Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The end is near

I have about a week and a half left in Ghana before I head home. I have appreciated this opportunity and have enjoyed my stay here and hope to come back to volunteer and vacation/travel.

I will be going home for Christmas break to recuperate before I head to Botswana. I’ve been to 10 countries in the last six months (including two layovers) and have had a lot of great experiences, but I am definitely ready for a break. And I miss everybody back home!!!

I am very pleased with my personal growth and the education, experiences and values I have gained from living and going to school here and I know that I will greatly benefit from them for the rest of my life.

As I mentioned in my first post, I chose to study abroad to better understand my own cultural values and beliefs, gain-vital knowledge in the classroom and in a foreign working environment, be an ambassador to my community, increase my maturity and self confidence, influence an interest in a career path and change my world view. And I am happy to say that I am accomplishing all of those things.

I am looking forward to the rest of my stay in Ghana as well as continuing to learn about the local culture, even when I return home.

I have four exams next week, so I have begun preparing for those and I am hoping that I do well. Wish me luck!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Cultural Excursions

During our orientation program, my International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) group participated in a tour of Accra, the capital city of Ghana, which included a visit to the Madina Market (a very large outdoor shopping market on the outskirts of Accra), the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (Ghana’s first president and prime minister), the National Cultural Centre and the Labadi Pleasure Beach.

Also included in the ISEP benefits were two organized trips.

First, we traveled to the Central Region of Ghana to visit the town of Elmina, where tens of thousands of slaves were channeled through its trading post and to the Cape Coast Castle (used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade). Both trips were quite emotional, very educational and well-worth experiencing. It was quite an experience to walk through the Cape Coast Castle and into the dungeons where slaves were held in inhumane conditions hundreds of years ago, as well as through the “Door of No Return” which was the final point before slaves were taken to slave ships and transported to the New World.

We also visited the Kakum National Park which is completely covered in tropic rain-forest. We were able to walk across the seven hanging bridges there that are 130 ft. high and run over 1,080 ft. at the canopy level.

Second, we traveled to the Ashanti Region of Ghana, where we visited the Kumasi Cultural Center, Bonwire Kente Cloth Weaving Village (where we were taught the history and shown how to make traditional Kente Cloth), Ahwiaa Wood Carving Village, Manyhia Palace Museum (residence of two Kings of the Asante Nation) and Lake Bosumtwi (largest natural lake in West Africa- diameter of 8.5 km).

Last week, I traveled to the Western Region of Ghana with some friends. We stayed at a lodge near the fishing village of Akwidaa. It was a nice get away from campus life and to relax on the beach and buggy board and swim in the ocean. We hiked six miles to Cape Three Points, which is the southernmost point of Ghana. It was an exhausting walk and it was hot and humid but definitely worth it. Once we reached Cape Three Points, a tour guide explained the history and took us to the top of the Lighthouse, which offered amazing views of the countryside.

I had the opportunity to visit Togo a few times this semester. In the capital city of Lomé, I visited Marché des Féticheurs (has ingredients for traditional tonics and fetishes) and Coco Beach. I also took a taxi-moto ride to the top of Mount Agou which is the highest mountain and point in Togo (3,234 ft.) The ride to the top was absolutely beautiful.

In the summer, I plan to visit Cote d’Voire, which borders Ghana to the West, but I hope to return to Ghana after my study abroad semester in Botswana. There are still several places I would like to travel to.

I’m looking forward to traveling in Botswana next semester because it is a natural game reserve for most animals found in southern Africa and because of its close proximity to South Africa and Victoria Falls, which is located between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

One big learning process

"Life is not about achievement, it's about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy, and so forth. And so if that is the case, then I think our goals should include something which stretches us." - Jack Canfield

Within the last few days, I’ve learned the attitude I should have when studying abroad, how to prepare for the experience and what it takes to enjoy living in another country. And honestly, I feel like I came unprepared and too closed minded into this experience. I am very accustomed to my home living environment and comforts, and being abroad if anything has really exposed that. I’ve never taken myself as an adventurous type or someone who likes to try new things. I’m quite social in most settings but very guarded and to myself in others. And my guarded attitude has really hindered my experiences while studying abroad.

Students considering studying abroad in the future, be aware that you may have to get out of your comfort zone and not hold on to the person you were back home. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining your morals and values while studying abroad, but if you are similar to me, you’ll really have to get out of your personal bubble. I've found the most joy here in Ghana when I have tried and experienced new things and really put forth effort to learn more about the local culture.

I have been blessed with an excellent opportunity to travel and get out and explore, so that’s what I plan to do during the rest of my time here.


Before leaving on my next journey, I’m going to set some goals, goals that stretch and help me get out of the shell that I have built around myself. Because without doing this, I’ll never really grow and experience all that life has to offer.

I’m excited and looking forward to my travels, adventures, learning experiences and personal growth and I’ll make sure I continue to share them with you.

