[EDIT: I realized I forgot to write the author of this post. If you can't tell, then you don't us very well.]
I have had a bunch of classes, each with their own interesting stories. Here is a taste of one class I had today.
Gender studies is just so different in Ghana. Gender in Archaeology, a 400 level Archaeology elective, is apparently more of a gender studies course than an archaeology one. I was taking it, hoping that it would fulfill an Art History requirement, but now I’m thinking not.
Firstly, the lecturer spent the entire class today defining the difference between gender and sex. Anybody who has taken a women studies or gender studies course in the States can answer that question in one sentence. Sex is biological, and gender is a social construct based off of sex. But it took her all class to explain it. She wanted the class to come up with their own opinions first. Weird teaching method, I think. Who cares what the students think? It’s not an opinion. (Side note: quote from Twi last week in a fit of desperation, “Grammar is not a democracy!”)
The amount of time it took to define gender/sex is ridiculous enough. But then after it was already defined, there was plenty of more ridiculousness. Just to get a picture of what the class looks like, it was 50% Ghanaian guys (being as the university is probably 80% male), 25% Ghanaian girls, and 25% American girls. For the most part, the guys dominate every conversation because they are so loud and disrespectful. They call out and interrupt. Now here are my stories.
1) The lecturer asked, “How many sexes are there?” So a Ghanaian girl said three: male, female, and both. I was actually surprised and impressed that she would even think that far. The lecturer said no. She said, “There are two.” Then she wrote TWO on the board. “There is male and female. That is it! No more. Two. Male and female. I’m sorry to those who are sensitive to religion, but in the bible, it says, ‘Male and Female, He created them.’” I was really going to stay quiet at first when she just said two because the Ghanaian girl had already brought it up, and I didn’t want to step on anyone’s feet. (I know, me? Not wanting to step on feet?) But playing the religion card is dangerous. Firstly, this is a secular institution! It is totally inappropriate to use religion as your basis for argument! Secondly, biblical texts are ambiguous enough that if you don’t know your facts cold, you are going to lose. So this was my first outburst in this class. “First of all, the creation story is told twice. In the first telling of it, they are created TOGETHER, as one person, one sex, an ambiguous sex. Therefore, saying that there are only two sexes because the creation story says that there are only two sexes is incorrect! There was a sexually ambiguous Human that woman was created out of, and man was left. Second of all, the Talmud itself describes I think seven different sexes with different laws pertaining to each of them. To say that religion does not recognize more than two sexes is completely wrong!”
2) At that point I was not the only American yelling at her. The rest of them were chiming in. She took a step back and got off the religion issue. She tried the next argument. “Sex is biological. According to biology, there are only two sexes.” “That’s totally incorrect!” the Americans screamed. “How are you determining sex?” “Genitalia,” was her first try. “People are born with both! People are born with neither! What if a woman has a hysterectomy! What if a man is castrated!” She tried again, “It’s biological. It’s about the chromosomes. Everyone has two chromosomes, XX or XY.” I momentarily lost myself, “SOME PEOPLE HAVE THREE! XXY!” The girl next to me said, “Actually, people can live if they’re born with one.” The lecturer responded to me, “Well, what is the dominant chromosome?” I didn’t understand the question. Truth is, I still don’t, and I’ve been thinking about it all day.
3) Somehow, she was not convinced by our arguments. Either that or she was just getting a headache and wanted to continue. She moved on and asked us for examples of gender constructs at our school. People said behavior, education, parental responsibilities, etc. Then the girl next me (the same one that said the one chromosome thing) looked over at me and mouthed, “Sexual preference.” I mouthed back, “Do it!” and smiled. (Background info- there is a sign at the airport when you’re arriving in Ghana: “Welcome to Ghana! All who come in peace are accepted in peace. We have no tolerance for pedophiles or any other of sexual deviants.” If that was not clear enough, homosexuality is a crime in Ghana.) The lecturer was a little taken aback. She wrote it on the board anyway but didn’t repeat it out loud as she had for the rest of them. Then a Ghanaian girl raised her hand and asked what it meant.
4) As we were listing off gender constructs, there was this guy sitting behind me that kept shaking his head and mumbling that it wasn’t true, that we were making it up. “There is no social difference between girls and boys. Anything that is acceptable for one is acceptable for both.” Someone gave the example of language/speech, that in some societies, men can curse whenever, it might even make them look cool, but it is completely frowned upon for a woman to curse. The guy behind me shook his head again and mumbled, “There is no difference between what a man can say and what a woman can say. It not acceptable for anyone to curse.” The first example that I could think of to disprove him was ghetto New York, but I didn’t think it would work well enough. I raised my hand. When the lecturer called on me, I faced the guy and waited until I had his attention. “You have doubt whether there is social inequality in language. Do you remember in the beginning of the class, when the lecturer asked everyone why they chose this course? A guy called out, ‘Because the lecturer is pretty.’ Do you think for one second that a girl could say the same thing to a male lecturer? No way! She’d be kicked out of the freaking country! It’s completely disrespectful!” The whole class got really loud right then. I’m not sure if they were agreeing with me or laughing at me or just saying pshaw. I like to think that they were saying, “Good point.”
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Quick Unrelated Thoughts
What up, everyone- it's Rivky!
This is just a quick thought about living in a developing country- I'll hopefully be able to post more about it in the near future- but I think one of my favorite things about the country, which also make it so frustratingly difficult, is the overwhelming "developing"ness of everything. When people talk about a developing country, one assumes certain things- the electricity might not be amazing, maybe there isn't much internet, constant construction, etc. And all of that, plus much more, is so apparent here. I'll illustrate only about the construction- everywhere you are- on or off-campus, in the city or far out of the city, in poor or rich areas- there is constant construction going on. There are roads, but many, maybe even most, roads, are unpaved bumpy dirt paths. Walking to class is a constant tiyul(1), walking through shrubbery and taking shortcuts through dirt paths and sometimes even construction sites on campus.(2) My flip flops, which I bought the day before my flight, are so thin, I assume they'll break soon. There are also constant ditches and holes in the road and sidewalk and pathway- there is a huge ditch right outside the main campus, probably 30-40 feet down, 100 feet long, 20 feet wide. And it's not marked off- you're just supposed to know that it's there. Same with the gutters- they are entirely open, at the side of the road, and it's really easy to fall into them if you don't see where you're going.
But even though that's so frustrating, it's almost exciting to see the country being built around you. Even though I've been in Israel, where there is always constant construction, it's addition- they're adding a house, or a neighborhood in the Gush- they're not paving roads in the capital city. This is an entirely new experience, and it's pretty cool.
