Next up: West Africa

After a semester in DC, I am officially home in small town PA for a grand total of 4 full days before catching a flight out of Buffalo, NY, to Accra, Ghana, via JFK. Just enough time to see the fam., unpack, repack, and write a 20 page research paper on education, literacy, and democracy in developing countries.

I'm a wanderer by nature.... though I grew up in a small town outside of Erie, PA - or perhaps, at least partially, because I grew up in a small town outside of Erie (let's be honest) - I've always had an undeniable itch to travel. Anywhere. Thus you find me packing for the equator in the middle of the summer, pumped full of vaccines and sunblock, bug spray, and Paul Theroux books in hand. Thursday's the big day: it's time for a new adventure.

This particular trip is thanks to the Agyare family, with whom I will be staying from mid-May to mid-July while I intern with Mr. Agyare at Smartline Limited, a publishing company in the coastal capital of Accra. How does one land a summer internship with a Ghanaian publishing company? To use the DC catchword: networking. In this case, via the one Ghanaian I know, Kofi, fellow Dickinsonian and good friend. It was one of those rare but wonderful instances in which the "what if" conversations of the wee hours turn into reality.

Kofi and I, as he fittingly displays his Ghanaian pride (and the renowned Ghanaian tendency towards friendliness... ha)

My passport is officially host of a shiny new visa, the first of what I hope will be many. I am in possession of a ticket to Accra, a return ticket two months later, and a place to stay in between. All else will fall into place.... here's looking forward to what that will be.