Goodbye Home, Hello Africa!

"I love you, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

I have been thinking about this moment for about a year and a half. Scratch that. I've been thinking about this moment ever since I came to Hendrix, and knew that I wanted to study abroad and go to Africa.

I don't know what to expect. At all. I think that might be the best part. Yes, I may have no hot water. And yes, I may just have to wash my own clothes, minus a washer and dryer. But really, that's what I wanted to get out of this experience anyway. I wanted to live a little differently for awhile so that I can find greater meaning and appreciation for the life I have lived for the past 21 years.

I am going to Ghana. I am going to Africa. For 5 months. It's crazy how much I have changed in the past couple years at Hendrix, so it should be interesting how I change and what I learn from 5 months of studying at the University of Ghana.

Why Ghana? What do I want from this experience?

To be challenged, to be uncomfortable, and from this, find ways to adapt and learn from being uncomfortable.

To become more open-minded.

To understand the gifts God has given me, and to use them as I meet new people from all parts of the world.

To let go of being in control all of the time. Really, to just let things happen as they happen, and rely on others more fully.

To find inner peace.

To learn new ways to trust God.

To move away from relying on material items all the time.

To find a place in Ghana to volunteer my time, as I further try to find my purpose and path in life.

To always, always appreciate the blessings—big and small—in life.

Those are some goals and thoughts behind my motivation to study in Ghana.

My blog is named "This is Africa" because after talking about Ghana with a girl who studied there in the past, she told us that this is what she had to keep in mind while living in Africa. Things are just different there, not necessarily worse, just different. Whenever she would get frustrated with how things were being done in Ghana, she would remind herself—"This is Africa." I too, will be reminding myself of this. Hopefully, I can achieve my goal of just letting things happen as they will happen, and I can fully embrace This is Africa.

Tomorrow I have a flight from Denver to London, and then will head from London to Accra on British Airways. I should be arriving in Accra on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at approximately 9:30 pm. It is then, that the adventure really begins.