible to know what classes you can actually take until the notice boards have the offered class listings posted BUT a lot of departments don’t post until the first day of classes. How in the heck are you supposed to register for a class when you don’t know when or even IF the course will be offered. THEN, on top of all that with this process, they want you to go to each department office to register for any classes you want to take within that particular department, AND you have to register for all of those same classes online, AND you have to turn in another sheet of paper to the Registry (or in my case the ISEP office) that OFFICIALLY registers you for the classes so that they will appear on your transcript. Am I crazy or is this the most redundant and ridiculous system of organization known to man?
ANYWAY, I walked around all morning trying to register for classes. However, the classics department still doesn’t have time tables up. The theatre department didn’t have the 300 and 400 level courses up still, and the dance registration wasn’t open yet. Grrrrrr…. So anyhow, after all that, we had lunch. I tried a favorite local dish called Banku, which is beef and fish stew with a fermented corn meal dough with it. It’s a very… interesting taste especially the fermented cornmeal. But, the funny thing was when they brought it out to me they brought the plate with the food but then they also brought a big bowl full of hot water and a plate with napkins and soap. I was really confused, until I realized I didn’t have silverware. So, I’m starring at my food trying to figure out how I’m supposed to eat it, when one of our tour guides, Obed, starts miming how to do it. So I follow his instructions, which are to pinch of a chunk of the cornmeal (which is not like bread it’s more like a sticky dough texture) and then scoop up some fo the stew with that. At first, I really liked the stew part. I wasn’t sold on the dough, but the stew was great. Then after maybe 10-12 bites my lips start to tingle a little. Mind you, all the food here is pretty spicy and by now I’ve gotten used to it to a degree, but I’ve never felt anything like this. I soon found myself gulping down water and trying to keep my throat from burning so badly, though I was quite unsuccessful on all counts. I ended up not finishing the meal and buy like 3 waters in a very short period of time.
After lunch, we went on our first trotro ride. Trotros are like vans/buses that people pile into as part of the public transportation system. They are very, very cheap (30-50 pesawas which are like their cents), and they aren’t a bad way to travel. They kind of remind me of the subway. You know, there’s like an understood quota for behavior and your noise level. And you have to be careful with your bags cause of pickpockets. They are the cheapest ways to travel in a city usually, and you get all types, from housewives to business women. I thought it was pretty cool. The only thing is that the van is pretty much a tin box with fake leather seats so you get stuck to your seat with sweat and you sit there and cook most of the time. But anyhow, we took the trotro to medina market, which is like Ghana’s equivalent of the Turkish Grand Bazaar/ Spice Market combined. There was everything you could possibly imagine in there. Baskets full of tomatoes, onions, fruits, rice, beans, vegetables, crab, dried fish, fresh fish, fish heads. It was insane. The smell in the food section was something awful (especially by the dried fish) but I was cool just to see that stuff. I didn’t take in pictures sadly because I forgot my camera. But I bought a dress and honestly, I will probably go back several times before I leave in December. The cutest thing though happened in the Medina Market, when this little girl came up and put her hand on my skin and just kept touching me saying “Obruni, Obruni” which basically means, white person, or foreigner. It was like she had never seen someone with light skin. It cracked me up AND she was one of the cutest little girls in the world.
Wow, that scheduling IS so redundant! Good luck getting the classes that you want. I'm going through picture withdrawal, you better remember your camera next time!
ReplyDeleteThe Banku definitely sounds.. interesting. I'd probably try it too. Is food pretty cheap there? So a quick question... you have to buy all of the water you drink? They don't just fill up your cup... or that is an option, but not one you're willing to take with the condition of the water. I guess I'm feeling like I've been taking tap water for granted. How much does a bottle of water cost there in American money?
The story of the girl is so cute. Were you the only white person there or did she pick you out of your group?
Testing.
ReplyDeleteOK, now that I got it to work. I'm sorry I hadn't posted any comments earlier. I've been having problems getting it to let me post. So I've been reading your blog. Seems things are moving along. The market sounds awesome. Definitely bring your camera next time so we can see it. I know you said that people keep saying be safe, be careful, but that's only because we care and want you to come home. I hope you get your classes registered for soon. All that chaos would drive be crazy.
ReplyDeleteHey I was looking at your link for the University of Ghana. It says you have 48-72 hours to get registered once you pay. That's just as a student, not classes, right.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I've gotten so many comments. :D First, Jenny: Food is pretty cheap here, depending on where you eat and what you want the average meal costs about 5-7 cedis which is about $3-$5. That's for every meal, and believe me the meals here are HUGE. You get an entire plate heaping with rice as well as a big leg of chicken, and that's just the simplest kind of meal. Drinks here are always bottled when you get them, they don't have like fountain soda machines. You buy like a glass bottle of coke. It's pretty awesome actually. And again very cheap. Soda costs about 1 cedi and 50 pesawas, which is about a dollar in US, but if you buy water you can sometimes get it in bulk for really dirt cheap. Like I just bought a huge bag full of purified sache water (which basically just means it comes out of a plastic bag). The one a bought probably has about 2 gallons worth of water divided into these little saches, and it cost me 1 cedi and 50 pesawas. Again, less than a dollar for all that water. Like I said, VERY cheap. Then as far as the little girl goes, I was only with one other person from our group, and I think she just came to me first since he was behind me.
ReplyDeleteHeather: I am glad you can finally post comments. It's good to hear from you. The thing about registering just applies to regular students and registering with the University to become a student. As an international exchange student there are a completely different set of rules that go along with our registration and payment and everything, so don't worry. And I apologize again for forgetting about my camera. But I will make it up to you all. Promise.