Letters from GhanaAn EAP student in Ghana for a semester chose to stay for a full year based on her experiences. Below are some recollections from her first days in country.by Lisa Kim, UC Irvine August 30, 2004 — Getting to Know Ghana My favorite things so far here are games, bargaining, and laundry. Learning to live in a new culture really opens your eyes. A lot of you asked about the food here. It's really heavy with rice, fish, beans, and plantains—all cooked in palm oil. We went to an "American" restaurant recently because we missed food from back home, and the food was good, but I was craving plantains! My favorite things so far here are games, bargaining, and laundry. Learning to live in a new culture really opens your eyes. But you have to humble yourself and put aside the ways you were taught to do things and accept a different way. I learned a board game called Ludo. There are up to four players trying to make it around the board and on the way you can kill each other. When you get killed, Ghanaians have a distinct way of yelling "HEY!" that I LOVE. No matter how much I try to imitate it, it just does not sound right! Bargaining is a real art. The best way I found to do it is get to know the stand owner a little first. If they respond well, you know they will be able to give you a good price. And at the end, you tell them you will come back to their stand again, and follow through with your promise. I have scabs on my hands from doing laundry manually. But I realized that Ghanaians get clothes really clean and save a lot of water. And doing laundry by hand gives you a really good work out!
Visit to the Slave CastlesThe most memorable places I've been to so far are the slave castles in Cape Coast. The dungeons where they kept slaves before they were traded and sent to America were horrible and unsanitary—no ventilation, no bathrooms, and very little food. The castle tour showed us how cruel humans can be. A lot of effort and planning went to building these forts, which is a sad fact. Some people on our tour cried. It was emotional but really showed us that it is very important that we do not let things like that happen again. September 15, 2004 — Visit to a Bat CaveI recently went to Shai Hills Game Reserve. No hunters allowed! We walked a 2.5-hour trail to a bat cave and along the way we saw baboons! The birds around us were really red and the butterflies were really blue. Nature is so amazing in Ghana. There was endless land covered in tall grass and trees and the sky was so blue. The sun was really strong and the heat was intense! But we made it to the bat cave and when we shined light inside, the bats started fluttering around like crazy! The walls were covered with them and they swarmed over our heads. We were a little scared that they were going to hit us, but they didn't touch us. On the way back, we were tired, extremely dehydrated, and burnt from the sun. But thank God for Ghana's tropical weather, because out of nowhere it started raining! The timing was amazing and it felt GREAT! By the time we got home to our dorm, we were covered in dirt, sweat, sunscreen, and bug repellent. We wanted to shower so bad, but when we got into the bathroom, we found out the water stopped running! So we had to go downstairs with our buckets and walk back upstairs with a heavy bucket of water. We tried to hold it on our heads, but we just kept spilling water on ourselves! We finally made it upstairs and had the best shower of our lives! Yay for bucket showers! |
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feel like a little kid in Ghana because I have to learn
so many of the common sense things such as doing laundry by
hand, catching a "tro-tro" (minivans that are cheaper than
taxis), taking bucket showers, and how to deal when water stops
running. I was adopted by my friend Patience's family though
and they are teaching me Ghanaian ways and they laugh at me
when I can't eat food I am not used to! 
