perfect choice for me

I don't know if I've ever felt more nervous in my life than in the days leading up to this trip. I had never done any international travel or any sort of program even remotely close to this. It was going to be a completely unprecedented experience for me and I remember being so petrified that as I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight I seriously considered just not getting on the plane. Had I done that I can honestly say it would have been the worst choice I had ever made.

This program gave me exactly the experience that I was looking for. I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone while still feeling safe and supported. I wanted to be part of a close knit team. I wanted to learn how to best use my skills and time to make a positive impact on the place I was visiting and all the people I encountered there. Also, most importantly to me, I wanted a real experience and not a manufactured one. What I loved about travelling with OG was that I never felt like I was taking a tour of Ghana. Instead of being carted around and shown specific things we spent our time taking public transit, eating street food, shopping at the market and interacting with the people of this gorgeous country. A highlight for me was the time we spent in Sandema. After a couple weeks of travelling all over and orienting ourselves our group spent 2 and a half weeks living in a house in a village in the north. During this time we shopped, cooked, cleaned and hauled water (during the five days our water was shut off) for ourselves. We also got a chance to do the bulk of our volunteering for the trip. As a group we accomplished a lot in the time we were there and I appreciated that as participants it was largely left up to us to decide where we could be most useful. I personally helped to sort out clothing donations for HCC (a boys' home in Sandema that we worked closely with) and help to run a Girls Leadership Program with the other girls on my team among other things. After Sandema came Independent Travel Time -- 10 days where you were given complete freedom to travel wherever you chose which meant taking care of your own transport, accommodation, food etc. At the start of the trip I couldn't imagine how I could ever be ready for that and I was shocked to find I was a lot more prepared than I thought I would be. I saw elephants in a national park and relaxed on the beach. After ITT we all met back up at a castle by the ocean which is probably one of the most awesome places I have ever been. It was an otherworldly experience sitting on that castle wall listening to the waves. We had 3 days here to reflect on our trip together and mostly just enjoy the friendships we had formed. Our whole group really bonded on this trip.

Overall this program was just what I was looking for and also more than I expected. It gave me endless cool stories to tell and brought me more personal growth than anything else I've experienced. It's been 7 months since it ended and I still think about it pretty much every day.