First Week Impressions

8/27/11

Well, I’m on the road to Cape Coast! I landed yesterday after a long time of traveling and I have met all but one person so far, the last one is supposed to be arriving today. Last night, when we arrived at the airport, it was a rush and a mad log jam of people to get through. It probably could have been more efficient, but whatever. When we finally got through customs and picked up our luggage, we met up with Ebo Sam, our faithful coordinator, and our driver for this journey. As we were leaving the airport, I was singled out by people outside because of my rather obvious American identity, and many people were offering me taxis to hotels and such. There were about five guys who helped load our luggage onto our bus, and they did it because they wanted me to pay them for their services. I wasn’t going to do that, so I lied and said I didn’t have any money on me, although I had eight bucks. I know, I’m a terrible person.

After this little annoyance, we left the airport and headed to a nearby hostel near the University of Ghana Accra campus. We met up with Daniel Avorgbedor, who is heading up the program and doing the lectures. He is a genuinely kind and nice man, and he has one of the greatest laughs I know. He led us through a little bit of dinner and orientation, but I was tired, since I am cursed when trying to sleep in moving vehicles, and I wasn’t really paying close attention to the details. The dinner consisted of rice and fried chicken and some fresh fruit. After our dinner and brief orientation, we went to our rooms for the night. Being the only guy, I got a room to myself at the hostel, which was really nice.

Everyone in the group I am travelling with are nice and friendly. Only one has yet to show up, and she should be arriving sometime today I think. The people in Ghana are also very friendly and welcoming people, and the few I have met so far are all just great people.

Right now, I am on the road to Cape Coast, about a two to three hour drive. Travelling through Accra reminded me of driving through Mekele and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The correct way to drive is very aggressively and boldly. If you are even the slightest bit hesitant, you will lose. That is the nature of the thing. It’s kind of fun, because I can observe and not worry about being the one responsible if something happens, which doesn’t seem to happen anyway. Also, in Accra, people are everywhere and they go wherever. People will be walking in the middle of the street trying to sell things to people in the cars. Well, when I get to Cape Coast, I will spend a few days at another hostel that is called the Ocean Lagoon, and on Tuesday I will meet my host family and begin my homestay. This is where things will really get started. It should be fun, and I’m looking forward to the challenge! I guess that is all for now.

God Bless

Jon Steen

8/30/11

Well the home stay has now begun. I have moved into a home that is only a five or six minute walk to the SIT building, which is quite nice. There are a few of us from our group in the area, so we will figure out how to walk together once we know the area better. This homestay can basically last until I leave in December, so it is a big deal. When I go to Komenda for my village stay (Sept. 18-25), Accra (Oct. 2-7), northern trip to Wa, Tamale, and Kumasi (Oct. 15-25), and to Benin (Oct. 29-Nov. 3) I will leave my homestay and travel with the group again, as I did for the first few days. Also, between Nov. 5 and December 3, I will be working on my Independent Study Project (ISP), or thesis paper, so I may end up traveling a little bit during that time.

My family is very nice. I have moved in with the Kum’s, and I have two sisters and a brother living here. There are more siblings, but they have moved out because they are too old to really be living with their birth-parents anymore. There is also Mama and Papa Kum, who are acting as parents for me for the next few months. They have hosted SIT students for about ten years now, and they absolutely enjoy bringing people into their home to exchange better cultures.

On Saturday, there is going to be a huge festival, which commemorates the beginning of a new year. Ghanaians do not celebrate certain things because of calendar ties, however. They happen when it is logical for them to happen; when the time seems proper to celebrate. For example, there are birth celebrations, wedding celebrations, funeral celebrations, and celebrations of the coming of age. This festival is the one of the biggest of the year, and apparently it is a blast. Everyone has been getting really excited about it. There are smaller festivities throughout the week, but the climax of the celebration will be on Saturday.

