It's been...one week since you looked at me.

Hello blog,

It's been almost a whole week without an update, which makes it even harder to try and recap everything that's happened. The Sparknotes/randomly remembered version is as follows:

I survived my first week of classes, which went very well (including my African Dance class, during which I out-danced a local student, who couldn't tell her right from her left. Haha!) I decided to drop my Twi language course (partly because it's just difficult, partly because my heart isn't in it to make the effort, partly because it's eating into my available elective credit, partly because for 2 credits the teacher wanted to meet more than once a week, and partly because I really don't need it in order to get around. It would just be nice to know what people are saying about me when I'm walking by.) I wish I could just automatically know how to speak the language instead of having to actually study it. Oh well.

I had my first phone date with my family, which was great. It was nice to hear their voices (even though my dad bailed on me to go to an airplane club meeting....). I'm really just kidding. I got to talk to him briefly on Eliza's birthday, and I know that he would've been there if he could have been. Next time, Dad! Probably sometime this week. I got to hear about Lizzie's first day of school, and Mom and Liz both got a recap of things that I've posted about and things that I haven't (Mom asked some more stomach questions with which I won't bore/gross you out.) It made me a little sad, in actually talking to them, that I'd have to do that for another 4 months before I could talk to them in person. But again, I'm sure by that point these 4 months will have felt like a minute and a half.

I'm just starting to come off the vacation feeling of everything and settle into the fact that I really do live here now. I know intellectually that I'm going to be here for quite some time, but I have sort of a mask over that as I subconsciously try to compare this experience with anything remotely like it, like visiting Key West or Bermuda. I didn't know what to do with myself a few times this week when I didn't have class, my homework reading wasn't copied and available yet, and I didn't know where exactly to explore. Some of my housemates went to a really great beach about an hour outside of the city. I was invited both times they went, but I had class awkwardly in the middle of the afternoon, during prime beach time. The pictures look beautiful, and I can't wait to go sometime this week.

My schedule changed, so now it is as follows:

Monday: 9am-12pm Globalization and the Modern World
3:30-6:30pm Global Connections: Accra
Tuesday: 5-6:30pm Dance
Wednesday: NOTHING
Thursday: 11am-2pm African Popular Music
5-6:30pm Dance
Friday: NOTHING

I panicked a little on Wednesday because I had mixed up the times of the art class I wanted to take, and now it interferes with my popular music class. I then realized that I had Wednesday off, and I spent 3 hours at the academic center (the duration of the class I thought I was going to) figuring out my schedule not only for this semester, but also for the rest of my college career. I am now only taking 14 credits this semester (there's nothing else I'm interested in that I want to work into my schedule that doesn't clash with my first choice classes), and I needed to make sure that taking 14 credits here wouldn't jeopardize my future semesters. As it works out, I can actually take 14 credits now, and still be better off when I get back to NYC that I'll never have to take more than a normal 16 credit semester on campus. Because I'm taking almost all humanities and no advanced studio/elective credit (except for 2 credits of elective dance), I'm therefore saving my studio/elective credit for when I get back. I could even take one more 14 credit semester if I wanted to, so I'm mentally saving that for spring semester, senior year (when I'll hopefully be working on a final senior project and I won't feel like doing much else). How great is that? Once I deciphered my degree progress and what requirements I still need to fulfill, I then spent the second half of that 3 hours searching out on-campus NYU courses online to see what might potentially be available in the spring (or maybe even for my senior year). I could only base my investigation on what they are offering this fall, so some things might change, but most courses are staples in the NYU curriculum. AND since I got my two sciences out of the way last year, the humanities department is my oyster and I can come back to take classes I'm actually interested in. Hooray! This whole process also got me a little freaked out that I can basically look at the next three semesters and see graduation at the end of them. WEIRD. This year is going to go by in a flash, and then I have only one year left before.....the real world. AH! Enough about that. Back to Africa.

