Godwina Titus
As a self-proclaimed American born to two West African parents, I never expected I would be able to call an African country my actual home. Yet for the next three months, I will be an accepted resident of the various regions of Ghana. Through SIT: World Learning, I am participating in a more hands-on study abroad experience in a program that focuses on social transformation and cultural expression. SIT takes college students from all over the United States and gives them the opportunity of "service learning." A strategy that fully immerses students in the cultural environment of the county they are studying in. The Fall 2011 Accra program follows twenty-one students, including myself, throughout eight of the ten regions of Ghana, West Africa. Each day is composed of an intensive Twi language study, a field study seminar, an arts and culture seminar and preparation for our Independent Study Projects (ISP). The ISP is the culmination of everything learned throughout the semester and requires a full month of independent fieldwork. Essentially, it is a chance to become fully involved in the communities we live in and work on our own research topic. Previous ISP themes have covered the issue of skin bleaching among Ghanaians, business cooperatives, traditional yet modernized rites of passage for young women and many more. Aside from taking classes, all SIT students are able to go on an educational excursion, traveling to Accra, the Ashanti region in Kumasi, Tamale, the Volta Region and Cape Coast to further understand the culture of Ghana. The chance to study abroad while in college appears to be a once in a lifetime experience, and I plan to take full advantage of everything that Ghana has to offer.
UPDATE 10-2011
We recently got back from our "educational excursion" around the entire nation of Ghana. After visiting the predominantly Muslim northern region of Tamale for a week, we went to Cape Coast for a week to look at the role of slavery in Ghana's current society. Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle were our main landmarks to visit, where we saw the actual location that millions of Africans were put in chains and locked in dungeons before embarking on the Middle Passage. While bittersweet, the visit was incredible nonetheless.
Following Cape Coast, we went to various locations in the Volta Region where we learned about pottery making. Next, we looked at traditional religious practices, as well as a day dedicated to learning the art of Kente weaving. We also witnessed a puberty rites ceremony called *dipo* for young girls in the Eastern Region--we went so far east that we were actually just at the Togo border. Afterwards, we went to Krobo-Odumase where we learned about bead-making and met with a "king" for a festival called *Yokama--*essentially a Thanksgiving of sorts for the local community-- marking the end of our educational tour.
Currently, we are all back in Accra for a few days before going off on our own to complete our Independent Study Projects. For the entire month of November, we each have to conduct our own research and fieldwork to produce a 35-page document on a topic of our choice in any part of Ghana we want. I plan on completing my ISP in the Ashanti Region of Kumasi and then in Accra to study Ghanaian women's standards of beauty when it comes to hair and how this shapes self-identity. Although I am slightly nervous to be off on my own for a month, I look forward to adding more to my study-abroad experience.