T-Minus Seven Days!

Exactly one week till I leave for Ghana, so I figured it was time to start a blog!
It's crazy that my year in Africa is so close to starting. I am excited and nervous and curious about what it will be like, all at the same time. Mostly I just want to be there.
For those of you who don't know me (anyone?), my name is Ann Elise Trafford, and I'm 17 (almost 18!) years old from Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. I graduated from School Without Walls high school this June and I'll be spending one year in Ghana as a gap year before college. I am so incredibly grateful to the State Department and everyone involved with the YES Abroad program for making it possible for me to have this awesome experience. I would encourage any high school student interested in studying abroad to look into YES and other State Department-sponsored programs.
I chose Ghana mainly because I wanted to go somewhere as different as possible from the United States. In the end I had to decide between doing the Congress-Bundestag program in Germany or the YES Abroad program in Ghana, and I concluded that Ghana for me would be more challenging and more fulfilling. I have also heard that Ghanians are some of the nicest people on Earth :)
From my year there I am hoping to gain insight into what it is like to live in a constantly changing, rapidly developing country in a continent that is as fascinating as it is beautiful. I will be in high school or vocational school (I think that the three options for that are weaving, cooking, and drumming) for at least half of the day and hopefully teaching at a school for the other half of my day. I have not yet figured out where I can teach, but it is one of my main goals for the year - since I am planning on studying education in college I think it would be an awesome and rewarding experience. While there, I will be living with a Ghanian host family, with whom I have been in contact with via email (information about them will be in the next post!).
Right now I am counting down my last few days in DC and preparing to leave. With most of my friends already in college by now, I am more and more ready to go each day. While I have lots of questions about the year ahead, I am sure that it will be life-changing and I am amazed and thankful that I have this opportunity.