Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie – I came with no expectations

Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie – I came with no expectations

Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie

I arrived in Basel in September 2016 and it was my first time in Europe. I came with no expectations, I was ready for any experience that awaits me, and I have had thrills of experiences. My first impression of Basel was the calmness of the city and how that shapes everything that goes on. The calmness produces warmth and security which can almost be felt tangibly. You immediately feel welcomed as you walk out of the airport into an orderly and highly organised city of Basel.

Basel is a city highly organised in terms of transportation. Coming from a place where cars-being commercial or private- are the major means of transportation, I was struck by the many use of bicycles as private means of transportation and the bus and tram system for commercial use. Many of my colleagues and even lecturers come to school on bicycle making movements easier and experiencing less traffic on the road. The city tram and bus system is so efficient you can easily organise you day and schedule around them. They are always on time as shown on the display at the stop and it times of delay, you can bet it will not delay past two minutes. This is one experience that continues to fascinate me about Basel.

I love the conservative traditional look of Basel. Basel is noted for art work and this is expressed through their buildings as well. The old city gate-Spalentor- is one of my favourite places, I cannot explain why but observing the art of the construction of a city gate feels great and “ancient”. It connects you to a story that is old but feels resent. The Munsterplatz and the various protestant churches whose clocks churns every hour, vibrating through the city to be heard everywhere is my timer. I love how the city is a fusion of modernity and tradition.

Another thing I fancy about the organisation of the city is the community parks. Every community has a park which allows for all kinds of outdoor games for adults and kids as well as training. The community park in my vicinity is my training grounds during summer and early autumn. I love the green nature, the neatness because they are always under maintenance and out of my regular use of the place I have struck friendship and acquaintances with fellow trainees and workers of the park.

Talk of relationships, Basel offers a cultural mix of people from different backgrounds. Basel is a community of people from all over the world and this is one of my thrilling cultural experience. From my hostel to the school to the church, I meet people from various cultural and racial background and we form a community instantly. My church is a small English church of less than 100 members, a survey was taken latter part of 2017 and it was revealed the membership is made up of almost 60 different nationals. That is Basel! So diverse but communal. It shapes your thinking and makes you opened-minded when dealing with people. Living in Basel, the world becomes the point of reference and not any specific country or culture.

Presented by:
Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie, Doctorate student, Centre for African Studies (Sociology)

Aïdas Sanogo – Blessed and Lucky

Aïdas Sanogo – Blessed and Lucky

Aidas
Aïdas Sanogo

I was blessed and lucky to get a twelve-month scholarship from the Oumou Dilly Foundation to fund my fourth PhD year at the University of Basel. This funding allowed me to stay in Basel to pursue my doctoral studies.

The city of Basel, located right between Germany, France and Switzerland, is a beautiful town, which has a lot to offer. There are about 40 museums for culture lovers, the opportunity to swim in a clean river (the Rhein) or attend the Fastnacht festival, which one of the numerous world-renowned cultural events held in Basel on a yearly basis. Plus thanks to the city’s geographical location, within the same day, it is possible to have breakfast in Switzerland, lunch in Germany, and dinner in France, by bike. These are just a few examples of the amazing opportunities of fun activities the city has to offer.

Personally, fun activities in Basel are synonymous to online activities. The amount of my after-work time spent on social media made me realize how much I relied on Internet over the years, to keep in touch with friends and family members. My life in Basel has then been shared between professional activities and zillions of phone calls made through Skype, WhatsApp or Facebook.

During my Oumou Dilly scholarship period, I published three articles in the Basel Papers on Political Transformations, and organized a workshop on African secondary cities, together with a colleague from the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Basel. I also attended the European Conference on African Studies, organized in Basel in 2017. It was a nice experience to reconnect with other colleagues that I had had met formerly in other academic meetings. For once, I was not the one constantly asking for directions, I was rather the one pointing them the right direction to their buildings or their panel rooms.

 

Aïdas Sanogo

Aïdas Sanogo

Aidas

Aïdas Sanogo is currently enrolled as a PhD candidate at the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Basel. The project she is working on, “Corruption, conflict and cities in West and East Africa” is led by Prof. Till Förster and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, The Oumou Dilly Foundation and the Forschungsfonds of the University of Basel. more

Amal A. Abdrabo – Joining the Center for African Studies

Amal A. Abdrabo – Joining the Center for African Studies

Amal
Amal A. Abdrabo

Joining the Center for African Studies at Basel University in Switzerland as a visiting scholar on a six-month Oumou Dilly postdoc fellowship (2017-2018) was a great opportunity to expand my academic and personal perspectives. „Amal A. Abdrabo – Joining the Center for African Studies“ weiterlesen

Victoria Osei-Bonsu – My Basel Experience

Victoria Osei-Bonsu – My Basel Experience

Victoria Osei-Bonsu
Victoria Osei-Bonsu

I first arrived in Basel on the 4th of October, 2013. It was another kind of experience for me! Even though I had already been to France, to the US and was a regular visitor to the UK, I still could not help but have a cultural shock upon arrival in Basel. For one thing the language was different. Apart from English, I speak passably good French, and some Spanish. But here I was faced with German, or, to be more precise, a variety of Swiss German known as Basler Deutsch; and I had no idea what people around me were saying or what the announcements in the buses and trams meant. Bottom line: I was lost!!! And I was a little scared. But I meant to make things work out for me here. I was going to literally take the bull by the horns with or without a knowledge of the language.

