Okay, so this is a bit overdue, I've tried to blog earlier, but slow and undependable internet has foiled my plan several times. So I've been in Ghana for over a month now, and my love for this place is still as undying as it was as it was when I initially arrived at the Kotoka Int'l Airport. I mean, the first thing I saw when I got off the plane was a sign that said something along the lines of, "Akwaaba! (welcome in Twi) Welcome to Ghana! You are not welcome if you are a pedophile, or have other sexual deviances." How could I not be in love with this strange and wonderful culture? That sign was only the tip of the iceberg of what was to come in the following weeks, of the strange strange things I'd see all over.

The first week or two was spent adjusting to Ghana. I did not have a lot of leisure time because the program, CIEE (a study abroad organization), had us participate in a mandatory orientation, and my daily activities were pretty much mapped out for me. The staff was extremely helpful. Kwasi Gyasi-Gyamerah, the resident director, is wonderful! He's so nice, funny, and animated and everyone on this trip loves him. Not liking him would be not liking the Beatles, or chocolate, or something wonderful like that. The program has helped me adjust to a foreign culture with ease. I haven't been homesick once. I don't know if I'd have trouble adjusting without the program, because I feel I've been waiting my entire life for this.

The people on the program are fun, intelligent, and interesting. There are 53 participants, mostly female, from all over the US of A. Most people are studying international affairs/studies/relations, sociology, anthropology, or something along those lines. However, there are a few quirky majors, such as a theater major, Miss Angela Bolmes, who you will be hearing a lot about because we are pretty much joined at the hip! She speaks German too! Ausgezeichnet!

I'm living on campus in the International Student Hostel #2 (ISH2). I love the architecture on campus. It's so conducive to breezes and sunlight in the buildings. I live on the top floor of ISH. I can see the capital, Accra, of Ghana right from my balcony, as well as a grove of mango trees, the beautiful red African soil, and beautiful African people walking around below! There is an open courtyard in the middle of my hostel. There's a place to hang laundry, which you have to wash by hand, unless you have a service do it. I still haven't gotten my whites as white as used to be. Beige is okay I guess. There is a place called the Night Market right next to my hostel. It's a small market, with all kinds of food vendors, and little shops you can purchase a lot of things you need for life on campus.

I like the food here, however, I would probably enjoy it more and not have dropped 3 pant sizes if I were not vegan. I eat nothing but starch. Waakye (Waa-Chay - rice and black-eyed peas), red-red (black-eyed peas served with fried plantains), plain rice, fried rice, kelewele (plantains fried with ginger and pepper - my favorite!), fried yam (not sweet potato - yams in the U.S. are not actually yams - yams grow only in Africa - they're enormous roots that taste similar to a potato), cabbage (but not cabbage stew...did not agree with me...), pasta is the composition of my diet. There is also tons of the freshest and most delicious fruit you'll ever taste. You can eat mango, bananas, pineapple,
Some of us, myself included are participating in the CIEE Development Stud