WE FINALLY MADE IT!!!

Students leave for Ghana on Thursday
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From Staff Reports
CHAPEL HILL -- Fifteen students will depart the familiar surroundings of the Triangle on Thursday for a two-week study abroad program in the west African country of Ghana.
The students will arrive during the country's rainy season to experience an itinerary filled with cultural and historical activities.
The trip will allow the students -- members of Youth Leadership Initiative of the Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Program -- to learn about a traditional African culture.
They will attend a naming ceremony in which each student will receive a two-part Ghanaian name. Another cultural opportunity that awaits the students is batiking. The students will learn this technique of fabric dyeing that dates back to early Christian-era centuries in Africa. They will also learn about traditional Ghanaian weaving, dancing and drumming.
A second theme for the trip is Ghanaian history and political issues. Students will learn about the county's young constitutional democracy and its first president, who assumed leadership of the nation in 1957. The students will meet with the current minister of Parliament and tour the Parliament building. They will delve deep into the country's past and visit numerous sites associated with the slave trade that was active along the "Gold Coast." They also will learn about a contemporary problem that challenges Ghana's future: the HIV and AIDS epidemic.
A third aspect of the trip is the natural beauty and way of life in the country. Students will tour national parks, rainforests, botanical gardens and waterfalls. They also will have a chance to learn about the local economy and industry by visiting open air markets and fishing villages.
Of the 15 students going on the trip, only two have ever traveled abroad before.
"This trip gives our student the opportunity for radical transformations.," said Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate Coordinator Graig Meyer. "They will evolve from being 'a kid from Chapel Hill ' to being 'a citizen of the world.' All of them have already written about how they expect that the trip will change their lives. We suspect that none of them know exactly how right they are."
WCHL-News Talk 1360 is the official media sponsor of the group's trip. During the week of Aug. 6, the radio station will air audio diaries recorded by students following their daily experiences. The podcasts also will be archived on the station's Web site, www.wchl1360.com.
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