It's mid July. I left the U.S. six weeks ago and have about
five weeks to go before I'll be stateside. It's been an interesting trip and
I'll try to pull all of those six weeks into one succinct blog post.
To start, I came across the pond to conduct honors thesis
research and study abroad, but I figured I would have some fun too with a
couple weeks of backpacking and a handful of weekend adventures around Europe
with friends. While backpacking, I went to Paris (France), Madrid (Spain),
Venice (Italy), Salzburg (Austria), Vienna (Austria), and Zurich (Switzerland)
and along the way missed a flight due to my military time incompetence, had my
pack lost due to Ryanair's incompetence, and found my Budapest train disappear
into thin air leaving me in Vienna instead. The combined effect of the travels
being that I now have a very high tolerance for plans not going as planned and
plenty of added character that I didn't pay for. Likewise, I had a whole lot of
coffee and dessert during those two weeks and met some cool folks from all over
the globe to explore with.
After backpacking, I went to Ghana for two and half weeks to
conduct honors thesis research on a state SURF (Student Undergraduate Research
Fellowship) Grant, albeit after a 9-hour, overnight, accidental layover in
Lisbon (Portugal) thanks to TAP Portugal (more free character). My advisor, Dr.
Lanier Nalley, and I are conducting regressions and a cost-benefit analysis of
the World Cocoa Foundation's Cocoa Livelihoods Program where I interned last
summer. During the week I was working in the capital city of Accra, but on the
weekends I ventured out, taking a rickety, old,
wouldn't-be-allowed-on-U.S.-roads van called a tro tro to Busua, a big (small)
surfing and fishing town (village) five hours west for one weekend and
exploring parts of the Greater Accra area that I didn't see last summer. I
wanted to go to Mole National Park up north to see elephants, but alas a
15-hour journey one way proves difficult with a 48ish hour weekend. Someday
I'll see some African elephants! Regardless, my second time in Ghana reminded
me of something President Clinton had said when he spoke on campus this spring.
He reiterated the importance of systems–logistical, sanitary, agricultural,
aquatic, etc–in the functioning of societies. Ghana overall is doing very well
with a growing middle class and trajectory to become Africa's next powerhouse,
but the roads are a mess, an absolute mess, and they've gotten worse in the
past year. There's plenty of human capital potential in Ghana. I've personally
seen it develop among West African cocoa farmers. But, if those people aren't
able to get their produce to market or make it to school or work in a
reasonable time, that potential will go to waste. Luckily that thought is not
just my own so we can expect good things to come in countries like Ghana in the
years ahead. That's the goal of my research as I see it, providing proof that
investing in Africa pays off, that the benefits outweigh the costs, and that
viable options exist in developing that human capital.
Now, we enter the third phase of my summer: studying at the
London School of Economics with the help of both the Honors College and Bumpers
College. I am currently two weeks in to a six week program. I'm taking two
political economy courses, one in the international relations department and
the other in the economics department. The classes can be challenging simply
because of the sheer quantity of reading crammed into each 3-week class, but it
provides a new perspective on government policy, combining the more rigid
economic aspects with the sometimes unpredictable realities of the political
sphere. I had my first midterm earlier this week, with few fatalities minus
being lightly hit by a car while
biking to campus for the test. Side note: Biking in London is still
totally worth the danger.
It's not all work and death though. I've been able
to travel to both Edinburgh (Scotland) and Stockholm (Sweden) so far, and
on the docket are both Paris/Normandy (France), to watch the end of the Tour de
France and visit the Omaha Beach Memorial, and Berlin (Germany) to see its rich
Cold War and WWII history. Then I'll be spending my final two weekends to
finish exploring London and to watch the women's Olympic soccer semifinals,
which I'm positive will involve Hope Solo and the U.S National Team!
Overall, it's been quite the summer. I've seen that humanity
has a common thread no matter where you go whether it be West Africa, Western
Europe, or Northwest Arkansas. We're all not too different in the big scheme of
things, so go out and explore while you have a chance, especially if you're a student!
