Ohhhhh do I have another bathroom story for you! But alas, I should write chronologically. So you'll have to just wait and read it later on in this entry.
Yesterday was a very busy, very exciting day. First of all, it was Day 2 of Registration. Now at the University of Ghana, registering as an International student and registering for classes are about the two hardest things we could possibly do. I've never encountered such red tape and beauracracy in my entire life. Registering as an international student took four hours on Thursday... and that was speedy. We had Dr. Bilson there to cut through a lot of the crap for us. But the fun part about registering for classes is that nothing is ever easy or straight forward. Let me give you a couple of examples... Technically, registration started last Wednesday. I say technically because none of the departments have decided what classes they are offering yet. Some won't for another week or two... Also, even if they do post the classes that they are offering, a lot of them won't post the schedules of when those classes are held. Sometimes until after the "official" start date of classes. Which (obviously) means that most of your first week of classes will be spent not going to class. So (as you might guess) we had a fun few hours of moving from building to building trying to figure out where to get this paper and what we needed signed and getting photocopies of every piece of paperwork they could possibly ask for.
Yesterday was also the day that Kofi Annan was getting sworn in as Chancellor of the University of Ghana! Yay!!! It was this whole big ceremony and the President of Ghana also spoke. So it was kind of a big deal. We didn't really get to be up close and personal but I was there. That was what was important.
Today Elana took all of us into the heart of Accra. And boy oh boy, have we finally left the leash behind. We took a tro-tro (it's kind of a big van that stuffs 20 - 30 people in it. It's the main way of getting around in Ghana, besides taxis) to this huge market. I'm talking HUGE. I've never been to a market this big and loud and crowded. It was more lining the streets, rather than a one big area, so staying together as a group of 7 was impossible. It was barely possible to walk without running my forehead into a basket or bowl on someone's head. After 45 minutes of playing follow-the-leader, we made it to CMB. This is an area where a lot of northerners hang out (and thus Elana, who is in the north a lot, would also hang out) and a very, very impoverished neighborhood. I'm talking babies with distended bellies walking around in bare feet... trash everywhere... It was kind of heartbreaking to witness. But the people there were great. They taught us how to play Wale-Wale, which is the Ghanaian version of Mancala. We also all got Dogbani names (in addition to our Twi day names). My Dagbani name means "God's gift". Which I think is appropriate. I'm pretty great. Haha.
So at some point we were all sitting around, chatting, when one of the girls in our group needed to "greet the chief" (if you don't get the euphamism, read my previous posts...). I also needed to go, so one of Elana's friends, Fusseini, brings us to the "public restrooms" for the neighborhood. Now, I have gone camping... so I have gone in many a bush and behind many a tree. And I would have 100% preferred either a bush or a tree when I got to this restroom. It was about as large as a public bathhouse at say, a public beach in the US. And it smelled like cooked urine. Ghana is hot and this bathroom was basically cooking everything inside of it. The floor was concrete and very, very wet. With what, you can probably guess. Now in Ghana (as with most African countries) you are expected to bring your own toilet paper to the restroom with you. As soon as I got into the stall, I realized that I didn't have any in my purse. So I assess my situation... I'm in a stall (also covered in slick surfaces) and the "toilet" is really a hole in the floor. But one of the main problems is that there is about a 8 inch space in between the door and this 6 inch raised platform where the hole is. In this situation, you're supposed to prop yourself up by putting your hands on the walls beside the hole, but this is impossible due to the amount of... waste substances covering the entirety of the stall. So I have to trust my amazing balance skills to make this work. Except that I have un-amazing balance skills. And I'm balancing on a slippery concrete floor. No, no. I didn't fall in. Thank god. I might not be here to tell the tale, if that were so. Although, when trying to leave the stall, the door opens inward and only has that 8 inch space to swing before it hits the raised platform... so trying to get out was a pretty hilarious show as well. But somehow I made it through with minimal damage. I live to see another bathroom.
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