Yesterday I had my most stereotypical African day yet, and I loved every minute of it. We got up early (on the bus at about 6:45am) and drove about an hour and a half east outside of the city to the Volta Region. We visited a village called Torgome, where we learned about the village, saw Kente cloth weaving, pottery, and another group went out on the fishing boats (skinny canoes that they had to sign a waver to go on, as though going in a canoe was the most dangerous part about being in Africa already). We went through a traditional naming ceremony (yes, all 41 of us), where the locals presented us each with a beaded bracelet and a bowl with our full name on it (our American name, plus the tribal name given to us). Mine is Ama Akorfa. The Ama is because I was born on a Saturday, and Akorfa means "comfort." At first, they said "wisdom," and then they corrected themselves....so I guess I just have comfort in the fact that I don't have wisdom. The elderly man who gave me my bowl said (while laughing and smiling) that if he dies, I have to come back and take his grandchildren to America. Haha. I laughed and said thank you for the bowl.

We also dedicated a bunch of school supplies and clothes and things to the village, in addition to a cash donation by NYU, which was sort of the trade for letting us come and visit them. It was strange to look at these groups and groups of children that I had bought notebooks for...and there were just so many of them! I also had to take a mental step back and look at myself in this village, walking hand in hand with these kids past mud huts and chickens and goats. It felt a little like being at Plymouth Plantation or something, except this is their real lives in 2008. It's just how they live. And here we were, a bus-load of American students just traipsing through like Santa Claus. It was a strange experience, but they were all so excited for us to be there that it made it feel less awkward or embarrassing, and more interesting to help them and see how life is there. Many of the adults were interested in showing us around, too. One man, in particular, because sort of an unofficial tour guide. He could speak English pretty well, so he could translate what some of the artisans were saying to explain the Kente weaving and pottery and things. It was surreal. Definitely take a look at my Flickr page, because I got some unbelievable photographs of the day.

Then we said goodbye, ate on the bus, and drove about half an hour to Shai Hills, which is sort of a large African park/nature and wildlife reserve. We took an hour hike through tall grass (on a path), and then up a hill to a cave where the Shai tribe had a small living area and basically a palace for the king. It's all rocks, so not much to look at inside without the king there, himself, but it was fascinating to look at the defense wall they had built, and the vines they would climb up to see out onto the plains. Mom, you would have FREAKED, because if we had gone around a corner of the cave, supposedly there were hundreds of bats. You could hear them from where we were (and smell them, unfortunately), but luckily I didn't have any actual contact. People kept using flash photography, and I had this awful nightmarish image of a huge flock (?) of bats flying out from around the corner and at my face. Luckily, it didn't happen, or else this would be a very different blog right now. We saw antelope from far away on our walk in, and baboons up on a rock outcropping and in some trees near the cave, that was fun as my first real wildlife experience in Africa. Then we hiked the hour back to the bus and drove home. My hiking sandals came in particularly handy, except that they were COVERED in mud (as were my feet) by the time I got back to the bus. And I'm just ignoring the fact that I had walked in a bat cave. You figure it out.

I took the most amazing photographs, which even now don't completely capture how magnificent it was there. It wasn't even heralded as this beautiful reserve, or some sort of national must-see, but it was just so wonderful to get outside of civilization, and the dirt and noise and traffic of Accra, to this serene, natural, AFRICAN place. It felt like the natural set of The Lion King. The grass really looked liked there should be animals (like lions) in it, which I'm obviously glad there weren't. (It would've been a much more stressful hike.) It also felt like the raptor scene in Jurassic Park (also kind of a scary image, but fascinating to be standing in a real version of it...minus the raptors). I was telling Meghan, as we lagged behind the group a little to enjoy what we were walking through, how amazing it is to me that hundreds of years ago, the place where we were standing looked mostly like it does now. Tribes were living in the cave we visited, more animals were grazing in the grass we were looking at (and African people were hunting them!). Looking back on the day, I felt like such an alien. Even in the village, the people there (the children especially) are much less used to seeing white people than I am to seeing black people, just in general. So I walk in, unphased at least by the color of their skin, and meanwhile they're stroking my arm like I'm some creature they don't recognize. What a strange thing.

In the meantime, I miss Ben and Jerry's. Not really a segue there, but a bunch of us are really craving good ice cream (especially Fossil Fuel, my favorite!). Every once in a while we all just moan about it, but other than that, I'm not really craving many American things. Last night, a group of us went out and got pizza and beer and french fries, which was heaven after barely eating anything all day. It upset my stomach this morning (which is nothing new), but it was such a culture shock to go from our house, to a village, to a nature reserve, to driving through Accra, to our house, to a restaurant where I ate all that. Even though there are people that are much less well off than I am (who I see on a day-to-day basis), I'm not going to pretend that I'm poor or try to give all my things away. For example, the people in the village weren't starving. They needed school supplies, which we were able to help supply. They don't have sophisticated health care, they could use more teachers, etc., but we could only give so much, and feeling guilty doesn't help anyone. Some people make fun of our program for not giving us a real African experience, but I feel very lucky (even here IN Ghana) to get to come home to a clean house with water and electricity, even A/C. And I can't take all those kids home with me.

