Another school post

I spoke too soon! I guess my medical social work professor changed his mind and decided to show up for the fourth week of school after all! So i gotta drop personality and behavior (YESS!) and add medical sowk (regardless of the fact that the deadline was two weeks ago. Things sorta just float like that here). A classmate called me at 6:15AM (!!!) to tell me the class was back on. But man, after sitting in on lecture, I've decided that sacrificing my three-day weekend for a two-hour lecture on Friday afternoon is completely worth it. My professor is frikking hilarious! In another life, he would be a professional comedian. And he's one of those people who can stimulate belly laughter while barely cracking a smile on his face. Which makes it ten million times better. He's also an excellent lecturer, although I foresee myself getting picked on a lot because I'm the only Obruni in class. Like last week for example,

Prof: "Now see, we are forunate to be the way we are, where we are. Mosquitos. I get bit 200 times, and i MAAY get sick. HER? (points finger at me) 10 BITES! DEAD!" as he slices an open hand through the air to emphasize my impending doom. "And look at our skin. Dark, which protects us from the sun. HER? (points finger at me) (dramatic pause) SKIN CANCER," he says matter of factly, "Thank you. See you all next week."

Ahh...so looking foward to Fridays.

Here's an interesting thing to note about school culture. Back home, i've so often woken up at 11:20 for an 11:30 class, rolled out of bed, and gone to school in my pj's. Something along the lines of sweats and a tshirt, with my hair ungracefully pulled back into a ponytail or something. That wouldn't fly here. well, i suppose it could, but the person would look absolutely ridiculous among the trendy students at UG. Girls get done up: hair, blouse, nice bottoms/skirt/dress, shoes/purse/jewelry. Guys typically wear button up dress shirts or polos with jeans or dress pants. I, along with most of the other Obruni's look and feel like complete scrubs compared to everyone else. We're just this gross, sweaty mess, in tanktops, shorts, and flipflops, with our hair put up in who-cares-what-as-long-as-it's-not-in-my-face. I have no idea how the Africans dress so nicely with the heat! I've been trying to make something work with the scrubby clothes I brought with me. =P I have only just gotten used to wearing jeans during the daytime heat, and am busting out my skirts and dress that I originally brought for special occasions. I'm definitely due for a shopping trip...aka...time to get ripped off at the market.

Lecture styles:
Classes are usually held once a week for two hours (and I thought one hour was long enough. =P ) It takes some time getting used to the professor's Ghanaian accents. (i was extremely tempted to take a boring social welfare class for the mere fact that the professor had an American accent.) I have to concentrate really hard during class to understand what my profs are saying, which is good because it forces me to stay awake (although their accents are becoming easier to understand as time goes on). Sometimes, not even the motivation to understand my professors is enough reason to fight off the Ghanaian heat which makes me feel so lethargic and sleepy. No air conditioning in the lecture halls (except in the business department..?!?!), only a few measly ceiling fans. Most lecturers use the dictation method. Professors basically read straight off their notes word for word slowly, repeating themselves if necessarily, while students sit at the desk furiously writing down every word. This can go on for the entire two hours. Whew! Most of my professors also lecture for a bit and incorporate discussion on top of dictation, thank goodness. Students here are studious and take school seriously. I believe it is because they highly value their education since many people do not have the opportunity to receive/afford high levels of education.

I have so much to be thankful for!