![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/files\/2018\/02\/blog-2-pic-4-225x300.jpg\")
We walk into our (air conditioned!) classroom for Twi, a language in the Akan family commonly spoken in Greater Accra. After two hours of \u201cMepaaky\u025bw, wo ho te\u00a0s\u025bn?\u201d I have a history class in the main lecture hall on campus. By the time the lecturer finishes, it\u2019s almost noon.<\/p>\n
The sun hits its peak at around 11:30am and doesn\u2019t quit until after 4pm. The temperature often reaches over 34\u00b0C, around 100\u00b0F. It\u2019s around this time that I usually get sunburn because I forgot to put sunscreen in my backpack. Sometimes I don\u2019t even carry my backpack because it just makes my back sweat uncontrollably. Midday is obviously when y’all can catch me at my most glamorous.<\/p>\n
If I don\u2019t have a particularly busy day, I usually stop by Bush Kanteen to get jollof or waakye with roasted plantains for 3 Ghanaian cedi (less than 1 USD) before going back to ISH. If I really <\/em>don\u2019t have a busy day, I do my favorite thing and take a nap while it\u2019s hottest outside.<\/p>\n Before dinner, I bring my laptop or a book down to a long table in ISH where there are usually half a dozen people to hang out and chat with. If I\u2019m hungry there\u2019s a kitchen on the ground floor staffed by three Ghanaian women where they make anything from instant coffee to fried rice to tuna sandwiches and french fries. I might follow a group of folks to the night market nearby for dinner, or maybe just for a fresh mango or pineapple cut up by a vendor.<\/p>\n By that point in the evening, it\u2019s \u201ccool\u201d by Ghanaian standards. It usually dips to 23-25\u00b0C (73-77\u00b0F) and a light breeze moves through the open air hostel. After a cold shower I spend time in my room, reading or journaling or chatting with Emma. I tuck my blue mosquito net under the sides of my mattress and fall asleep to the rhythm of the creaky ceiling fan above me.<\/p>\n ______________<\/p>\n I don’t know if I expected every day here to be a thrill of adventure, new sights and sounds, and amazing new people. It’s true that I think it’s beautiful here, and I’m enjoying myself, and those I’ve met have been lovely, but at the end of the day things feel normal. A normal day in Accra is not much different from a normal day in Chicago – one is just a little bit colder than the other.<\/p>\n I like being a student here. I love that I’ve had the opportunity to take the trips that I’ve taken so far (I think I’ll go into those in a forthcoming post), but I like that things otherwise feel mundane. I think these are the baby steps toward making this new place feel like home.<\/p>\n Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n Until next time,<\/p>\n Anna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first week at the University of Ghana has been surreal, and I\u2019ve found it hard to put my thoughts into writing. I want to be able to share my deep thoughts and reflections with you, dear reader, but the words won\u2019t come. I am experiencing both elation and disappointment, successes and failures, wellness and … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/goglobal\/files\/2018\/02\/blog-2-pic-1-300x200.jpeg\")