if you want to learn about culture, raise your hand...

Finally, my schedule is set! After four weeks of classes, my schedule is as follows:

English: Literature of the African Diaspora
taught by a politically correct former Cornell professor, African American woman. Likes to call on people at random to summarize the stories we have read. OF course, she called my name on the first day. Luckily I had read. Studying W.E.B. DuBois (who died in Ghana as a Ghana citizen), Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Malcom X, etc. Interesting mix of white americans, african americans, europeans and ghanians that makes for fascinating discussions. a ghanaian asked, "why is the color of peoples skin so important in america and is that the only basis for racism?"

Poli Sci: Political Economy of Colonialism
Taught by a lively indian-ghanaian man who talks REALLLY fast! Loves political economy and says it 100 times per class. The class is a mix between him dictating from a polisci book just slow enough for us to copy it down (and everyone does) and discussion and explanation. The concepts range from extremely basic (political economy is the intersection of politics and economics) to really challenging (the radical vs. materialist interpretations for the economic motivations for imperialism...what??)

French: Francophone African Literature
Prof. is a flamboyant, very French ghanaian man who has an accent that is really easy to understand. Our reading list looks great, featuring authors from Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Senegal, but so far the class is moving slow. For example, we discussed "what is literature?" for the entire first two hour class and "what are forms of literature" in the second class. things are picking up and that is the only class where group projects are required. I am the only obruni in that class, and everyone is eager to help me figure out where the readings can be picked up and logistics like that.

religion: religion in ghana
fascinating look at traditional african religion and how it morphed into christianity and islam in ghana. great mix of old traditions and explanations of new religious fervency. the teacher is a large old grandpa of a ghanaian man who ends every other sentence with "and so forf".

polisci: ghana from colonialism to independence
the teacher still has yet to show up for a lecture. i do have the syllabus though!

dance
LOVE THIS CLASS! every night when i go i get so energized and am so happy for the rest of the night. we dance and look like total idiots, but it's okay because as oni says, "we will laugh at you, you will laugh at us, and then you will laugh at yourself". we sweat A LOT (100 people in a pretty tight room) and the six-drum-band keeps us going for an hour and a half!

we just returned from cape coast for the afahye festival, which is a traditional festival celebrating the new year. So it was pretty much like new years at home- a HUGE parade with all the chiefs and queen mothers, dancing everywhere, drinking beginning at 10 am, music, parties on the street all night. The chiefs were sitting in couch-like chairs that were so beautifully decorated and the couches were held up in the air on stilts, supported by younger men below. As regal as they looked, the chiefs were still dancing up there in their chairs. At one point, our group had to walk IN the parade to get somewhere and I'm sure we were quite the spectacle. 50 obrunis walking awkwardly as everyone around us danced and had the best time. The old ladies bumped hips with us and the young men grabbed our hands, trying to get us to dance. which we did. it was so much fun and such a cool insight into a really authentically ghanaian experience.

peace and love