Ghana and Ghanaians, in Their Own Words

It’s been said that there are three stories that are told about the African continent: animals, war and conflict, poverty. A glance through any news publication and the vast majority of stories about this continent likely fall into one of those three categories. But there are many stories to be told about people and places within the 54 countries that make up this continent.

But to insist on only these negative stories is to flatten my experience and to overlook the many other stories that formed me. The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story. – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Danger of the Single Story

In an effort to combat the single story that is told about Ghana, I asked some of my co-workers what they thought people should know about Ghana. This is what they had to say.

more “Ghana and Ghanaians, in Their Own Words”

An Interview with “Hannah Goes Fishing”

I love how the Internet has not only connected volunteers with life back home more, but also with volunteers in other countries. Hannah is a volunteer in Zambia and is trying to do interviews with volunteers in every Peace Corps country. Of course I volunteered to talk about Thailand. 

On What Thai People are Like

I live in the poorest region of Thailand, the northeast, but in all of my travels I think that the people here are the best. Not many tourists or travelers come to this part of Thailand, and so when they do see me, they are genuinely interested in meeting me, talking to me, and helping me. They are so proud of Thailand and their region and want to show it off to me, and when I bust out the minimal dialect I know (usually I just say “I can’t speak Isaan!” in the Isaan dialect, which always gets a laugh), I have instantly made a new friend.

Read the whole thing on Hannah Goes Fishing.