we are really in africa!!?

Okay, first, I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to update! Believe you me, I'm extremely guilt-ridden at this abandonment. I'm coming up on the one-week mark, and my time in Ghana has been amazing, but internet access has been scarce. However, internships start on Monday, and I'm hoping that means I'll get a daily connection, but we'll see.

So, it's been a wild first week. Ghana, like many third world countries, is a study in contrasts, which makes forming impressions and opinions about this whole situation a challenge. There have been so many experiences, feelings and thoughts in this span alone that I don't think I could even begin to outline all of them for you, so here are the highlights:

-First Night: I arrived around 8 p.m. on Friday night, and was instantly swarmed by the heat and humidity as I stepped off the plane. It's the same climate as you would feel when arriving in Hawaii, but way more severe. Michelle met me at the airport and we went straight to a group dinner at this restaurant that, between now and then, we've eaten at about 71081085 times, because it's one of Leslie's favorites. Chez Afrique has live music on Friday and Saturdays, and has given us a good introduction to Ghanaian food (which is a topic for a post all its own, another time). I had a couple beers (Ghana's own brands, which I'll also elaborate on later) to ease the pain from 26 hours in economy-class seats and, despite the fact that I was running on fumes, had an amazing first night.

-The House: The house is interesting ... it's quite luxurious by Ghanaian standards, but is a far cry from what we're all used to back home. First, it has the most ridiculous floor plan, which was so hard to navigate in the first couple of days after arrival. Aside from being a maze, there are weird steps at most thresholds, which I trip over like nobody's business, because I am just that clumsy. The floors are always dirty, so your feet start to feel grimy after only like five barefoot minutes. I baby-wipe my feet clean before climbing into bed every night for good measure (and, after the 2004 Starfire tour, foot washing is a nice spiritual moment I get to enjoy just before falling asleep). The showers are cold (but it's so hot here that it really doesn't matter), and run at a trickle. There are also bugs everywhere ... but then again, 80% of Ghana doesn't have running water or windows in which to hang mosquito nets, so I think we really are pretty lucky.

-The Black Stars: Probably one of the most amazing experiences of the whole trip was the Ghana Black Stars game we went to on Sunday. The Black Stars are the national soccer team, and we watched them beat Gibon 2-0 in a qualifier for the 2010 World Cup (which, for those who care, will be in South Africa, and is the first time the World Cup will be held on the continent ... fun fact of the day). Ghanaians are on par with the Europeans in their zeal for soccer, and it was so amazing to be in the stadium and take in the whole experience. We also got these ridiculously good seats in the third row ... which I don't think we had been assigned, but nobody bothered us. The crowd was so wild, and it was absolute madness both when Ghana scored and when they had goals called back for offsides (which happened multiple times). We also saw about four full-out brawls amongst spectators, which is always great. And Sonny, a Ghana native who is Doc William's protege and who you'll hear much more about later, took us under his wing and was a huge lifesaver, as I doubt all 13 of us would have actually made it in and out of central Accra alive without his help. It was our first real excursion into the thick of the city, which was crazy, exciting and definitely a little stressful … but seeing a BLACK STARS match on home turf was SO worth it.

-The Markets: Leslie's taken us to several art/craft markets in Legon, Accra and Aburi, and it's actually been such an overwhelming experience thus far. Vendors are really aggressive, and you can't walk past a shopfront without someone jumping in front of you and insisting, "Sista, take a look in my shop!" We usually just politely nod, say no thanks and keep walking, but it's been such a turn-off for me personally that I haven't bought much yet. And of course, as Obruni's (meaning "white person" or "foreigner" in Twi, and a completely non-pejorative term) we get drastically overcharged for everything. My bargaining skills are super rusty, and I think that whole part of the transaction is painfully uncomfortable. Hopefully, I'll pull it together soon, and can come home with fabulous gifts for all of you (and myself).

So, clearly, I'm still in the adjustment phase, figuring out where to get food (I'll admit, I largely subsist on granola bars and Ramen noodles when we "cook" for ourselves), when to apply bugspray (apparently all the time, though I'm quite concerned that I've already fatally overexposed myself to DEET) and how to interact with Ghanaians. There are some things that I think will be second-nature soon, like adapting to the heat and humidity, and others that I doubt I'll ever overcome, like a kitchen teeming with insects. All in all, it's great, and slightly unbelievable, to be here.

We are off to the Cape Coast tomorrow for a weekend escape. We will be back on Sunday, and work starts Monday! Send some emails, leave some comments ... I'll be back here soon!