And It And It Begins

If you don't know why I've created a blog, then you're not really my friend and therefore maybe you really shouldn't even be reading my blog... having said that you should all be fully aware of the fact that I am currently participating in the Spring 2009 session of NYU in Ghana :-) It is a study abroad program (one of several thousand that NYU has).

So, I flew out of JFK to Amsterdam (no I didn't buy any weed) and then to Accra [pronounced ah-crah; like "a car" except you're switching the r and the a in car]. In Amsterdam's Schihol airport, I notice that while I'm waiting to start boarding, all of these African guys are in the waiting area as well. Which in itself isn't weird at all except that I couldn't help but notice the way they were dressed. [Here is where all of the misconceptions, misrepresentations, and downright ignorance step in.] Most Westerners have such a skewed understanding of African culture that one would probably assume that I am about to describe some sort of loin cloth type of attire with maybe a bone sticking out of someone's nose or maybe even on a Haitian tip: socks with sandals. Alas, all of these dudes had on either nice jeans or dress pants, leather shoes, button ups, sweaters, and jackets. Fresh. Maad fresh. Like fresher than most Americans. I say this to highlight the Ghanaian culture. People go hard out here. It's nothing for them to walk around looking dressed up like all day long. Of course some of the women rock the traditional African dresses (which are dope by the way) and people do dress casually, but still. Respect is HUGE out here. Respect for each other and respect for self. You don't just go outside looking any ol' kinda way. The way you present yourself physically and verbally are key to interacting with people. I wonder what would happen if American kids grew up in a similar atmosphere... I guess what I'm trying to say is, Ghanaian Lesson #1: Flyness Knows No Occasion. 

To get some of the retardedness out of the way:

No I haven't seen any elephants. 

No I haven't seen any giraffes. 

No I do not have malaria.

No I am not eating bugs and dirt. 

No I do not live in a hut. 

No there is not any war going on. 

Yes there is safe food to eat and water to drink. 

Yes the people can speak English. 

No the native language isn't a mix of clicking and grunting. 

Yes it is completely safe. 

And no I do not regret coming. 

The exchange rate is pretty sexy. I gave $150 and I got back about 193 cedis (pronounced: CDs). So I hope to be ballin' out of control for most of my stay here. 

I arrived on January 11th and I'm staying until May 16th. I'm pretty lazy about things like this and I can't make any promises. [More to myself than anyone else who will be reading this because this is more for recollection and reminiscence in my old age] But I will definitely try to scribe my findings, epiphanies, and just thoughts in general on my journey to the motherland.

Twi [language spoken in Ghana; sounds like tree] word of the day: 

akwaaba = you are welcome 

Welcome to my blog :-)