(no subject)
10 Sep. 2008
Greetings from Ghana. May God grant you his peace.
We arrived
here late last Wednesday evening, almost exactly one week ago, after
30+ hours of traveling. We were welcomed by persons from the Kwame
Nkrumah Institute for African Studies, and also given a reception right
away at a nearby hotel by some emissaries and officials from the Ga
West district, with which Grand Rapids has a sister city relationship.
After this we moved into our lodging and slept. Six days of orientation
followed, including various tours around campus and the Accra area, a
Twi lesson, health and safety briefings, and a two-day stay at the
Akrofi Christaller Institute for Theology and Mission. We heard some
excellent lectures on: primary religion and its relationship to
Christianity in Ghana, Christian-Muslim relations in Ghana, and
customs, courtesies, and gender roles in Ghana. Our group, consisting
of 17 Calvin students and 1 Calvin professor, also did some intentional
get-to-know-each-other sort of stuff there.
We are staying in one of the two International Student Hostel
buildings on the Legon Campus of the University of Ghana, which is the
premier university here. I have a Ghanaian roommate whom I have enjoyed
getting to know a little bit in the short time that we have shared a
room together.
I don't believe Ghana is a very imaginable until you have been
here. The same probably goes for any country and continent. I don't
think that I am one who goes into situations with a lot of precise
expectations, but I do find that things here are both more majestic and
more strange to me than I had expected. And perhaps I could say that I
am more of a stranger here than I had expected to be.
One of the most striking things about this place is the dirt. It is
usually a red-orange color, and packs into a firm but somewhat dusty
layer wherever traffic is heavy. Where traffic is not heavy, it
supports lush green grass or thick foliage, either of which tend to
hide it completely, the large termite mounds excepted.
Besides the dirt, there are plenty of other fascinating things--
Legon campus in general, the markets, people carrying things on their
heads, monkeys (I've seen two), cats (amazing as always), foods, water
in bags, trees and plants, the way in which people dress (very well on
campus), and so on.
It has been a warm welcome, and I am enjoying the time very much.
Our group is solid and we seem to be getting on well together. On the
other hand, building relationships with Ghanaians has proved a
challenge, as might be expected in a new place and a different culture.
This is slowing breaking, but especially in the first number of days
when we were traveling in large groups and walking through markets
every day I felt like my engagements with Ghanaians were almost all
primarily matters of economy, because I wear the color of privelege, or
matters of business, because I am new and people get paid to help
orient or serve me.
Another difficulty is names. I seem to have no capacity to recall
Ghanaian names, which I find very maddening. Even those names which I
hear clearly, and repeat over and over both aloud in conversation and
silently in my head, and think I will surely be able to remember, I
cannot recall half a day later. I have made a few good acquaintances,
however, for whom am very grateful.
I am planning on starting up a regular morning prayer opportunity in our hostel. Please pray for me for this.
God is great and beautiful.
Shalom,
-Ross
Greetings from Ghana. May God grant you his peace.
We arrived
here late last Wednesday evening, almost exactly one week ago, after
30+ hours of traveling. We were welcomed by persons from the Kwame
Nkrumah Institute for African Studies, and also given a reception right
away at a nearby hotel by some emissaries and officials from the Ga
West district, with which Grand Rapids has a sister city relationship.
After this we moved into our lodging and slept. Six days of orientation
followed, including various tours around campus and the Accra area, a
Twi lesson, health and safety briefings, and a two-day stay at the
Akrofi Christaller Institute for Theology and Mission. We heard some
excellent lectures on: primary religion and its relationship to
Christianity in Ghana, Christian-Muslim relations in Ghana, and
customs, courtesies, and gender roles in Ghana. Our group, consisting
of 17 Calvin students and 1 Calvin professor, also did some intentional
get-to-know-each-other sort of stuff there.
We are staying in one of the two International Student Hostel
buildings on the Legon Campus of the University of Ghana, which is the
premier university here. I have a Ghanaian roommate whom I have enjoyed
getting to know a little bit in the short time that we have shared a
room together.
I don't believe Ghana is a very imaginable until you have been
here. The same probably goes for any country and continent. I don't
think that I am one who goes into situations with a lot of precise
expectations, but I do find that things here are both more majestic and
more strange to me than I had expected. And perhaps I could say that I
am more of a stranger here than I had expected to be.
One of the most striking things about this place is the dirt. It is
usually a red-orange color, and packs into a firm but somewhat dusty
layer wherever traffic is heavy. Where traffic is not heavy, it
supports lush green grass or thick foliage, either of which tend to
hide it completely, the large termite mounds excepted.
Besides the dirt, there are plenty of other fascinating things--
Legon campus in general, the markets, people carrying things on their
heads, monkeys (I've seen two), cats (amazing as always), foods, water
in bags, trees and plants, the way in which people dress (very well on
campus), and so on.
It has been a warm welcome, and I am enjoying the time very much.
Our group is solid and we seem to be getting on well together. On the
other hand, building relationships with Ghanaians has proved a
challenge, as might be expected in a new place and a different culture.
This is slowing breaking, but especially in the first number of days
when we were traveling in large groups and walking through markets
every day I felt like my engagements with Ghanaians were almost all
primarily matters of economy, because I wear the color of privelege, or
matters of business, because I am new and people get paid to help
orient or serve me.
Another difficulty is names. I seem to have no capacity to recall
Ghanaian names, which I find very maddening. Even those names which I
hear clearly, and repeat over and over both aloud in conversation and
silently in my head, and think I will surely be able to remember, I
cannot recall half a day later. I have made a few good acquaintances,
however, for whom am very grateful.
I am planning on starting up a regular morning prayer opportunity in our hostel. Please pray for me for this.
God is great and beautiful.
Shalom,
-Ross