The campus

This morning I had the opportunity to run thru the campus. We are the KN Univerisity of Science and Technology in Kumasi. We are not far from the hospital- perhaps 30mins in our bus, given the traffic. Early in the run the sky and air was clear and I could hear birds the the loudest frogs I have ever heard. But after 30mins, the smog and smoke from burning trash gave the air thick quality. I see trash burning every where. Even behind out hotel which is very nice. There is very limited trash collection and people burn trash in piles or in cement boxes. The campus is large but most of the students are on a long break. The African Cup is being hosted by Ghana and the games are being played in Accra and Kumasi. The streets are all cleaned up and posters everwhere. The campus will house many of the teams in the dorms, so the campus will not open until Feb 5th. Isaw a group of players on campus on my run, stretching and running. There were other Ghanian people running too, just like me out there sweating before it got too hot.

I saw the dorms, some pretty old but some very new and nice. They are building all over the campus. New dorms, a new law school, a new technolosy building a new agriculture building and that was just on my run. I am sure there is more. I also saw the art college and the sculpture lab. Next to it was a impromptu sculture garden where dozens of sculture are just lying in the grass. The grass is growing around them and it gives it a mysterious quality. I saw the small health clinic and a new student center that is styled after the newest buildings in US campuses. It is not in use, in fact the lights are still wrapped up in plastic.



The run took me over a bridge over water. The vegetation was dense and lush and the smog was just coming in- and the frogs were singing. After a run uphill to the end of one long road I turned around and went back to our guest house. I ran past the professor's homes (thier names are on the outside of the houses). Very modest by our standards, but they were nice homes with porches, yards with grass and windows. The kids were outside and people where getting ready for church.

It was a nice run and I was happy I did not get lost.

~Stephanya Shear