The morning of my first day of work felt like the first day of high-school. I stood in front of my minimalist closet trying to figure out which of my four shirts would be the most “business-casual.” Before hopping on the bus, the group stood cheesing in front of the house for our first-day-of-work photos. Than it was time to head out. I hopped on the bus feeling anxious, mostly due to how little information I had on what I’d been doing and who I’d be working with. I had been told before getting to Ghana that I’d be working at Orakle Advertising, but that was all the enlightenment I had received on the subject. Senyo dropped me off, and I was quickly given a tour of the place. The tour lasted about a minute because it was a small agency. Luckily, that meant fewer names to memorize.

After the first day of work, I was excited for what I’d be doing with the company, as Orakle did a lot of activism work. By the end of the week, I was less hopeful. The company was not working on any accounts, so there was nothing for me to do. It was a classic case of bad timing. Everyone told be about how much I would’ve loved working on their previous documentary where they were traveling around filming illegal gold mines, but there was no talk about what I’d be doing in the present moment. I talked to Leslie and she said she’d get it all worked out.

The next week, I took the usual long hot ride on the tro-tro to get to Orakle. When I got to work my manager said “Leslie will be here to pick you up, you’re going to be switching internships.” Surprise! As soon as he told me Leslie was at the door. Leslie told me my new internship would be with the radio station, Class FM. I had even less information for this first day than my Orakle first day. The people at Class FM were equally surprised to see me, but I was given a tour of the place nonetheless. The environment at class was different from Orakle. Everyone was walking around from room to room. There were tons of people to meet and areas of the station to get to know. The day left me feeling excited for the rest of my time at Class FM.

While I write this, I am wrapping up my first week at Class FM. This week I have been working in the social media department. This meant live tweeting radio interviews, which involved putting my ear to the speaker of the little red radio straining to listen to what was being said in a Ghanaian accent behind the crackle of the radio. It was not my best work. The week has also been full of sitting in the studio during radio shows, vox-pops with Uber drivers, listening to news room meetings, and getting my voice recorded for people’s radio jingles “Ye fremi Clare. Mifre U.S.A. Accra FM papapaaa!” The days are busy and long, but the monotony of the week before has made me grateful for the long hours and mini tasks I have had at Class FM. Cheers to the third year of me having to switch from my original summer plan.