24 hours left...

In less than 24 hours, I will be on a 14 hour plane ride to a country that is 5 time zones away, and it really hasn't set in at all. I can't even begin to explain how quickly time has passed since I applied and got accepted into the program. Getting ready this past week has been rough, too between work and my summer classes. Packing wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be though, and I didn't over pack, so I'm proud of myself :)

For the next month, I'll be in Ghana, Africa with 13 other MSU students. For the most part, we're going to be staying in the capital, Accra, but during the weekends, we get to travel to all different  areas, like Kumasi, the Hohoe-Volta region, and Cape Coast. It's strange, that of all of the places in the world to study abroad in, I chose a country that barely anyone knows about. Everyone always asks me why I chose to go to Ghana and not Europe or some place like that, but after hearing about what I get to do during the program, I was absolutely set on going. It's not like a typical study abroad- we have no classes. Everything that we do while we are there is pretty much self-directed. We are keeping an ethnographic journal while we are there, so I am really looking forward to interacting with the community and a culture that is totally different than my own. Also, my group gets the work with a group called BASIC, which is a program for children in Ghana who are at high risk for either dropping out or never attending school. I'm really excited/nervous because I'm co-head of the Education Development part of the program that the students in my group are creating for the kids in Ghana. I get to create lesson plans, work with students, and educate teachers while I'm there, which is crazy because there are teachers who have been teaching for decades that can't say they've done what I am about to do.

I'd like to think I know what to expect, but really, I have no clue. But I think that I can make a difference while I'm there, and that makes me happy :)