Rating: 4
“Ghanaian culture is incredible. They are open and welcoming people. There is beautiful clothing and inviting, energetic dances. They want to share themselves with you. I lived with a host family who welcomed me into their hearts and their home and are now my second family who I still contact a year later.”
“Going to Ghana actually changed my life. Ghanaian culture is so different from Elon culture, which allowed me reassess how I live and understand my life. Elon promotes a culture of busyness in a way that isn’t good for mental health. Being in Ghana allowed me to take a step away from busyness and experience life in a relaxed way. I went into my abroad experience with almost crippling anxiety and came back with almost no anxiety at all. ”
“I also consider this experience a personal accomplishment because I continually stepped out of my comfort zone both physically and mentally. Physically, there were the very real adventures, such as navigating the public transportation system and intentionally making Ghanaian friends rather than comfortably staying within the international student bubble that quickly formed on campus. Mentally, I wrestled with the hard questions that arise from being a white person in West Africa. I learned how race and racism exist differently in different culture. I spoke to friends and professors with whom I had formed relationships to further develop my comprehension. The perspectives that I learned during that semester continue to influence my understanding of oppression in the US and worldwide today.”
About Abroad 