Class officially starts tomorrow, which is kind of scary. Because of the nature of getting used to the time change and also to get to know the other members of the group, we have had a few days of orientation where we visited Brenu Beach, Kakum National Park, and did other activities. Now vacation has to be over. It kind of feels like the end of Welcome Week at Bethel, when the freshman realize that it is no longer a crazy time but in fact time to do school work.

One thing that I think is rather odd as a college student is the timing of this culture. What I mean is that Ghana has twelve hours of sunrise (6-6) year round, and their lives have as a result been shaped around that. Everyone goes to bed here around ten o’clock or so, and wakes up around 5 or 6. I am up only slightly later, but I have yet to stay up past midnight here, simply because I am just too tired to do it. I usually wake up around 7-7:30 so I can get up and ready by my 8:30 class at the SIT office. Right now, it is just after 9 p.m., and I am already starting to fade a little. Call me lame, but that is how I have adjusted my sleeping pattern.

God Bless

Jon

Well, I Leave in a Week!

Hi everyone! As you can guess from the title of this blog thingy, I'm leaving for Ghana and I may not come back. I probably will, but you never know. There are a lot of things that I simply do not know concerning what to expect, but I pray that God will guide me and give me the wisdom and discernment to learn and experience what he has in store for me.

First off, I will explain the nature of this journey. I will be traveling with an accredited program called the SIT (School For International Training), so this is an academic trip. This particular program I am attending is called Origins of African Identity, and its purpose is two-fold. The first part of the program is one big seminar style class, which has me learning Fante, from a Bantu-language family (I think...) which is based on the southern and central region of Ghana. The main focus is to study different mindsets of people of African identity who have been displaced throughout the world through different systems such as the slave trade, and how their lives have been shaped by this dispersal. This is generally referred to as the African Diaspora. During this part of the program, we will be based in Cape Coast, but we will also be doing numerous excursions in Ghana and even the to the country of Benin as well.

The second part of this program is writing a lengthy thesis (20-40 pages) about a topic of my choice that is affiliated with the African Diaspora. Frankly, there is a lot to write about, and a lot that needs to be written about. I don't have a great idea what I will be writing about, but I think I may write about African religions and the impact of Christianity and Islam from returnees. I have a lot of fine-tuning to do to have a less abstract paper and broad paper, but at least it's a start. During this second portion of the program, we will not meet regularly as a group, so effectively I am on my own! That's going to be crazy!

As far as what to expect, I have no idea. Although this is not my first (nor my last) trip to Africa, I experienced a very different culture previously. Ethiopia, where I was before, has had a very unique history compared to the rest of Africa because of it's early Christian influence, it's contact with the Arab world, and it's natural isolation from mainland Africa since it is in the mountains. Ghana is right smack in the middle of the southern end of West Africa, and has had much more interaction with other people around them. Also, Cape Coast has a slave fort (called Cape Coast Castle) and was the main center of British involvement in the slave trade, so there will be a constant reminder of one of the worst moments of human history. Ethiopia did not have anything of the sort.

Culturally speaking, I am completely clueless as to what to expect. I have heard a few things from people, but hearing and experiencing are completely different things. I know that Ghana is a rising political power in the region, and their economics are also on the rise, unlike the rest of the world right now. I have heard that there are also plenty of churches and a strong Christian community rising in Ghana, which is exciting to hear. But I am clueless, and I hope to have my world rocked by this time in Ghana.

One thing I would very much appreciate is prayer. Since I don't really know what to expect, there are a lot of unknowns. One thing that I would like prayer for is to avoid my natural inclination to be introverted on this trip. Ghanaians are very sociable people and love to talk and share cultures (from what I've heard). I will have a tendency after a while to try and break away, which is good for me to do, but it can also be seen negatively if I avoid talking to people about these things and go into isolation. The last thing I want to do is start off on the wrong foot with the people I will interact with. Another thing to pray for is for me to find some strong Christian fellowship, whether it be with a church or with another member(s) of the group.

All in all, I'm excited to see what God has in store for me, and I look forward to having my entire perspective about life completely blown apart and radically changed.

God Bless

Jon Steen