Enabler of great experiences

CIEE Arts and Sciences in Legon offers all that one can wish for to get profound insights into the local political, economic and social environment in Ghana and beyond. The program offers a few very valuable features: CIEE lets students choose their preferred type of accommodation (either to stay with a local family or to live in residence halls). The program also ensures that students are engaged in learning about Ghana's history and traditions through excursions and cultural events. Furthermore, everything which is needed to frame the students' experience - such as safety, logistics and administrative matters - are largely taken care of or made significantly easier by CIEE. Students who know what they want to get out of their experience and are eager to engage as much with the locality and its people as possible will find this program particularly suitable since it gives students significant freedom in shaping their own experience. For instance, I traveled relatively often during my stay in Ghana, and local staff was always happy to provide resources, tips and other support for whatever I planned to do. Lastly, what stands out as one of the most unique features of CIEE in Legon is the ability to take courses at the University of Ghana, thereby enabling students to engage with academic material as local students would. While this is one of the best features of the program in my view, it is also one of the most challenging aspects since academic norms and expectations are very different from those in the U.S. During my time in Ghana, I have found that the best way to maximize one's learning experience is by taking local context-related courses which are unavailable elsewhere, and to look beyond the classroom for academic fulfilment. Overall, it is therefore up to the student to take advantage of CIEE's great enabling environment and to take initiative in maximizing one's experience according to one's own expectations.