Amazing first experience in Africa

I knew I wanted to go to Africa from the start. I wanted to feel its heart and leave with an authentic experience that I would always remember. I decided to aim for that goal in Ghana after hearing great things about the staff and how enriching the volunteering was there.

I'd never been to Africa before coming here, and travelling alone in an entirely new continent can be intidimidating. However, after landing, I was contacted by Seth and he immediately made me feel much better with his easy-going attitude. I think he was the perfect introduction and representation of the staff that live here in Ghana. This wasn't my first time volunteering in a foreign country, but the quality of the staff here was at a level I had never experienced before. They really made me feel at home and made the entire experience just that much more rich. They honestly felt like family and would go to any length to meet my needs. As an example, there was a time in the beginning where I felt like I wasn't getting enough food (I'm a tall guy), and Seth immediately told me and assured me multiple times that it was no issue to have extra food prepared. I really love the people here.

I came Africa to experience the culture and do some intense volunteering. Ghana is a great place to come if you actually want to volunteer the majority of the day and not just a few hours like in some of the other programs I'd participated in before. Our first day of volunteering was from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon and it felt like the blink of an eye. The month of time I've spent here has passed by faster than at any other time in my life because of how busy and engaged we were with the volunteering and the people here. I decided to volunteer both at the school and at the orphanage along with other members, and both are very different and very fulfilling experiences. The kids at the school love new volunteers, and I was the cause of multiple arguments about where and who I would sit with in the class every day. I got to teach my first class here in Ghana! While I did feel pretty nervous at first, the kids are so fun and so energetic to the point that you feed off of it. The orphanage was a very different environment, but one I'd look forward to every day. It was a much more relaxed atmosphere in totality, but there'd be moments of absolute insanity that would leave me laughing afterwards. I've never enjoyed volunteering as much as I have here in Ghana with PMGY.

Another aspect of the country was how nice the local people were towards us. I had to answer lots of questions about America and constantly keep repeating that my name was Alek and not Eric. I guess they do sound pretty similar if you think about it. The people here were always comfortable to be around and the idea of safety being an issue never came to mind. There's people everywhere you go, and they look out for everybody else.

I would really recommend coming to Ghana to anybody that is on the fence about it. Some days were long and tough, but I found that those were the days that I got the most out of. This has been an experience that I will look back on and definitely miss once I start University.

Shoutout to Ty, Vick, Ruby, and....Kate for being an amazing group to start out Ghana with!