1) First REAL Weekend Out in GH
2) Tour of Accra
3) Registration and Classes
4) This Coming Weekend
1) First REAL Weekend Out in GH
Last weekend I had an absolute blast! A few friends and I were starting to get a little cabin fever because we’d been confined to ISH (….maybe confined isn’t the right word choice, no one forced us to stay in lol. You get the point though!) for so long. We decided to go with the masses to this guy Keith’s 30th birthday party. Now a little back story on Keith…
Keith looks exactly like Richard Simmons to me! Regardless, he was at our IPO Orientation last week acting all kinds of crazy. He would literally yell at the speakers whenever he had a comment/question/suggestion, and I wrote him off right then and there. As many of you know, I like to utilize my pending Psychology degree and diagnose people with personality disorders—he got Aspergers hahaha. Fast forward to the bulletin boards in ISH, and we see tons of hand written signs that are invitations to Keith’s 30th birthday party (what he’s doing at UG at age 30 is beyond me. I’m done asking questions) at this bar/restaurant/lounge called Appetite in East Legon. There was no way “the crew” (Blog about those ladies in another post. We’re all a mess!) and I were going to go…until everyone in ISH said they were definitely going since it was free for ladies.
Anyway, we got to Appetite and had a blast. The music was great, the very crowded crowd was live, and everyone was having a great time. The people there were so varied, so it was cool to meet new people. We stayed there for about two hours before making our way to another part of Accra called Osu. There, a few friends took us to this club called Bella Roma. It was SOnice! Reminded me of the very upscale bougie lounges and clubs in NYC. The crowd there was very different. They were definitely older, more sophisticated patrons. A lot of the guys were business men from Ghana, Nigeria, the Middle East, and so on. Again the music was great, the dancing was great, and everyone had a good time. Ghanaians can surely dance! And they party ALL NIGHT LONG (Seriously. Until sunrise! But last Friday, we checked out around 4am. #lightweight)
Saturday we just “chilled” in true Ghanaian fashion. Students in ISH 1 are very social, so there are always people hanging out and socializing. It’s a gift!
(Birthday boy Keith and The Crew. I wish you could read his shirt. It says "My name is not Obruni!" #classic)
[Quick edit: Totally forgot to mention the Ghana vs. Mali football match we watched on Saturday night. Everyone went over to Tyme Out in Pentagon to watch it. I was so bored at first, but once Ghana scored their first goal, the whole lounge was turned up! I was DYING because as soon as we hit the first goal, Azonto started blasting, and everyone was jumping up and down, turning chairs over, picking each other up, and dancing. It was amaze. Ghanaians are the funniest to watch the games with! The pidgin tops it all off. T'was a great time, especially since we won 2-0]
2) Tour of Accra
Our program spent Saturday on a tour of Accra. We drove around, and were pointed out the major tro-tro stops, monuments, markets, etc. Our first major stop was Makola market. I thought Madina was packed….mannnnnnn! It has nothing on Makola. You can seriously get EVERYTHING imaginable there. I wanted to get these amazing backpacks made of Kente cloth, but the Mr. Gyasi said I could get it for next-to-free once we head up to Kumasi, so I’ll hold out. We passed by a few of the impoverished areas of Osu/Greater Accra/fishing regions, and it was rough! Very very rough! It’s hard/sad to think that some people have to live the way many in Ghana do. Our last stop was the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum. The actual structure where he and his wife are buried is beautiful (I’ll add photos). The sky got really gray as we were entering, and it was clearly going to downpour, so people weren’t really interested in listening to the tour guide. She was pissed about that, and had the worst attitude for the rest of the tour. It was kind of funny, but y’all know my sense of humor…
(The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial)
(Dr. and Mrs. Nkrumah's burial sites)
(boss.)
3) Registration and Classes
Registration is very tedious. Although we signed up for our courses online, we still need to go to each department and make sure we’re registered properly. This could be putting my name in a book, signing forms, submitting a passport photo, or handing over my first born child for sacrifice (-_-). I spent almost 3 hours registering for two classes. I’m sure it would’ve been faster any other time, but the administrative staff is on strike because the University owes some workers over 24 months of overtime pay. To be honest, I would’ve gone on strike wayyyyy before they hit month 24! Classes have officially started, but it seems like most people won’t be going until next week. I have no problem with that at all, because after not being in a class room for almost two months, I’m not in an intellectual mindset. Our Twi class has started though! Professor Kofi is hilarious! After everything he says “Hallelujah, Praise the Lord.” It warms my heart.
4) This Coming Weekend
This weekend our group will be traveling to the Central Region of Ghana. Here’s what we’ll be doing:
- Batik Tye Dye Workshop at Cape Coast
- Visit the Cape Coast Castles
- A debriefing conversation (I don’t know what that means)
- Visit to the Kakum National Park
- Lunch at Hans Cottage
- Beach
- Back to Accra.
I’m excited for all of this! As always, I’ll keep everyone posted!
xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment