Elizabeth Loewen
Trent-in-Ghana Participant 2008-2009
When I submitted my application to IDS, I knew that I would take advantage of Trent's year abroad program. This unique opportunity to study courses offered abroad by Trent for an entire academic year is what set IDS apart from other universities in Canada, and was the fundamental reason for my transfer to Trent University from the University of Manitoba. I was elated when the organizers allowed me to fast track and complete my first and second year course requirements, so that I could join the Trent in Ghana group in 2008-2009, one year early.
Returning to West Africa after living in Benin in 2006-07 was a dream come true. Despite feeling confident about my survival in Ghana for a year, stepping off the plane, I was nervous for the academic year that lay ahead. I knew that as long as I was open and ready to adapt to a new learning culture, I would be fine. And indeed with a positive attitude, and willingness to learn, I was.
While at times the structure of learning in Ghana was challenging, it taught me invaluable lessons about different ways that universities work. These are the realities of the world that you cannot comprehend from reading a book. The professors were dynamic, and forced me out of my 'western academic' comfort zone. It was not always easy, but looking back, it was definitely worth it. And when times were tough, there was always the support of our Ghanaian colleagues, many of whom have become my life-long friends.
One of the highlights of the program is the opportunity to work in the development sector in Ghana. Being able to choose our placements, is only one example of how the program is flexible and caters to everyone's interests. I would have never had the experience working in an agricultural union (the General Agricultural Worker's Union or GAWU), had it not been for TIG. Visiting the field and interviewing farmers, not only broadened my understanding of rural development in Ghana, but gave me whole new perspectives on the politics of "development". This understanding, and a feel for the real versus the abstract, is what sets students who study abroad from those who do not. The placement also allowed me to network, and connect with the people dealing with the issues of development that I was and remain most passionate about. I am now completing my Masters at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands (with plans to start my PhD in 2013) and continue to work on researching and politicizing the kinds of issues I was exposed to while working with GAWU.
But the learning and working component of TIG, remains only a fraction of what I retained from this powerful experience. As a TIG participant, it is up to you to create your own experience: you can dive into the culture, learn a new language, travel to nearby countries, integrate into a new community, make new friends who will share with you random experiences in tro-tros (public transportation vans), and enjoy live soccer matches and reggae on the beach. The opportunity to live, feel, breathe, smell, and taste Ghana for a year, has given me much more than a year's worth of university credits. Navigating and living in a world so foreign to the one I was raised in, let alone, has offered me new perspectives on life, on friendships, and on communities that stand strong despite the incredible hardships that they face. The year is an invigorating one, and promises to inspire anyone who takes the leap!