Anyway, I unintentionally got kind of intense with this post, but this blog turns out to be just as much for me as it is for you guys. I've tried to journal for myself, but I've found that more of my real thoughts and reactions come out when I'm writing to other people. So bear with me as I'm settling in and figuring things out. It's going to be a very interesting semester.

Love from Africa, per usual,
Molly

You've Got Blogs!

So a group of us at the house just finished watching "You've Got Mail", which made us thoroughly reminiscent of NYC and fall in general and home (and for me, the Meg Ryan hair cut that I've tried to achieve so many times, and always failed). And it's not even SEPTEMBER! A nice little "in-night" though, especially since the last week has been so jam-packed with orientation activities. I'm officially done with orientation and school has officially begun! I forgot to take a first day of school photo for you, Mom. (Coincidentally, Meghan JUST took out her camera, completely unprovoked, and snapped a photo of me blogging. So, I actually do have a first day of school picture!) Today was rainy for the first time since we've been here, so guess what??? I GOT TO USE MY L.L. BEAN RAINCOAT! I was pretty excited to be so prepared while everyone else was just soaked and miserable. Between my water-resistant backpack, my "walking" sandals (haha), and my rain jacket, I was an L.L. Bean dream ad (in Africa). And now I've done something to make this italics. I feel like Lisa Peciaro, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get out of italics. So be it. Just know that I'm not actually stressing any of this.

In recent news, I had my first full day of classes, which was very long. I decided that I'm dropping my 2 credit Twi language course. I feel like I would learn things that would obviously be helpful for while I'm here, but my heart isn't in the course, it's just plain difficult, and it's eating into my elective credit (which I need for advanced studio courses in the spring and next year). So....out it goes. I really liked my Globalization course this morning (Ali was right...I think I'm going to learn everything about everything). And my Global Connections: Accra class seems like it's going to be good, too. Mostly because of the great professor. All in all, I had a very global day! Tomorrow is the first day I am NOT setting an alarm, which is fantastic. I get on a bus for University of Ghana at 4pm for my 5pm Traditional African Dance class. I am soooo excited but simultaneously very nervous. I hope I don't look like an asshole. But if it's anywhere as much of a party as our class was at PHTS, I'll be in good shape (haha...I'll be in GREAT shape after 4 months of this class, actually). I'm looking forward to it.

Since I missed a few days, I'm struggling to remember everything that has happened recently. The videos I posted are from yesterday's brunch, where we watched an African dance exhibition, followed by some audience participation. Hence, the many videos of African people...dancing. It was soooo hot in the sun. We were all melting in the heat, but we survived. Oh yes...then a bunch of us went to Labadi beach, which is kind of skeevy, but it was great to walk on a beach and see the ocean. Granted there are plenty of beautiful, natural beaches outside of Accra with sea turtles and starfish and things, we are so spoiled up in Ogunquit! This beach was more of the street performers, plastic trash in the waves, don't go too far into the bacteria-filled water kind of city beach. Oh well. I found two shells for my mom, so she can add them to her collection!

Our Spark notes version of Saturday was early, redundant orientation for foreign students at University of Ghana, followed by a walk through a crazy, overwhelming African market, followed by a great free dinner and dancing at the welcome durbar (African welcome party) for international students at U. Ghana. It was a fun day, but very tiring. My tour guide in the market was the same girl who took me around University of Ghana to find the timetables. She is very nice, but kind of clueless. It was frustrating to be pushing through angry, smelly crowds of people speaking another language (most of whom were carrying large piles of things on their heads), and stopping abruptly to turn around because our tour guide had brought us the wrong way. It was like having someone from Nebraska try to give a tour of Times Square and stopping you in the traffic to point out the TRL sign. Or at least that's what it felt like. I also got toilet paper (or "toilet tissue") and when I asked our guide how much it SHOULD cost (so I could haggle down the price, from the obvious markup), she said, "Let me ask how much it is." I felt like I knew how to bargain more than she did, and I have never bargained for anything in real life (Grandma was with me, I'm sure of it). But I didn't want to disrespect my tour guide's advice, so I paid a whole 3 cedis for a pack of toilet paper that I could've probably paid 1.50 for. It was just another little frustration added to the day. Despite our setbacks, we still got a chance to see all the beautiful fabrics for sale on the top of 3 floors of market. It was inappropriate to take pictures, and apparently some of my classmates got pretty angry reactions even when they bought something from a vendor and/or asked to take the picture. So I avoided it altogether, which I think was wise. I'm hoping to create a good relationship with a fabric lady at some point soon so I can have some skirts made, and maybe even a dress. The fabrics are beautiful, and you can see some men embroidering cloth on sewing machines as you walk by. Batiks, tye-dyes, kente cloth...I need to choose carefully. I'm sure I saw Bill's suit print more than once, too!

