Overall, I've been feeling much better. No more antibiotics and I had a good conversation with Rachel and Seecho about my food. They have decided to either make my food separately or just wait until I get home to find out what I want to eat. They are also allowing me to make my own breakfast and serve myself. One thing about Ghanaian people is that they never want you to be hungry, often being heavier is a sign of wealth and therefore if we are heavier it means we are being well taken care of. However, starches fill up your stomach faster and I can't eat as much as they usually serve me and I don't want to waste it so this is also a major step forward. I'm also beginning to learn my way around the kitchen...this morning I was concerned that I wasn't going to have breakfast since I the cupboard where we normally keep the bread was locked but luckily they showed me where the key was today haha. This morning I had Milo which is just like hot cocoa and some bread and a banana. I'm trying to incorporate as many fruits and veggies into my diet as possible since starches really don't provide a lot of nutrients and that is the basis for most meals. For now I'm eating mostly American like food-fried chicken, potatoes, fried rice, cereal until I can train my stomach to tolerate more spice and Ghanaian food.
Classes started on Monday but I have only had two lectures total this week so far out of the five I tried going to. Many of the professors and students alike don't expect people to come to class this week so it's mostly been obrunis (foreigners). I'm hoping to actually have more classes tomorrow because Friday I don't have any classes!!
My mom has told me a few times that I need to start taking more pictures which I know I do but I just haven't found a lot of picture worthy things yet. I have a hard time taking pictures of the street vendors and market people because it feels rude, making a spectacle of their occupation. I wouldn't go up to a banker here and take his/her picture so I don't want to take pictures of these people who work hard all day trying to sell things to put food in their children's mouths. So I probably won't take a lot of those pictures but may post some taken by other people in my program. I'm still going to try and take more pics...
Here's a picture a fellow CIEE student took of the Night Market on campus. This is a place really close to the dorms where you can buy literally everything. Toiletries, cleaning supplies, fruits and veggies, egg sandwiches, other hot food, shoes, bags, anything.
One thing you may have noticed is that my life still seems pretty modern. My family has internet, electricity that runs pretty steadily, water, tv, multiple cars, etc. At first this wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to be as far away from American culture as possible to fully get the experience that I've spent so much time, money, and effort to come for. However, after being as sick as I was, I am extremely grateful for my current situation. I am able to live quite comfortably and similar to how I do at home (if you know my feelings on my electric bill, you understand why I have no problem using as little electricity as possible). I think that if I was living in the dorms or in a different situation I might have come home last week just because it was so challenging. But this week is going really well and I am sooo glad that I stayed.
Once again,
I know some of you may have questions for me that may help prompt more blog posts so I know what to write about so if you would like you can leave any questions in the comment section after each post or just email me and I'll try to make sure I can include an answer in my next post!
What are the most common brands of things that you see around? Are there a lot from back home? Coke, Pepsi, etc?
ReplyDeleteWhat food do you miss the most? What snacks do you miss?
ReplyDelete