A Summer to Remember: 9 weeks in Ghana

Making the decision to live and work in Africa for the summer isn’t a typical one for most college students. Augie Bossu, a junior at Notre Dame, who recently returned from a summer in Ghana through United Planet believes more people should consider trips like these. I had the chance to chat with Augie recently about his trip. He didn’t say that it was easy, but he did say it was worth it.

Augie hanging with the monkeys!

“The most challenging is often the most  rewarding” he said, reflecting on his 9 weeks in a small village in the Volta region of Africa.

This was Augie’s first visit to a developing country. He arrived with an open mind and heart, excited to live and learn from the locals throughout his trip. His amazing attitude is likely why he gained so much from the experience.

He arrived in Accra, Ghana’s capital city,  in late June, 2011. As he stepped off the plane, high heat and humidity were the first to greet him, but he found Accra a good place to make the transition to Africa.  The city was more developed and filled with places and things somewhat familiar.

Yet after only 2 days of orientation in Accra, it was time to leave for Sokode-Etoe;  the small village where he would spend the following 9 weeks teaching, learning and adjusting to the African lifestyle. It was upon his arrival to Sokode-Etoe that he discovered the real meaning of culture shock. It was a very small, poor village with little resembling anywhere he had ever been. “Two months suddenly felt like a very long time and I wasn’t sure how I would handle living here for so long…everything was so different and it really scared me,” said Augie. He described his simple living quarters as a private room in a building similar to a motel. There was an outdoor bathroom with semi-reliable plumbing, yet Augie spent a lot of time down the road at a classmate’s house, also where he ate his meals.  He did a lot of journaling as a way to process his thoughts and feelings, especially at first. He found it to be therapeutic as he worked through the culture shock. The people of the village welcomed Augie and were tremendously helpful to him during his transition period. A woman by the name of Vice (pronounced “Vee-say”), served as his host mother. She cooked his meals and watched over him and other volunteers. She was a warm and welcoming woman who Augie felt very grateful for during his time in Ghana.

Augie and his students

Many volunteers work at the same placement throughout their trip, yet Augie had the opportunity to work in 2 different volunteer placements. He spent the first 5 weeks teaching English at a school and then 4 more weeks working with a local NGO. Working  at the school each day helped to keep him busy and become acclimated with the culture. He enjoyed getting to know the children and found it funny how much they loved America music, culture and President Obama. Many of them had posters and paraphernalia of the President as if he were a celebrity. One thing Augie noted from his teaching experience was how similar humans are, no matter which corner of the globe they’re from. Ghanaian children giggled, played, laughed and even joked with each other just like American children. “Kids aren’t all that different” said Augie “I learned that people are just people all over the world.”

His experience teaching was positive overall yet some aspects were extremely frustrating. He was surprised that even though English was the official language, mostly everyone spoke Ewe (pronounced “Ay-way”) and the language barrier was more difficult than he expected. He also found himself shocked and even angry at the gap between the English level expected by the government and what was attainable by the students. He did his best to teach them his language but when it came time to take the state mandated exams, he saw how difficult the test was and knew it would be impossible for students to pass. It was fairly common for students to repeat grades but a fair amount of students did pass and Augie realized it was often up to the discretion of the teacher whether or not they moved on to the next grade. Teaching was a wonderfully rewarding, eye opening experience. Augie was sad to say goodbye at the end of his placement, but excited for his next opportunity working for an NGO in Ho, a nearby city.

Working with the cassava crop at the NGO

The Volta region of Ghana where Augie lived and worked depends heavily on the farming industry.  Augie worked with an NGO that assisted local farmers to sell more crops and taught them better business practices. His role was mostly observational, yet he found it fascinating how an organization could help these farmers to learn so much about their daily practices. He would often accompany the NGO leader, Susan, to area bakeries and restaurants in attempts to have them buy the local Cassava crop for use in flour. In addition, Susan would teach the farmers better farming techniques and basic economics to help them make more profitable decisions. Augie had never cared much for economics prior to his trip, but seeing the impact first hand really opened his eyes to the importance.

Augie loved his placement with the NGO, yet he found one aspect very difficult. He quickly realized many people in Ghana were on what he termed “Ghana time.”  Life in Ghana operated far slower than life in America and people rarely arrived on time for appointments or kept a consistent schedule. If Augie was told to arrive somewhere at a certain time, he would often wait for at least an hour, sometimes 2 before anyone else would arrive.

Beautiful Ghana sunset

When reflecting on his 9 weeks in Ghana, Augie feels he gained a tremendous amount of confidence and knowledge about the world. He says his biggest accomplishment was the realization that tough experiences help you to know that you can accomplish anything. “Life really is meant to be lived outside your comfort zone” he said. He now takes more risks and lives life to the fullest because he knows that no matter what happens, he can get through it.