I miss home a little. I've felt really good about everything I've been doing here, and I'm so happy to have a real schedule this week (vs. 7am-9pm orientation days). I've been able to keep in touch with a lot of you who are reading this, and even if you don't contact me, it feels nice to know that you're reading along with my little adventures. Every once in a while I remember I'm in AFRICA, and I will be for another four months. I'm really excited to go on our excursions and see life outside of Accra, too. I just wish a certain best friend whose name rhymes with Nick would drop a line. This is rather a public plea, but I've talked with or messaged many people since I've been here (more easily than I expected), but I'd love to know what's going on in the life of Nick. If anyone happens to talk to him, please tell him he's stupid and that some girl in Ghana would love to talk to him sometime soon!

I'm going to sleep now, with the happy knowledge that I'm not needed anywhere before 4pm! Obviously, I'll wake up at 7:43am and not be able to go back to sleep, but it's a nice thought!

Love from Africa!
Molly


P.S.--HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL TOMORROW, LIZZIE!!!

Water, Water, Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink

So there actually wasn't water ANYWHERE for the last 2 days. There was an electrical problem with the pumps at our house, so for the last 2 days I have not been able to take a real shower (more extra hygiene info by Molly). Luckily, I hadn't known how often I would be able to shower here anyway, so I brought plenty of alternative cleaning products, if you will. I was able to stay fresh and non-offensive during this time, but my hair just kept getting hairsprayed and put up into more and more bobby pins. Thank goodness by this evening we had water again and I took a nice, moderately long but completely efficient shower. It feels great to be clean!

We went back to the University of Ghana yesterday, where I finished my registration process. It was a lot more walking around the campus in order to finish the "register to register" sequence, followed by a wild goose chase for the ID card center, and finally handing the piece of paper over to someone in the department to be completely officially registered. As of right now, including my NYU classes, my schedule is as follows:

Monday: 9am-12pm=Globalization in the Modern World (4 credits)
12-2pm=Twi (2 credits)
3:30-6:30pm=Global Connections: Accra (4 credits)
Tuesday: 5-6:30pm=Traditional African Dance (2 credits @ UG)
Wednesday: 1-4pm=African Art: Past and Present (4 credits)
Thursday: 5-6:30pm=Traditional African Dance
Friday: NOTHING
Saturday: NOTHING
Sunday: NOTHING

HOORAY!!!! I might even drop my Accra class and end up with only 12 credits this semester, but I figure that I might as well pick up an extra humanities course for my transcript while I have the time and space to take it (especially such an interesting class/awesome professor who is a former mayor of Accra/I'm living IN Accra). So that looks like a promising schedule! Hopefully that all works out, and I cannot WAIT to have a definite schedule that does NOT involve getting up at 7am or earlier every morning (and doing things ALL day). Orientation weeks are always brutal, but I'm definitely feeling myself dragging by now. Tomorrow we have another orientation at University of Ghana beginning at 9am, so we have to be on the road by 8:30am. Oof.

To catch you up on other highlights, we went out on the town last night to a sort of touristy night club with live music. Our CRAs (culture liaisons and RAs combined) took us out on a driving tour of the major night spots of the area, finally ending up at this club/bar. It was packed and lots of fun. I danced briefly with a female sex worker, or "lady of the night," on my way to the bar. I had a large Club beer (brewed in Ghana) for only 2 cedis (equivalent to about 2 USD). I met some Australians and an American on a drumming program. I turned down 2 young Ghanaian boys who "wanted to be my friend". And I danced with almost everyone in our program who was out with us last night (about 35 people) to excellent hi-life music, in addition to an elderly Ghanaian man singing Frank Sinatra tunes. It was a great evening, only frustrated by the fact that I still could not shower at the end of it! Gross.

