University of Ghana

I suppose I should talk about The University of Ghana, Legon. I mean, this is kinda where I live, study and spend most of my time so it's almost unacceptable that I haven't even mentioned anything about it yet.

This university is fairly large and it's situated on a sprawling campus, I have to walk nearly a mile to get from ISH to the Physics department for example. I certainly don't mind the excessive walking that is required being on this campus, but thinking ahead in terms of hydration is a must.

When I finally do arrive at my classes, the rooms are only furnished to minimal standards in terms of what an American would expect: a chalkboard, some benches with an attached table and if I'm very, very lucky, a fan. But of course these lecture halls are quite luxurious by Ghanaian standards.

One of the best lecture halls in the Chemistry Dept.

An interesting thing about the buildings here is that there is no true indoors. All the corridors are open and only the most important offices are outfitted with air conditioners. Another feature of this university which is different than most american universities is the library, which is the centerpiece and crown jewel of the university. The Balme Library is at the center of the university campus and features the most intriguing architecture due to it's huge significance to the students. In the US the library is a great place to study and a good resource for reading materials, but here, it is the only resource. Not many Ghanaian students have computers and ordering books from amazon is out of the question. If you want to read up on your classes you go to Balme, thats it.

Balme Library

All in all I really like the University of Ghana, but classes are just getting underway so I'll have to wait on talking about my opinion of the way classes are conducted.

On a side note related loosely to the educational system, I spent the day volunteering at a school in Madina which provides tutoring and additional support for the primary school students. I had a great time and hopefully I will get an opportunity to spend a couple days a week there. I didn't bring my camera so I'll wait on writing more about the school until I have pictures and more stories.