In terms of classes, I'm in a precarious situation. Besides for Twi(3), I've registered for five classes. I'm taking History of Western Medicine in Ghana, Faith and Practice of Islam, Africa and the Global System, and then African Traditional Dancing and African Drumming.(4) But because they won't switch the finals for us if they end up on shabbos, if the finals for any of these classes turn out to be on shabbos (we get a 'tentative' finals schedule next week), I have to drop the class and add another one.(5)
On Sunday, Zahava and I took a break and decided to be Western for a minute. We took a tro-tro to Shangri-La hotel, about a 10 minute ride, and paid 8 cedis to go swimming and lay by the pool and just relax, away from the people trying to sell you things, away from the heat and the noise- just relax. The best part- we hadn't had running water since Wednesday(6) and they had actual showers, so we got to shower after we swam.(7) After Shangri-La, we walked to the Accra Mall, where we watched Ghanaians watch the football(8) game on TV and drank South African yogurt, and then we went home. It was a very relaxing day- sometimes, you just need to get away from it.
(1) Very loosely translated as a hike.
(2) Near our dorm, called Pentagon, they're building the New Law Faculty. The building actually looks like a shul in the Gush, so we've been calling it the shul, as in, 'turn right after the shul.'
(3) Twi is the first language for most people in this region of Ghana, though they all learn English in school and speak it very well. We're all required to take a Twi ulpan-type thing, 8 hours a week for 6 weeks.
(4) All together, it's 16 credits, because drumming and dance are only two credits each.
(5) Obvious question- since this schedule is only tentative and the FINAL finals schedule comes out two weeks before finals, what do we do if something is changed and a class I am taking does end up with a final on shabbos? Answer: cry. Apparently, there is literally nothing they will do. But we're hoping that remains hypothetical.
(6) We got it back this morning, though! Baruch Hashem.
(7) I say swam, but I really only swam for 5 minutes. I was wearing an orange shirt to my elbows and they said I was only allowed to wear a white shirt when I swam. Go figure. Whatevs, 5 minutes was still nice, and I got to lay by the pool and shower and all that nice stuff.
(8) Soccer.
This is just a quick thought about living in a developing country- I'll hopefully be able to post more about it in the near future- but I think one of my favorite things about the country, which also make it so frustratingly difficult, is the overwhelming "developing"ness of everything. When people talk about a developing country, one assumes certain things- the electricity might not be amazing, maybe there isn't much internet, constant construction, etc. And all of that, plus much more, is so apparent here. I'll illustrate only about the construction- everywhere you are- on or off-campus, in the city or far out of the city, in poor or rich areas- there is constant construction going on. There are roads, but many, maybe even most, roads, are unpaved bumpy dirt paths. Walking to class is a constant tiyul(1), walking through shrubbery and taking shortcuts through dirt paths and sometimes even construction sites on campus.(2) My flip flops, which I bought the day before my flight, are so thin, I assume they'll break soon. There are also constant ditches and holes in the road and sidewalk and pathway- there is a huge ditch right outside the main campus, probably 30-40 feet down, 100 feet long, 20 feet wide. And it's not marked off- you're just supposed to know that it's there. Same with the gutters- they are entirely open, at the side of the road, and it's really easy to fall into them if you don't see where you're going.
But even though that's so frustrating, it's almost exciting to see the country being built around you. Even though I've been in Israel, where there is always constant construction, it's addition- they're adding a house, or a neighborhood in the Gush- they're not paving roads in the capital city. This is an entirely new experience, and it's pretty cool.
In terms of classes, I'm in a precarious situation. Besides for Twi(3), I've registered for five classes. I'm taking History of Western Medicine in Ghana, Faith and Practice of Islam, Africa and the Global System, and then African Traditional Dancing and African Drumming.(4) But because they won't switch the finals for us if they end up on shabbos, if the finals for any of these classes turn out to be on shabbos (we get a 'tentative' finals schedule next week), I have to drop the class and add another one.(5)
On Sunday, Zahava and I took a break and decided to be Western for a minute. We took a tro-tro to Shangri-La hotel, about a 10 minute ride, and paid 8 cedis to go swimming and lay by the pool and just relax, away from the people trying to sell you things, away from the heat and the noise- just relax. The best part- we hadn't had running water since Wednesday(6) and they had actual showers, so we got to shower after we swam.(7) After Shangri-La, we walked to the Accra Mall, where we watched Ghanaians watch the football(8) game on TV and drank South African yogurt, and then we went home. It was a very relaxing day- sometimes, you just need to get away from it.
(1) Very loosely translated as a hike.
(2) Near our dorm, called Pentagon, they're building the New Law Faculty. The building actually looks like a shul in the Gush, so we've been calling it the shul, as in, 'turn right after the shul.'
(3) Twi is the first language for most people in this region of Ghana, though they all learn English in school and speak it very well. We're all required to take a Twi ulpan-type thing, 8 hours a week for 6 weeks.
(4) All together, it's 16 credits, because drumming and dance are only two credits each.
(5) Obvious question- since this schedule is only tentative and the FINAL finals schedule comes out two weeks before finals, what do we do if something is changed and a class I am taking does end up with a final on shabbos? Answer: cry. Apparently, there is literally nothing they will do. But we're hoping that remains hypothetical.
(6) We got it back this morning, though! Baruch Hashem.
(7) I say swam, but I really only swam for 5 minutes. I was wearing an orange shirt to my elbows and they said I was only allowed to wear a white shirt when I swam. Go figure. Whatevs, 5 minutes was still nice, and I got to lay by the pool and shower and all that nice stuff.
(8) Soccer.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
not completely about food, but mostly.
It’s Zahava. We’re a week into the semester and slowly but shortly learning [from our mistakes]. An annoying proportion of things we try to do end up being complete disasters.
1) Food the first shabbos. We made boiled plantains and Israeli salad. Then we bought canned curried vegetables and canned spaghetti in tomato sauce. We wanted to make bread before shabbos, but we settled with matza. We didn’t have a fridge, so the plantains went bad by lunch. The dressing we bought for the Israeli salad was disgusting. The canned vegetables were decent, but the spaghetti was horrid. We had wanted to make bread on Thursday, but the only kosher yeast in the store was for making beer. We brought 6 boxes of matza: three egg matza and three flavored non-egg matza. Fun fun- all the egg matza boxes broke in transport. So we are running lower on matza than we thought.
2) The “yamballs.” In Rivky’s last post, she mentions that we made yamballs for this shabbos. I would just like to finish the story. First, we thought we were buying a yam (synonymous with sweet potato). Then, when making the batter, we realized we had bought a potato. We kept saying things like, “Oh. This is really good, but it would be even better with yams.” We thought we were such idiots and had bought the wrong vegetable. Then, turns out that in Ghana potatoes are called yams! So we did everything right the whole time! Footnote: we decided that they would actually better with sweet potatoes, so next time we make yamballs, we’re going to use sweet potato.
