PDX to NYC to ACC to Cape Coast: the highlights of my journey so far!
My first six nights were full of airports, luggage struggles, and meeting tons of other exchange students from around the world!
After saying goodbye to my parents at PDX in the early morning of Sept. 5, I was reunited with my Ghanaian YES cohort in NYC where we embarked on a 14 hr plane ride to Accra through thunderstorms and turbulent air.
Our four night Accra orientation allowed us to make new friends with the 17 exchange students from Europe as well as registering at our embassies and running around the crowded Accra marketplace. The last nights we enjoyed competing in a massive game of spoons, having a pool party and taking in the nighttime landscape of Accra from our hillside hotel.
My friend, Madina, and I are the only two students to be hosted in Cape Coast this year. 17 days since our arrival and I've already enjoyed exploring the town, trying new foods, taking Fante language lessons, facing massive bugs, looking after chickens, riding tro tros, bargaining with taxi drivers, getting lost and attending a Ghanaian wedding!
As we both adjust to life in Cape Coast and settling in with our new families, we've done our best to make the most of our time together and take advantage of every day and the challenges it brings.
If you or someone you know is interested in living/studying abroad and learning more about yourself and the world around you, go check out the YES Abroad scholarship at:
http://www.yes-abroad.org/ Applications are currently live for the 2019-2020 school year, and the U.S. Dept. of State has several other scholarships as well!
