Vandal City

      Not once but over ten times now I have been sitting in my room quietly studying when all of the sudden it sounds like a bomb goes off outside. The thundering boom is followed by the sound of drumming and banging pots accompanied by the chanting of a mass of men. I look out my window already knowing who the culprit is by now. The Commonwealth Vandals. The Vandals are my brother dorm. We are known as the only all-male and all-female dorms which have a prestigious reputation so naturally we would link up. The Vandals are notorious for being leaders but also troublemakers. I wish I could tell you what the reasoning is but I have now witnessed over ten Vandal parades. A crowd of around two hundred men wearing their signature bright red shirts, or no shirts at all, surround the perimeter of Volta Hall chanting in Twi, banging pots and pans, drumming, and setting off cherry bombs…this would NEVER fly in the United States. They proceed to break through the Volta gates and gather in our courtyard where they fly a huge red flag with a phallus emblem, classy right? After having their fun they eventually dissipate back up to their dorm. Commonwealth hall is located at the top of the hill on campus where their sign “Vandal City” overlooks the rest of the dorms. No girl should ever wear red (as I have learned the hard way) near the dorm because they will hoot, holler, and harass you with song and dance putting all eyes on you. Just an interesting fact: the Vandals used to be a secret society but the group was disbanded due to problems in the past. You are not allowed to film them and they commonly wear masks in order to hide their identity because it is believed that men admitted into Commonwealth Hall are the future leaders of Ghana. This week the Vandals have marched on our dorm twice and lit fires throughout campus due to their frustration over tuition raises. Some of my friends informed me that two years ago the administration cancelled final exams after the Vandals “poop” bombed the testing area. The crazy part is apparently things are calm now.   

            Friday night I went to an educational movie event hosted in the International Programs Office where we got free snacks wahooo! The movies were one of the jaw-dropping awe inspiring documentaries that left me wondering, what am I doing for the world? The first movie was called Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai. The film takes place in Kenya and surrounds the life of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai whose “simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights, and defend democracy.” Unfortunately Maathai passed away this past week but her impact will most definitely not be forgotten in Africa. The second film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell follows the story of courageous Liberian women who came together despite religious difference to end a civil war and bring peace to their devastated country. This film was especially interesting to me because a) I am learning about the formation of Liberia and b) I have encountered many Liberian refugees during my time in Ghana. I plan on visiting the Liberian refugee camp with one of my friends who works there. If there is any way you can get your hands on these gems it will definitely give you a whole new perspective on the world.

            

 Saturday I woke up at 6AM to tag along with my Ghanaian friend, Ama, to attend an event called “The Merryfest” put on by her church in the Eastern Region. Two buses sat in the parking lot outside Volta waiting for students from the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana to load up. The beginning was painfully awkward because Ama is a social butterfly and she left me, the lone obruni amongst a hundred Ghanaian strangers, to fend for myself. Luckily when we were boarding the bus a big Ghanaian male grabbed my arm and escorted me on informing me that “I will be sitting with you!” At the time I did not know that I would be sitting in the very back of the bus surrounded by rowdy boys who spent the whole ride drumming and chanting songs that echoed throughout the bus. Just for a visual, none of these boys were sitting. Instead they lined the aisle and squished into the seats, hanging out the windows as they sang and danced away. I must admit, it did not hurt my confidence when these fifty African men decided to serenade me and fought over the chance to sit next to me. I was surprised to learn that the guy who originally pulled me on the bus, Abe, and the rest of the boys all hailed from the University of Cape Coast. Our bus ride was three hours of hot, sweaty, LOUD madness but it was well worth it. We arrived in the Eastern Region at an athletic club that reminded me of the Auburn Racquet Club. The club had a real volleyball court, an empty swimming pool, two nice hard tennis courts (not dirt), and a soccer field. I was the only girl who joined the boys and played volleyball and they sure had no mercy. The best part was by far tennis, though. The boys all chuckled and heckled me when I walked onto the court in my sandals and wearing a little sweater. One of the boys challenged me and by the end of the match we had quite the audience gathering…apparently it is rare for a girl to be able to compete with a boy. I ended up serving hundreds of balls as the boys switched off and tried to return them. After tennis one of my opponents kept making excuses with a guilty smile and promised that someday somehow he would drive to Accra for a rematch- I told him it’s a deal! The strangest part of the Merryfest event was being a celebrity for the day. Everyone wanted a picture with the obruni- most of the time I did not have a clue who the other person in the picture was with me. Of course I had to stand up in front of everyone at one point with a microphone in hand and explain my reasons for being in Ghana. Lunch was delicious- jollof rice, chicken, and salad covered my plate. My little posse and I sat on the grass and joked away. One interesting aspect of Ghanaian culture if food sharing. Five of the Ghanaians were sharing some banku and fish which they just grab with their hands- no silverware and rip some meat and eat away. They forced me to try it and I must admit, not half bad. As I sat on the grass eating my rice one of the guys I had met earlier popped out of nowhere, grabbed my fork out of my hand, helped himself to some of my jollof rice and then washed it down by demolishing my chicken- perfectly normal behavior in Ghana, seriously! Whenever you sit next to a stranger who is eating they will always say “you are invited” and you can dig in without feeling rude. After eating was the football/soccer match. Ghanaians are serious about their football. Each team had jerseys- Cape Coast in red and Legon in blue. They even bought a trophy for the rivalry match. As usual, the match started with a drumming and dancing warm-up. Then the game. Ghanaians are so fast and athletic I am always in amazement. The ball ended up popping halfway in but we found a replacement and continued. The tie game ended in penalty kicks that felt as tense as a World Cup Match. Finally, my own team booted one more in and the goalie blocked one of the opponent’s goals to seal the victory. The Legon squad danced away with the fans jumping along as the Cape Coast boys walked away bitterly. During the game I sat with some Cape Coast girls who got a kick out of my accent when speaking Twi and guaranteed that they would find me a Ghanaian boyfriend by the end of the day. The four hour drive back in traffic gave me a chance to solidify my new friendships. Even though a good portion I will never see again considering they attend a university hours away, my own campus at Legon is starting to feel much smaller due to all the new people I have met.