Oh, the first day of internships. For some this meant tours, meetings, invitations to lunch. For me, it meant getting sporadically introduced to people (only first names, no information about what position they were), immediately getting shown into a room with three other people, and then getting the WiFi login (not personally, someone put it in for Read More …
Since my arrival in Ghana, over a week ago, I have been holding my breath. I sweated through the nights with no electricity, and lamented over my limited Internet access. I stared through the windows of the bus as we toured Accra, transfixed by the shining new skyscrapers casting shadows on small shacks selling local Read More …
Most of us have some sense of the atrocities that defined the transatlantic slave trade. However, nothing can prepare you for the experience of retracing the footsteps of African slaves through dark dungeons. These chambers held as many as 400 chained captives for several months at a time in cramped spaces with limited ventilation. Disoriented Read More …
An interesting thing happened the other day. I arrived in Ghana with sixteen of my colleagues and after about a day and a half of touring through the Accra region, we had a chance to meet some of our new and adorable neighbors. These adolescents wasted no time racing over to greet us white Read More …
“So, why are you here?” Elina holds my eyes in contempt, one hand on her hip, the other around the shoulder of her younger sister. I’m caught off guard. I stammer something about being a journalism student and working for a newspaper in Accra for the summer. “No,” Elina says firmly. “Why did you come Read More …
My understanding of this part of the world has been constructed by stories. I loved the Lion King, and for a portion of my life that was the foundation for my African construct. I had a fondness for the stuffed lion that guarded my top-bunk. I consumed every story I could find about cheetahs, elephants, Read More …
A highlight of our Media in Ghana study abroad program was visiting the W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Center, which served as his home later in life. Dr. Du Bois (1868-1963) was unquestionably the leading African-American scholar of his time. He was a sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and a journalist. He is credited with writing over Read More …
I’ve never been a fan of cold showers. Really, there are plenty of things I’ve never been a fan of – bologna, KidzBop, conversations with my landlord. More than most of the myriad reasons to complain I’ve gathered over the years, however, the idea of cold showers have quite literally sent chills down my spine. Read More …
Ghana is everything and nothing like the way I pictured it, though I never could quite formulate an image of the country in my mind. I tried to abandon the typical African clichés from my pre-departure conceptions of Ghana, so I left Oregon with few expectations. But as irony would have it, my first trip Read More …
We are in East Legon, Ghana. The roads are red like the warning track at Wrigley Field. Red sand and gravel that reminds anything it touches of its presence. Our shoes are red. On each side of the road are cement gutters two feet deep and one foot wide. It is dry today, but during Read More …
No new visa news will come until Monday when the Embassy opens again…but, on the bright side, I’ve got plenty of time to make sure that I’m prepared. Overly prepared, one could say. Everything is packed and has been double checked. I read Carson’s post about being “unprepared” and it inspired me to leave well Read More …
First observation from flying to the other side of the planet is that Jet Lag sucks. But, it has given me some alone time (minus the two german dudes passed out on the floor) to reflect on the jump off of this journey. Before leaving my house for the airport, I stood staring at my two Read More …
We’ve been preparing for this day for months. Today, June 21st, 2013 is the day that the sixteen students in the 2013 Media in Ghana crew hop on their respective planes, eagerly awaiting the moment that they all meet in the Ghanaian airport tomorrow, June 22nd, to begin the six-weeks of sharing a home, an Read More …
Sixty-seven pounds! That’s what the airline’s scale registered when I turned over my largest bag this morning at the Eugene Airport. My eyes were half-shut, given the four hours of sleep I managed to get in before waking at 3:30 AM to shower, shave, and dress for the airport. It was now 4:05 AM. Yes, Read More …