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| The University of Ghana |
We
landed and I was ready. Ready to embark upon this journey one day at a time. I
dreamt it would happen, but never this early in my life. I am truly thankful to
have this opportunity to travel and experience this excursion during this time
of my life. Ghanaian people were said to be a people of peace. This aligns with
my state in mind at the moment of wanting peace in my life. It will be
interesting to see how this experience will play a role in my life from here on
out and I am glad to share it with all of you.
“Thank
you for flying with us today” were the last words I remember hearing before
stepping foot into this new chapter in my life. I was in Ghana and there was no
turning back (at least right now). It was around eight at night when we landed in Ghana.
We were in Accra- the capital of Ghana. My classmates and I immediately got off
the plane and into buses to be transferred to their custom services. It was
interesting to see the Ghanaian workers and how they interpreted our presence
in their country. We stood happily in a line that was understood to be citizens
of “Other Nations,” however; we saw another line that read “ECOWAS Nations” as
well. What does that mean? I was unsure, but I definitely was going to find
time to research the meaning behind it. Since ECOWAS was not part of my
vocabulary, I believed it had meaning. The Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) was the answer I later found. This group of nations “is a
regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975. Its mission is to promote
economic integration in "all fields of
economic activity, particularly
industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural
resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural
matters...” (1). Furthermore, shortly after
we entered the streets loaded in a 20+-passenger van. Note that you may be thinking
shuttles or school buses when you read van with that many passengers, but it
was the complete opposite. We were tight in space because of our luggage took
up some of the seats, yet it was very efficient. I supposed Ghanaian do not
like to waste space so they make it work. We soon arrived at the hotel and were
given our room assignments. The rooms were spacious and clean with central air
and cooling systems, which was nice because it was very humid even at 10
o’clock at night. I was not expecting the air conditioning, but I must say it was
a great addition.
The
next day we traveled to the University of Ghana and were introduced to our five
Ghanaian peers. You could tell we were all excited to see each other, but we
did not know how to act towards one another. They were different, we were different,
and we all were aware of the differences we were about to encounter. They later
explained the cultural and social norms with us and we became acquainted with
one another. Before the orientation was over we were given names that were
determined depending on the day of the week you were born. I really had no clue
what day of the week I came into this world, but I said Wednesday so my name
was Kwaku. It was moving to be given a name. It had meaning and history, which
was something I never felt with my American name. As the day drew to a close we
became more familiar with our Ghanaian peers calling them by name and asking
the plenty of questions about their culture, education systems, and opinions on
certain topics concerning mostly Africa’s development.
Thus,
I began to realize this was only the beginning and I have so much to learn
about Ghana and its people. Continue to learn and educate yourselves with me as
I walk and talk with Ghanaian and African people.
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