Almost there!

On By ladismanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Oh my goodness. I can’t believe that in just over a week I will be flying to Peru with 20 of my classmates. It all feels so surreal. I remember earlier this year, wracking my brain trying to figure out the perfect Senior Project. After one failed independent proposal, I reconsidered my options and felt Peru was the best fit for what I was looking for. Cultural immersion, service, hiking, adventure, opportunities for leadership, and teaching are just some of the many aspects that will be involved in the trip.

Though I have traveled to many countries, South America still sits on my list of places untraveled. Every time I imagine myself surrounded by lush green scenery and ongoing mountain tops, chills run down my spine. An aspect that I am really looking forward to will be going to Machu Picchu, one of the wonders of the world that every person dreams of seeing.

When in Peru, we will be staying with host families and attempting to speak and understand as much Spanish as possible. Currently, I am in my fourth year of Spanish but half of the group going does not know much past, “Hola” and “Me llamo ____”. My roommate on my home stay, Amelia, barely knows any so it should be very interesting to test out our pantomiming and charade skills.

Though I am super excited, I am also anxious about many aspects of the trip. One being the cultural differences, especially when it comes to language and mannerisms. Another, though silly, is food and water. Many people have exclaimed that they get sick in Peru from the water and food. Being sick and having any part of the trip cut short would be a total disappointment.

During the trip, we have all decided to take part in the “Un-plugged challenge”. This means no technology. No iPods, computers, phones, etc. I know this might be hard, but I am super excited about the challenge. No technology also means to distractions. We will all be able to enjoy each other’s company and Peru without having our heads in the virtual world. Unfortunately, the one big down side of the un-plugged challenge means that I will not be able to continue blogging until I get home. So please, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you will follow me on my journey to Peru!!!

Adios,

Lindy

What I am Planning to do…

On By Alexandra CorinneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

For my senior project, I will be traveling with my mother to visit a few relatives (some of whom I have never met) to collect stories and recipes. In my family, our culture is the food. I am going to five locations: Pittsburgh, State College, Tampa, Miami, and New Orleans. I am going to cook with my mother, grandparents, aunts, and even second cousin. I want to learn more about my lineage and the recipes that come along with it. The recipes I am collecting are near and dear to my family, even if we weren’t the ones to create them. Some of the recipes have come to our knowledge through friends, mistakes, and other family members. No matter what, every recipe says a story; I will try to share them with you throughout the next several weeks. In the end, I hope to make an electronic cookbook that has the stories and recipes intertwined for all my family members.

You’re Ghana Wanna Read This

On By arielleinghanaIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hi everyone!

My name is Arielle and I’m a senior at Westtown School. I’m super excited to be one of the lucky 14 people this year who get to travel to Essiam, Ghana at the Heritage Academy and teach! I’ve travelled all around the world and visited about 30 countries during my lifetime but I’ve never been to Ghana or even Africa before.

From 2006-2010, I lived in England with my family and attended an international school there. This allowed me to travel the world and have Europe at my doorstep. Of all of the places I’ve visited though, which range from Mexico to Dubai, I know that Ghana is going to be a completely different experience. I really don’t think anything could compare and that’s why I chose to sign up for Ghana. I know for someone like me who has seen many parts of the world this would be the only trip that would be truly life-changing because Ghana is so different from any place I’ve ever been. Continue reading “You’re Ghana Wanna Read This” →

Getting Ready

On By lizsextonIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I can’t believe that senior projects are only eight days away and I will be heading off to the Philadelphia Airport with nineteen other seniors to experience a whole new culture. The Israel Palestine conflict is on the news all of the time, but not many people, including myself, have a good understanding of what the conflict is about.

I chose the Israel Palestine faculty led senior project because I knew that it would be an unforgettable trip that I could never do on my own. T. Melissa and her husband John Evans have connections on the Israeli and Palestinian side that will make this trip full of first hand encounters. I am especially looking forward to the home stays with students from our sister school, Ramallah Friends School. To include my interest in photography, I will be taking photos throughout our journey and composing a photo journal when I return. Continue reading “Getting Ready” →

Into the Jungle

On By Taylor GriffithIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

2/19/2014

While I’m not going into a literal jungle, in about a week, my dad and I are taking the train up to New York City! For my Senior Project, I will be doing a basic internship at The Huffington Post with Julee Wilson, the Style & Beauty Editor of the Black Voices section. During my internship, I will be trained in writing, reporting, and may even get to post a few of my articles on the official Huffington Post website. My main focus will be on covering the news and interesting topics, and carrying out any other tasks the staff may need me to do (go interns!).

