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!