In the Beginning...

Hey Everyone! Just got internet access on the laptop for the first time since arriving!

(Written August 8th, retroactively posted internet permitting!)

After 30+ hours of traveling and three flights, we finally arrived save and sound in Accra! We arrived at 5:10 AM local time, and the humidity was so high (100%) that it felt like we covered ourselves in maple syrup and never washed it off. The heat I can handle, but the humidity will take a lot of getting used too. 

Here are five truths about Ghana/Ghanian culture that I have learned in the past 15 hours:

1. Back in the day, before the wonderful invention of toilet paper, people used their left hand to wipe. Although we have the ever so famous TP (or T-Roll, as they say) here in Ghana now, the tradition still stands and it is incredibly rude to do anything with one’s left hand including daily things such as eating, paying, or gesturing. Fortunately for me, writing with it is okay though!
2. The University of Ghana Legion’s men’s handball team is ranked #1 in the country. They haven’t lost a match in six years.
3. University of Ghana is home to the largest library in West Africa, the “” library.
4. The pineapple juice here is delicious. I’ve only been here a day and I’m positive I’m going to miss it like crazy when we leave in December.
5. Ghanians live up to their reputation of being extremely friendly. They are very welcoming.

Tomorrow the two week long culturally intense orientation/immersion program begins. The next two weeks have been mapped out down to every second of every day. We will be learning basic skills such as how to do our laundry, how to eat healthy in Ghana, how to perform African drumming and dancing, and how to speak Asante Twi phrases as well as traveling around the country to places such as Kumasi, and Cape Coast. The orientation is so intense that we get four quarter units for it. (To give some perceptive, at UCLA I would get five quarter units for attending one class for five hours every week for 10 consecutive weeks.)

Time to use what little free time I have to sleep! Good night!