Jessie Katzer, class of 2013, is a quarter into her third year at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., and is studying for her Exercise Science Major with a minor in Biology and a concentration in pre-medicine. But last fall, she left the United States to spend a semester in Ghana, Africa.

• Why Africa? Why not somewhere else?

“I was looking for a program that would allow me to take courses that would transfer back as classes required in my major, like Nutrition, and Health Psychology. I wasn’t even thinking about going to Africa, but I told my adviser that I wanted something really different, something that was completely different from the US. A lot of Truman Students choose to study in Western Europe, but I knew I didn’t want to spend my abroad experience as a tourist. I wanted somewhere more off the beaten path where I could travel, study, and volunteer. Originally, I was considering Finland or South Africa, but my adviser told me about a program in Ghana that she didn’t know much about. A Truman student had gone the previous Fall semester and loved it. I met up with the student later that week and decided that Ghana was perfect. The program only took Juniors and the application was due in a week, and I was a sophomore at the time, but I applied anyway and got in! I knew the program was perfect for me, it would allow me to travel, get away from the touristy aspect of other locations, study at a developing university, and volunteer.”

• Did you have to learn another language?

“English is the official language in Ghana. So, anything business, school, or government related was in English. They do have a very strong accent that took a while to get used to. The first few weeks I caught about every third sentence the professors would say. But in everyday life Ghanaians speak their native language. I took classes at the University in Legon, so the main language was Twi (spoken by members of the Akan). But traveling to other cities and villages the native language would change. Some students chose to take the basic Twi class at the University it learn the native language, but I just learned it through immersion and going to the local market and interacting with the people. The population that was around our age had grown up speaking Twi, but have all been educated in English. So, in informal situations (hanging out with friends) they often mix the two and speak a hybrid called Pidgin. This was the most difficult part for me, because, depending on what area and country your friends were from, pidgin was spoken differently. We had friends from Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ghana and because they all have different Native language backgrounds, their form of pidgin was different too.”

• What was it like there?

“It was incredible. I went to the University in Accra which is in the biggest city, and the capital, of Ghana. Wikipedia says the population is around 2.3 million, but I don’t believe this is accurate at all. There are so many people that live in places we wouldn’t consider “houses” that it would be difficult to actually count. It is hard to describe, but there were just so many people. Everywhere! My General Psychology class alone had 1000 students in it alone. Everyone that attended the University lived on campus. So people were everywhere, all the time. But traveling outside the city was a completely different experience. Villages and farmers still live very simply. It was strange to see the modernization that was starting to come to Ghana. Visiting the villages, I saw someone sitting outside on a grass roof bungalow talking on a cell phone.”

• What did you do while you were there?

“I took 4 classes while I was there. Two which would transfer back and fulfill major requirements and two that would transfer back as Modes (Truman is a liberal arts college, so I have to complete Modes that are outside my area of study). I took Basic Nutrition, General Psychology, African Indigenous Religion, and African Traditional Drumming I. I also volunteered at a local elementary school, traveled to other regions on the weekends, and played soccer.”

• What was your favorite part of the trip?

“Traveling outside Acca on the weekends. My friends and I would take ‘tro-tros’ (the most common/cheapest form of public transportation, similar to minibuses or vans that run specific routes through the city) to other regions like the beaches, National Parks, markets, waterfalls, and hiking to visit other villages. I loved the lifestyle there and traveling around Ghana you definitely experienced both. The culture and people are very community oriented and relaxed. No one is in a hurry to do anything and everyone wants to help each other. Here in the US we are more individualistic. We do things to benefit ourselves. But there, a person who has nothing, will try to help you before themselves. No one is in a ‘time-crunch’ like in the US. We would take the tro-tros across the country and not feel in danger at all. Don’t get me wrong, we had to be careful, people would steal and take advantage of us because we were white but the majority would be so happy we were visiting their country and would help us get where we were going. We were even talking to a lady on a tro tro one day and before we got off she invited us to attend her wedding! We could never actually plan to do anything. We just hopped on a tro tro and hoped for the best. The roads were very unorganized and there are no bus schedules or set routes. When traveling, we just had to adopt a carefree/go with the flow attitude and enjoy the journey more than the destination.”

• What was the most challenging part of the trip?

“The language barrier was very difficult at first and the very distinctive culture and cultural norms. For example, we had to learn to not use our left hand while we were there. It is considered very rude if you point, eat, or do anything (even raise your hand) with the left since sanitation is the best in Ghana and there is not always a place to wash your hands. Getting used to their relaxed way of life was different compared to everything in the US is always being on time and very scheduled. But even classes there started whenever the professor decided to show up. They were sometimes 30 minutes late to their own class. Accepting the differences in culture was definitely a struggle. I had to learn not to compare everything to life back in the US, or else I would just become very frustrated all of the time. People were more friendly and, if I compared it to the US, people would come off as very creepy. Electricity would go off randomly in the middle of the day and not come back on for several days. It is frustrating not to be able to study in the dark or have lights when the sun goes down at 6pm every day. But I had to adopt a different mindset and challenge myself to overcome those barriers.”

• Is there anything else you’d like high school students to know?

“Everyone should try and study abroad in college. I am so glad I decided to, it was an incredible experience that I would have never had the privilege to have if I would not have traveled to Ghana. Because I attended the college and lived there, I was immersed more in the culture and given the opportunity to do so much more than if I was just a traveler who was visiting. I encourage everyone to study abroad in somewhere different and push yourself outside of your comfort zone. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything!”