Thursday, October 28, 2010

“If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. Nothing changes until something changes” -Anonymous

My experience in Ghana has been nothing short of inspirational. I’ve had to step outside of my box and learn how to adjust to a culture that I was unfamiliar with. It has been a challenge but I’ve been making progress each day to learn more about Ghanaian culture and to adjust to living here. I have had to push myself to get out of my comfort zone and try new things and adapt to my living environment. I’ve been more successful some days than others but I’ve always kept in mind that what I am experiencing will greatly benefit me throughout the rest of my life.

Before studying abroad, one will probably hear stories about being abroad and what some of their friends, past students and even parents have experienced on their trips. One will strive to make the best of their opportunity: to travel, to meet people, to try unfamiliar foods, listen to music, learn a language, to volunteer … to do everything in their ability to have a so –called “life changing experience” and to come home with a story to tell. I have chosen to simply make the most of my experiences abroad whether good or bad. I know that I will have a story to tell when I return home and it will focus on how much I’ve learned about myself.

Ghana is definitely growing on me. This is a beautiful country and its culture has provided me with a greater appreciation for life, family, spirituality and time. There’s a lot to learn about and sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed, but I’ve been trying to take in what I can for the short period of time I am here and plan to continue to learn more about the country once I return home.

Time seems to be going by fast. Today, I finally understood why it’s encouraged to study abroad for one year at the same place as supposed to one semester. There’s so much to learn and things to do and by the time one finally becomes adjusted and familiar with their surroundings, it will be time to head home. I lived in Las Vegas for 18 years and I still don’t know everything about it, let alone the state of Nevada, or the U.S., so imagine what it’s like to study abroad in a country for only four and a half months.

I plan to take advantage of what time I have left here in Ghana and appreciate this experience and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to return in the future.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The wait is over

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) finally called off their strike to back demands for unpaid allowances and pay rise. The strike lasted from October 1st-22nd and almost resulted in the university shutting down for the semester if it had lasted over 21 days.

All lectures will resume on Monday. Because of the strike, the academic calendar has been extended. The full-time students will begin taking their exams in mid-December until early January and will begin their winter break in early January and will begin their spring semester a few weeks later. Do to contract agreements, the foreign students will take their exams separate from the full-time students and will have no exams held after December 11th. A new final exam schedule will be coming out soon for both the foreign and full-time students.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

We “gotta” do better

While growing up, my friends and I regularly joked about Africa. It seemed like such a foreign place. A place where many of us knew our ancestors came from, but a place we never thought we’d have the opportunity to go. Whether our jokes came from a general lack of knowledge about Africa or other factors, our jokes were very ignorant. Now that I am in Ghana, I think back on the jokes said as well as what I was exposed to about Africa before coming to Ghana and I have to admit that the media played a large role on my perception of Africa and plays a large role in the lives of the many Americans. Although many Americans have access to public libraries, book stores, the Internet, televisions, radios, people who have traveled to Africa and/or Africans who live in their communities and various other sources of information, many will never research anything about Africa.

Many Ghanaians I’ve spoken to say that Americans think that Africans live in trees and in the jungle with lions and monkeys … and I think that observation holds some truth … it’s definitely something my friends and I joked about “back in the day”. But what I found more interesting is that when I asked these same Ghanaians about the U.S., their perceptions were based on American movies and television shows they had watched. I think many Americans have fallen victim to doing the same.

Through mass media, a lot of quality information as well as ignorance are distributed. If I were to solely base my perception and what I expected my experience in Africa to be like on movies I’ve watched such as “Coming to America”, “Blood Diamonds”, “The Last King of Scotland”, and shows on National Geographic, the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet and a Jamie Foxx stand-up comedy skit I saw on YouTube called “Africaaa can you feel it”, I would have a very skewed perception!

It is vital to seek information from various credible sources, not just the mass media and especially not from only television shows or movies.

I think there is a general misconception amongst many Americans that all people in Africa are living in poverty, have HIV/AIDS and are exposed to wildlife on a daily basis. I think the reason why this occurs, is because many Americans simply lack knowledge about Africa but also because they perceive Africa as a country. So when some Americans are watching a movie such as "Blood Diamonds", they may think that those events are happening throughout all of Africa.

It has been a well worth it experience to come to Ghana and be able to see things from my own lens and not rely on what the mass media decides to expose to me. Hopefully I’ll get many opportunities to share my experiences with others once I return home.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Teachers on strike

I haven’t had class for the last week and a half due to the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) strike.

On October 1st, UTAG decided to withdraw their service to teach at public universities in the country due to an unresolved wage dispute.

Efforts are being made to make sure that at least the international students are able to continue lectures while negotiations continue between the government and lecturers to settle the matter. Most of the international students are only studying here for one semester, so they will need to complete their courses and get grades transferred their home universities. Most of the international students seem very concerned, especially since classes end in four weeks.

The International Programs Office has done a good job at keeping the international students updated on the courses professors have agreed to continue teaching. Luckily, almost all of my professors have agreed to return to teach.

Hopefully the strike will end soon.