3) The fridge situation. I hesitate a little before posting this story because I fear that it is not finished yet. Here is the situation as of now. The day after we arrived in the country, we told a guy that we needed a fridge. Yeah, yeah, you’ll get one. We said we needed one before shabbos. He said we could get one by Friday. Great. Friday comes, and he tells us we will get one on Saturday. Saturday comes, and he tells us between 9 and 10am on Monday. That time didn’t work for any of us, so we asked if later in the day was okay. He doesn’t speak English so he reassured us that he will come at 9am. All four of us (Rivky, Yamit, Yamit’s roommate, and I) were planning on going to a class at 9:30am on Monday, so that was a little annoying. Odds are I wouldn’t be staying in the class, so I volunteered to wait here for the fridge. We called him at 9am on Monday to double check that he was actually coming, and he said he was coming at 3pm. I missed the class anyway. 3pm called him, and he said he was picking it up right then. 7pm he showed up in our suite with a “fridge” and charged us C5 more than the price we agreed on. Tuesday afternoon we notice it is freezing our all our food. There is no dial to turn down the temperature; it is simply a freezer. We told him on Wednesday. He brought us a new fridge today. It smelled horrible, so after shabbos, the first thing we did was clean the whole thing out. It took about an hour, but it looks and smells much better. It’s been on for about four hours. The freezer is working fine, but the fridge part seems to be broken. To be continued.
4) Classes. Classes started last week, and I have no idea what I’m taking yet. Besides Twi, I’m currently signed up for 11 classes. I already decided I’m dropping 3 of them. I went to the other 8. Out of those 8, only 2 of the professors even showed up to the first class. The final exam schedule doesn’t come out until later this week, so I won’t know about shabbos finals until then, so I can’t even know of the 8 classes which I have to drop. Ahh! How is it possible to really not know what classes you’re taking over a week into the semester?!
5) Showering. We’re getting used to bucket-showers. Once this week I wasn’t able to take a shower in over 24 hours. I have never felt more disgusting in my life.
6) Electricity. Last night, around 10pm, we’re sitting in our common room, and all of the sudden the light and the ceiling fan go out. The fans in the bedrooms are still working, and the electricity in every other suite in every other room in the building is still working. Mickey (our madrich/counselor/21-tear-old Ghanaian student) was sitting there with us. He said we might have gone over our monthly allowance. Ahhhh! No way!
Right now Yamit is taking a bucket shower in a dark bathroom. We had oatmeal for dinner.
1) Food the first shabbos. We made boiled plantains and Israeli salad. Then we bought canned curried vegetables and canned spaghetti in tomato sauce. We wanted to make bread before shabbos, but we settled with matza. We didn’t have a fridge, so the plantains went bad by lunch. The dressing we bought for the Israeli salad was disgusting. The canned vegetables were decent, but the spaghetti was horrid. We had wanted to make bread on Thursday, but the only kosher yeast in the store was for making beer. We brought 6 boxes of matza: three egg matza and three flavored non-egg matza. Fun fun- all the egg matza boxes broke in transport. So we are running lower on matza than we thought.
2) The “yamballs.” In Rivky’s last post, she mentions that we made yamballs for this shabbos. I would just like to finish the story. First, we thought we were buying a yam (synonymous with sweet potato). Then, when making the batter, we realized we had bought a potato. We kept saying things like, “Oh. This is really good, but it would be even better with yams.” We thought we were such idiots and had bought the wrong vegetable. Then, turns out that in Ghana potatoes are called yams! So we did everything right the whole time! Footnote: we decided that they would actually better with sweet potatoes, so next time we make yamballs, we’re going to use sweet potato.
3) The fridge situation. I hesitate a little before posting this story because I fear that it is not finished yet. Here is the situation as of now. The day after we arrived in the country, we told a guy that we needed a fridge. Yeah, yeah, you’ll get one. We said we needed one before shabbos. He said we could get one by Friday. Great. Friday comes, and he tells us we will get one on Saturday. Saturday comes, and he tells us between 9 and 10am on Monday. That time didn’t work for any of us, so we asked if later in the day was okay. He doesn’t speak English so he reassured us that he will come at 9am. All four of us (Rivky, Yamit, Yamit’s roommate, and I) were planning on going to a class at 9:30am on Monday, so that was a little annoying. Odds are I wouldn’t be staying in the class, so I volunteered to wait here for the fridge. We called him at 9am on Monday to double check that he was actually coming, and he said he was coming at 3pm. I missed the class anyway. 3pm called him, and he said he was picking it up right then. 7pm he showed up in our suite with a “fridge” and charged us C5 more than the price we agreed on. Tuesday afternoon we notice it is freezing our all our food. There is no dial to turn down the temperature; it is simply a freezer. We told him on Wednesday. He brought us a new fridge today. It smelled horrible, so after shabbos, the first thing we did was clean the whole thing out. It took about an hour, but it looks and smells much better. It’s been on for about four hours. The freezer is working fine, but the fridge part seems to be broken. To be continued.
4) Classes. Classes started last week, and I have no idea what I’m taking yet. Besides Twi, I’m currently signed up for 11 classes. I already decided I’m dropping 3 of them. I went to the other 8. Out of those 8, only 2 of the professors even showed up to the first class. The final exam schedule doesn’t come out until later this week, so I won’t know about shabbos finals until then, so I can’t even know of the 8 classes which I have to drop. Ahh! How is it possible to really not know what classes you’re taking over a week into the semester?!
5) Showering. We’re getting used to bucket-showers. Once this week I wasn’t able to take a shower in over 24 hours. I have never felt more disgusting in my life.
6) Electricity. Last night, around 10pm, we’re sitting in our common room, and all of the sudden the light and the ceiling fan go out. The fans in the bedrooms are still working, and the electricity in every other suite in every other room in the building is still working. Mickey (our madrich/counselor/21-tear-old Ghanaian student) was sitting there with us. He said we might have gone over our monthly allowance. Ahhhh! No way!
Right now Yamit is taking a bucket shower in a dark bathroom. We had oatmeal for dinner.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
A Noticeably High Proportion of Our Posts Have Been About Food, Haven't They?
**I switched to numbers, as a way of footnoting. So everyone can stop yelling at me, kthanks.**
Hi, it's Rivky! I'm sitting in the common room at 1 in the morning, watching Zahava fry potato balls.(1) CIEE has a trip tomorrow, so we're not going to have time to cook for shabbos, so we made everything today. Yesterday, we made beer bread- yeah, I meant to say that. Since there's no kosher yeast and we haven't been able to make challah yet, we improvised. Yamit likes to share little tidbits of wisdom with us, and she's informed us that beer bread was very popular in the 70s (often eaten with Jello!). Today, while Yamit and I were at Shoprite (more on that later), Zahava made fried plantains, and now, we're finishing up the potato balls.(2)
To buy all these ingredients, we took our first trip to Medina Market today.(3) We went with Ann, our first Ghanaian friend! It was ridiculous- like the shuk in Yerushalayim, but on crack. It was packed, and we were the only oborunis (white people) in the entire place. We stood out like a sore thumb(4). We bought mangoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, plantains and a yam.(5) We also bought bananas, and ate them on the spot. They were delicious; the bananas here are amazing, plentiful and incredibly cheap. They're also about half the size of American bananas.
