I am now into the 4th week of classes, so I now somewhat have an idea of how classes are run. Lectures are once a week for 2 hours and tutorials are once a week for one hour. However, nobody goes to tutorials so I am looking at 8 hours worth of school a week. As far as grading goes most of my classes rely only on the final exam and a midterm. Outside of these big tests it looks like I will only have 2 group presentations and one paper. Yes, that’s right, ONE PAPER. After this easygoing semester I will be dreading going back to Berry where I have 6 or more papers a semester. Overall I have enjoyed my classes. I have been learning a lot about religion and development in Ghana. Even though the lectures are 2 hours I find myself engaged for the majority of the time.
As I have seen more of Ghana I found myself wishing that I were studying to be a doctor or teacher, rather than a missionary trainer, because these positions are so needed. The literacy rate is only 60% for all of Ghana and most towns outside of Accra do not have any form of medical care. Needless to say I was finding my choice of career a little worthless because it does not meet important physical needs. That was until I met a girl at my hostel.
This girl has the goal of converting everyone she meets into a Christian, which I might add is a good goal to have, however her methods only cause people to avoid her. I was with a group of friends when she approached and made everyone stop what they were doing and listen to her preach the gospel. And boy did she preach. My friends that had valid questions were shot down and denied. For her there was no room for discussion about the fact of God existing. I had heard my friends talk about this girl before, how she preaches and condemns rather than discusses God and Jesus. It was at this moment I realized that what I want to do is important. You see, her method of sharing the gospel may work in Ghana but to American students she seemed condemning and forceful. Ghana culture is very spiritual; it always has been, so most likely she has never met someone who doesn’t believe in a God therefore she does not know how to minister to them. This encounter was the first time I saw a tangible use for what I am studying. Up until this point I just thought training missionaries would be cool and, in theory, useful. While I may not know where I am going after I graduate, I do know without a doubt that I am doing what God wants me to do.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Update
I am sorry that I have not updated in awhile. I am going to try to cover a lot of ground in this blog. So here we go.
I have received a roommate. I would tell you her name if I could spell it. We get along very well which is a big blessing. She is from Accra so she knows a good deal about the city. Some people have had a hard time getting a long with their roommates because of the cultural differences but so far we have not had those problems. I would attribute this to both of us being abroad before.
Ever since I was sick I have been careful about what I am eating. For the most part I have been having rice, chicken, fruit, and an occasional egg sandwich. I have stuck with these foods because they are not spicy. However, I am growing tired of the same foods over and over, so I am going to have to branch out soon. My roommate is determined to help me do this and teach me how to cook.
The ISEP group went on a trip to the Cape Coast 2 weekends ago. We went to Cape Coast Castle and a national park. The castle was originally built for the slave trade by the Dutch then it later changed hands into the English. It was a very sad to see where thousands of humans were treated as animals and sold. The next day at the park was lots of fun because we walked on a rope bridge on the canopy of the rainforest. Unfortunately I did not see any animals.
This Sunday a group of us went to an American bar to watch the Super Bowl. It didn’t start until 11:30pm so I was up until 3:30am. While I am not crazy about the Super Bowl (especially since the Falcons didn’t make it) it was nice to be around other Americans enjoying something from home.
I have recently made a discovery of fast Internet. Now most people would not consider it fast it is a great improvement. I am determined to download some of the messages from a conference I went to. Currently I have been downloading for 30 minutes and have 1 hour and 30 minutes to go. And to think I thought Berry College had slow Internet.
Because a lot of students do not come the first week of classes there was not much lecturing. I am going to update on classes sometime next week once I receive the syllabi and things settle in.
I am going to close out this post by sharing some of the cultural differences I have come across in the past weeks.
• Ghanaians are very hospitable therefore, a greeting could last 10 minutes
• You cannot eat while walking
• White people get a lot of attention
• Ghanaians like to keep their rooms clean
• You cannot use your left hand
Here is a link to my photos for those of you not on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106284&id=1116150099&l=092bd6f0df
I have received a roommate. I would tell you her name if I could spell it. We get along very well which is a big blessing. She is from Accra so she knows a good deal about the city. Some people have had a hard time getting a long with their roommates because of the cultural differences but so far we have not had those problems. I would attribute this to both of us being abroad before.
Ever since I was sick I have been careful about what I am eating. For the most part I have been having rice, chicken, fruit, and an occasional egg sandwich. I have stuck with these foods because they are not spicy. However, I am growing tired of the same foods over and over, so I am going to have to branch out soon. My roommate is determined to help me do this and teach me how to cook.
The ISEP group went on a trip to the Cape Coast 2 weekends ago. We went to Cape Coast Castle and a national park. The castle was originally built for the slave trade by the Dutch then it later changed hands into the English. It was a very sad to see where thousands of humans were treated as animals and sold. The next day at the park was lots of fun because we walked on a rope bridge on the canopy of the rainforest. Unfortunately I did not see any animals.
This Sunday a group of us went to an American bar to watch the Super Bowl. It didn’t start until 11:30pm so I was up until 3:30am. While I am not crazy about the Super Bowl (especially since the Falcons didn’t make it) it was nice to be around other Americans enjoying something from home.
I have recently made a discovery of fast Internet. Now most people would not consider it fast it is a great improvement. I am determined to download some of the messages from a conference I went to. Currently I have been downloading for 30 minutes and have 1 hour and 30 minutes to go. And to think I thought Berry College had slow Internet.
Because a lot of students do not come the first week of classes there was not much lecturing. I am going to update on classes sometime next week once I receive the syllabi and things settle in.
I am going to close out this post by sharing some of the cultural differences I have come across in the past weeks.
• Ghanaians are very hospitable therefore, a greeting could last 10 minutes
• You cannot eat while walking
• White people get a lot of attention
• Ghanaians like to keep their rooms clean
• You cannot use your left hand
Here is a link to my photos for those of you not on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106284&id=1116150099&l=092bd6f0df
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