Before we went to the bar, we were invited to a reception at the private home of the Head of Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy here in Ghana. We scarfed down delicious appetizers and bottled water (after our long day at the University of Ghana), followed by a long presentation by the Embassy. We got yet another talk about health (by a rather condescending white woman), a security talk by a (probably) Boston cop, and a final wrap-up talk by the head of consular affairs, who came off like an American television show host ("what's behind hut number 2???") We also drove by the U.S. Embassy before dinner, and it is MASSIVE. I can't believe they need that many rooms. It's rather intimidating, but it's nice to know that it's there.

Today, we went to a beautiful (and huge!) local gallery called the Artists' Alliance. Local art (by both famous painters and emerging artists) is displayed and for sale, including lots of traditional Ghanaian art and really beautiful modern art. We got a lecture by the founder, famous artist Professor Ablade Glover. He also has his own room in the gallery, full of large oil paintings (favorites of mine), and it was fascinating to view the wide range of art there. After we left, we went on to a local coffin maker's shop. It is Ghanaian tradition in this area of the country to (if you are old/rich enough) to commission a coffin maker to build you a personalized wooden coffin, based on your occupation or passion in life. A fisherman, for example, would be buried in a coffin constructed and decorated to look like a huge fish! Definitely check my photos out on Flickr, as I took a bunch of great shots of the crazy coffins. I also took my camera out for the first time today to take pictures of the city we were driving by. Today's shots were of more poverty-stricken areas by the beach near La. You'll see what I mean.

We were then off to Kwame Nkrumah's mausoleum (the first president of Ghana, and the man who helped declare its independence in 1957). The park and memorial were beautiful, but you had to pay to take pictures there (hence...you can look it up on wikipedia or something). It was really interesting, but I have to admit that we were all lacking in enthusiasm by that point in the afternoon, even though our attention and respect were full force.

Finally we came back to the Center to meet with some of the representatives of the community service organizations that we can volunteer with. I had basically decided that I wanted to work with kids, do art, and ideally make art out of recyclable materials in an effort to fundraise and raise awareness of the need for better environmental/recycling facilities here in Ghana and especially in Accra (I cringe each time I have to throw away a water bottle, and I know you'd be dying a little inside, Dad). I spoke briefly with our NYU advisor regarding the community service options, and he actually had a perfect match for me that hadn't been mentioned in the presentations. I'm not sure exactly what my role will be or how the program has worked here before, but supposedly there is a school nearby that is trying to implement some sort of conservation program (kids to play with/do art with/lots of waste to clean up and avoid in the future). So, I'm excited to work on this, and I hope that I might even gain some media exposure (even just within my NYU group, with the documentary film class--that I had to drop for scheduling purposes--they have to do a final project based on local interests-->maybe I could have this project documented!). I'm hoping to target an audience by working with kids, which always helps. Maybe...well...I'll keep you posted as soon as I have any idea what's going on with that.

That's about it. My shower was an epic event for me, but that doesn't require any more attention on your part. Keep checking Flickr now, too. I feel like each day out requires a whole new photo album, so hopefully there will be a lot to look at. I hope things are well at home and you'll see another post soon, I'm sure.

Love,
Molly

PICTURES!!!

So I'm planning on doing a full update (of many adventures) this evening, but in the meantime, I opened a Flickr account so you can see all my pictures! Something wasn't connecting right here on Blogger, but problem: solved! Just use the link below to access my photos, and let me know if there's any problem!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29750975@N03/

Love and more later,
Molly

So the food is great...