Anyway, back to the current activity, frying 'yam' balls. When we tried the batter, we realized that we had bought a potato, and not a yam. In this country, apparently, there is actually no way to tell them apart. Hehe. We panicked a little bit, but we figured we'd just make them anyway. Turns out they're delicous- Zahava and I keep snacking on them. The first couple are actually ball shaped, but then we got bored because WOW they were taking a long time to cook, so the rest of them look more like latkes.(6) They're amazing. Can't wait until shabbos- we have a feast! Bread, fried plantains, yam balls(7), and salad?
Okay, we're almost done. Normally, we would wash the dishes now, but the water is out. Duh. We had to do bucket showers tonight- we took the buckets to the spigot across the street, where we filled them up(8) and lugged them back to the building, up the two flights of stairs, and into the showers, trying not to spill too much along the way. It was a thrill.
Tomorrow, we're going to Abonsi, a village about 90 minutes away from Legon. Apparently, while at Abonsi, "we will get the opportunity to meet with some of the local leaders of the town and also and also a traditional ruler to see how local governance takes place in communities in Ghana." Should be interesting. Maybe I'll even get to be made queen of a village!(9)
Oh, almost forgot! At Shoprite, we ran into Moshe and Uri, two of the Israelis living in Accra! We talked to them for a while, then Uri drove us back to campus and we met Sarah, the frum girl living in ISH (International Students Hostel). It was great, and we're planning on doing a lot of shabbatot together, but the best part is that Moshe's apartment has a WASHING MACHINE and he is letting us use it!!! Our hand-washing was a miserable failure last week, so this is a big step for us. Very thrilling.(10) Okay, time for bed! We have to be on the bus tomorrow morning in under 6 hours. Fun.
(1) They were supposed to be yam balls, an authentic Ghanian food. But they're not. More on that later.
(2) A real team effort. Yamit made the mashed potatoes, I shaped the balls, and Zahava is doing the bulk of the frying.
(3) Presumably named after the city in Saudi Arabia, not the Hebrew word for country. But who knows?
(4) But how much do sore thumbs even stand out? I, for one, never even look at thumbs.
(5) Or not a yam. Whatever. Still more on that later, promise bli neder!!!
(6) And these are literally potato pancakes. For future reference, even though I don't usually like latkes, apparently, when the potatoes are mashed, I do!
(7) GO AWAY we're still calling them yam balls, even if they're not.
(8) Good question on Yamit's part- if there is water across the street, is there really no way to make it get up to our suite?
(9) Shout-out to Elana! Or really her friend, who was made queen of a Ghanaian village she visited last year. How awesome.
(10) Also, at Shoprite, we bought Magnum. Amazing. A shabbos treat!
Hi, it's Rivky! I'm sitting in the common room at 1 in the morning, watching Zahava fry potato balls.(1) CIEE has a trip tomorrow, so we're not going to have time to cook for shabbos, so we made everything today. Yesterday, we made beer bread- yeah, I meant to say that. Since there's no kosher yeast and we haven't been able to make challah yet, we improvised. Yamit likes to share little tidbits of wisdom with us, and she's informed us that beer bread was very popular in the 70s (often eaten with Jello!). Today, while Yamit and I were at Shoprite (more on that later), Zahava made fried plantains, and now, we're finishing up the potato balls.(2)
To buy all these ingredients, we took our first trip to Medina Market today.(3) We went with Ann, our first Ghanaian friend! It was ridiculous- like the shuk in Yerushalayim, but on crack. It was packed, and we were the only oborunis (white people) in the entire place. We stood out like a sore thumb(4). We bought mangoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, plantains and a yam.(5) We also bought bananas, and ate them on the spot. They were delicious; the bananas here are amazing, plentiful and incredibly cheap. They're also about half the size of American bananas.
Anyway, back to the current activity, frying 'yam' balls. When we tried the batter, we realized that we had bought a potato, and not a yam. In this country, apparently, there is actually no way to tell them apart. Hehe. We panicked a little bit, but we figured we'd just make them anyway. Turns out they're delicous- Zahava and I keep snacking on them. The first couple are actually ball shaped, but then we got bored because WOW they were taking a long time to cook, so the rest of them look more like latkes.(6) They're amazing. Can't wait until shabbos- we have a feast! Bread, fried plantains, yam balls(7), and salad?
Okay, we're almost done. Normally, we would wash the dishes now, but the water is out. Duh. We had to do bucket showers tonight- we took the buckets to the spigot across the street, where we filled them up(8) and lugged them back to the building, up the two flights of stairs, and into the showers, trying not to spill too much along the way. It was a thrill.
Tomorrow, we're going to Abonsi, a village about 90 minutes away from Legon. Apparently, while at Abonsi, "we will get the opportunity to meet with some of the local leaders of the town and also and also a traditional ruler to see how local governance takes place in communities in Ghana." Should be interesting. Maybe I'll even get to be made queen of a village!(9)
Oh, almost forgot! At Shoprite, we ran into Moshe and Uri, two of the Israelis living in Accra! We talked to them for a while, then Uri drove us back to campus and we met Sarah, the frum girl living in ISH (International Students Hostel). It was great, and we're planning on doing a lot of shabbatot together, but the best part is that Moshe's apartment has a WASHING MACHINE and he is letting us use it!!! Our hand-washing was a miserable failure last week, so this is a big step for us. Very thrilling.(10) Okay, time for bed! We have to be on the bus tomorrow morning in under 6 hours. Fun.
(1) They were supposed to be yam balls, an authentic Ghanian food. But they're not. More on that later.
(2) A real team effort. Yamit made the mashed potatoes, I shaped the balls, and Zahava is doing the bulk of the frying.
(3) Presumably named after the city in Saudi Arabia, not the Hebrew word for country. But who knows?
(4) But how much do sore thumbs even stand out? I, for one, never even look at thumbs.
(5) Or not a yam. Whatever. Still more on that later, promise bli neder!!!
(6) And these are literally potato pancakes. For future reference, even though I don't usually like latkes, apparently, when the potatoes are mashed, I do!
(7) GO AWAY we're still calling them yam balls, even if they're not.
(8) Good question on Yamit's part- if there is water across the street, is there really no way to make it get up to our suite?
(9) Shout-out to Elana! Or really her friend, who was made queen of a Ghanaian village she visited last year. How awesome.
(10) Also, at Shoprite, we bought Magnum. Amazing. A shabbos treat!
Monday, January 18, 2010
move over hokie-pokie, i've got food!
