Tomorrow is March 1st, which
means I have been living in Ghana for almost two months already. In the grand
scheme of things my journey here is flying by but day to day seems to be moving
rather laggardly. I have too many things to write about so I'll keep it quick
Day to Day Life:
Since classes are only once a week for two hours
I find myself with lots of free time, this is made better/worse (depends what
kind of person you are) by the fact that professors do not assign homework. The
only grades in my classes are my midterm exam grade and my final exam grade.
Here's a run down of my classes... I have an introduction history class on
Monday, Tuesday I don't have a university of Ghana class, but I do have two
night classes with our Calvin professor, Wednesday I go to Intro to African
Studies (this is my African dance class, no the dance portion hasn't started
and no I will not allow recording of such dances). Now Thursdays are my
favorite days, I don't have class until 3:30 pm so I don't have to set an alarm
and the class I attend is my favorite. I'm taking Tropical Biogeography where I
am able to geek out about rainforests and Savannah Plains and all the
animal/environmental facts that come with that! Definitely in my element when
it comes to that subject! Now what do I do with all the free time? Honestly, I
spend most of it trying to escape the heat by lying around with friends and
hanging out. We have watched a significant amount of the show Homeland, we
spend time eating meals together (we have a weekly meal with Tracy and her
family), and we also have been able to explore campus and the surrounding city.
Weekend in Adenkrobi:
Many people in Grand Rapids don't realize that
we have sister cities across the globe. Luckily for us studying in Ghana, there
is a sister city of G-Rap called Adenkrobi, just an hour from Accra. Years ago
the Calvin College program got connected with Daniel Okwabi who lives in
Adenkrobi and ever since the groups have been able to do homestays with Daniel
and his family. This past weekend Abby, Krista, Olivia, Kallie and I were able
to stay there. Unfortunately, Kallie broke a small bone in her foot while
playing a game of volleyball with teachers from the local school...prayers for
dulled pain and quick healing would be great. Kallie and Olivia left early so
the three of us experienced most of the weekend by ourselves. Considering
Daniel is an incredibly busy man, his friend Ataaba was in charge of showing us
around town. Ataaba is by far the best part of the weekend; he has
such a gentle and genuine soul! On Friday we went out into the community and
visited the chief, the oldest man in the village and the local school. We were
able to engage the kids through volleyball. We started a volleyball game with
some of the teachers and this is where Kallie hurt herself. We took a brief
break to handle that situation. That afternoon much to our surprise it rained.
Yes, ladies and gents, it rained. In the middle of the dry season there was
around 15 mins of rain! I can't describe the elation Krista, Abby and I felt.
We stood in the rain with Daniel's two youngest daughters and just soaked it
in. There was even thunder! Once the rain ended Ataaba took us around the
community again to meet people and watch them cook food. We were able to
pound cassava root (used for fou-fou), stir/whip banku,
taste kenke, pound palm fruit and stir many other things. It's
deceptively hard to stir and mix these different things and I can assure
you that we gave many people quite the laugh when we tried. Having the chance
to walk around the community to learn and participate in how they live every
day was such a blessing. Ataaba topped off the night with a walk to
the ridge of the mountain to see the entirety of Accra. The view was
breathtaking. The four of us stood at the top of the ridge in silence. I'm not
sure what the others were pondering, but I was pondering the magnitude of life.
I was standing in that one place looking down on a huge city where life was
occurring just as mine was. After the cleansing rain and the refreshing view I
can say that God put me in my place in that He showed me once again how small I
am and how gigantic and powerful He is.
Saturday day morning we were able to go to a
craft market where traditional crafts from all over Ghana and even neighboring
countries are made and sold. I purchased a smock that is traditionally worn in
Northern Ghana then I modeled it and other Northern fashion items for Daniel.
Daniel also borrowed other clothes from venders so that we could model
them for him on Sunday. Boy was that an experience. We dressed up and modeled
for a solid hour and a half in the midday sun. We laughed and goofed off
and made quite the fools of ourselves, but hey, it was a ton of fun!
I desperately needed this weekend of thoughtfulness, rest and time
spent off campus. Being with a family does more for the heart than
you would think. I am recharged and ready to continuing taking on life here at
the University.
Clarification: (Feel free to ask me questions if any come up)
Amongst my group members we've had many
discussions about what our role is here in Ghana. I am first and foremost an
international student at the University of Ghana. I want to clarify that I am
not doing missions work in this country. While this has been a difficult
transition for me I believe it is much healthier for me and for people I
interact with here. I am not here because I think I have the solutions to
Ghana's development issues. I don't have those answers and I probably never
will. I am here in Ghana to learn from them. I know my friends and professors
here will teach me so much more than I will teach them. I want to break the
stereotype of Americans. I am not here to change their way of life and force
our Western values, ideas and attitudes on them. On the other hand, I am not
here to mess around, party every night and get into trouble. It is about time
to bring light to the fact that Africa has been stereotypically and poorly portrayed
to many Westerners. Africa is not a land of despair whose people cannot change
their circumstances. Africa is not a desert wasteland with hut villages. Yes,
there are areas that look like this BUT there is so much more to this continent
and it's people. I live in the middle of an urban city where people drive cars,
have the same technology that I have and not to mention running water, electricity
and wifi. I have classes with people who far exceed my level of knowledge. All
that to say I am not in Ghana to "save" it, I am not a missionary
here and I certainly not here to reinforce American stereotypes or to add to
Westerners misconceptions of Africa. Rant over.
On a lighter note...
Letters:
I love letters and cards so here's my address if
you feel inclined to write me :)
McKinley Lewandowski
c/o Calvin College Programme
Institute of African Studies
University of Ghana
P.O. Box LG73
Legon, Ghana
This could be considered a bribe, but if you
write me you will get a postcard from me!
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