International education week

I was chosen as 1 of 65 kids to go to 12 amazing countries for the 2016-2017 year with the YES abroad program.  I now want to encourage students all over the United States to apply for this program (the application is due December 1).  This program is run by the State Department and gives full scholarships to all students accepted.  

I am currently on my exchange in Ghana, Africa and it is an experience that is so unique, and so amazing that I know it will be a part of who I am for the rest of my life.  You experience wonder, amazement, confusion, loneliness, sadness, love, friendship and so much more.  There are so many aspects of the country that you experience and learn about.

The host family is the base of your exchange, they are the ones who will be most important to you on exchange.  The host family also gives you a deeper understanding of the culture.  My family is always smiling, asking me at every opportunity how I am doing.  My Mom wakes up every morning at 4:30 and makes lunch for my little sister and I to take to school. My Dad always is so happy to see me that I always feel so much better around him.  My little sister holds my hand through the market, making me feel like one of the family.  My sister that is my age is away at boarding school but when she sees me she gives me the biggest hugs, and jumps up and down with excitement.  With this exchange you learn of the love and kindness of people who never met you but then take you in as their own child.  

School is an experience, sometimes maybe it feels like you are not learning much academically, but what you are learning can never be put on a transcript.  School is where you make friends who are so interesting and different you could talk to them all day.  My school is very different from what my school in the USA is like, but with that I'm truely understanding how school is for so many other kids.  My school is a boarding school, and I'm the only white person there.  Being the minority is a crazy but amazing experience.  School lets you be with so many other kids your age who you can learn so much from.  

The markets are a huge part of Ghana.  In the market I can buy dresses, tomatoes, credit for my phone, toilet paper, and some plantain chips all in less than 10 yards.  walking through the market is actually one of my favorite things to do.  The variety of venders is incredible and I can't help but stop at most of them.  I will never get to taste all the amazing food sold on the street, most of it is carried on people's heads on trays or in boxes until someone wants to buy some.  In the market you see so many people dressed in their brightly colored African prints.  But the best thing is the kindness of the people, always asking if you are lost, wanting to know your name and if you'll be their friend, and laughing with happiness when I can speak a little of their local language.  One time I was trying to get to a shop to buy stuff for my Mom, and when some ladies asked where I was going I told them, they laughed and said I was very far away.  They immediately flagged down a taxi for me and made sure the driver did not make me pay to much, I'll always remember them even though I don't even know their names.

Transportation here in Ghana is hectic but kinda fun.  The most common way to get around is by trotro, which is a bus people are constantly getting on and off.  It is very cheap, but you can't be scared to get cozy with your neighbor cause they pack people into them. To get on a trotro you stand on the side of the road and when one passes you use hand signals to show where you are going and if that trotro is going the same way they will pull over for you to get on.  Usually when they pull over you have to jump out of the way or they will hit you.  You can also take taxis. Most the time you take shared taxis which are not too expensive.  With a shared taxi it is similar to a trotro just smaller.  You can also charter a taxi to take you exactly where you want to go, but this is definitely the most expensive option.  Getting places is a whole exciting experience in of its self when your on your toes trying not to get hit, while also trying to get a ride to the right place.

With living abroad you get to learn much more than you'll ever know.  You get to break stereotypes about your country, and also the people you meet will break the stereotypes you had about them.  While living abroad you grow so much stronger, you become more your own person.  You will be building bridges and tearing down walls.