Zahava here. A little confused. A little stressed. A little frustrated. I’m trying to go with the flow.
By the way, I’m really glad they said it was REALLY IMPORTANT! to be here for orientation. Today is our one-week anniversary of being in Ghana, and we would not have missed a thing if we came today. Most of the Ghanaians aren’t even here yet. The third room in our suite is still empty. Yes, classes started today. No, neither of my professors showed up to class, nor did 90% of the students. Apparently, the first week of classes doesn’t really count. Classes are technically in session, but no one is expected to go. Except sometimes it’s important. But you can’t predict.
As classes have yet to start, yesterday we went to the beach. Fun fact: Before we left, I made sure to put on a lot of sun screen. To my demise, I did not do a very good job. I have burn patches on my collar, the back of my hands, and the back of my left arm. Okay, so here is a summary of the beach. A lot of impressive Ghanaians were playing Soccer. I wanted to join. So I went over to a guy standing on the side, and he said no. These guys are really intense. But he hurt his foot, so he can’t play, so I do want to toss the ball around a little on the side? Yes! We played for about an hour with a few different guys coming in and out. It was awesome and quite sweaty. When I couldn’t breathe anymore, I pulled Yamit into the water. We “swam” for also about an hour also. Men do not understand the concept of personal space to say the least. Guys will walk up to you, introduce themselves, shake your hand, and not let go for ten minutes while they try to have a whole conversation with you that ends in asking for your phone number. Literally, I have touched more guys in this past week that in my entire life before that.
Here are a few stories that sum up my beach experience.
1) Three guys proposed to me and Yamit at the same time. They all got down on one knee in the ocean.
2) When I asked one of them why he wanted to marry me, he said, “I want to marry a white girl so I can have white children.”
3) Yamit and I were holding hands for most of the time in the water because we were scared of being separated. They asked us why we were holding hands. “You know,” one of them said, “it’s illegal in this country for two girls to swim together in the sea.”
4) (And last but not least…) “Okay. Really, I have a serious question. I’ve had this question for a really long time. I’ve been waiting to meet a white person, so I can finally know the answer. Okay. So you know how our women are shaped like guitars? (He did a nice curved outline in the air with his hands.) You know how you girls are not? Is that because your mothers never caressed you when you were babies?” I died of laughter! I did not know what to do with myself. “You know,” he continued, “when you have a baby girl, you shape her a** (he made the air gesture again) and you shape her head. Don’t you guys do that?” Really?! My culture is the weird one here because we don’t shape our baby girls butts so they’re curvaceous?
Sunday night we also had this big dinner party thing with a live traditional African band and then performance. There was also this girl who is with us for three weeks who I met. She got this amazing scholarship from her school to do this on-site research project. She’s studying African dance in Africa versus in the Diaspora. She’s going to like 15 countries, each for three weeks. It’s all paid for with this scholarship! How amazing!
Now, on to today. I’m not going to write too much as to not bore you, but firstly, as I mentioned earlier, people have no respect for schedules. They make a schedule, tell people there is going to be class, and then the professor doesn’t show up. Not okay. This happened in both of my classes today. Secondly, Rivky and I were walking back from dance “class” today around noon, the hottest part of the day. I had been walking around all day, and I was dying of heat. We finally made it up to our rooms, collapsed on the chairs and each screamed, “I need to shower!” I go into the shower and THERE’S NO WATER ! Luckily, there was still a little in the faucet that comes out of the wall of the shower, despite there being none in the shower head. So I filled up a bucket and took a splash-shower. I have never felt more uncouth, but it felt so good.
After Twi (my only class today because it’s given by CIEE, not U of Ghana), I was seriously craving something sweet. I wanted a cookie or something. Oddly enough, we are fresh out of cookies. So baked some! Well, first I fried some. All we have is flour, sugar, eggs, and oil, but I decided that would be enough. I mixed them in a proportion that seemed appropriate and fried them. They were great! Then we went all out. Yamit sorted and cooked rice with onion soup mix. Yum! She also made scrambled eggs with garlic powder salt that we bought at Shoprite last week. After dinner I made another batch of cookies, but this time I baked them. Dee-Lih-shus! Basically, dinner was amazing. Tonight was the first time since I left America that I have been full, that there has been more left over that I was unwanting and unwilling to eat. It was a great feeling.
I do not yet have a schedule for the semester, but I have food. Life is good.
P.S. So far, there is really only one class that I am determined to take. Home Science 412 - Select Topics in Home Management. I am so excited!
By the way, I’m really glad they said it was REALLY IMPORTANT! to be here for orientation. Today is our one-week anniversary of being in Ghana, and we would not have missed a thing if we came today. Most of the Ghanaians aren’t even here yet. The third room in our suite is still empty. Yes, classes started today. No, neither of my professors showed up to class, nor did 90% of the students. Apparently, the first week of classes doesn’t really count. Classes are technically in session, but no one is expected to go. Except sometimes it’s important. But you can’t predict.
As classes have yet to start, yesterday we went to the beach. Fun fact: Before we left, I made sure to put on a lot of sun screen. To my demise, I did not do a very good job. I have burn patches on my collar, the back of my hands, and the back of my left arm. Okay, so here is a summary of the beach. A lot of impressive Ghanaians were playing Soccer. I wanted to join. So I went over to a guy standing on the side, and he said no. These guys are really intense. But he hurt his foot, so he can’t play, so I do want to toss the ball around a little on the side? Yes! We played for about an hour with a few different guys coming in and out. It was awesome and quite sweaty. When I couldn’t breathe anymore, I pulled Yamit into the water. We “swam” for also about an hour also. Men do not understand the concept of personal space to say the least. Guys will walk up to you, introduce themselves, shake your hand, and not let go for ten minutes while they try to have a whole conversation with you that ends in asking for your phone number. Literally, I have touched more guys in this past week that in my entire life before that.
Here are a few stories that sum up my beach experience.
1) Three guys proposed to me and Yamit at the same time. They all got down on one knee in the ocean.
2) When I asked one of them why he wanted to marry me, he said, “I want to marry a white girl so I can have white children.”
3) Yamit and I were holding hands for most of the time in the water because we were scared of being separated. They asked us why we were holding hands. “You know,” one of them said, “it’s illegal in this country for two girls to swim together in the sea.”
4) (And last but not least…) “Okay. Really, I have a serious question. I’ve had this question for a really long time. I’ve been waiting to meet a white person, so I can finally know the answer. Okay. So you know how our women are shaped like guitars? (He did a nice curved outline in the air with his hands.) You know how you girls are not? Is that because your mothers never caressed you when you were babies?” I died of laughter! I did not know what to do with myself. “You know,” he continued, “when you have a baby girl, you shape her a** (he made the air gesture again) and you shape her head. Don’t you guys do that?” Really?! My culture is the weird one here because we don’t shape our baby girls butts so they’re curvaceous?
