Ghana is a place that I have always wanted to visit. Firstly, I grew up watching Nigerian and Ghanaian movies so it would be awesome to see the place where many of these movies took place. According to my family, my ancestry and many Jamaicans, can be traced back to the Asante people of Ghana. Due to this specifically, I am most excited to go to Elmina and Cape Coast Castle and going through the door of no return there. This is something that I have always wanted to do and one of my top reasons for wanting to visit Ghana at some point in my life. I know that it will be a somber experience but I feel it will be somewhat of a rebirth. In a sense it would be like coming home. I am also very excited to go to the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, which was depicted in Fuse ODG’s music video for his song Window Seat. As a whole, I relate to the song’s message of God blessing you to do and accomplish things you never thought you could. But in regard to my desire to go to Ghana, the video makes you feel like you are flying into Accra and gives a modern, fun, and grandiose depiction of everyday life, in iconic places and monuments around the city. Whenever I listen to the song I get overwhelmed with excitement for my study abroad as a whole and by visiting the Mausoleum, I feel would be living out the song in a sense. The Mausleum is also historically significant as it represents the first successful independence movement in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Despite my excitement for my experience in Ghana, I do foresee some possible challenges. One challenge I feel would be my sense of independence. Since going to college, I have always valued my independence and self reliance. I appreciate being able to go where I want, when I wanted, without having to answer a lot of questions (as growing up I this was not the case).However, being in a foreign country that I do not know and know nobody (unlike Jamaica) as well as due to program requirements and doing a home stay, I will have to give this up to a extent by always making people aware of where, when, and how long I will be going anywhere. Another challenge I foresee occurring is making friends and . Overall, I am very introverted and have a lot of social anxiety. In order to make friends, practice the language, and acculturate to Accra as much as I can, I will have to be outgoing and engage with people I have never met before, as well as my host family. Although these might be difficult, I see these more as speed bumps than a stop signs and are all apart of my adaptation process.
Denkyem 