But today it finally caught up with me. I spent a little extra time in the bathroom this morning, for the first time suffering from all the delicious Ghanaian food I've been experimenting with. Obviously it happened right before we needed to leave for our longest day out yet. We walked around in the sun and heat, looking at Ashesi University (a 3 spread-out-building campus) where we have the option of enrolling for a class or two with local students. I sat patiently in a wonderful hour-long lecture by the founder and president of the university, which I wish I could have enjoyed more, and as soon as we stepped back into the heat, I was nauseous. I told one of our CRAs that I wasn't feeling well, quickly followed by, "If I have to throw up NOW, where do I do that?" I then made artful use of the open roadside sewer system, much to the concern and confusion of my classmates (I had walked ahead to talk to the CRAs leading our group, and then therefore had puked in front of the entire group as they passed by). Another adventure in Ghana! Afterwards I felt great! Just a little light-headed, but in the shade of the Academic Center (where we were mandatorily headed) I felt much better. I sat at the end of the first row for the next lecture we were to listen to, just in case I needed to make a run for it. I was fine, and have been for the rest of the day. I ate most of my (delicious) chicken wrap for lunch, and then we were on our way to University of Ghana to see the campus, walk around, start the on-campus registration process, and get generally confused. They're departments are not all connected online yet, so we had to (and will have to again this week) walk around to each separate building (on their very large campus) in order to find the updated course listings, the timetables for those courses, and the registration center for that department (like the olden days, right Mom and Dad? I trump your "uphill with 6 feet of snow" stories to "blazing African heat, people speaking another language, everyone moving at a glacial pace, and no one really being able to help me.") Especially since we had been warned of the setbacks, I tried to maintain a positive attitude, since getting frustrated would only make me feel worse about it. Our U. Ghana guide, though very nice, had no idea about the arts department (where us, her guided group, wanted to register), and seemed to have little understanding of the university system on a whole. We literally walked back and forth between the same buildings (back to the road, across the street) about 3 times. First, we could not find the schedules to find out when the courses we wanted to take would be held (so we could plan around our mostly-definite NYU course schedule at the Academic Center). Then, we went to ask at the registration "pavilion," where they didn't have the schedule, so they sent us back to the arts buildings, where we finally found the schedules, but we didn't know which course was appropriate because they were different from the course listings they gave us, so we went back to registration, where they advised us a little more on what course to take and sent us back to the schedule to find the times, after which we confirmed the class we wanted to take, went back to registration, where we filled out a form, only to find out that we couldn't register without a passport photo attached to our registration sheet, at every separate department we registered in. PHEW. Not a big deal in the big scheme of things, and people were generally very friendly, but no one really knew what was going on...so not that helpful. Apparently we're going back later this week to finally register, and this ended up us moreso "shopping around" for the courses we wanted to actually register for. I'm only taking an African dance class (Traditional Dances I), so I don't need to freak out about a belabored registration process. They actually offer a ton of interesting classes that I'd like to take advantage of (sociology, psychology, history, politics---all relevant to Africa) I am already taking enough credits at the NYU Academic Center (all of which are very cool courses--one is even taught by an NYU professor ON the U. Ghana campus), so I'm all set. After that hullabaloo (haha), we had to go back to the Center for a short presentation by our IT people about internet at the Center and back in the dorms. By that point I was feeling a little queasy again, and I appreciated the short break afterwards to go home, take a shower, and feel a little more like a person again. Then we were off to dinner at Sunshine Cafe for more delicious food. Perhaps I can beat my stomach into submission!

By the way, happy birthday to Lizzie yesterday! I got a chance to call home on my new Ghana cell phone (much more expensive to call FROM Africa, but my parents will hopefully be calling on the Zaptel card we got for much less). It was great to hear everyone's voice, even if it was a little choppy from cell-to-cell, and I was happy to surprise Liz.

I have also now promised myself to turn in early tonight. I need a real night's sleep finally, so off I go. Think some happy digestive thoughts for me tomorrow. I might need them!

Love from Africa,
Molly

P.S.--My dorm connection isn't strong enough to upload my photos yet, but I can connect much better at the Academic Center. Hopefully I can upload some in the next few days when I am over there.

"Shopaholic" was an inaccurate title...

So my last entry was entitled "Shopaholic" because I was going to regale you all with my stories from my Thursday out with Eliza, running a million and one errands for shampoo and sunscreen and batteries, in addition to visiting the Collection to shop around as a sister day with Liz since I'm missing her birfday. Basically, we went on errands, I registered for my absentee ballot, we bought and re-bought Ghana supplies, and we ate delicious food at The Cheesecake Factory. On Friday, my last day at home in Massachusetts, my mommy made the most wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, cheesy mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, frosted cauliflower, cornbread...heart attack). Nick came over for the day after our final visit to Panera together for 4 months (are you sensing a theme here?) and we had an evening of LOTS of food (plus Big Lisa's trifle--thank you!) and obviously entertainment by Nick, Eliza, and a few short numbers by myself. Nick got me a beautiful silver elephant necklace as a going away present, and Eliza got me great giraffe bookmark to remind me of what she wants for a gift (a baby giraffe). My family is wonderful. Fantastic.