Sunday night we also had this big dinner party thing with a live traditional African band and then performance. There was also this girl who is with us for three weeks who I met. She got this amazing scholarship from her school to do this on-site research project. She’s studying African dance in Africa versus in the Diaspora. She’s going to like 15 countries, each for three weeks. It’s all paid for with this scholarship! How amazing!
Now, on to today. I’m not going to write too much as to not bore you, but firstly, as I mentioned earlier, people have no respect for schedules. They make a schedule, tell people there is going to be class, and then the professor doesn’t show up. Not okay. This happened in both of my classes today. Secondly, Rivky and I were walking back from dance “class” today around noon, the hottest part of the day. I had been walking around all day, and I was dying of heat. We finally made it up to our rooms, collapsed on the chairs and each screamed, “I need to shower!” I go into the shower and THERE’S NO WATER ! Luckily, there was still a little in the faucet that comes out of the wall of the shower, despite there being none in the shower head. So I filled up a bucket and took a splash-shower. I have never felt more uncouth, but it felt so good.
After Twi (my only class today because it’s given by CIEE, not U of Ghana), I was seriously craving something sweet. I wanted a cookie or something. Oddly enough, we are fresh out of cookies. So baked some! Well, first I fried some. All we have is flour, sugar, eggs, and oil, but I decided that would be enough. I mixed them in a proportion that seemed appropriate and fried them. They were great! Then we went all out. Yamit sorted and cooked rice with onion soup mix. Yum! She also made scrambled eggs with garlic powder salt that we bought at Shoprite last week. After dinner I made another batch of cookies, but this time I baked them. Dee-Lih-shus! Basically, dinner was amazing. Tonight was the first time since I left America that I have been full, that there has been more left over that I was unwanting and unwilling to eat. It was a great feeling.
I do not yet have a schedule for the semester, but I have food. Life is good.
P.S. So far, there is really only one class that I am determined to take. Home Science 412 - Select Topics in Home Management. I am so excited!
Friday, January 15, 2010
First erev shabbos
(EDIT: Forgot to say, though it's probably obvious by the post, this is Rivky!)
Today- our first erev shabbos* was a completely hectic day, and I think it will give a feel for what life here is like, at least some interesting aspects.
We woke up at about 8:30 and were out the door 10 minutes later. I always wake up gross and sticky, there's absolutely no such thing as a cool night. The ceiling fan makes no difference.** We (me, Zahava, Yamit) trekked around the campus with a map*** and arrows detailing the order of the departments we wanted to look at. We went to Poli Sci, History, English, Dance, Music, and a couple more. To look at the classes, you literally have to walk up to the front door of the department, where you find a bulletin board with a piece of paper detailing the different classes available in that department. Some of the departments had times listed also, and some didn't, which is bizarre seeing as classes start on Monday. I saw a bunch of classes I was interested in, so I think I'm just going to go to all of them and then see from there which I want to officially register for.
At 11, we were done walking around campus looking at departments and we headed outside of campus to catch the tro-tro, this semi-shuttle service that brings you everywhere. We took one that brought us to the Accra Mall, where they have Shop Rite, which has a lot more kosher food than any of us were expecting. They import from South Africa, saved our lives. We bought food for shabbos- fruit, vegetables, even canned spaghetti in sauce!**** We also bought YOGURT to eat on the spot- I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the first cold food we've eaten since Sunday.***** It was delicious. Seriously, amazing. One of the main reasons I stopped eating most meat is because I thought I wanted to be aware of what I was consuming- and in Ghana, that is all too constant.
When you are driving in the tro-tro, by the way, there is no sense of personal space. Everyone is on top of everyone, and everyone's sweat is mingling (charming, no?), and all you can do is daven to be lucky enough that you will be able to sit near a window so you can stick your head out and feel some air. But the plus side is that the ride is only 25 Ghanaian cents (peshwar, or something like that?), which is only about 18 cents American, ridiculously amazing.
We left the air conditioned Shop Rite and headed back to campus- waiting by the side of the road in the blazing sun and sweltering humidity for 10 minutes****** and then taking a tro-tro back to campus, and then walking the 10 minutes from the main gate back to our dorm and then we deposited everything and actually melted.******* It's so sweltering all the time. It constantly exhausts us.
Now we're cooking and cleaning and trying to get everything ready and nice before shabbos at 5:50 and before classes start next week. I didn't go to the lecture that we have right now even though it looked really interesting******** because I am seriously exhausted and I don't think I can move another muscle. Seriously- I can't stand for more than 10 minutes without needing to sit down, that's how tired my legs are from walking around this huge campus.
Meeting Ghanaians everywhere, the culture contrast is stark. They are all in incredible shape, men and women, from doing physical labor all day, as opposed to Americans who sit in offices. They are ridiculously friendly- they always ask if I'm lost and need directions, or offer to help with other things- and they expect the same in return. A Ghanaian woman on our flight had no compunction about asking me to take care of her baby both before the flight and after it. It's so different, and it's really something I can respect.
The lack of formality is also something different, but I can't tell how I feel about that. On the one hand, I think it's important how friendly everyone is with each other, and how chilled out everyone is- professors don't dress up, they have full-day office hours to speak to students, and everyone we pass says hi with a smile. On the other hand, I am too compulsive to appreciate that they don't know the times of some classes yet, and classes start on Monday! It really flusters me*********. But I just need to step back and relax and just go with the system- that's how they do it, and it works for them, so it will work for me.
K, time to shower. Again. It's all I do here. I know- big contrast to home. Some changes had to made to accommodate the unbearable heat.
*Friday, technically the day before shabbos. Although let's call a spade a spade- is there actually anyone reading this who doesn't know the jargon?
**Although obviously, until yesterday, that barely worked either. But baruch Hashem we got it fixed.
***That I had drawn! Impressed? Me too.
****Yes, I'm aware how gross that sounds. What's your point? Beggars can't be choosers.
*****We don't have a fridge yet. It's broken, duh. We're getting it soon, I think. I really wanted it for shabbos to have cold grape juice, but again, I guess beggars can't be choosers.
******Felt like an hour.
*******Not literally, for those who get confused about what that word means. Hint: it does NOT mean figuratively. In fact, it's meant to be used as a contrast to figuratively. More people should know this, I think.
********Politics in Ghana Post-Colonialism
*********Hey, Laur!
Today- our first erev shabbos* was a completely hectic day, and I think it will give a feel for what life here is like, at least some interesting aspects.