Monday, November 1, 2010

My experience and observations as an international student


Being an international student has taken quite some time to get used to. It feels like being “the new kid” at school. You have to start from scratch and learn a new curriculum, style of teaching, campus and school community.
I’ve met a lot of people since I’ve been here, most of whom are international students due to my living environment. Meeting Ghanaian students has taken more effort because they don’t come up and talk to me while I am on campus, unless they are students I've already met. As far as making friends, as a guy, it has been easier to befriend Ghanaian girls and for most of the international girls, it has been a lot easier to befriend Ghanaian guys. A lot of my international friends who are girls seem to find it quite difficult to befriend the local girls. I always mention to them that they still have an advantage over male international students because local guys they meet take them out to dinner, clubs and around the city all the time. And believe me; my friends take advantage of most of these opportunities. They always tell me that they are not “gold diggers”, they are just not going to pass up a free meal!
As for the campus environment, there is no sense of urgency. Everything runs on a term my program group coined “Ghana Maybe Time (GMT)”, which is a play on the words Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). It’s hard to tell when anything will start here. It’s actually worse than CPT (Colored People Time) for those who are familiar with that in the states. You can expect just about everything to start late, including classes, meetings, appointments and events.
Classes here usually meet once a week for two hours as opposed to Monday, Wednesday and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday (MWF, TR) which I was accustomed to at USU. My classes are a lot less challenging than those I’ve taken in the states. I haven’t received any homework and have only had one quiz since I’ve been here. I have participated in two group projects which I must say were quite difficult to accomplish. Working with 7-10 people who had different schedules and factoring in GMT when it came time to meet made the process quite difficult. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, final exams are usually worth the majority of a student’s final grade, so more emphasis is put on preparing and studying for finals exams than there is on homework, quizzes and midterm exams. Not having homework, quizzes or tests on a regular basis has made me feel quite unproductive. Although I don’t really care for any of them, not having them consistently like I am used to makes me feel like I’m not doing anything. It can be boring at times but I am learning how to enjoy my free time and use it productively.
There is a large Christian population on campus. I feel like I’m going to school with 30,000+ missionaries. Someone is always inviting me to church. It’s obvious that the majority of the students here love God. This campus actually feels holy. The students here praise the Lord the way adults do at my home church in Las Vegas and it’s impressive to see in person. There are church services, prayer meetings, bible studies, choir rehearsals and other church related functions happening throughout each week. On Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, I always hear the graceful melodies of church choirs who are either in rehearsal or church service. I usually see small and large groups of students in prayer circles around campus each day on my way to and from class. As I was walking home from a restaurant on campus around 11 P.M. this past week, I came across a group of nearly 30 students who were speaking in tongues on a grass field. It was astonishing to see this happening, especially so late at night. Although the religious presence on campus is overwhelming to some of the international students I've spoken to, I find it rather comforting.
The majority of the local students dress well. Their casual is what we refer to as “dressing up” in the states. At first, I thought the local students were just trying to show off and were overly dressed up for the first few weeks of class. But I soon learned that dressing well here is standard. Many of them have the impression, “you never know who you’ll meet, so you want to look presentable at all times.” A lot of the guys wear dress slacks and a collared shirt, either short or long sleeve and dress shoes. Others usually wear shorts or jeans with a t-shirt and sandals or a style of shoe that best resembles Keds. Many of the girls wear long skirts, dress slacks or jeans with a trendy button up short or long sleeved top, polo shirt or short sleeve shirt and either flats or trendy sandals (especially gladiator sandals). Most of the local students have conformed to these particular styles of dress, so they look quite uniform and it's impressive to see everyday. The way many college students dress in the states would be considered inappropriate here. Wearing sweats, basketball shorts, flip flops (which are considered shower shoes here), tank tops as well as revealing clothing will bring a lot of unwanted attention to you here whether you are a local or international student.
The local men stay well-shaved and their hair cut low to their scalp and neat (a fade). It’s uncommon to see men with cornrows or an afro. Dreadlocks are common amongst the Rastafarian community here in Ghana, but aren’t a style commonly worn amongst students. Many of the women wear their hair permed, in braids (micro or cornrowed) or natural (unprocessed).
There is not much cultural diversity on campus. My tables definitely turned; from attending a predominately white university to a predominately black university with more than twice as many students. I have noticed many similarities between the campus culture here and USU, especially the religious influence.
As far as the overall experience as an international student here, it is what you make of it. For example, some USU students “bleed blue”. These students genuinely love the USU campus community and environment. They participate in campus activities, join clubs and organizations, volunteer, attend Aggie athletics games, go sledding down Old Main Hill, love Aggie Ice Cream, become True Aggies (and even Ultimate Aggies and Extreme Aggies), strongly dislike in-state rivals BYU and the U of U with a passion and overall seek opportunities to do everything they can while a student at USU. There are also students at USU who aren’t into all of that “bleeding blue business”. They’d rather attend classes and SI’s, then go directly home, do their homework, then order a pizza, bundle up under their blankets, watch a movie and “call it a night”. Each of these students will have significantly different college experiences but they each will have the choice as to how they spend their time in college. The same factors apply while studying abroad.