Hey!
So I am Jess and I am a Studio Art and Art Education double major and
am going into my sophomore year at St. Mike’s.
It is our second full day in Ghana and unfortunately, it is coming to
an end. We took a trip to our compound, inside the Kopeyia village,
late at night when we arrived. It was weird to see how the taxis in
the capital looked like pieced together cars from scraps. Also, it was
weird to see that driving seems like a lawless ordeal. People casually
drove on the wrong side of the road to get over speed bumps simply
because the speed bump was more worn down on the other side. The
military and police stopped us multiple times on our journey but not
due to suspicious activity but rather just a normal police stop that
everyone had to go through.
Upon arriving, we slept a lot. When we woke, we were greeted by a
delicious meal which was followed by mandatory dance lessons. Each day
we have breakfast at 8am, dance lessons from 9am to 11am followed by
lunch at 12pm. Our next scheduled activity is at 4pm to 6pm which is a
lesson of our choosing followed by dinner at 6pm. We can do whatever
we choose with our free time, such as roam the village or take extra
lessons.
So far I have taken two dance classes, a drumming class and a basket
weaving class. Much to my surprise, basket weaving is much easier than
I would have expected.
I am much enjoying here as I am sure everyone else is but it can be
hard to become accustomed to the heat, the noise, and the storms.
There was a really loud storm that kept the majority of our group up
last night.
Although it has only been two days and I much enjoy it here, I am
looking forward to the trip home. Hope you all are having fun in
America and I will see you all soon.

Hi, I'm Lauren, a 2014 Anthropology/Sociology graduate. I took many classes with Joss all throughout my time at Saint Mike's and have been waiting a long time for this trip to happen. Traveling abroad is not new to me, but I'm so excited to explore a new culture that I spent so many semesters studying. I am so thankful to have been given this opportunity, especially as an alumni. Today's the day we head off and I could not be more ready!

Hello Everyone!

I'm Ben Zelvis. I'm going to be a Senior at St. Michael's and I'm working on an Environmental Studies major. Cooking and hiking are my favorite hobbies, I also like to ski and longboard every now and then. I grew up playing classical cello and joined Akoma this year to enhance my percussion abilities.

I found the ensemble to be extremely fun and jumped on board the trip to Ghana once I heard about it. I've never been immersed in another culture before, being that I've only travelled in the US, Canada and the Caribbean, so I'm looking forward to the experience.

Once I started drumming I knew I wanted to explore it further, so I'm ecstatic to be able to study it in context of Ghanian culture.

Introduction - Nate

Hey y'all,

I'm Nate. I'm a rising senior here at St. Mikes with a Music major and Business minor. I'm from that part of Massachusetts people forget about (yes, western Mass is a thing.) More specifically I'm from Adams (this is Northern Berkshire County which means a part of western Mass that people forget about even more.) My first experience with Joss was when I took her music ensemble for non-majors course (yes, I'm aware I'm a Music major) and have continued onto being a part of the Akoma ensemble.

I'm very excited about going on this trip for a lot of reasons. When I first attended the meeting last year I had recently switched my major to Music and was riding high on taking my life into my hands. Initially, I had planned to take a semester abroad during Fall 2014 but decided to withdraw my application in order to attend this trip that was far more interesting and valuable to my major. When the trip was initially cancelled I was determined to work as hard as possible to make going to Ghana a reality. After all of the sacrifice I am ready to take off in less than a week!

Introduction- Meaghan

Hi!

I'm Meaghan Diffenderfer, and I'm wrapping up my junior year here at SMC. I am a Music and International Relations double major and Theatre minor hailing from northeast Ohio. I began studying with Joss when I took the Music of Ghana class in Fall 2013, and have been involved with the drumming ensembles every semester since.

I am excited to embark on this journey and see what books and videos can't show me; what life and living through music in Ghana is truly like. This trip is a perfect opportunity for me to combine both of my majors, and anticipate that I will grow as a student and human. I have just about everything I need purchased (packing is another story), and the excitement is beginning to kick in... I can hardly wait!

Introduction Dylan

Hello,

My Name is Dylan Ward
I'm a junior Anthropology major from Bellows Falls, VT who will be going to Ghana in 7 days =)

I heard about the trip last year when I went to an informational meeting sort of on a whim, and since the first moment I had a really good feeling about it.

I'm not really particularly concerned about anything, I'm just ready to get the stressful travel preparation stuff out of the way and get on that plane =)

We are days away from our journey, and while there is still much to be done, I think we are so ready! The group will travel from May 11-29, so stay tuned for student introductions and then updates and photos once we've arrived.  Thanks for reading!