We woke up at about 8:30 and were out the door 10 minutes later. I always wake up gross and sticky, there's absolutely no such thing as a cool night. The ceiling fan makes no difference.** We (me, Zahava, Yamit) trekked around the campus with a map*** and arrows detailing the order of the departments we wanted to look at. We went to Poli Sci, History, English, Dance, Music, and a couple more. To look at the classes, you literally have to walk up to the front door of the department, where you find a bulletin board with a piece of paper detailing the different classes available in that department. Some of the departments had times listed also, and some didn't, which is bizarre seeing as classes start on Monday. I saw a bunch of classes I was interested in, so I think I'm just going to go to all of them and then see from there which I want to officially register for.
At 11, we were done walking around campus looking at departments and we headed outside of campus to catch the tro-tro, this semi-shuttle service that brings you everywhere. We took one that brought us to the Accra Mall, where they have Shop Rite, which has a lot more kosher food than any of us were expecting. They import from South Africa, saved our lives. We bought food for shabbos- fruit, vegetables, even canned spaghetti in sauce!**** We also bought YOGURT to eat on the spot- I'm not exaggerating when I say it's the first cold food we've eaten since Sunday.***** It was delicious. Seriously, amazing. One of the main reasons I stopped eating most meat is because I thought I wanted to be aware of what I was consuming- and in Ghana, that is all too constant.
When you are driving in the tro-tro, by the way, there is no sense of personal space. Everyone is on top of everyone, and everyone's sweat is mingling (charming, no?), and all you can do is daven to be lucky enough that you will be able to sit near a window so you can stick your head out and feel some air. But the plus side is that the ride is only 25 Ghanaian cents (peshwar, or something like that?), which is only about 18 cents American, ridiculously amazing.
We left the air conditioned Shop Rite and headed back to campus- waiting by the side of the road in the blazing sun and sweltering humidity for 10 minutes****** and then taking a tro-tro back to campus, and then walking the 10 minutes from the main gate back to our dorm and then we deposited everything and actually melted.******* It's so sweltering all the time. It constantly exhausts us.
Now we're cooking and cleaning and trying to get everything ready and nice before shabbos at 5:50 and before classes start next week. I didn't go to the lecture that we have right now even though it looked really interesting******** because I am seriously exhausted and I don't think I can move another muscle. Seriously- I can't stand for more than 10 minutes without needing to sit down, that's how tired my legs are from walking around this huge campus.
Meeting Ghanaians everywhere, the culture contrast is stark. They are all in incredible shape, men and women, from doing physical labor all day, as opposed to Americans who sit in offices. They are ridiculously friendly- they always ask if I'm lost and need directions, or offer to help with other things- and they expect the same in return. A Ghanaian woman on our flight had no compunction about asking me to take care of her baby both before the flight and after it. It's so different, and it's really something I can respect.
The lack of formality is also something different, but I can't tell how I feel about that. On the one hand, I think it's important how friendly everyone is with each other, and how chilled out everyone is- professors don't dress up, they have full-day office hours to speak to students, and everyone we pass says hi with a smile. On the other hand, I am too compulsive to appreciate that they don't know the times of some classes yet, and classes start on Monday! It really flusters me*********. But I just need to step back and relax and just go with the system- that's how they do it, and it works for them, so it will work for me.
K, time to shower. Again. It's all I do here. I know- big contrast to home. Some changes had to made to accommodate the unbearable heat.
*Friday, technically the day before shabbos. Although let's call a spade a spade- is there actually anyone reading this who doesn't know the jargon?
**Although obviously, until yesterday, that barely worked either. But baruch Hashem we got it fixed.
***That I had drawn! Impressed? Me too.
****Yes, I'm aware how gross that sounds. What's your point? Beggars can't be choosers.
*****We don't have a fridge yet. It's broken, duh. We're getting it soon, I think. I really wanted it for shabbos to have cold grape juice, but again, I guess beggars can't be choosers.
******Felt like an hour.
*******Not literally, for those who get confused about what that word means. Hint: it does NOT mean figuratively. In fact, it's meant to be used as a contrast to figuratively. More people should know this, I think.
********Politics in Ghana Post-Colonialism
*********Hey, Laur!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
gourmet in ghana
We are shmancy people. That is basically what it comes down to. We are going to eat like kings this semester.
By the way, it's Zahava. I am taking a stand and establishing my place.
The story begins a few days ago. We were starving. We'd been starving since. We could no longer live on a diet of dry cereal, calcium chews, and small tuna packets. Something needed to be done. So today after Twi (a whole other amazing story in itself), Rivky, Yamit, Mufleha, and I went to Shoprite. Oh yeah, we've got a Shoprite! Turns out it's basically Glatt Express. The whole freaking store is full of food with South African hashgachot! There's even OU tuna! There were cookies, oil, butter, cream cheese, ice cream, and lots more. We don't have a fridge yet, so we didn't buy much, but oh we made lists. We were freaking out in the store. Mufleha was pushing the cart and laughing. We were screaming and making a scene. When we noticed an Israeli product, we really lost it. A Ghanaian guy came over to us, who we thought was going to yell at us for making a scecne. But he just asked us if we were Israeli and told us how tzioni he was. We bought limited foods that came out to 63 cedis (the currency, pronounced CDs, 63 cedis = no more than $63), including four packages of OU tuna, yeast, flour, sugar, oranges, and yams.
We got home and were totally pooped. The plan was to make our dinner right away, but we got back at 9pm and were hot and exhausted. We each went on Skype for an hour. Around 10:30, we were ready. We set up music and assigned positions: Rivky on the eggs, me on the yams, and Yamit on the running around to get things. The eggs are brown shelled (surprisingly though in the nine eggs, there were no bloodspots). The yokes are super light, and the omelets looked and tasted like egg-white omelets. The yams are white too, similar to potatoes one might say. But they taste like yams. Then we had oranges for dessert. Then we had tuna. Then we had crackers. It was a freaking five course gourmet meal. It was great. And they say there is no kosher food in Ghana. Pshaw.
We are going to eat like kings.
By the way, it's Zahava. I am taking a stand and establishing my place.
The story begins a few days ago. We were starving. We'd been starving since. We could no longer live on a diet of dry cereal, calcium chews, and small tuna packets. Something needed to be done. So today after Twi (a whole other amazing story in itself), Rivky, Yamit, Mufleha, and I went to Shoprite. Oh yeah, we've got a Shoprite! Turns out it's basically Glatt Express. The whole freaking store is full of food with South African hashgachot! There's even OU tuna! There were cookies, oil, butter, cream cheese, ice cream, and lots more. We don't have a fridge yet, so we didn't buy much, but oh we made lists. We were freaking out in the store. Mufleha was pushing the cart and laughing. We were screaming and making a scene. When we noticed an Israeli product, we really lost it. A Ghanaian guy came over to us, who we thought was going to yell at us for making a scecne. But he just asked us if we were Israeli and told us how tzioni he was. We bought limited foods that came out to 63 cedis (the currency, pronounced CDs, 63 cedis = no more than $63), including four packages of OU tuna, yeast, flour, sugar, oranges, and yams.
