Anecdotes from Abroad By Nikhil Arora To get things started, I am a 21 year old senior at UC Berkeley who studied abroad last fall (July to December) in Ghana, West Africa, and am writing to attempt to begin to describe by experiences and motivations for going abroad there. I know that‟s a lot to digest right away and its not the sexy intro you were probably hoping for, but I‟ve spent five months since I‟ve come back trying to think of ways to begin to describe my trip and I realized that nothing comes across more unique and genuine than the facts themselves. Throughout my travels, I saw a lot, experienced a ton, and most importantly, learned more important life lessons than I ever have in school. Since life‟s all about sharing experiences, here are the top five most useful lessons I learned while abroad. Lesson #5: Never Be Stingy When it Comes to a Fan Southern California is hot, India is hotter, but Ghana, being right on the equator, has a climate of its own. With temperatures remaining steady around 90 degree Fahrenheit and humidity around 80%, Ghana is an extremely hot, sweaty place where everyone is always pulling out handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat dripping from their foreheads. Not being used to this environment, my roommate Dean and I would consistently wake up sweating in the middle of night constantly talking about how great a fan would be. However, both of us got stuck in the Ghanaian mindset too fast such that a fan and its 200,000 cedis price tag (about $20), became way too much money to waste on mere comfort. Finally, with only a month left, and after weeks of deliberating, we decided to stop being so stingy and purchase a fan, after which we felt like we were in heaven. One of the best decisions of my life, the fan allowed us to sleep like babies, attract a lot more visitors (no more sweaty odor), and even keep away those annoying mosquitoes. Looking back, it was a valuable lesson: there‟s somethings in life whose value money can never match and you just have to purchase. Lesson #4: Alcohol Isn‟t Just Important in College Now we all know alcohol is huge in college, and is probably the most common gift for someone‟s 21st birthday. But one thing I learned was just how valuable of a gift it is half way across the world in a completely different environment. A couple of friends from the study abroad program and I went traveling into a remote village to check out a local rock shrine. This village, Wassa Domama, was a small, extremely friendly area in which we were able to meet and befriend a lot of the locals. After a night there, we were offered a chance to meet the chief and village elders – an opportunity we could not turn down. Luckily we had earlier learned of the importance of pouring libations when meeting chiefs and elders, so we brought a small bottle of Schnapps to present to the chief as a gift. The extremely elderly chief, or “Nana,” was unbelievably thrilled that we understood and thought about their local customs, and we all proceeded to pour libations and drink together late into the night. That small bottle of alcohol, with the warmth and excitement that was reciprocated partially due to it, really proved to be an amazing gift. Lesson learned: alcohol isn‟t just for bored, college kids, but it speaks volumes as a gift to all age groups all around the world. 1 Lesson 3: Don‟t Keep Your Marriage Plans a Secret To set the background, in Ghana all foreign men and women („obrunis‟) are frequently offered marriage proposals by Ghanaians (some a lot more serious than others). By the end of the trip however, proposals had become routine, and we failed to take much notice of them. After my program finished, I was lucky enough that my parents were able to visit me in Ghana so I could show them around and they could see where I had been living. While I was giving them a campus tour, a group of Ghanaian girls came up to me and we started talking like old friends (everyone in Ghana is extremely friendly), and my parents assumed the same. Within a few moments, one of the girls turns to my mom and with the most serious of faces asks her, “I like your son a lot, may I marry him?” Thinking we were good friends and given the girl‟s serious tone, my mom took the question to heart and was blown away and flabbergasted at the suddenness of it all. I will never forget that initial look of awe and disbelief on my mom‟s face, and it definitely taught me a valuable lesson: your parents really do care about who you get married to, so don‟t let it blindside them because it won‟t be pretty. Lesson 2: Slow it Down, Turbo Life in Ghana is generally far slower – possibly due to the lack of technology, less development, or just the weather. Your pace of walking slows down drastically (as you try not to break out in sweat), the things you complete in one day lessen, and in general, life just has a far more laid back, relaxed feel to it. Another element of this type of lifestyle is that everything is far more personal, as there‟s no rush to continually move on to the next activity. The interactions that we overlook here while we‟re always moving on to something else are cherished in Ghana. There‟s far more of a focus on enjoying the present than rushing to the future, and that entire outlook was remarkably refreshing. One thing that I learned right away was that due to this slower pace, the human, emotional connections with someone else can never be rushed. There were countless times where I would try to request something (go to the bank, buy something from the market, etc.) in the American manner where you just state your business and expect results. However, with that attitude, no one would respond or people wouldn‟t be helpful at all. After looking around and observing, we quickly learned that every interaction in Ghana first starts with basic, non-business related conversation about family, friends, health, etc. Only after mutual respect was built through the greeting was „official‟ business taken care of. It‟s a lesson that I‟m trying to translate here in America: life becomes that much more enjoyable when you focus on the personal connections built along the way and not only on the result you‟re aiming for. Lesson 1: Thank god for Paris Hilton. Of all the small things I learned from my experiences and relationships in Ghana, there‟s one thing that will always stay with me: gratitude for what we have here. I remember I left for Ghana in the middle of the whole Paris Hilton fiasco and was disgraced at how low our country had stooped. But after being immersed, not just exposed, to a different, very much developing country and all the basic needs issues that go with it, my mindset changed. No longer am I annoyed by our country focusing on such useless news, but rather, I am entirely grateful that all we have to really worry about in America is what new weekend antics Ms. Hilton is up to and not after how many days will the water start 2 flowing or if the electricity will go out at night again. Beyond being immersed and understanding the effects of such conditions, there is one story that really exemplifies this lesson of gratitude. A young boy in high school, Abraham, would do laundry and menial tasks in the dorm building for wealthy Ghanaians and foreigners so he could earn fifty peswas ($0.50) or so and pay his daily transportation costs to school. Abraham is an extremely brilliant, motivated, and ambitious kid, and I will never forget when he asked me one day, “Nikhil, how come you were born so you can travel, have money, and see the world, and I‟m stuck here doing the same thing for my entire life? How come?” I had no answer then, and I have no answer now, but it definitely drove the lesson home: be extremely grateful for all we have and don‟t complain about the small things, because there are millions of people who cannot even dream of the luxuries we enjoy. Looking back, my trip to Ghana was absolutely the most incredible experience of my life. I could continue with stories and fill this entire magazine with anecdotes about being completely lost while backpacking through Togo, surprising locals by speaking the local language Twi in crowded markets, traveling through Ghana experiencing the food, language, music, and heritage, making some of the best Ghanaian and American friends I could ever imagine, being bestowed with the tile of „head of the royal family‟ in a local village, or simply learning to effectively and efficiently wash my clothes by hand, and shower and flush toilets with buckets of water. But beyond all these stories and adventures, it was the lessons and clarity I got from my trip that made it so valuable. For once in my life, I was able to step off the set path that seems to be so prematurely laid for so many of us, and experience a new, absolutely amazing culture – all the while pushing my own limits and growing each day. I learned a lot while I was there, far more than I have in sixteen years of „formal‟ education, and I recommend everyone give studying abroad, and hopefully Ghana, a try. 3