by Ryan Trinidad

Our living space is beautiful. The beach and ocean is literally part of our dining area. There are geckos on the walls and goats that walk themselves around town. Life is so different here. Keisha said it the best. In America we work to make money, in Ghana they work to live. I haven’t heard anything that real in a while.

Food is one thing I looked forward to the entire time leading up to our trip. Lunch consisted of rice and chicken, coleslaw salad, pineapples, and this hot sauce that was like no other. I’m loving it.

A local band gave a performance like no other after dinner. They drummed like it was their last, and danced like it was the meaning of life. Their bandleader inspired me with his last words for the night, “Music is our life, this is what we do. Music is our profession. We eat music, we breathe music, WE ARE MUSIC.” I’m with you on that one brother. I just wished more artists in America had this mindset; the world would be such a different place…

by Ryan Trinidad

We land safely and at that moment I have nothing to say.  Not because my mood is down, but because I am so ready to start my experience.  We get off the plane and the heat hits instantly.  The air is thick, and it is hot.  It’s about 85 degrees, oh and did I mention it’s wintertime here in Ghana?

As we walk through the airport the sign read, “Akwaaba, Welcome to Ghana, Gateway to Africa.”  All I can think is, it is real, we’re really in Africa!  It’s just like in the movies when some random person holds up a sign waiting to pick up total strangers.  I instantly saw a sign saying “Kokrobitey Institute” held by our new friend Yaw. We waste no time and fill up the Trotro (kind of like a van) and head to the Kokrobitey village.

As we ride through Accra it is obvious that we are foreigners.  The locals stare at us, but rightfully so.  We stand out and it’s kind of funny to me.  I’m guilty of it as well, but our tourist attitudes were at an all-time high.  I actually caught someone taking a picture of the sidewalk.  I thought in my head, “we have those in America too, you know that right?” I couldn’t stop laughing.

We finally make it to the Kokrobitey Institute and Jonas opens the gate for us.  We are welcomed by our coordinators: Nathaniel, Raina, and Lauren.  I love this place already…

by Sierra Stewart

Hi, my name is Sierra Stewart. I am from Tacoma, Washington and I am currently a junior majoring in Sociocultural Anthropology. This trip is such a blessing for me as an African American. Not only having the opportunity to go to an entirely different country, but to take a hold of some history of African-Americans that is not taught well in the classrooms or in textbooks. So many times in America the conception is that black history began in slavery when it in fact didn’t.  Also, I am not used to seeing great media representations of people in Africa, but I know that it cannot be all bad and I want to experience it for myself. I am also very excited about all of the people that I am on the trip with – some familiar faces and some new faces. However, I am excited to strengthen bonds and create new ones.

Getting off of the plane, everything was so unreal. One of the first things that I noticed coming out of the airport was definitely the weather change. Being from Washington, I can definitely appreciate the sun, but the humidity I knew would take some getting used to. Although it has only been two days it feels like months already. On the long ride here it was a major culture shocker. Seeing the people and billboards that were full of black people was amazing and definitely something that I am not used to seeing. Another interesting thing was the street vendors – as we were driving through the villages people would approach the vehicle we were in selling everything from food, to batteries, to flip flops.

Once we arrived at Kokrobitey we were greeted with so much hospitality. Even walking through Kokrobitey Institute the people were just as friendly and I feel that it reflects the culture and community of people just from those interactions. So far, we have been able to walk along the beach, and go on a canoe ride which I admit was so scary for me, but in the midst of it was just beautiful to be in the moment and observe how beautiful the nature around me was. Also, getting a chance to see how many people live in such simplicity was remarkable. It made me think of my own life and how complicated and busy that it can be. I never truly get a chance to sit back and reflect on things in my life that I am grateful for. Lastly, one word. Dancing. The first night we arrived we saw a cultural performance from a local cultural dance group. I did not realize how fast people could move. The dancing was amazing!!!!! I have no words. We also got a chance to dance with some of the locals here and share dances from each of our cultures. That was a lot of comical fun to watch.  For me, learning the dancing was a lot of fun and exercise. For the people it wasn’t. Each dance movement has meaning to it and the people not only feel the music, but eat, live, and breathe the music also.

by Ryan Trinidad

I don’t believe anyone truly knew what was in store in the next 24 hours. As we all arrived to SeaTac Airport (on July 24) energy was low, but I had a certain feeling of excitement. The last few times I’ve gone to the airport I was never the one who was leaving. But this time was different. This time I was going to Ghana.

Even the small things excited me. As we touched down in New York I didn’t know what to think. With intentions to one day live in New York I couldn’t stop smiling. With a six hour layover everyone got really creative to pass time. The number one option: sleep. As you can see Kayla found it easy to pull everyone’s luggage together and get comfortable. I love that girl!

Word of advice: don’t go to the Dunkin’ Donuts at JFK airport, their donuts are dry and the milk is $5.00. Just don’t do it.

Anyways, one hour turned to two. While six hours passed, we finally boarded the plane that would take us to our destination. Next stop, GHANA…

by Ryan Trinidad, Junior Communications Major

Why I wanted to go on this trip: When deciding on what program I wanted to go on I wanted to stay true to a few things. One being the overall meaning behind the trip.  The Ghana trip was based on the word “Sankofa”. Which translates to going back to learn from the past.  I saw this as being the most powerful meaning out all of the trips I looked into. There were many trips that seemed like their big emphasis was on tourism and vacation. In my mind these trips should have more of a personal connection, rather than a purpose of sight seeing. Africa has one the richest histories and cultures, especially the Ghanaian culture. I believe that this trip will be life changing and will open my eyes in a way that can only be seen when experiencing life in another place.

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