Our Own Trotros

Last weekend a group of us girls decided we'd go on a much needed beach day. We wanted to visit a place called Big Milly's which had been recommended to us by many people. We knew it was in the general area of the beach we visited a couple weeks ago called Bojo Beach, which is about an hour from campus. We figured we would grab a trotro to the general area then attempt to find a way to Big Milly's. Most of us didn't want to plan this trip down to the minute because the majority of the time things don't go according to plan.
I'll explain what a trotro is and how they work. Imagine a passenger van with a sliding door, then add 17 people, a driver, and a caller. These callers are normally guys my age who hang out the door of the trotro yelling where they are headed to. It's their job to get people in the trotro.
Since we left so early in the morning on a Saturday we were able to negotiate with an empty trotro to take us right to the place we were going. Normally trotros take you to a stop/juncture, then drop you there and you walk, take another trotro or grab a taxi. Since they were willing to take us straight to Big Milly's for a fair price we hopped in their trotro and we were on our way. These guys were super friendly and funny. Big Milly's ended up being farther from Bojo Beach than we thought it would be and the caller of the trotro was worried that we wouldn't be able to get back to the main road to hail a cab or get a trotro so he offered to pick us up when we were done. We said we'd stay until 3 and they could pick us around then. 
That never happens. They have their designated routes and they don't stray from that, so the fact that these guys took us way out of the way to Big Milly's then offered to pick us up and take us all the way back to the university was insane. Of course we agreed to have them pick us up and that's exactly what they did. 3:30 rolled around and we see our trotro coming down the street.
If there's a story that describes Ghanaians perfectly, it's this one. They were worried for us. These strangers who picked us up were worried that we wouldn't be able to get back to where we needed to go. That wouldn't happen in the States. Ghanaians care about everyone they come in contact with, no matter how short or impersonal the encounter is. That's something I'm very grateful for and something I am learning from.

Updates Upon Updates

Tomorrow is March 1^st, 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! 

Registration Frustration

As a student at Calvin, who has registered five different time each with its own set of terribly annoying problems I can now say that I am incredibly thankful for our registration process.
At the university this past week we had to go through orientation and registration, welcome back to being a freshman, except as an international student. Anyway, here's how it worked.

Step one of registration was to figure out what classes you wanted to take. This was done by going online and looking at the course catalog, the classes had to be level 200-400 and needed to end with an even number. I was able to find classes that looked cool and fulfilled Calvin core requirements or requirements for my major/minors.
Step two, walk to all of the departments of the classes you wanted to take to see if the list of second semester classes was available. Keep in mind that Calvin is tiny and it takes 5 mins to walk anywhere on campus, whereas at the Univeristy of Ghana is a massive school and walking takes about 30 mins in the least. One of the frustrating things about registration was that not all departments had the list of classes being offered this semester up. We registered on Wednesday at 11:30 and very few departments had their lists up.
Step three is when I actually registered online in the computer lab of the International Programs Office. That was simple and pretty straight forward process, however, you sign up for as many classes as you can because you can add/drop later.
Step four was to walk around to the departments again to see if the table tables for the classes had been posted, hoping and praying none of the classes you wanted to take conflicted with each other. These lists were not all up until the day before the first day of class.

I am thankful for the process because it forced myself and many of my group members to let go of the reigns and to just go with the flow. It was frustrating and nerve-wracking, but full of patience and grace as well. On to the actual going to class part.
We were warned many times that the first day of school/classes is not as important here as it is in the States. One of the professors helping us during our time here said that many professors do not show up to the first class. That's inconceivable for us students from Calvin. I show up 15 mins early to my first day of classes at Calvin. Today, four of us went to one of the classes we signed up for only to wander around trying to find the lecture hall which we did. We were the only students waiting for that class and the professor never showed up. We left and headed back to our dorms.
If anyone is curious, I am taking five classes total this semester. Two of these classes are being taught by Tracy Kuperus the Calvin professor who is here with us and three are U of G classes. As a group we are taking an Intro to African Studies class which is comprised of 3 week intro to African history, 3 week overview of gender in Ghana and the last 6 weeks is an elective of choice. Most of us chose the African dance class. The other two classes I enrolled in are History 112 which is selected historical topics and the second class is Climatology which I am incredibly excited about!

Something to Think About

I am a 20 year old, bi-racial, Christian, American woman.

