Change is good

They say change is good, but it can also be difficult. That thought was at the forefront of my mind a few months ago as I submitted my application to become a program associate (PA) with Expo. I wanted the position so badly, but I knew it would change everything. It would change my living situation, my friend group, my day-to-day routine, the foods I was eating, the music I was listening to, the clothes I was wearing. Everything.

I’m now a few days short of my one-month anniversary in Ghana, and I so I can say with confidence that it has been a welcome change! While it took a few days for the jet lag to wear off and to adjust to the heat, I am finally to the point where I am breaking into my Ghanaian routine. I’ve traded my breakfast cereal for egg and bread, my boots for flip-flops, and my car for trotros. I can confidently navigate a decent amount of Kumasi, I know where to get vegetarian street food, and I’ve befriended many of the kids I pass by on my walk home, much to their delight! I’m also getting used to the Ghanaian currency of cedis and picking up a little bit of Twi.

While change is good, routine is good too. The more comfortable I get with my new routine, the more time and energy I can focus into my new role as a PA for Expo! After meeting with headmasters, testing students, preparing my first lessons and training my tutors, this week I finally got to see the first peer-to-peer tutoring program in action.

I have an amazing group of tutors, and I’m excited to watch them grow into their new roles over the term while they tutor and mentor other students. Having just completed week one of the peer-to-peer tutoring program, it has already been such a joy already to watch my tutors in action. They took the lessons and topics provided and went above and beyond my expectations, especially since this is week one and they are just settling into their new roles. Peering in every classroom I saw new leaders being created in the tutors while their students laughed and learned. Working with these kids has already made all this change worth it!

And so, with a new address, new phone number, new country, new job, and even a new Twi name (Adwua, meaning I’m a female born on a Monday), Ghana is starting to feel like home. Change is good.