In new news....I AM IN AFRICA!!!! Let's go in a series of events, beginning with Sunday:
9:30am Sunday--I think I'm having an allergic reaction to my anti-malarial meds (the super-expensive daily ones that are supposed to have the least chance of side effects or reactions)
11am Sunday--I'm in the NYU Medical Center's ER, getting a new prescription
12:00-12:30 Sunday--Mom and I run back and forth between two CVS's that don't have the right amount of pills for my new rx
1:30 pm Sunday--Meg joins my family for the ride over to JFK
3:30pm Sunday--check in for my flight, pay $80 for an overweight bag, and say final goodbyes to Mom, Dad, and Lizzie
4:00pm Sunday--Meg and I get snacks and catch up while waiting for the
plane (obviously she gets healthy juice and a bagel, I get potentially my last ice cream for 4 months, which looks like poop with sprinkles on it)
5:00pm Sunday--We board the plane....
6:00pm Sunday--We're still at JFK...
7:00pm Sunday--We're still at JFK...
7:45pm Sunday--We take off for Africa.
Somewhere between 8pm Sunday-9:30am Monday--I eat complimentary chicken picatta that looked like a lean cuisine but was actually good, drink a mini bottle of chardonnay to doze off, partly watch Prince Caspian, eventually take some Benadryl, consistently can't get comfortable in my seat, sort of watch 21, hope desperately for the flight to be over and consider laying down flat in the aisle, jolt awake by the offering of a warm, foil-wrapped croissant and coffee, which I take, and all of a sudden we land in Africa.

We made our way through customs, having our passports checked, where I had my first international fumble when I couldn't understand what the unenthused British-English-speaking Ghanaian passport guy was asking me. ("For how long are you staying?"="Something, something, about a misunderstanding.") Embarrassing, but quickly sorted out. Meg and I then got our bags which had made their way safely from JFK to Accra. We exchanged some currency at the airport and found our way to our awesome driver, Sammy, holding an NYU GHANA sign. It was really weird leaving the airport because we obviously stuck out like very sore thumbs, and a CROWD of people were standing behind partitions at the airport (kind of like the "I Want It That Way" music video, really) except they were all staring at the tourists (including us) and holding up political signs, offering taxis, and even little kids looking on at us. Between us and them were the partitions, along with some beret-ed military personnel with guns across their backs. Obviously there for airport security, but it's weird to see full rifles strapped to someone's back in a public place. Welcome to the world, Molly.

We drove straight to our house, where we needed to drop our stuff and ride right back over to the orientation which had already started. We were the last people to arrive from the whole group, so we had a nice little walk of shame to the back of the chairs to find a seat. Luckily everyone was very nice and understanding that we couldn't control when we got there, but apparently everyone else had gotten in on Sunday during the day and slept in the dorms. I felt a little uncomfortable, feeling like everyone had already gotten to know each other before we got there, but obviously I was bringing that upon myself and everyone was still very new to each other. Mingling ensued during the following orientation activities (we sat for a while learning about general safety in Accra, basic things about the program, the excursions, the staff, etc.). Then some people went to exchange money, then we met up for a big welcome buffet of traditional Ghanaian food at a local restaurant called "Headlines Hospitality." The people were very nice, and I've decided that pineapple juice (freshly squeezed, not from the bar gun at the Oarweed) and WATERMELON JUICE are my two new favorite things. Along with fried plantains, yams (MAD YAMS!) and some other really spicy things that totally cleared out my sinuses. I passed on the fish head. (Maybe tomorrow.) But I'm determined to just try everything, and Pepto-Bismol later.

After lunch we had the option of taking a short walking tour or going back to the dorms, so Meg and I opted for the dorm, considering we were still wearing the same clothing and lack of face from 24 hours before. I took a quick shower which made me feel like a person again, and Meg power-napped for a bit. Then we had our first house meeting with all the girls (about 16--the 6 boys in the program are in a suite in the other house), our two RA/cultural liaisons (who are super nice) and Christa, basically the head of the program. We got to test out the emergency exit doors and the panic buttons that are in every room (the nice security company man came and talked to us, Mom, don't worry), and we had a nice talk about some of the cultural things we'll be dealing with, along with the house rules.

