Where did you go (where IS it), how long was your visit, and why?
I studied abroad for 5 months at the University of Ghana in West Africa (in between Togo and Cote d'Ivoire and right under Burkina Faso). The University is located in Legon, a small "suburb" of the capital city of Accra.
Cultural facts, please:
Ghana’s population is around 24 million. I would say that most of the country is Christian, although there are a number of Muslims. Most people still hold on to some traditional beliefs as well. Adinkra symbols are used to express different emotions or communicate wisdom or lessons (i.e. the gye nyame symbol mans “accept God” and is prominently displayed on posters, taxis, businesses, etc)
The food is spicy! They use a tiny red pepper in almost all of their foods, so not a lot of variety but very spicy. My very favorite dish was red-red; beans cooked with lots of pepper with a side of fried plantains. Yum! Other traditional dishes are kenke, fufuo, and banku – each made with either ground up cassava, maize, or plantains. It comes out as a mushy ball (sort of like sticky mashed potatoes) and you just pick off pieces with your fingers and dip it in soup. Messy, but so so good!
The easiest way to get around in Ghana is on tro-tro’s, their public transportation system. It’s surprisingly efficient and very cheap! A ride on a tro usually consists of very close quarters, marriage proposals, trays of dead fish in your lap, and an occasional goat nibbling at your ankles. Definitely miss the tro-tro’s!
Most difficult cultural adjustments:
My situation might be a little different than others I was with. My most difficult cultural adjustment stems from an experience I had – I encountered a pretty scary situation the first night I was in Ghana which destroyed my trust in the people. While I usually approach situations trusting until proven otherwise, I started my time in Ghana with a wall built up to the people. I didn’t necessarily even realize it was there until it started to break down and I realized how much I had been shutting out and refusing to let myself love or discover. So I would say learning to trust was my most difficult hurdle, one I did not think would be a problem for me.
Favorite story:
Such a hard question! There are so many things that flashed through my head when I read this! The one that probably baffles me the most and still gives me chills a little bit though: For a couple weeks I’d been trying to get together with a man that I had only been introduced to on facebook but was a Chiropracter who had attended Palmer Chiropractic in Davenport. We were ‘introduced’ (via facebook) because of a trip I’d taken to Madagascar and his hope to initiate his non-profit there. It hadn’t worked out yet though and I had basically given up hope that it would.
My friend Ryan and I headed to beach miles outside of town one day. We’d never been there and it ended up being quite the trek to get there. By the time we arrived it had clouded over but we were still determined to spend some time by the ocean. There were only three other white people on the beach. Would you believe that it was Jay, the chiropractor and some of his coworkers?!
I ended up telling him about this children’s home that I’d hung out at a couple times. One of my last weekends there I showed him where it was and introduced him to the kids and the staff. The adjusments he made that day on the children made huge differences! He ended up moving back to the area a few months later and did regular adjusments on the children and community members in the area. All stemming from a chance meeting on a beach in Africa :).
Trip highlight:
Again – so hard! Three things popped in to my head, I hope you don’t mind if I quickly share them all... Easter Sunday a few of us spent the day at a Leprosarium on the outskirts of Accra. A leprosarium is a home for lepers, only a few of them still exist. It was incredible to spend the day hearing their stories and seeing how they live. They were possibly some of the most generous people I have ever encountered and had such a positive and refreshing outlook on life. It was truly beautiful.
I worked at a children’s home in the Volta Region of Ghana called Hardt Haven Children’s Home (www.hardthaven.org) It is an incredible facility for children with HIV/AIDS. I fell in love with the kids there and learned so much from them. It was definitely the hardest saying bye to them.
Finally, a few friends and I took a couple weeks off of school and made our way up through Burkina Faso, in to the Dogon Country in Southern Mali, and ended up in Timbuktu, on the edge of the Sahara. Besides seeing AMAZING sights and meeting wonderful people, we all learned a lot about each other, ourselves, and the cultures we traveled through.
What did you learn about yourself?
I came away with an intense confidence in myself, that I had never possessed before. My semester there allowed me to discover so many things about myself. Everything we did just tested our limits so much. Before, when I had been uncomfortable emotionally or mentally I was able to count on my physical surrounding or material possessions to provide comfort. Or when I was uncomfortable physically I could count on my emotional stability to calm me down. However, it’s when both of those things are taken away, when you’re neither emotionally or physically comfortable that you’re really tested and able to discover so much about yourself.
Favorite Souvenir:
Hmm..couple options. Either a bomb leather bag I got for a steal on the beach in Kokrobite or the ring that our friend Abua made for me in Timbuktu inscribed with a traditional Tuareg good luck symbol.
Essential travel item:
Journal – don’t dare try to travel without one.
Where next?
Excellent question! I’m in the process of applying for some internships either in DC or California. Meanwhile, I’m waiting to hear back from the University of Leeds in England where I would complete my Masters in Global Development and Education. So, we shall see!
What is something you wish the WORLD knew about Ghana?
I just want to take everyone I know there! They are a welcoming and loving culture; they see everyone as their brother and sister.
After coming back though, I was introduced to an issue that I wasn’t aware of during my stay there. Ghana is one of the world’s major suppliers of cocoa. However, child labor is still prominent on the cocoa plantations. Children are kidnapped, purchased, or coerced in to working on these farms; often the children are from neighboring Burkina Faso or Mali, a little farther north. I was mortified when I learned about it and could not believe that I lived so close to that and didn’t even know.
THANK YOU JESS!
I hope you all enjoyed the first of many travel stories!! Happy weekend to all... xoxo