So, I started by taking courses in German, only to find out that my course load was so packed that I could only manage a single semester of A1 (A Eins)! Then I decided to go to the open market – the Flohmarkt – more often so I could hear the language in use and practice from there. That helped a bit and I realised that gradually I could make some meaning if I listened carefully or politely asked people to repeat themselves a little more slowly. And I could also make myself understood using very basic expressions.

It took me a while to establish a social life outside of my little flat. But once I did, I was eager to explore more and more of the region as and when I could. I am not much of a party person, but from time to time I attended fun parties organised by friends I had made. I also took time out to visit other places such as Bern, Zurich and Geneva. In the Christmas of 2015 I joined the Anglican Church; and I so enjoyed their services that I kept going back as it catered to my spiritual needs. With the Church I went on other very enjoyable excursions that took me walking in mountainous regions and enjoying pure pasture.

Towards the end of my stay in Basel, I was sure I was going to miss the region once I left the country. I was also certain I would always carry great memories of the City with me wherever I went. Afterall, my second daughter was born there and my husband and I cannot help but think of her as the Basler in our family!

Valentin Bognan Koné – Mon expérience à Bâle

Valentin Bognan Koné – Mon expérience à Bâle

Valentin Bognan Koné

Mon expérience à Bâle, dans le cadre de la préparation de ma thèse, financée par la Fondation Oumou Dilly, mérite d’être appelée le tremplin de mon ouverture sur le monde. Cette opportunité m’a permis de quitter mon cocoon ivoirien et de vivre une aventure enrichissante en connaissances scientifiques, mais surtout linguistique et culturelle. „Valentin Bognan Koné – Mon expérience à Bâle“ weiterlesen

Zoumana Sidibe – A Photographer in Ghana

Zoumana Sidibe – A Photographer in Ghana

Zoumana
Zoumana Sidibe

My Name is Zoumana Sidibe, I am a photographer currently in Ghana. I am here for a 6 months training in English sponsored by the Fondation Oumou Dilly; I am studying at the Centre of Languages and professional studies (CELPS). The first month I was in a class of 20 students from different countries. This integration has an important moment for me to learn and share experiences.

For some years, Ghana has become the hub for French and Arabic speaking students in West Africa who want to learn English. The capital of Ghana, Accra is one of the most expensive cities in West Africa. Notwithstanding hundreds of francophone students come to learn English every month. Most of them come first to learn English, and after that they do professional courses in, for instance, accounting, bilingual secretary courses, Computer Studies, etc.

The majority of the language schools are located in Alajo, and 50% of student stays in this neighbourhood. Ginding accommodation is one of the challenges foreign students face in Accra. At the beginning life here was not easy for me; I first stayed far away from campus before I later found accommodation near my school. At this point I was lucky to stay in house where the landlady was a retired teacher, so she listened to me all the time and corrected errors in my pronunciation, grammar and expressions. Initially I had difficulty in speaking and understanding English, and it was not easy to me to go for shopping alone. My desire to speak motivated me to attend classes and I did my best to improve my English. Then life in Accra became easier for me, I got many the Ghanaian friends and friends other West African countries. One of my friends was a teacher at our school; he advised me and recommended books to me.

I later joined the computer department of our school to learn 3D Animation and technical vocabulary on photography. My Beninese classmate was interested in photography; he is a graphic designer so we shared our experiences and ideas of setting up a business together in the future. Each school has its own English club, which isone the platforms where students practice English. Every Saturday I attended the English club to participate in different activities to improve my speech.

At the end of studies, I participated in an excursion to the central region of Ghana, Cape Coast. We met a tour guide who explained to us the history of Elmina Castle; the first Castle built by colonial masters in 1482. We also visited the University of Cape, and the Kakum National Park.

Ghanaians are hardworking, especially women, they are everywhere in both the formal and informal sectors. I liked Ghanaian dishes so much like; Banku, jollof, foufou and others.

Zoumana Sidibé

Zoumana Sidibé

Zoumana

My name is Zoumana Sidibé, born October 28, 1989 in Bamako, Malian by nationality. I am one of the young photographers of the new generation in Mali. I have been passionate about images and drawings since childhood. I continued this passion by visiting the photo school “Cadre de promotion pour la formation en photographie“ (CFP) more

Victoria Osei-Bonsu

Victoria Osei-Bonsu

Victoria Osei-Bonsu

I am an Assistant Lecturer at the Department of English of the University of Ghana, Legon, where I teach courses in English Literature. My areas of research interest include Comparative Literature, Postcolonial Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender Studies. more

Mamane Sani – La première fois je quitte mon pays

Mamane Sani – La première fois je quitte mon pays

Souley Issoufou Mamne Sani
Mamane Sani

La première fois je quitte mon pays était pour aller en France. Un grand saut pour quelqu’un, anthropologue de surcroit qui marche pour la première fois au-delà des frontières de son pays. C’était le premier d’une succession de séjours alternés entre ce beau pays et mes terres d’origine. „Mamane Sani – La première fois je quitte mon pays“ weiterlesen