I've decided that the University of Ghana is Hogwarts. Now, some of you may just think that my love of Harry Potter means that I see it anywhere I go... This may be true. But in this case it also applies. First of all, when you are accepted to UGhana, you are put into a hall. The people who run the Tufts-in-Ghana program are all Akuafos (Akuafo Hall is like Gryffindor. The cool kids that star in the series obviously live here...). There's Volta Hall, which is all girls. (They remind me of Ravenclaw because it seems like those girls are the most studious of the bunch.) Mensah-Sarbah is the hall that no one really talks about, so I'd say that one is Hufflepuff. But the best comparison is the hall that I consider to be Slytherin - Commonwealth Hall, home of the Vandals.
Now the Vandals are a Skull-and-Bones type of fraternity/gang. They all wear red and basically run the school. They have their own judge and jury system - so if you are caught by the vandals you can decide if you want them to try and punish you or if they should turn you over to University Police. It's craziness. They are totally Slytherin!
In other news, everyone in our group has decided to get sick. Well, not everyone. Kym has had a hacking cough for at least two weeks. On Monday we decided to bring her to the clinic to get it checked out. We all thought it was TB (How funny would it be that both of my trips to Africa start off with someone getting TB!) because she had tested positive during a TB test a couple of months earlier... But at the time her chest X-Ray didn't show any TB. So we were convinced that it was TB. However, after 5 hours of Ghanaian beauracracy and a chest X-Ray and blood work it turns out she just has a bad upper respiratory infection.
Then, two days ago we went on an adventure to the market for fabric shopping. And I must say that I will develop QUITE the fabric problem very quickly. It's a little ridiculous. But while we were there we picked up some veggies (oh thank god. I found zucchini and eggplant and carrots. Too bad ALL I want in life right now is broccoli.) and had some snacks. It's not at all uncommon to buy your snacks off of people's heads while you are stuck in traffic in a tro-tro, which is what we did on the way home. A few of us bought bags of plantain chips. I managed to eat from the okay bag, but three of us ate some BAD chips. Needless to say, they weren't up for anything for at least 36 hours. So I've managed to stay healthy thus far... although we all know that this post will definitely jinx me and I'll begin throwing up within minutes.
So I registered for 9 classes. That's a lot of classes. Here's the rundown...
Religion:
New Religious Movements
Gender Studies in Religion and Culture
African Traditional Religion
Sociology:
Sociology of Religion
Home Science:
Preparation for Marriage... YEP THAT'S RIGHT. THAT'S A CLASS. The course description talks about how to pick the right mate and transitioning into married life. I'm so fascinated and really want to know what they have to say about it. So I couldn't resist.
Zoology:
Conservation Biology... I have to fufill my physical science requirement. Blech.
Dance/Drumming:
Intro to Traditional Dance/Intro to Drumming... whichever fits my schedule as they haven't put up the class schedule yet. Even though classes start on Monday.
African Studies:
Twi... This is a required language class with only the Tufts kids.
Administration:
Management of NGO's... I'm only auditing this course because the finals schedule conflicts with other classes. Also it's at 7:30 in the morning twice a week. We'll see how good this class is. And if it can convince me to roll out of bed at 6 and walk a half hour across campus.
So all in all, that's too many classes. But we'll see which really pan out.
Also, I'm in the process of putting my pictures on the internet which is a HUGE pain in the butt. So you better appreciate the blood and tears that went into it. They aren't all up and they don't all have descriptions... but bear with me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/megan-travel-photos/
Alright. Seacrest, out.
3 comments:
1. Can't comment on your photos, BOO, but I love that they are online!!!
2. If the place with the beds in your photos is your dorm, then YES you do go to Hogwarts. It's totally the African version of the four-posters in Gryffindor tower...
3. NAP PODS OMG. At work, my friend and I were lobbying for NIH to purchase some for our office... I wasn't aware that they actually existed outside of the metronaps website. Awesome.
Wow Meg! Incredible pictures...what is the big white building on the coast? It's beautiful! The coast itself is beautiful, the busy ports, the huge crowds! It all looks so alive with life. I'm happy to feel a part of this trip with you! So jealous of the canopy walk!
Will send you an email next week!
The beds with the mosquito nets were at the Dagbe Cultural Center, where we stayed last weekend. And the white buildings were the slave castles we visited the first week of orientation.
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