After a tumultuous week of preparation that involved a lot of shopping, arguments, sacrifices and goodbyes, I'm finally ready to leave for Ghana. I know what you're thinking: "Of all the places you could go to in the world, you choose to go to Ghana? Really?" Don't get me wrong, it's a valid question. The answer to that is much more complicated now that I think about it, but I'll try my best to explain it.
It really boils down to two main reasons. The first one is that my older brother also studied abroad in Ghana back in 2005 or 2006 and he came back a changed person (for the better). He had so many amazing stories, made tons of friends and really seemed to learn a lot about himself while he was there. He definitely played a part in convincing me to go. That, and having a limited selection of countries to go to as a sophomore led me to go to Ghana. I was debating between Ghana and Turkey when I started this decision back in December, and while Turkey is nice and all, I just had to go to a country that's much more...unknown. This leads in to the second reason, which is, "Why not Ghana?" Sure, you can go to countries like the UK or France or China, but I see those as countries you can go anytime in your life. Going to Africa is more of a once in a lifetime kind of thing to me. I mean, once you're older and you have a husband/wife and kids, are they really gonna react positively to the idea of going to Africa for vacation? It's much easier to go as a college student when you're mature and just beginning to understand the world than as a settled down person who has other priorities. Because then you would have to get proper medication and shots for the family, it's a long plane ride, the weather isn't favorable most of the time and so on. Also, I'm not going to lie, it will be pretty cool to tell people, "Oh yeah, I've been to Africa before."
So what are the details of this trip? What do you hope to get out of it? I'll be gone for 5-6 months from mid-July to December, depending on if I decide to extend my trip into winter break or not. Aside from the fact that I want to get my general education requirements finished while I'm abroad and that I want to use this as an opportunity to travel and experience new things, I'm really hoping this trip gives me an idea of what I want to do later on in life. For now, I'm a neuroscience major hoping to do something related to the brain. I wanted to go to medical school once I completed college but I'm not sure I want to go through medical school anymore because I don't know if I belong in that setting. Lately, I've been thinking about being a social worker as an alternative, but I don't really know much about what they do. I just know I want to help people by talking with them, listening to their problems and giving them feedback, and while that sounds like a therapist, it's a long and tough path to becoming one. Maybe I'm just being a little picky and that I need to focus on one thing since no path is "easy." But that's what going to Ghana is for - finding what that one thing really is for me. I asked my brother and sister when they had solid ideas of what they wanted to be in the future, and they both knew by the time they were my age. With seeing all my other friends knowing what they want to do and pressure building up from parents, as well as college, I know it's about time I figured out what I want to do.
Pretty darn complicated, huh? I know I'm probably not the only one who doesn't know what they want to do in the future either, but I'd just like to have a concrete idea now, just so I can confidently say something at parties whenever an aunt or uncle asks, "So what are you going to do after college, hm?" They never really ask how are you or what have you been up to, it's just straight to business for them.
Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll have Internet there since I'm not taking my laptop with me, but I know they will have Internet cafes so I hope I can keep updating this blog often. This is more like a journal for me to keep records of what I've been doing every week, as well as for my friends and family to update them on how I'm doing. Here's hoping that while I try to find the pieces to my future, I also get to immerse myself in Ghanaian culture and make tons of new friends without suffering from those disease-ridden mosquitoes!
It really boils down to two main reasons. The first one is that my older brother also studied abroad in Ghana back in 2005 or 2006 and he came back a changed person (for the better). He had so many amazing stories, made tons of friends and really seemed to learn a lot about himself while he was there. He definitely played a part in convincing me to go. That, and having a limited selection of countries to go to as a sophomore led me to go to Ghana. I was debating between Ghana and Turkey when I started this decision back in December, and while Turkey is nice and all, I just had to go to a country that's much more...unknown. This leads in to the second reason, which is, "Why not Ghana?" Sure, you can go to countries like the UK or France or China, but I see those as countries you can go anytime in your life. Going to Africa is more of a once in a lifetime kind of thing to me. I mean, once you're older and you have a husband/wife and kids, are they really gonna react positively to the idea of going to Africa for vacation? It's much easier to go as a college student when you're mature and just beginning to understand the world than as a settled down person who has other priorities. Because then you would have to get proper medication and shots for the family, it's a long plane ride, the weather isn't favorable most of the time and so on. Also, I'm not going to lie, it will be pretty cool to tell people, "Oh yeah, I've been to Africa before."
So what are the details of this trip? What do you hope to get out of it? I'll be gone for 5-6 months from mid-July to December, depending on if I decide to extend my trip into winter break or not. Aside from the fact that I want to get my general education requirements finished while I'm abroad and that I want to use this as an opportunity to travel and experience new things, I'm really hoping this trip gives me an idea of what I want to do later on in life. For now, I'm a neuroscience major hoping to do something related to the brain. I wanted to go to medical school once I completed college but I'm not sure I want to go through medical school anymore because I don't know if I belong in that setting. Lately, I've been thinking about being a social worker as an alternative, but I don't really know much about what they do. I just know I want to help people by talking with them, listening to their problems and giving them feedback, and while that sounds like a therapist, it's a long and tough path to becoming one. Maybe I'm just being a little picky and that I need to focus on one thing since no path is "easy." But that's what going to Ghana is for - finding what that one thing really is for me. I asked my brother and sister when they had solid ideas of what they wanted to be in the future, and they both knew by the time they were my age. With seeing all my other friends knowing what they want to do and pressure building up from parents, as well as college, I know it's about time I figured out what I want to do.
Pretty darn complicated, huh? I know I'm probably not the only one who doesn't know what they want to do in the future either, but I'd just like to have a concrete idea now, just so I can confidently say something at parties whenever an aunt or uncle asks, "So what are you going to do after college, hm?" They never really ask how are you or what have you been up to, it's just straight to business for them.
Anyway, I'm not sure how often I'll have Internet there since I'm not taking my laptop with me, but I know they will have Internet cafes so I hope I can keep updating this blog often. This is more like a journal for me to keep records of what I've been doing every week, as well as for my friends and family to update them on how I'm doing. Here's hoping that while I try to find the pieces to my future, I also get to immerse myself in Ghanaian culture and make tons of new friends without suffering from those disease-ridden mosquitoes!
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