During my junior year (Spring 2003), I left for what would eventually become a life changing experience. I had originally been scheduled to study in South Africa, but at the suggestion of a couple of friends, I opted for sunny West Africa. When I first arrived in Accra, Ghana, the first impression I had was the heat. My fatigue and the heat left me in a blur, and when a small kid approached our bus asking for a handout, I unknowingly handed him a five dollar bill and a bag of Doritos, which had been packed in my carry on bag. Little did I know that I had given the kid about 50,000 units of local currency. The smile on his face made me feel like I had really made his day in addition to temporarily making him very wealthy.

The trip soon became a day to day adventure. Thinking that I would be living in meager conditions, I was shocked to find that our orientation was set in beach resort and our dorm house was actually a five bedroom house right down the road from the University. My housemates and I dubbed our living experience, "Real World: Ghana", after the MTV show because it definitely was a house full of partying, drama, work, bonding, fighting, and most of all laughter. I celebrated my 20th birthday in the house and we had a huge event complete with a DJ and over a hundred foreign and local students and friends. I felt like I was right at home, but even better.

Living right near town was great because we had easy access to clubs and restaurants, many of which were more lively and fun than clubs I had been to in NYC. I was blown away by the expansion of hip-hop culture and lifestyle, as it was widely apparent all over Accra and even in the central more rural town of Kumasi. I was also impressed by the affluent neighborhoods complete with beautiful large homes and tree-lined streets. During our stay we also traveled to nearby villages and to the slave castles on Cape Coast. We also visited nearby Togo for a weekend, which was beautiful and loads of fun. Two months into the trip, I went on a two week excursion to Burkina Faso for a film festival which began with a 24 hour bus ride. The French I studied at Columbia definitely paid off in Togo and Burkina Faso, two French-speaking countries. At that point, I had definitely adapted and fit right in.

The beach also became a second home as we spent every Sunday there with the locals, listening to music and dining. Different groups would sponsor dance contests and reggae concerts and literally hundreds of people would be scattered up and down the shore partying. My friends and I even took a day trip to a beach resort, which was a little more intimate and peaceful, but complete with beautiful scenery and great amenities.

I can't even begin to explain the humorous taxi cab encounters: from trying to cram six people into one broken down car to negotiating the rates in the local language. None of it was easy, but all of it was unforgettable.

School was an adventure too. The University was grand and beautiful, and once I finally figured out how to get around, I enjoyed it even more. It was just like Columbia, with small intimate classes and larger lecture classes. I even satisfied my physical education requirement with Intermediate African Dance. The only differences were the lack of air-conditioning and the occasional power outage, which would either result in a postponement or cancellation of class. After classes we would visit one of the student lounges complete with a bar and pool tables. Situated on top was one of the many Internet cafes complete with TV screens showing music videos to watch while surfing the net. That was how I first learned of the start of the war in Iraq. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the news program. It was definitely an overwhelming experience when everyone started asking what I, an American, thought about it. Politics aside, everyone I encountered was very friendly and as curious about me and my life as I was about theirs. This made for many interesting conversations, debates, and humorous encounters. When my time to leave came, I cried, knowing that I could never say goodbye to this place forever.

And in fact, I returned again this year for a few months. I visited all of my old friends and made new ones. Some things had changed, and many others remained unchanged. What definitely hasn't changed is my love for the country and its people, and I cannot wait to return again.