As a second year student of International Development Studies and Anthropology (joint major) at Trent University, I thought it would be cool to apply for the Trent In Ghana year abroad program. I love to travel, though I haven't done a lot of travel without the trusty leadership of my dad, who could draw you a map of Heathrow Airport from memory, and probably to scale. Anyway, it seemed like an interesting opportunity, and like the enthusiastic twenty-something liberal arts student that I am, I jumped in with both feet.
Basically, it starts out with two months of study at the university in the capitol city of Accra, at the Institute of African Studies (which is a kind of subdivision of the University of Ghana). I'll be learning about the politics and history and geography and culture of the area, and even a little bit of one of the local languages, Twi (which I'm told is pronounced "shwee," but I'll know better when I get there). While English is the official language in Ghana, there are hundreds of local languages that were spoken before the area was colonized way back when, and are still widely spoken today. During those two months I'll be staying with a host family, whom I will meet when I arrive in Ghana, and who will hopefully help me get settled in and used to my new environment. After that, I'll be moving up North in the country, to Tamale, where I will be taking a month long course that should help prepare me for my adventure in second semester. After the Christmas holidays, I will be doing a placement with a local Non-Government Organization (NGO) doing development work in Ghana. The possibilities for what this could entail are virtually endless, and I will figure out what kind of work I want to learn about in my first few months abroad. (You can find more information about the Trent Year Abroad Program here.)
The application process was not too onerous, which was nice, and the orientation weekend in March got me pumped and excited and feeling like I was ready to go. That feeling faded a bit as the summer wore on, and I found that there was a lot more real life to deal with before my trip, but now that my departure date is just over a month away, it's starting to feel very real again.
When I'm not in Peterborough, Ontario at Trent University, I live in Ottawa with my parents, and it's from here that I've been making my preparations to go abroad. Today I went to a great big sports and outdoor equipment store called Sail at the Ottawa Trainyards and got myself a solid backpack. Students from previous years had advised me at the orientation that a good solid mountaineering or hiking backpack might be a good investment because of the number of times that I will have to change residences over the course of the year. I will necessarily have to move when I begin my course in Tamale, and then probably again for my NGO placement second semester. Given the road conditions and transportation options that I will be faced with, it seems that a backpack is the superior choice to the rolling suitcase.
So off I went with my Mom, like you do, to find a backpack for my year abroad. I lucked out, and all of the backpacks that they had were on sale. Of course, the one that caught my eye was a wonderful colour of fuchsia. It is a Cimone 55+10 (because it has an expandable zippered part that adds 10 litres, apparently). The sales associate, who did not give me his name, was very helpful and showed me how to adjust it properly, and how it's supposed to fit across my hips and shoulders. He was very good in showing me around the backpack and all of its happy fun compartments. It was made very obvious that this backpack was made for women (not just because of its colour) by the little mirror attached to the inside of the uppermost compartment. That made me smile. But in all seriousness, it looks like it will serve me well.
And my beautiful new backpack gave me inspiration for the name for this blog. I've been trying to come up with one for months, and having absolutely no luck. So now I have a backpack and a blog and I am well on my way to my adventure in Ghana!
I'll keep you posted!
--Erin
