Environmentalism?

Things have begun to normalize on campus. Everyone is moved into there rooms, lectures have started and moved past the syllabus, and I am starting to develop some kind of routine. I am attempting to mix courses between the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Sciences, which may prove to be a risky move. Unlike universities at home that allow students to pick and choose courses from just about every discipline, the registration process is much more rigid here. I would say that the main cause of the inflexibility is the disorganized and poorly connected nature of the University of Ghana. Not to say that the level of instruction is inferior to colleges in the U.S just that the school is incredibly underfunded and staffed making a streamlined scheduling system nearly impossible.

For now I am offering (that is the Ghanaian terminology) courses in both the Department of Geography and Resource Development and the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries. The University does not have a department dedicated to the study of environmental science or policy, so I am doing my best to mix and match classes that have some environmental relevance. In my honest opinion, after roughly two weeks of class, I'm undecided about the quality of the instruction and material of my lectures. Keep in mind that the United States has had over 40 years of experience dealing with environmental legislation. In contrast, Ghana has been a democratic country for just over 50 years. Therefore, the country is in the earliest stages of drafting environmental policies and the ability of the government to plan and implement large scale projects is limited. Not to mention that the country has an illiteracy rate of nearly 60 percent and almost 30 percent of the population is currently living underneath the poverty line. As my friend Kina said so poignantly, "environmentalism comes after breakfast." I think there is a lot of truth in that statement. I've often heard my instructors at UC Davis say that environmental policies are a luxury of the wealthy class and the more developed world. How can you really expect people to care where and how they dispose of their waste if they are surviving from meal to meal. It's a difficult question to answer, but I feel like Ghana is at least beginning to take the necessary steps to approach the problem head on.

The internet cafe is shutting down so I'll have to revisit this topic next time. Just remember it is a privilage to have the capacity to recycle your newspaper and drive low emission vehicles...use it wisely.

A Question of Faith

I came to Ghana with as few expectations as possible in order to be open and objective towards the new culture I would be emersed in. It's important to leave your baggage at the door so to speak, in order to experience life from various perspectives. I feel that I have been successful in doing so, but the one thing I constantly get hung up on is the question of religion. Before leaving, I knew that Ghana was a deeply religious country, with the majority of the population involved in the Christian faith. Like I said, I knew Ghanaians were religious people, but in fact I had no idea of the level of their piety. Along with everything else, being here has me seriously questioning my own beliefs about the legitimacy of the supernatural world, of god, and the creation of mankind.

Religion is practiced in a different manner here. Ghanaians are not Sunday Christians by any means. They recognize god and the occult realm in every moment of every aspect of daily life. Unlike academia at home where there is a stark seperation between education and religion or science and religion, the two coexist in Ghana. It may be subtle, but it is there. A professor might say something like, "God willing we will discuss the topic of biodiversity next lecture." Therefore God, religion, whatever is evident everywhere and always. Being surrounded by religiousness is one thing, but being inundated and indoctrinated by it is something completely different.

My first serious and unwarrented account of an attempted conversion was last Sunday. While the rest of the country was in church or on their way I decided to sleep in until about 9:00 a.m. On my way down to get some breakfast when a fellow student said to me, "why weren't you in church this morning." LIke he knew me or something. To which I responded, "because I'm not a Christian." He asked, "well then what faith are you?" "Actually I don't have a faith" "Well haven't you heard of Jesus Christ?" "Yes of course I have." "I want you to believe in him." Tired of being quasi-attacked about my lack of faith I said the first thing that came to mind, "Oh well that's nice." The conversation ended at that point, but I continued to replay the encounter for the rest of the day.

I guess the thing that is hard for me is answering the question, "why don't you believe in Jesus Christ as your lord and savior?" How do I put that in words? How do I explain my belief in non-belief to someone whos beliefs are backed by an ancient and easily understood book. They have chosen sides and never looked back. I am realizing how important it is to be able to explain your opinions, values, beliefs, whatever you want to call them. Even if you believe in nothing you should have a valid argument and a clear understanding of nothingness. I won't figure out the answer to the question stated above any time soon. For me there is no rush, but I will continue to go over it and discuss it because I do believe that with self-realization comes great insight and empowerment. For now I'm going to do some thinking and when I come back hopefully I'll have a few more things to say on the subject of religion

The bucket shower

It has been exactly one month since I first set arrived in West Africa, Ghana to be precise. writing that now makes me realize how strange and unfamiliar time feels here. I feel like I have been away from home for an eternity, completely cut off from my old life and at the same time like I just left. I have had that sensation before, but it feels more extreme here, probably a byproduct of being in such an unfamiliar environment. I would like to apologize for waiting until now to account for my experiences in this foreign land. I guess I am partially apologizing to myself and then to all of my friends and family who would love to know what life in Ghana is all about. Actually I have no idea what life in Ghana is all about, but I can tell you what I have seen, heard, and felt so far.

It's probably better to start with the present and then slowly fill in the gaps as we go along. So lets see... Sunday, August 23, 2009 was a great day, not overly exciting, in fact it was quite similar to any other day back in California. The only exception being that everything I did took place here in Ghana not in California which gives even the most ordinary events a unique twist. Lets take for example the act of washing your body; a common occurrence that usually takes place without much thought or effort...that is to say if we are in the California context. Here in Ghana something so mundane is actually quite different. First of all my dorm building has not had running water since last Monday making the showering process a bit more involved. Instead of simply turning on a knob I (and everyone else) had to walk down four flights of stairs to the reserve tank outside, fill up my three gallon bucket and carry back upstairs to the bathroom. Then using a makeshift device constructed by cutting a water bottle in half I proceeded to shower via bucket and water bottle scooper. Don't take this account as a complaint because its not, bucket showers come with the territory and there is nothing wrong that. In fact its yet another great exercise in patience. I realized today that coming to Ghana is like stepping back a few years and in some cases many more than that to a time when everything wasn't available instantly and the most basic luxuries were not guaranteed. I have heard time and time again that I am part of the "now" generation, a generation of impatient twenty something year-olds that expect everything at the touch of a button. In my opinion instant gratification is a dangerous addiction that breeds a false sense of the world. Therefore, my lesson for today would go something like this: its o.k. if you have to fetch water for a bathe at least you have water to fetch.

Until we meet again.