My first week in Ghana was filled with curiosity, excitement, and a rollercoaster of emotions. On Thursday (our fifth day), we visited Anani Memorial International School in Nima. Anani is a primary school for boys and girls that is located in a less affluent area of Accra. The bus ride to Nima had the familiar sight of people selling/buying things, cars in traffic, and countless chickens and goats. When we got off the bus, our group made our way through the community, arriving at the school.

It is hard to describe the feeling I had when I entered the courtyard full of smiling children. Their contagious energy and enthusiasm was overwhelming. The kids were practically jumping on top of one-another to get close to us, their new American friends. We were greeted with hugs, big eyes, and lots of hand holding.

The students at Anani performed a number of well-rehearsed songs, dances, and poems (in English and French) before inviting us to the center to dance with them. I have always loved dancing and I was filled with joy as we all danced together to the sound of the drums. When the performances came to an end, the children flocked to a table where we’d placed items we were donating to the school.  Afterwards we all went into the courtyard to mingle.

As a 21 year old under the height of 5 feet, I am definitely used to being asked how tall I am and getting teased by middle schoolers who have outgrown me. However, I was not expecting to receive the same playful comparisons by Ghanaian children halfway around the world. Several of them approached me, their friends jokingly compared our height differences. We ignored the obvious language barrier between us and played around until it was time for my group to leave. On the way home I smiled thinking about how silly things like comparing heights are understood universally, no matter where you come from.