I'm a African?

Sorry everybody. I know it's been a while, but I'm back. My trip to Kumasi was a success. I really got a lot accomplished. I got a lot of gifts, physically and mentally. Physically, I got some stuff for the family and mentally I got advice from my program coordinator Theresa.
For the past few weeks, I've really been stuggling to figure out where I fit here. I've found that many people here approach the white students before they will even acknowledge me. At first, I just brushed it off. I eventually learned that some people feel as though Black Americans come here to take away from the culture while white americans (or international students in general) come here to be immersed in the culture. Some people believe that Black Americans are stuck up, but I've noticed that this doesn't stop them from embracing American popular culture (black culture in particular). It just really trips me out. I also learned that so much is based off of money here. I've had countless interactions with people that seem somewhat genuine, at first. Then, it evolves into an attempt at a business transaction or a connection for a visa.

Also, I recently attended a play called The Slaves (Revisited) which was written and directed by Dr. Mohammed Ben-Abdallah. The play dealt with the lives of slaves in Elmina Castle and explored people's mixed feelings about slavery. I was really interested in this because Dr. Ben made a comment regarding African-Americans in a book called The Atlantic Sound by Caryl Phillips. He asserted that African-Americans should be the ones to restore historical sites such as the slave forts in Ghana. He also stated that there were many Africans who deserved to be sold into slavery. When I first heard this, I was blown away. I never would have thought that someone who was so close to the region and history of the Gold Coast would make such a harsh statement. If anything, it taught me that the perception of slavery here isn't what I thought it would be.

As far as class goes, I've decided that my Religion and the African Diaspora course is my favorite. Prof. Dovlo is amazing. He's very intelligent and he keeps us laughing. I'm in there with quite a few international students but only three of us are African-American. There's me, Deidra and Ryan. We discussed the course today at lunch and we really appreciated Prof. Dovlo's methods for discussing the culture of African descendents in the Americas. He doesn't alienate us and make us feel like we are distant. If anything, he gives very well researched information that shows how connected we are to Africa. It's definitely refreshing because I'm tired to being called a Black American. I'm an African-American. Many people like to believe that African-Americans and Africans are so removed from each other but it's all smoke and mirrors. More and more, I'm realizing that I'll come out of this experience stronger and smarted because I'm facing obstacles that I wouldn't have to encounter in the states. All in all, I don't think I'll ever fully adjust to Ghana, but I do believe I will have a better appreciation for my heritage.

Higher Learning 4

The saga continues people. I recently suffered financial woes do to a misunderstanding with Emporia State University. After a week of stress and occasional depression, I'm back and in full effect.
I've also managed to eat something else that didn't agree with my body. As a result, I'm on a fruit and rice diet for a few days. No worries though. I'm just learning how to be more careful about my eating habits especially because of the weather and sanitary conditions.
I recently had a conversation with one of last semester's international students. His name is Raheem and he's from North Carolina. I think he's interesting partly because he's the only other black male I've met from the States. He also started learning Twi before he came here so a lot of people think he's Ghanaian. In general though, he's just good peoples. We discussed how our expectations for Ghana didn't really reflect the reality.
Tonight may turn out to be another night at the jazz club. I haven't quite made it to the Hip-Hop and Reggae clubs because that's not really my thing. The jazz club though, that's where it's at. I went twice last week and one night we got to hear some blues too. It was amazing! There were two singers there and one of them sang "Masquerade" by George Benson. If you haven't heard it, you need to call your jazz station and request it. It reminded me of sittin' in the basement listenin' to Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, and Aretha Franklin with my Pops.

Well next week, we go to Kumasi. This will supposedly be our shopping heaven. We'll see how it goes though. The good thing about shopping here is that everything's negotiable, so wish me luck and I miss you all.