Same Love
During my first week in Ghana Same Love by Macklemore came onto my iPhone shuffle. I listened, staring out the…
Get these guys to Eugene
Today, hundreds of students graduated from the University of Ghana, Legon. Two colleagues and I went to the ceremony to…
Consumer Culture
Sales people at the markets in Ghana are very persistent. So much so that they grab my arms and pull…
Caught Left-Handed
I am riding home from the tro tro after a slow day at work. The commute is long and tedious,…
We are more alike than we are different
“We are more alike than we are different.” This was the topic of my senior year English essay. Of course…
Stick shifts & Safety belts
This morning I sat in the middle front seat of a tro tro and contemplated life and death…in a very…
How do we tell this story?
We watch as the investigator circles the room and stops at the tall window behind the couch. The gate that…
Real World: Ghana
This is the true story… of sixteen students… picked to live in a house… work in Ghana and step out…
Take Off
It was Friday June 21st when I was on my way to the airport in Portland, OR to begin the…
Real Worlds Collided: The Burglary
On the day we moved into our sprawling, barbed-wire fenced East Legon home, Kelly Vigil unpacked his Canon 60D camera…
What doesn't kill you
When I first heard of the robbery, I didn’t believe it. Nonetheless I jumped out bed and went into the…
What You Learn About Life When Your Life Gets Stolen
It’s easy to believe our lives reside within our electronic devices, and especially if we fail to back them up…
Foreign Students Robbed
Note: the following is my article published in the Daily Guide, the newspaper here in Accra for which I am…
Death Cab
Living in Ghana is an adventure to say the least. I can honestly say that many of the stories I’ll…
The "R" Word
Before I came to Ghana, I was told Ghanaians were very religious. Previous students warned us that our coworkers will…