This is the true story… of sixteen students… picked to live in a house… work in Ghana and step out of their comfort zones… to find out what happens… when you are thrown into an unfamiliar situation… and then told to figure it out… The Real World: Ghana
During my interview with Leslie, she said, “The students like to call it Real World: Ghana.” Now I know what she was talking about.
Before I came to Ghana I had little to no interaction with most of the people I was about to live with for six weeks in a foreign country. We had class together every Friday morning of spring term at 8:30am, but most of us were usually half asleep or didn’t show up. My mind didn’t fully register that I was going to Africa until I was sitting in SFO, with three girls that I barely knew, waiting for my delayed flight to finally board. I was secretly a nervous wreck during the final weeks leading up to my departure, but I kept myself distracted by finding every single thing on the packing list and neatly packing my bags a week in advance. Once I was packed I had nothing to worry about, right? When people asked me if I was nervous for my trip, I lied and told them no. I think I was actually lying to myself to ease my nerves.
I was part of the first group to arrive in Ghana. We got off the plane, made our way through customs, successfully found our bags at baggage claim and met Leslie who welcomed us to Ghana with a hug and a big smile. I felt safe and relieved I had finally made it after a very long day of travel. We threw our bags into two vans, piled in and made our way to our new home. The house pleasantly surprised me. It was a lot nicer than I had imagined it would be, and it looked very safe and secure. After we picked bedrooms, I unpacked my bags because I didn’t know what else to do with myself. I couldn’t believe that I was actually doing this, that I was actually in Ghana, Africa.
After dinner my new roommates and I sat outside and started to form a bond with each other that I don’t think any of us ever imagined could exist.
I saw this bond come full circle after we were robbed on our 26th day in Ghana. Even though I didn’t have anything personally stolen from me, it hurts to see my roommates, a group of strangers that have become my family, in pain. My initial state of shock quickly turned to anger after I saw the long written list of valuable things that were stolen from my roommates. Laptops, iPhones, iPads, iPods and cameras are tangible machines that hold years of intangible memories, pictures, music, portfolios pieces and schoolwork that can never be replaced. You can’t put a dollar amount on the magnitude of things that were stolen from the bedrooms’ of my roommates while they peacefully slept. It was difficult to watch the members of my new family desperately reach for their personal belongings that were no longer there.
After the sate of shock that clouded my mind diminished, I was able to think clearly. My first thought was thank god no one woke up. Who knows what horrible things could have happened if someone did. My next thought was thank god we are all alive and no one was hurt. A laptop is just a laptop. It can be replaced.
In any situation, good or bad, I always remind myself that everything happens for a reason. Initially I don’t think that this reason was clear for a lot of us. It has taken most of us almost a week to arrive at our own answer.
Personally I think that everything we have gone through (good and bad), the lifelong friendships we’ve made, and the family we’ve formed has prepared us for this moment. If we didn’t get along or support each other this entire situation would be a big fat mess. Each of us brings something unique to the table that allows us to function as a cohesive unit. We are going to leave Ghana with six weeks worth of experiences that most people don’t get to experience once in their lifetime.
There is something very special about this group of young adults, and I am proud to be a part of it.