I chose this project because of my infatuation with writing. While I’m not quite sure what path my writing will take me down, I plan on majoring in English in college and preparing myself for a possible future in journalism. Having this experience at The Huffington Post will not only give me a taste of what it’s like to write professionally, but will also be great practice for just about anything I choose to do with writing. Throughout my project, l hope to learn more about social media, writing headlines, handling stories and videos, keeping a watchful eye for breaking news and important stories, and pitching and producing content for a specific audience.

Writing aside, as a girl born, raised, and in love with the suburbs, I think one of the biggest challenges for me will be getting accustomed to city life. This includes taking public transportation (buses and subways), being surrounded by people 24/7, and hearing every aspect of life that’s happening around me whether I want to or not (no matter where you are, silence is golden). Regardless, the chance to work at The Huffington Post is well worth it. I can’t wait!

Stay tuned! 🙂

Taylor

Counting the Days

On By jordanweirIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 20141 Comment

2/19/2014

In just over a week I will be driving to JFK airport in New York, lugging two large suitcases through security, and spending 11 hours on a gigantic plane en route to Accra, Ghana. I’ve attended countless meetings with my group every Thursday night and learned how to write lesson plans, learned about Ghanaian culture and how to teach a class, but I still can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that in a few days I will be teaching over sixty 6th graders. Every few days one of our group leaders sends us photographs of the small school grounds of Heritage Academy, exciting us more and more for our coming adventure.

In Ghana I will be teaching basic grammar and creative writing along with my teaching partner, Erin, as well as conducting reading periods for a small group of students. For me, choosing to teach creative writing was easy: it is something that I love to do. Envisioning myself reading the written work of twelve-year-olds puts a smile on my face without fail. Deciding to go to Ghana however was more difficult. Public speaking has never come easily for me, so teaching twenty students three times a day will be challenging, but I’m sure it will be rewarding.

With around two feet of hard packed snow on the ground, my anticipation for Senior Projects is growing. I am counting down the days until I load my bags in the car and begin my journey to Heritage Academy.

Jordan

Introductions and Explanations

On By liicranberryIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Unlike those of many of the other fantastic people on this website, my Senior Project was not long premeditated. It was, in fact, established about a week and a half after my advisor told me that I, in his words, “should be in more of a panic by now.” I knew that I was going to be staying in Chicago. I had plane tickets purchased and housing set up. The only thing I lacked was an actual project. So, in slightly more of a panic following that interaction, I sent a résumé to two departments of the Field Museum in Chicago; anthropology and paleontology. My neighbor, who worked there for several years during the formation of the Sue exhibit, wrote me a recommendation, and I sat in angst worthy of an eighth-grader until I got a reply. My neat-freak-ness for which everyone but my roommate mocks me extends to the state of my inbox, so that reply is now somewhere in the depths of my archived folder, but it consisted of something like:

Hello!

We would be glad to take on an intern in our vertebrate paleontology department. Please reply if that suits you.

Obviously, I replied.

What does a vertebrate paleontology internship entail, you might ask? Well, first off, it’s a chance for my four and a half years of Latin to prove relevant in life. Mostly I’ll be cataloguing, sorting, and repairing new fossils (I guess that’s a bit of an oxymoron) as they come in. Depending on how quickly I learn to rattle off dinosaur names and fun facts, I might be giving tours as well.

Ironically, I’m much more excited for this somewhat thrown-together project than for my original plan (which is a whole ‘nother hot mess of a story). I’ll post again once I fly out next Saturday!

xx

liicranberry

Home Again

On By Rachel in Ghana 2013In Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014Leave a comment

April 5, 2013

Last day of teaching at Heritage
Last day of teaching at Heritage

It’s several days into spring term and I’m steadily adjusting to life back at Westtown. Everything feels so surreal – graduation is just around the corner and then my classmates and I are off to college. But in this whirlwind of activity, there remain things I have taken from my experience in Ghana that will never go away.

  • The amenities we take for granted are luxuries and we should always be thankful. Air conditioning, hot showers, flushing toilets, reliable electricity – these seem like miracles.
  • Middle schoolers in any culture are extremely difficult to control. But even if you feel like giving up, remember that they are good kids at heart and really do want to learn.
  • Get anti-malaria pills from a trustworthy source.
  • Stick ten teenagers in a guest house during a power outage and a hacky sack becomes a godsend.
  • Nothing goes according to plan – but it’ll turn out alright in the end.
  • It’s never too late in the year to meet people and really appreciate them. (And share lame jokes and tell embarrassing stories.)
  • Teacher Kwesi was right, I’m not Bill Gates. And while I certainly don’t think I changed the world, maybe a lesson stuck with one student or a comment I made helped another student connect the dots. Our group was thrust onto a new continent and into a new way of life. I didn’t just leave my comfort zone on this trip; I was catapulted into my “oh-my-god-new-experiences-but-let’s-try-not-to-panic” zone. That’s more than enough for me to feel like my time in Ghana was worth it.