This morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast and I finally got to try Ghana’s famous mangos. They certainly did not disappoint–with each bite, I felt a little closer to heaven. The papaya and pineapple were also astounding in ways that I cannot fully articulate.

After breakfast, we had orientation with Leslie and Doc. Doc provided some insights into Ghanaian culture, from history, to economy, to social customs, to etiquette. He also told us a few scary stories about malaria, although I suppose it’s not common to hear pleasant malaria stories.

We then piled into the lovely air conditioned bus, in which Doc led us on a tour of the University of Ghana. The campus was sprawling with beautiful greenery, accented with buildings and tiled roofs. It was fascinating to see the campus because while many aspects differed greatly from what we see in American universities, I was surprised by how many similarities there were. I was admiring how beautiful, green, and tall the grasses and bushes were until Doc and Leslie told us about the snake and reptiles that live in them. I will probably steer clear of the grass from now on.

After visiting the university, we went on to a forex store, or foreign exchange market, to convert United States dollars into the Ghanaian cedi. The current exchange rate is 3.10 cedi to $1 USD, so I left the forex store feeling exceptionally rich.
We were then driven to a large mall where Leslie took us to a grocery store that looked almost exactly like one you would see in any westernized country. Once grocery shopping ended, we were back on the bus and on our way to experience something I had been nervous about for weeks: bartering. The concept of arguing over the price of a good is so unnatural when coming from a country where everything has a set price. Besides being told numerous times that bartering is a large aspect of Ghanaian culture, I kept holding onto some illogical hope that perhaps I wouldn’t have to do it too much. Alas, if I want to buy awesome stuff I’m going to have to be brave. We were dropped off at an outdoor market with the mission of buying Ghanaian soccer jerseys, as the Ghana vs. Germany World Cup game was that evening. The minute we pulled up, the shop keepers immediately began approaching the van, calling out to us and trying to entice us to buy their products. After we looked at a few shops, a group of men pulled Megan, Ericca, and me into their shop toward the back of the market. Once we picked out the jerseys we wanted we all looked at each other dubiously, unsure of how to start this interacting. The shop owner, seeing our blank and somewhat concerned faces kindly said, “So now is when we start negotiating.” I know how unexperienced you are at bartering when the shopkeeper actually has to tell you it’s time to start.. Before getting off the bus, Leslie had told us our goal should be to spend no more than 20 cedi on a jersey. The shopkeeper started at around 120 cedi and we ultimately paid 38 cedi. Though that wasn’t as low as 20 cede, he refused to go any lower, even when we were about to leave. We figured it was our first try and we will get better as time goes on, so we were proud of ourselves. Our bartering was a bit of a group effort, which helped us ease into the experience. Ericca got really into it, I think she is going to be a master at this. Once she started using Twi (the local language, which we studied a bit before coming here), they laughed and became more willing to negotiate.

After making the purchase, we spent some time practicing Twi with them and working on perfecting the Ghanaian hand shake, which is a complicate procedure involving shaking someones hand, holding onto it for a bit of time, slowly sliding your hand through theirs until only your fingers are touching, then snapping your fingers as you pull your hand away–all while holding a conversation! Snapping in general takes coordination, so this handshake feels like some sort of hand gymnastics. Hopefully we will get better at this as the weeks progress.

Purchases in hand, we got back on the bus to head home and change before going out to watch the game. Leslie took us to an awesome bar/restaurant called the Living Room, which is not far from where we live. Everyone there was really friendly and we had a great time meeting people and trying all sorts of Ghanaian food. For dinner, I tried a dish called fufu that I had heard a lot about. Fufu is a dough created by ground cassava and plantain, which is served floating in soup and meant to be eaten with your hands. A couple of us tried it and were unsure what to think. The soup was interesting, flavorful, and mildly spicy. The fufu on the other hand literally tasted like raw dough. I gave it a valiant effort but ultimately came to the conclusion that fufu is just not for me.

Once we finished dinner, the game began. As anyone who knows me can attest, there is very little in life that is less important to me than sports. That being said, after tonight I think I might finally understand why everyone finds them so intriguing. Every time Ghana scored a goal, everyone would stand up and scream, dance, hug, high five, blow horns, shake chairs above their heads and generally run around in elation. Though I hadn’t the slightest clue what was happening on the screen, the energy was palpable and it was impossible not to jump up and join in. Ghana and Germany ultimately tied, which means we get to move onto another game and do this again! I can’t wait. When I see people in the US getting pumped up over events such as the Super Bowl, I honestly fail to see the draw. Tonight, however, seeing the patriotism and unity a sport can create for a country, I’m starting to understand the merit. Not to mention soccer is infinitely more interesting than American football.