UG International Programmes

“The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”  ―  Christopher McCandless Kakum Canopy Walk Kakum Canopy walk is a walk through a regenerated forest in the Cape Coast region. It was our last trip as a group for our orientation. It is a beautiful forest area with a short hike that brings you to a series of drawbridges that are strung out over the through the canopies. It was a beautiful stroll through the trees! Afterwards, we had dinner on the beautiful Cape coast, and then we checked in to our beach resort where we spent the night. The hotel was a on the water, with straw covered rooms. We had a room that slept 20 people. A few of us pulled an all-nighter to watch the sunrise in the town, pictures from that adventure to come.  En

Being here has challenged parts of me that I didn’t know existed and helped my humanity and understanding of the world flourish. I hope to remain a student in this way as long as I live.   I look West across the Atlantic from my perch in Ghana where it all seems so clear. Where I am still a person of privilege. Where as I follow my Nigerian-American friend to do her errands in parts of the Accra that few foreigners go, she puts on a persona of being local, using the accent given to her by her mother to speak to the cab driver. As children run to me, I smile and say hi while she passes into a shop unnoticed. I feel a discomfort that settles in the pit of my stomach. I heard a radio show years ago about a white woman who joined the Peace Corps, settling into life at an African village. I don’t remember where. She had looked at herself in the mirror after a while and found her face bland and without character. She detailed her acclimation process, as she found mor

Its 4:30am in Accra. I lay in bed, unable to sleep. The Malaria medication I’m on has filled my head with vivid dreams for the past few nights. Voices and faces of friends from my past 'lives' escape me. People who were once my world and who are now but a part of times and places I was but no longer am a part of, or so it seems. As I dig my face into my pillow, begging for its spongy softness to carry me off back to that distant land of slumber, thoughts of my colourful past come rushing back to me. The past few days, I have been sicker than a dog. The words “Home-Sick” have tantalizingly dripped off the edge of my tongue, yet never fully realized themselves in the air of a room. I begin to question: Where is home?              When I returned from the hospital, I felt so at home in my dorm room; the familiarity of this place where I lay my head to rest. It’s a familiar feeling. One I have felt many times, in many places before.  People here talk and talk about

International Day is a celebration of cultural diversity in which UG’s diverse international student population has the opportunity to showcase their culture. This year an entire week was set aside by the International Programmes Office (IPO) to celebrate University of Ghana’s cultural diversity and efforts to internationalize. It was thus dubbed “International Week 2014”. All programmes organized during the week were open to the entire University community. International Week kicked off on Monday 10 th March 2014 with exhibitions at the IPO forecourt. The exhibitions were set-up from 10 th to 14 th March. Various offices in the International House set up stands to showcase their efforts in helping UG to internationalize. Staff of the International Programmes Office also seized the opportunity to educate the student population on the Study Abroad opportunities that University of Ghana offers. Exhibition by the Co

“The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one's intent. One doesn't take the A train to Mecca.”  ―  Anthony Bourdain ,  A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines The Early Morning Sky I woke up at 5am for an early morning meditation. I went outside and the sky was still dark, tinted with a hint of lightness. The restaurant/bar facility is set right above a massive watering hole. Off to the side is a little viewing deck with a bench. I went to sit on the bench. The tree that covered the bench was alive with bees. The sound of the bees was louder than I have ever heard before. As I tried to meditate in peace, bees flew against my body. I kind of freaked out and moved to a less glamorous spot by the pool. I enjoyed a very nice hour-long meditation. It was such a beautiful site to open my eyes and see untouched forest reserve as far as the eyes could see. As the sun rose I headed back for my room. Someone told m

“Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I  know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life”  ―  Michael Palin I woke up in my dorm in Volta Hall to the sounds of Ghana. The sound of wild birds like I have never heard before filled the air, and I felt as if I had woken up in the Amazon or deep in the Congo. After Breakfast we headed for our tour of the campus. Our Assistant Director Dorcas was our tour guide. We hopped in the bus that would become our best friend for the next few weeks. The campus was much more impressive than I thought it would be. It is a massive campus that hosts almost 40,000 students, and is very spread out. The buildings are built in a Colonial   Japanese inspired style. The white buildings are beautifully contrasted against the red Ghanaian soil and green surrounding foliage. After our tour, we met our program director Dr. Rose Walls, a.k.a. Auntie Rose at the International Programmes Office. From there we went