Tufts-in-Ghana - reasons to venture abroad

Picture it: you've just landed in Kotoka Airport in the heart of Accra, Ghana's capitol. The vacuum seal of the aircraft breaks as the door is opened and in rushes a thick, moist, sea-salted air that is mixed with exhaust fumes and sweat. You exit the plane and walk across the runway with customs and immigration papers in hand. Even though it's dark, you sense an incredible openness and closeness to the sky that's familiar only in the absence of buildings.

Outside the airport, the city is teeming with people in elegant clothes and colorful head wraps, with cars and odd-looking buses. While bustling, the city and its people are moving at a noticeably slower pace. People stop, look you in the eye, and greet you with sincerity. You notice this human element in every transaction.

This is Ghana, the home of Tufts' only program in Africa. Students can spend a fall semester at the University of Ghana, Legon, one of Africa's leading universities. The program gives students the opportunity to learn what Tufts' Medford campus cannot teach them. There are visits to historical slave forts along the coast and students learn what Ghanaians think about slavery, world politics, and the future of Africa. Perhaps for the first time in a student's life, all figures of authority are people of color. And as they learn about Africa from the African's perspective, they in turn learn more about America's race relations and the politics of the world.

Students will see what the Western media often does not. For example, they will see the modern universities and facilities, the rich cultural traditions and textiles, and the generosity and hospitality of Ghanaians. They can compare and contrast the cosmopolitan city of Accra with the village life while attending one of the weekend excursions to the fishing village of Kopeyia, home to the Dagbe Center for Arts and Culture. At the Center, students live without running water, electricity, or phone service while learning traditional dancing, drumming, and batik and tie-and-dye from master craftsmen and women.

While the experience may sound exotic and adventurous, it is challenging and sometimes frustrating, like all study abroad experiences. By American standards, the teaching style is formal and registering for classes is lengthy and exhausting. By American standards, the transportation system is confusing and vehicles are often run down. But if you want only American standards, then the Ghana program isn't for you.

Having a successful experience in Ghana will require you to live a different life than you do at Tufts. It may mean that you don't stay out late at night. It may mean that attending religious gathering is the easiest outlet to socializing with Ghanaians. It may also mean that you learn to speak Twi and adapt to local customs like greeting everyone you do business with. While stepping outside of your comfort zone is never easy, it is always an incredible learning experience that you won't get in a classroom.

The Tufts-in-Ghana program is important because it not only gives undergraduates the experience of a lifetime, but also because of the reciprocity of the exchange agreement between Tufts and the University of Ghana, Legon. For every three Tufts students that spend a semester on Tufts-in-Ghana, one Ghanaian student receives a full-year scholarship to study at Tufts. Tufts benefits from having African students on the Medford campus because they lend their voices in classrooms, seminars, residence halls, and clubs.

This type of mutually beneficial exchange is why Tufts is a leading university in international relations. And while you picture Tufts students living and studying at Legon, at the same time Ghanaians are adjusting to life in America at Tufts.

Janna Behrens is the Program & Orientation Coordinator for Tufts Programs Abroad. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana from 1995-97.