This interim, I was able to go traveling throughout the country of Ghana. The national census states that 17% of the population identifies as Muslim. While the overwhelming majority of the country is Christian. Being born in 1995, I have lived through the shift in Christian/Muslim relationships. I watched the towers fall on 9/11 and I've watched horrendous terrorist attacks in cities like Paris and San Bernodina California. If anyone in the United States should have tainted views of Muslims, it should be people from my generation. 

This past week I had the pleasure of touring the oldest mosque in Ghana. Our guide told us that the community surrounding the mosque is 100% Muslim. I walked around that community in complete safety. As an American, Christian woman I strolled through an entirely Muslim community without a worry in my mind. The people were so incredibly welcoming and curious about why we were in their town and their country. Why is it that when a woman wearing a burka in Walmart she's cussed out or avoided and even afraid for her life, but when I walked through a Muslim community my hands were held by young girls and the people warmly welcomed us?
It makes me sad that Christians and Americans generalize those who practice Islam. Yes, there are extremists who use their religion to justify their unthinkably horrific actions, however, that does in no way reflect upon all members of Islam or people with middle eastern roots. I hope my experience in the welcoming and joyous Muslim community can serve as a checkpoint for how Americans respond to Muslims and Arabs in our community. 

Hello from Kumasi

Well, 

Let me tell you. It has been an adventure for sure. I'm not quite sure where to start. We have been traveling around the country and listening to lectures. The trip began in Akropong where we listened to lectures at Akrofi Christaller Institute, went on daily excursions and stayed at homes in the community for a couple days. 

The family we stayed with was incredible! They were so generous and welcoming towards these two strangers coming to live with them for a couple days. Our host dad is a Pastor of the fastest growing church in Ghana, it happens to be the Pentecostal Church in Akropong. His wife Cecilia is a teacher at the local school. Together they have 4 kids Jemimah, Marc, Keszia and Peter. This was a really challenging experience. Having to constantly think about what you are doing and whether or not it would be considered offensive was exhausting. We learned a lot in a very short amount of time. 

From Akropong we traveled to Cape Coast, where we stayed at a stunning beach resort called Brenu Beach. This place was paradise on so many levels. AIR CONDITIONING & WARM WATER! Praise Jesus. These are now a luxury and no longer expected. We didn't want to leave. 

I am now in Kumasi spending the next couple days. Then we'll head up North this week. 

I'll try to blog soon! 

Prayers for health as we travel to Tamale and Bolga these places tend to wreck havoc on bodies unfortunately. 

Sorrow

As I'm stressing with finals, packing and saying goodbye, I'm overcome with a sense of conflict. As an active part of my Calvin community I'm finding it hard to leave. On Friday I will say goodbye to my closest friends after busting my butt on a final and wrapping up my packing. I will leave a house I moved into only a couple months ago that rapidly became a home. I will have to hug my incredible housemates and best friends Hannah, Ashley, Luci and Katie for what will be the last time in upwards of nine months. I'll leave KG until we meet up to go on this insane adventure together. I'm torn between wanting to stay here and wanting to go adventuring in Ghana. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real thing. The thought of my friends living life without me here to watch is disheartening.

It's now, when I'm faced with goodbyes, that I realize how much life I have lived, how many people I've invested in and grown to cherish, and how important this all is to me. Leaving on Friday will be difficult, hopefully no tears are shed, but that probably won't be the case. I'm oddly thankful for the sorrow that the thought of leaving brings me. That sorrowful pit in my stomach means I love this place, it's people and the time I've spent and will spend here. 

Like the great A. A. Milne once said "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

To all my friends I won't be able to hug goodbye, I'll see you on the flip side. 

Ghana, I'll see you in 19 days...

What Am I Doing in Ghana?

In less than two months I will heading out on a new & slightly intimidating adventure in the West African country of Ghana. This is a semester long program created, organized and ran by the Calvin College IDS (International Development Studies) department. I will be headed to Ghana on January 4th and I will not return until May 30th. For those of you who have no idea where Ghana is, here's a map:

I will enrolled as a student of the University of Ghana which is in Accra the country's capital! This means that along with classes taught by my Calvin Professor I will also be taking classes with Ghanaians and that are taught by Ghanaian professors. Our group will be living on campus in the International students dorm, hopefully we will be placed with Ghanaians roommates as well. We get the chance to travel around the country during the month of January in order to see more of Ghana's landscape.

On top of being incredibly excited and thrilled to spend 5 months in Africa, I'm finding that I am extraordinarily nervous due to the fact that is it five months in Africa. The thought of creating life long friendships with people from the half way around the world is amazing. I know I will be sad to be missing things at home including my 21st birthday, The Superbowl and of course my friends and family but when else would I have the incredible privilege to study and live abroad?