CAMPUS - The University of Ghana at Legon is a giant, sprawling campus that takes a while to walk across (up to 20 minutes to some buildings from the hostel). While it's no Shangri-La, it has some great sights. Here are some of them...
Great Hall and Bell Tower - The "trademark" symbols of campus (if you look at their website) are pretty majestic, but it's too bad you'll only see them when you register at the start of the year and when you take your exams. Note the Far Eastern architecture and socialist symbols.
Akuafo Hall - They sure know how to decorate a residence courtyard. One of the nicer spots on campus.
Kwame Nkrumah Centre For African Studies - One of the nicer department buildings. Most are not so lavishly decorated and have no bronze statues on their lawn.
Crowd - The campus revolves around a main concourse, parts of which are closed off to traffic. They may not know how much about urban planning, but this street is a winner. Note the giant trees lining the street. Those will come in handy when the sun is high in the sky.
Balme Library - The other "symbol" of the university, it's a fantastic structure and I like studying there, due to its great old-school academic vibe. While it is one of the finest libraries in West Africa, it's a shame that many books get stolen or "misplaced" for it to be truly useful. Sadly, the best books are kept under lock and key and you can only borrow/photocopy them within the library. The card catalogue, photocopy and checkout systems need a major overhaul, so as great as it is, it doesn't compare to Carleton's library.
HOSTEL - The International Student Hostel is the nicest residence on campus and if you are Ghanaian, you probably have to "know" someone to get in. It's pretty decent, save for the odd water/power outage and it's open-concept cubic shape is great for catching cross-breezes, even on the hottest and driest days as well as for yelling out to people across the courtyard. If only it weren't built on the edge of campus! I don't have any photos of the rooms uploaded, but each has a bed, closet, desk, chair, nightstand, and easy chair (x2 for double rooms) as well as a porch/balcony.
The hostel itself has four floors (no elevators - in fact, I have yet to use one in Ghana) each has two kitchens with sinks, elements and a fridge. Each floor also has four washrooms with showers (2 male, 2 female). There is one internet cafe (whose quality greatly varies), a convenience store (the proprietor is quite the character) and a kitchen that makes decent breakfast, lunch and dinner. The courtyard is great for playing football or frisbee.
The higher up you are, the better the view from your balcony. And those West African sunsets are a sight to behold.
Dig those mango trees.
CAVEAT EMPTOR: Now that you've seen the rosy side of campus, it should be warned that not all of the university looks so picturesque. In fact, some of it can be downright dull and depressing. Simple things such as lawns are a challenge to grow, so grass doesn't grow evenly everywhere, if at all. The planning of campus leaves much to be desired, when compared to Carleton's efficient use of space. Most buildings are one or two floors and are built with ample space in between them. You may even walk by the odd pile of garbage waiting to be picked up by the trucks - or worse - waiting to be burned.
Stray dogs are a common sight on campus, especially in the quieter areas. If you are a dog lover, then maybe it'll remind you of home. Just don't pet them if they don't have owners. Here's an example of an open field that couldn't hope to grow anything green on it. Now it's a soccer field.
The other residences aren't as well-equipped as ISH. Their utilities are sketchy and due to the shortage of student housing on campus, there's a common practice of "perching" i.e. renting out floor space to other students illegally, so a room that is designed to house 4 can easily hold 8. While some have a royal architectural flavour, others are more Soviet-inspired and look pretty dull. Consider Mensah Sarbah Hall's Annexes.
Dryers on campus are also a luxury. While ISH residences have a common area for hanging clothes on a line, few other residences have such a luxury!
Also, When the British colonized what was then the Gold Coast, instead of building underground sewers alongside roads, they just built open concrete gutters, so most water/waste on campus flows through them. They're usually dry, but when the rains come, the stagnant water is a great place for mosquitoes to breed (read: malaria). At least the French had the good sense to cover up their gutters. On the lighter side, it's something of a right of passage to fall in one at least once while here!
So you take the good, you take the bad and when you're done, there you have - the University of Ghana at Legon. This is a limited picture of the place, but it's better than the picture I had before I came (which was the website photo of the Great Hall and Bell Tower. Love it or hate it, that's my home this year. Welcome to an African education!