The house is awesome. Our room isn't what I expected it to be (pictures online showed big rooms with verandas and big windows). Instead, Meg and I are on bunk beds, with decent floor space (which could be used better with two regular beds, as it is in other rooms), and a small window on the end of the room. We have our own bathroom which is tiled and nice, and two desks, big closet space, a/c to be used sparingly, and lights. The house itself is very big and the downstairs feels like a Real World house. Pictures of the house to come (I don't want to creep anyone out right now walking around taking pictures in the dark), but we have 2 big dining room tables, a big entranceway, a ping pong table outside, a tv/dvd setup in the living room, a HUGE AMAZING kitchen (so now I have to learn to cook some good Ghanaian food!), and another small lounge room upstairs next to our room with another tv/dvd set up and more wicker couches like the downstairs. No real terraces, which is too bad, but a nice yard/courtyard thing which we'll need to make use of. Really beautiful, and all surrounded by electrical fencing. Woo!

We went out to dinner at another local restaurant called Sunshine Salads, a Ghanaian restaurant owned by a lovely Indian couple, who have a variety of food including basic American dishes, Indian influenced food, and Ghanaian spices. It was delicious, and I would like Nick to know that I did not eat any of the chocolate cupcakes! Then we took the van back to our house and I was excited to get internet service finally! So here I am. I talked to Eliza for a bit which was great, giving my family a clue that I'm alive and well. I also found a tiny lizard on the wall in the kitchen, so one and counting!

I'm trying to just enjoy and take everything in, so I'm not snapping quite as many shots as I expected so far, which I think is good. There is plenty of time for that. Like I said, house pictures to come, along with my first day and more on my life in Accra soon! Day 1: check!

Love,
Molly

Shopaholic

So today is my last full day in the United State (AH!), after the most fantastic send-off by all my friends and family.

In Maine....Nick organized a safari/Africa/jungle party, with the help of Katie, Bill, Bryan, Jess, and Shaun. I finished my last night of work a lot earlier than they had anticipated, so I was instructed to walk around Ogunquit for another hour or so until they came to pick me up. I didn't have my cell phone, which made me seem even more isolated, so we set up a definite time and place for me to meet them downtown. As I expected, 9:30 turned into 10pm and the people working at Abacus probably thought I was going to steal something because I had been skulking around for so long. The wait did give me a chance to pick up some last-minute presents for "the family," including 10 bouncy balls for Bill (as promised), a Hannah Montana magic 8-ball for Katie, and a marshmallow shooter for Bryan (one of us had to own it). Finally, Bryan picked me up in the Volvo and handed me a blindfold, followed by a pair of sunglasses so he wouldn't get pulled over for having a blindfolded girl in his passenger seat (hilarious). He then proceeded to drive around for about 45 minutes, during which time I got completely turned around and excited for the destination. Bryan also included such comments as "Wait, I have to check the Mapquest directions here," and "I wish you weren't the one blindfolded, because I have no idea where we're going." Nicely done. We finally parked someplace and I was informed that we had a short walk ahead of us, so we did a nice end-of-summer trust exercise, as he lead me, still blindfolded, for another few minutes. I started to recognize the sound of the gravel near my house, and guessed that we might be back at my cottage, but still didn't know for sure. Bryan included some more lies such as "Okay, take a big step here," and "Pick up your feet higher, we're going through woodsy stuff now," even though I called him out on the fact that we were on clear, level ground. We started going up a set of stairs, and I could hear Nick and Katie inside. I assumed we were back at my house by then, but found my upstairs completely transformed into an African jungle (by crepe paper, blowup safari animals, fruity drinks with umbrellas, and a large elephant balloon). We spent the rest of the night playing Catch-Phrase, listening to music, camping out on Lifeguard Rock watching a meteor drizzle, and capped off the night laying in my bed watching Twister and playing the mustache game (fantastic). In the morning, we rolled out of bed, cleaned up the house (thanks to everyone, especially Bill and Jess), and drove over to Bryan's house for some delicious blueberry French toast (courtesy the lovely Mrs. Steiner). Then it was time for goodbyes, more cleanup at the house, and the beautiful convertible drive home. Thank you to everyone. What a great summer.


More to come on my last night in Massachusetts, but I need to put my bags in the car. Ah! I'm off to NYC!