By Haley A. Bowers
STATESBORO- A group of about 20 Georgia Southern University staff and students gathered together Thursday afternoon in the Carroll Building to hear Junior Sarah Goss speak on her adventures to Ghana in her presentation “My Semester in Ghana: A First- Hand Account of Making a Second Home in the Third World.”

When people run into Goss at Wal-Mart, the first question they ask her is how her time in Ghana was. “Really wonderful” is the abbreviated answer many people get. On February 23, she was here to tell her audience in detail about her experiences in Ghana.

Goss, a double major in anthropology and nutrition, spent August though December of 2005 in Ghana studying archeology. Goss told the crowd that Ghana is a country West Africa, and it is the size of Oregon and all terrain is present- beaches, mountains and deserts.

During her archeological studies Goss found that there was a major distinction in studying East and West Africa. One of the more popular declarations of Ghanaians is that “Ghana faces neither East nor West; we face forward.”

Another popular declaration that the crowd got a laugh out of was Ghanaians’ declared love for former President Bill Clinton. Goss told the crowd in the Carroll Building stories about talking politics with the local people. “Whenever Clinton was mentioned the surrounding crowd would nod their heads and voice their approval of him.”

During the presentation, the crowd munched on traditional Ghanaian food like mango muffins, pineapple, bananas and fried plantains. In a country where so much of the food is eaten with the hands, Goss said Ghanaians keep soap and water on the table. There were many restaurants in Accra, the capital city where Goss lived, including many Lebanese and Indian eateries and even an Irish pub.

As a nutrition major, Goss noted the fact that there was a strong emphasis on energy. “People eat lots of carbs in Ghana.” She said that a favorite drink of the locals was the Irish beer Guinness. Goss said that one “really awful” drink she had was a vitamin B drink called Malta that tastes like melted licorice.

Goss also noted that most travelers ended up in the hospital at some point. Various diseases ranging from Malaria, Typhoid fever and bacterial infections were the most common to be treated. Goss said that being in an African hospital was “not that big of a deal,” reminding the audience that the people that treated the patients are certified doctors who are very used to dealing with these problems.

One of Goss’ favorite stories was about meeting the Chief of Yonso in Ghana. The students woke early in the morning and put on their best clothes to go meet the chief. It is tradition to have a drink with the chief, anything from a coke to a beer. One of Goss’ friends chose to have the beer, not knowing that it was tradition to finish what you take. Goss laughed, saying “So at 7:30 in the morning, before breakfast, my friend was having a pretty good time.”

Goss said that she enjoyed the sunny and warm weather the most, and the really relaxing lifestyle of the Ghanaians. She said that the most difficult aspect of her trip was feeling so conspicuous outside of the hostel. Goss said that she also lived in constant fear of being sick so far away from home.

Even though Goss lived in a major city of 3 to 4 million people, she noted that there was a slower pace of life. She talked about how popular cell phones were in Ghana- people would come up to her and show her the latest Kanye West video on their cell phone.

Goss was the first GSU student to participate in the ISEP- the International Student Exchange Program. According to Jeff Palis, the Study Abroad and Exchange Coordinator at International Studies, Goss paid for housing, tuition and a meal plan at GSU and then used it in Ghana. She took her classes in English with other Ghanaians who have been speaking proper British English since they were three or four.

Cultural Anthropologist Barbara Hendry, a professor at GSU said that there were many great things that people learn when they go and live outside of the United States. “On return to the United States, we can look at our own culture differently. When living outside of America, we also lose our ethnocentrism and are able to look critically and objectively at our own society.”