The Last One: Ghana, Africa

So, last week we covered my plans for the first two months of my summer. Although I am having difficulty thinking much farther ahead than two months in Spain because I’m so excited, I will dedicate my last travel blog post ever to Ghana, Africa, a.k.a where I’m headed in August.

Malaria. Snakes. Dust. All initial impressions of Ghana seem to either scream “Danger!” or murmur “Ehhhh,” so why would I go to such a place?

Naja nigricollis nigricollis 

Well, my mother was invited to present a paper at the University of Accra (the largest city in Ghana) called “Si que no es: Approaches to Afro-Caribbean Identity.” Although I have seen many of her presentations before, this one is particularly exciting because I kind of collaborated on the paper. Kind of. By that, I guess I mean I proofread some parts...

With some research on Accra, however, the city is not terribly dangerous. Every travel website I read basically tells tourists to be smart, stay in at night unless it is absolutely necessary to go out, and just be aware of surroundings. Considering all of these instructions also apply to Wilkes-Barre, the city I live in, I should be golden.

That being said, I am not sure just how much there is to do in Accra, as far as tourist-y stuff is concerned. This contrasts my other blog posts, where I yammer on about all the cool sights there are to see. Accra’s description on Lonely Planet says it has “good shopping, excellent nightlife, and definitely the best eating options in Ghana.” Well, since I’ll be staying in at night, looks like I have two great ways to spend my time. I do love food.

I’m only kidding, there are lots of things to do. Since the city is right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the beach is definitely an option.

White Sands 

There is also the Osu castle, which is a beautiful city hall. Apparently, Obama and Queen Elizabeth II have visited regularly and stayed there. The structure itself was built in 1650, so it’s really old. Although it still houses the seat of the Ghana government, this building has a long and violent history due to colonial battles for control and nasty shipwrecks.

Also known as the Elmina Castle

There is also the Jamestown Lighthouse, from which the entire city and harbor can be seen.

Or the Usshertown Lighthouse

So, regardless of its potential flaws, I’m really excited to be going back to Africa because it has a culture that I’m largely unfamiliar with. So, wish me luck with airport security, because, according to the T.S.A, I’ll be a health risk (not just Ebola, but they’re pretty worried about that, too) for 30 days after my return. Thanks so much for reading these 20 travel posts and happy sophomore year!

Summer 2016: Granada, Spain

In honor of  this blog nearing an end, I am dedicating my last two posts to my plans for this summer. On Saturday, May 7th, right after finals week, I will be leaving to spend 2 months in Granada, Spain. Why, you might ask?

It all started started with a Spanish linguistics course I took last semester. My professor, Giuli Dussias, was always having technological malfunctions during class and being really funny about them, so I really liked her. Once, when she had just started class, her phone rang and she whined:

“Ooooo, it’s my son! He’s studying to be a doctor in Italy, and he never calls me! Can I answer it?”

The whole class (about 250 people) said yes, so she answered and put him on speakerphone, and it was just really funny. I guess you just had to be there.

Anyway, she told me to come in a few times to assist a post doc named Melinda with her linguistics experiment and eventually apply for a research grant through PIRE (Partnership for International Research and Education).

The experiment, designed by Melinda, focuses on how bilinguals react to language changes, otherwise known as code switches, in a sentence. Using an eyetracker, which is exactly what it sounds like (a computer that tracks an eye and records how it reacts to visual stimuli), I’ve been testing Penn State students who are studying Spanish as their second language. These participants are paid $15 to sit through a 388 trial-long linguistic activity, two language proficiency tests, and a background questionnaire.

I never thought I would actually get the research grant though, so when I began running experiments on my own all the time it was not a big deal at all. But, in the end, I somehow convinced the Centers for Language Science Board to give me money and put me in charge of thousands of dollars worth of equipment abroad. Weird, right?

Ever since I found out they gave it to me, it’s been seriously hectic. Between scheduling participants, coding data, and presenting my experiment at various poster fairs, I haven’t actually gotten excited about the trip until...now.

I briefly visited Granada once when I was 10. Although I was young and only there for three days, I remember this city really vividly because it was so hot and it was so...cool.

I mean, just look at it. 

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This city was the last city to remain under Moorish control during the reconquest of Spain by the Christians. Although this happened a long time ago, both cultures are very prevalent in the art, architecture, and daily city life.

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For example, the Alhambra is an Arabic palace that was originally built on Roman ruins in the 9th century. It is characterized by its Moorish arches and mosaics and was the dark inspiration for Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish playwright and poet. Can you see why?

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Known for gypsies, folklore, and el cante jondo, the promise of Granada is helping me through the terror of midterms and intricacies of this advocacy project.