Maps, classes & such ;)

Hello family and friends!

Here's my draft (soon to be improved) map of Cape Coast…. It’s very roughly to scale, I think/hope. In the future there will be fishing boats and sea creatures named Eric & Kofi in the water. Also, “town” is generically over there where Kotokuraba and Kingsway are… those are the two main parts of town. That’s the geography I’m least sure of, but I’m working on it ;) O, and the green part is the University of Cape Coast, where I'm going to school. I spend most of my time on the science side, but have one class over at Old Site. Next time I post it I'll make it bigger, but for now, enjoy :)

Classes have actually started now: I’ve attended all of mine at least once. African Traditional Religion is getting better. I think that at this point the professor understands better where I’m coming from… though the class gets a huge laugh out of little things and taboo topics from Ghanaian culture that I don’t know about. Jesus in the African Context is good & looks to be extremely interesting in the future, but (through a complete misunderstanding) I offended a classmate on the first day. I’ve tried to explain myself and make amends, but I’m not sure that I’ve completely recovered in that person

y sight yet. It’s tricky. She thought I was demeaning African Traditional Religion (not the class, but the whole topic!) but I wasn’t :( Arg.

I had Muslim Ethics today for the first time, but next week that class will happen on Tuesday during the day. The method here for arranging classes is slightly frustrating for various reasons, but also understandable considering the way that classes must be approached: the pattern of requirements and the sheer number of students that have to be taught mean that lower level classes are fixed and that upper level classes will be shifted on a dime. But apparently people like to travel here on the weekends… so *everything* gets crammed into Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. At the moment, I have nothing of an official nature whatsoever on Thursdays. My one required class on Fridays happens at the precise time when it would be most useful for me to work at PPAG (Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana). C’est la vie.

But back to Muslim Ethics- I’m really excited about it. I have very little background in Islam for a religious studies major, but apparently I think I have plenty for this class. I think I’m going to learn a lot (I already have through just one class), and the professor has a gentle but straightforward manner contributes to a pleasant class environment. Plus, the other students seem really nice. I was *so* lost, and was about to give up & simply hope that the professor would see me and pull me along whenever he came (this is the third week I’ve tried to go to this class. Little did I know that the professor had been traveling this whole time), but my classmates pulled me in & made me feel welcome. I was/am so very grateful. Also, it’s remarkably refreshing & comforting to be called “Sister”. Occasionally the seminarians will call me “sister”, “sister Esi” or “sister Rachel”, but today my classmates in Muslim Ethics also used this word, saying “Sister, we will see you next week”. Mmmm. Honestly, that class made my whole day better.

I wish I had time to write about everything… but I will try to post again on Sunday. In the meantime, I love you all very much.

Future topics:

Ghanaian school dress & hairstyles

Taking cabs around town

Dancing in Ghana (I got to dance in church! It was awesome).

Hissing at people to get their attention

Standing out as a white person in Cape Coast

My daily routine (this will come as soon as it finally solidifies ;))

The water situation

The litter situation

Gye Nyame (this is so cool, look it up on your own if you have time).

I say tomatoes, you say tomantes

And, awesome things from home that I’ve been reminded of while here:

Clothes drying on the line in the summer

Picking tomatoes

Picking up pawpaws, put them in your pocket ;)

What Grandma and I learned from watching the show on the travel channel

Seth Brazelle from Piedmont

Remembering that I know two other vibrant blonds: Ryan & GaYoung

Good times w/ Brock, Sylvia, Kevin & Dana in their apartment this summer

CCC. All of it, but especially JYC 06 ;)

WtHCon (I was thinking about you all…)

Puppet ministry at church

Kristi & Ian’s new baby Kylie, and all the other awesome kids at church

The little ones at Centenary UMC

And dancing. O, what I wouldn’t do for some blues dancing ;) Well, I wouldn’t go home, that’s for sure. I’m having a marvelous time, and as you can tell from the above, still learning a lot :)

Be well, all of you, and thanks for caring!

Much love,

Rachel Rose