an american girl in ghana

if you caught the Sex and the City reference - props to you.

so it's tuesday and i have no idea where to start. so much has happened in the last 4 days that i haven't had a chance to actually process that i'm here. in ghana. i catch whims of goosebumps when i look at my wall and see a geko - or look out the bus window to merchants selling to cars in the street - and when chickens, goats and horses runthrough campus.

we swam in the ocean on our second day. it was intended to be relaxing but i was on sensory overload. there was so much music and dancing. i arm wrestled with a Ghanaian boy simon and held up for a few seconds (longer than some of the guys might i add) . i started a sweet little rock and shell collection too.

thus far - tours and lectures nonstop. they parade us around in an air conditioned bus that screams american tourists. i cannot wait to be off the bus and taking courses with Ghanaians and leave the insular bubble of the international student community. it turns out that my age may come in handy. only 8 students are permitted to live in the Ghanaian dorm will be determined by age. i'm actually not the oldest -- but my age and identity have proven to be quite a challenge.
my roommate is a ucsd student named joeva and i love her she's 20 - a poli sci major and has a giant mop of red hair. she keeps a smile on my face against all odds. if i move to volta, i'll be sad to leave her. i have grown close with a Ghanaian student guide named grace. she has kicked my ass twice at mille bournes. aside from being a kick ass game player -- she is my little angel straight down from heaven. she insists on accompanying me to the market and is teaching me to haggle for water and toilet paper. she lives in volta during the school year so i will have a friend. and a naughty card playing bad ass friend at that.
at night we meet for a dancing/drumming/singing class and it is EPIC. i love the music and the dancing so much -- apparently i'm not that bad at it. the head cook felicia says i'll be shaking it like a Ghanaian in no time. our instructor's voice is unlike anything i have ever heard. i fall asleep with the drums and songs pulsing through my head.