Actually I'm not engaged at all. But I do have my faux engagement ring... a lovely sterling silver ring that I bought for $20. According to numerous sources (including the internet, advice from strangers, and my travel nurse) it is strongly recommended that I wear a "wedding type ring" to limit the number of proposals I'll get on the street. Maybe one day while strolling through Accra (pronounced: uhh-KRAW, or for those linguists out there: [əˈkrɑː]) I'll take it off to see how many (more) wedding proposals I get on the street. Think I'm joking? Check out this post from Pink Pangea titled: "How to Reject Marriage Proposals From Ghanaian Men." (1)
Tomorrow's the day folks! And let me tell you, it really hasn't hit me yet. Other than the fact that my entire life is packed into a giant backpack and a duffel bag, life feels pretty normal. Just working, going out to dinner with friends. You know... normal stuff. But tomorrow, as we embark on our first of three flights to JFK airport, it will all change. All the research and built up excitement from the past year will hit me and once again I will embark on another journey that is not simply "a year of my life" but rather my entire life in one year. Again, I will experience all of the stages of language acquisition that children experience. Beginning from virtually nothing, I will attempt to learn enough Twi (pronounced: tchree, linguists: [tʃwiː]) to haggle at markets and order food at restaurants. Fortunately for me, English is the official language of Ghana; however, Twi is the most widely spoken language (2).
Pretty soon I'll be sure to provide for you, my lovely readers, a list of things that are in fact NOT weird. Simply different between Ghana and my beautiful home state California. (A lovely Rotary Youth Exchange motto right there! Not weird, just different.)
In the mean time have any questions? Concerns?! Thoughts? Insights? Or any other type of remark? Be sure to leave it in a comment below!
Now... let's get this adventure started!
P.S. Here's a picture of my dog Chrissy, simply because (like every dog owner) I think she's absolutely adorable.
Sources:
(1) Perry, Gena. "How to Reject Marriage Proposals from Ghanian Men." Web log post. Pink Pangea. Pink Pangea, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 5 Aug. 2016."Akan."
(2) Languages, Alphabet and Pronunciation. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Aug. 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment