School Daze

This past weekend I was anxiously awaiting my first classes at the University of Ghana to begin. I was ready to get in the swing of things and figure out a routine.

Not sure exactly of what classes I wanted to take, I went to all the ones that I was interested in to "audit" them before registering.

My first classes caught me by surprise by the teaching style and classroom environment, but I have come to realize that's just how they do it here.

My first class was a political science course called Ghana's Foreign Policy. While the lecturer was actually on time (always a plus in Ghana, and at times a rarity) the lecture hall was huge. I would estimate more than 300 people. There was a disarray of chairs scatterer across the room. Plastic, wooden, steel, some with writing tables, some without. Students just started moving the chairs around, I guess so they could get the chair and position they wanted...

The lecturer used a microphone, which was cutting in and out and was static-y for half the class, so it was hard to understand him at times. What really took me by surprise was the "teaching" that took place. The lecturer stood at the front of the class and literally read from a piece of paper while we copied down word for word what he said. There was absolutely no discussion or analysis of the material presented. There was no powerpoint or hand out so we could visually see the info presented. To me, it really didn't seem effective at all...Just two straight hours of note taking, without any comprehension.

The next class I went to -Conflict and Society in Africa - the professor didn't show up... for the second week in a row. So after a half hour, nearly 300 students left the lecture hall. I was hoping the lecturer would come though because it seemed like an interesting class... There's always next week I guess.. LOL.

My third class for the day was the Media and Society class. This class was definitely more rowdy than the first class. At times it seemed like the professor lost control of the class... so I just sat back and laughed to myself.

A cultural thing here in Ghana is that to get someone's attention a person will hiss at you. So the professor kept doing this... over the microphone. I quickly realized that being hissed at is not something I enjoy. Everyone does it though... so I better get use to it. Another way to get a person's attention is to make the smooching noise with your mouth. A simple, Hey would be just fine, thanks! Haha.

On Tuesday I went to 10 hours of class with only a 2 hour break in between. It was a lot! But every Tuesday won't be like that. I was just seeing a lot of classes. Classes are normally held once a week for two hours at a time.

Next week sometime I need to decide and register for my final two classes I want to take.

This weekend ISEP has a planned trip to Cape Coast and the Kakum Rainforest, so I will make sure to fill everyone in on that!

Have a good weekend!
Mel