We got home and were totally pooped. The plan was to make our dinner right away, but we got back at 9pm and were hot and exhausted. We each went on Skype for an hour. Around 10:30, we were ready. We set up music and assigned positions: Rivky on the eggs, me on the yams, and Yamit on the running around to get things. The eggs are brown shelled (surprisingly though in the nine eggs, there were no bloodspots). The yokes are super light, and the omelets looked and tasted like egg-white omelets. The yams are white too, similar to potatoes one might say. But they taste like yams. Then we had oranges for dessert. Then we had tuna. Then we had crackers. It was a freaking five course gourmet meal. It was great. And they say there is no kosher food in Ghana. Pshaw.
We are going to eat like kings.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Our first day...
Hey everyone! We're finally here! Zahava is out (she's the social one? Who saw that coming) and I'm actually beat, but I wanted to just write a quick post that we're here. We have our luggage, baruch Hashem, but we still don't have phones or internet. I'm borrowing Micky's (Micky? Mikey? who knows.) computer* now just because I've been starved for internet.
Zahava and I are sharing a room. The room, and the campus itself, is very Israeli. Flat mattresses, gross floors, dust and dirt everywhere...it feels like Dvir all over again.** We have two Israeli flags up, one map of Israel, our myzmanim monthly calendar...we could not look more psycho. We even have a post-it on the east wall that says mizrach.*** Oh, also the door to the suite doesn't lock, and apparently there are people in and out all the time. Oh, awesome.
Okay, time to crash. We have to be at the CIEE office tomorrow at 9 AM to register for classes. And because it's a half hour walk, we have to be out the door by 8:30. Lovely. Either Zahava or I will post more actual updates in the next couple of days. Expect to hear about the weather, showers, (lack of) food, and maybe even a video! Maybe. No promises.
*What a mensch, no? He's basically our madrich. Nicest guy ever. Loves our Israeli flags.
**My apartment in shana aleph. It was incredibly disgusting and gross- ask me sometime about the open ceiling in the living room- but we didn't notice because we had so much fun.
***You could argue that considering we don't face east from Ghana, it's a bit silly, but work with me here.
Zahava and I are sharing a room. The room, and the campus itself, is very Israeli. Flat mattresses, gross floors, dust and dirt everywhere...it feels like Dvir all over again.** We have two Israeli flags up, one map of Israel, our myzmanim monthly calendar...we could not look more psycho. We even have a post-it on the east wall that says mizrach.*** Oh, also the door to the suite doesn't lock, and apparently there are people in and out all the time. Oh, awesome.
Okay, time to crash. We have to be at the CIEE office tomorrow at 9 AM to register for classes. And because it's a half hour walk, we have to be out the door by 8:30. Lovely. Either Zahava or I will post more actual updates in the next couple of days. Expect to hear about the weather, showers, (lack of) food, and maybe even a video! Maybe. No promises.
*What a mensch, no? He's basically our madrich. Nicest guy ever. Loves our Israeli flags.
**My apartment in shana aleph. It was incredibly disgusting and gross- ask me sometime about the open ceiling in the living room- but we didn't notice because we had so much fun.
***You could argue that considering we don't face east from Ghana, it's a bit silly, but work with me here.
Monday, January 11, 2010
From Heathrow
Remember when you thought the only last-minute craziness was a surprise trip to DC to get our visas? Well think again, dummy! When Zahava checked the site a couple hours before the flight, turns out it was canceled. Huh. “Due to weather conditions in Heathrow, blah blah blah.” Apparently, Heathrow can't handle a little snow.* Zahava found another British Airways flight leaving Newark a couple of hours before ours, so we ran (figuratively) to the airport to see if we could get on that flight and then still make our connecting from Heathrow to Accra.** Baruch Hashem, we got on standby and then were allowed onto the earlier flight.***
The flight was fine- uneventful. Zahava mothered a young charedi boy (who only spoke yiddish and a bissel english with a strong accent) from London whose parents were ignoring him, teaching him how to go off the derech- use his headphones and watch the TV stations and whatnot. We're now in Heathrow until 2:50 England time. It's just like American airports, except the escalators are longer and the bathrooms are nicer. Oh, also they totally lied about the snow thing. There is zero snow outside. Maybe one centimeter.****
*well, technically 9 inches. Whatever, England.
**We were also especially worried because the school already hates us, seeing as we're coming to the school a couple of days late, which is apparently Not Allowed. Great way to start off the semester, eh?
***We even got kosher meals. And we even had time to buy oreos and rolos before the flight. Best dinner ever.
****Impressed by the metric usage? We're basically British now.
The flight was fine- uneventful. Zahava mothered a young charedi boy (who only spoke yiddish and a bissel english with a strong accent) from London whose parents were ignoring him, teaching him how to go off the derech- use his headphones and watch the TV stations and whatnot. We're now in Heathrow until 2:50 England time. It's just like American airports, except the escalators are longer and the bathrooms are nicer. Oh, also they totally lied about the snow thing. There is zero snow outside. Maybe one centimeter.****
*well, technically 9 inches. Whatever, England.
**We were also especially worried because the school already hates us, seeing as we're coming to the school a couple of days late, which is apparently Not Allowed. Great way to start off the semester, eh?
***We even got kosher meals. And we even had time to buy oreos and rolos before the flight. Best dinner ever.
****Impressed by the metric usage? We're basically British now.
Friday, January 8, 2010
First post
Hello, all! This is Rivky, writing our first post from Teaneck. We're leaving for Ghana on Sunday night, so I wanted to write an intro post before we leave. We are mostly packed, we finally got our visas after a little mishap this week which involved an emergency trip to Washington DC to visit the lovely people at the Ghanaian embassy.*
We'll try to post relatively often, but the truth is that it seems unlikely. Zev, a friend of mine currently in Ghana, said that electricity often cuts out, and that the internet is not easy to come by on our university campus. Zahava will write a little, and I'll write a little, and hopefully we can also get pictures going on.
Okay, that wraps up the intro post. Official countdown- 54 hours until we leave!
Oh, and a special thank you to Sarah Moses for coming up with the name. So clever, that girl.
*that was sarcasm. They were not lovely. They were mean. Luckily, Zahava dealt with them while I watch the Fresh Prince in the waiting room at the embassy.
We'll try to post relatively often, but the truth is that it seems unlikely. Zev, a friend of mine currently in Ghana, said that electricity often cuts out, and that the internet is not easy to come by on our university campus. Zahava will write a little, and I'll write a little, and hopefully we can also get pictures going on.
Okay, that wraps up the intro post. Official countdown- 54 hours until we leave!
Oh, and a special thank you to Sarah Moses for coming up with the name. So clever, that girl.
*that was sarcasm. They were not lovely. They were mean. Luckily, Zahava dealt with them while I watch the Fresh Prince in the waiting room at the embassy.
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