The Offer

Months of waiting are over! I received a phone call last week asking me if I would consider an exchange to Ghana! A few days later a package was waiting for me when I returned from my golf trip to Kentucky.
Inside, a book entitled "Fulbright - Your Exchange in Ghana 2009-2010"

Cori and I have 10-days to accept the offer. There is a lot to do in the meantime: meet with my principal, contact my exchange partner (a 40-year-old social studies teacher named Lucy), talk to my landlord, establish a mentor teacher for Lucy at my high school, and so much more.

Cori's thrilled. Ghana was her first choice. I'm also excited, but I have to admit I was hoping for central Europe. After all, I listed Czech Republic and Hungary as my first two choices.
Still, the more I read about Ghana and think about the amazing cultural experiences we'll have, the more fired up I become.

Ghana is located along the west-central coast of Africa. It's formerly known as The Gold Coast during its time as a British colony. The official language is English, however there are some 40 native languages used throughout the country. The most common is Twi. It's about the size of Oregon, and is bordered by Cote d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east. Ghana's southern border is the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We would live in the port city of Tema, located a short distance east of the capital Accra. Interestingly, Tema is considered the closest city in the world to the 0-degree longitude/latitude point, located just off the coast!

The first questions most people have asked me relate to Ghana's safety, stability, and standards of living. It is a poor country by western economic standards, but so is every African nation. Relative to western Africa, its economy is strong. Annual income is about $1,500 per person. The majority of labor is in agriculture, but there is also a growing manufacturing and service sector, especially in and around Accra.

Live expectancy is about 60 years. Women bear an average of 3.6 children in their lifetime. Malaria is widespread, and tap water (when it works or is even available) can not be consumed without boiling. Also, electricity, while available in and around the cities, is not too reliable. However, it is a stable country: recent presidential elections took place peacefully. This post speaks highly of life in Ghana.

Finally, the Ghanaian school year is in trimesters. School is in session from Sep-Nov, Jan-Mar, and May-July. So, my exchange would be from Sep-July, with the months of December and April available for travel.

As I said, there is a lot to do in the coming days and weeks before this is "for sure," but it appears pretty likely that Cori and I will be spending the next year in Africa!