I’m in the middle of the second week of classes…the culture is already seeming familiar to me. Language here is actually more of a barrier than one might think…I feel really fortunate that I had two Ghanaian teachers at IU before coming here, because I am a bit more used to the African English accent. I am finding that the 3 months of Twi that I took this past spring have been really helpful just for pronunciation and simple phrases. Several Ghanaians have told me that my accent sounds as if I was born here. I think that is being helped along by the fact that my host family speaks Twi 90% of the time, so I am constantly hearing the language each morning and evening…but, there is still a LOT I have left to learn before I will be able to consider myself conversationally fluent.

Yeah, so there has been a lot of technology in my life lately…first, I bought a cell phone, and then my laptop died. The cell phone is because I’ll be here for nine months, and the staff for my program recommended it for me….and the laptop….what a bummer. That’s all I can say right now, because I don’t know if all is lost or if it is recoverable. It will be interesting, though, to see how technological problems are dealt with here. I’m trying to view it as a cultural experience, rather than a huge pain J.

Oh yes, and I did get to go the market in Kumasi last weekend…in fact, my host mother knew a couple of the market women, so I got to sit in their shops and listen to them talk for several hours J. In many ways the Kumasi market reminded me of Makola Market in Accra….especially since we went there on a Saturday (one of the busiest market days). It was interesting because we saw these women on Saturday in the market, and they seemed to have very small shops, but then we saw them the next day at the wedding…and the clothes that they wore were more beautiful than anything I’ve seen in the United States. They were all dressed like royalty. I spent so much time admiring the African clothing that I might have missed whole parts of the wedding J. So, the wedding itself-the most marked difference was the huge proportion of singing and dancing that took place during the ceremony. They really had no need for a reception, because the entire ceremony seemed like one big joyous party. Almost everyone in attendance, as I’ve said, was wearing traditional African clothing, with the conspicuous exception of the bride and groom, who were in totally western bride/groom outfits.

Speaking of clothes, did you know that Kente cloth (the woven cloth associated with Africa) actually originated in Ghana? Very few people wear entire Kente outfits anymore, because it’s such heavy material, but it is common for people to drape a strip of Kente cloth over their shoulder, on top of the African outfits made of cotton.

I have continued to receive marriage proposals…it happens so often here that it is kind of a joke. The trick is finding a way to say "no" while still keeping the situation humorous…