Shuhan Shi, Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Internship country: Ghana
Canadian NGO: AFS Interculture Canada
Local NGO: Fafali Organization
When I first arrived in Ghana, I was excited to finally experience a country that I had previously only encountered through research, conversations, and preparation for my internship. With experiences of studying abroad to Canada from China and traveling different countries around the world, I do what I used to do is trying to learn about Ghana before coming, but being physically present in Accra quickly showed me that having a trip in the country and actually living in it are two very different experiences. I also mentioned to myself that do not pass judgment until you truly spent time to know it well from different perspectives.
One of the first things that surprised me was the cost of living. Before arriving, I expected Ghana to be considerably cheaper than Canada. Instead, I found that many everyday expenses, particularly in Accra, were much higher than I had anticipated. In some situations, prices felt surprisingly close to what I would normally expect in Canada.I started to think about reasons of this situation, and from conversations with people here I realized the significant wealth gap is a major reason behind this
phenomenon.This was one of my first reminders that assumptions about the cost of living in another country can easily come from overly broad comparisons between “developed” and “developing” countries.
Living in Accra also made me pay more attention to the differences between what is visible and what lies behind it. Accra is a busy and rapidly developing city, with modern shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, universities, and businesses existing alongside informal markets, roadside vendors, and areas with very different levels of infrastructure. But at the same time, during most of my internship I interacted with kids from underprivileged communities. Therefore, seeing these different realities within the same city made me think more carefully about economic inequality and urban development.
Another thing that stood out to me was how much of everyday life depends on adaptation and flexibility. Transportation, timing, communication, and even simple daily errands sometimes work differently from what I am accustomed to in other countries I have been. At first, these differences could be frustrating because I was comparing them to the systems I already knew. Over time, however, I started asking myself a different question: instead of asking why things are not working the way I expect, what can I learn about why they work this way here?
This shift in perspective has probably been one of my most important lessons so far. I have realized that entering a new country with expectations can make it easy to interpret differences as problems. Once I started observing more carefully, I became more interested in the social, economic, and cultural reasons behind those differences.
My experience has also made me think about my own position as an international intern. I have the privilege of being able to move between different environments and experience Ghana temporarily, while many of the people I meet have lived within these systems their entire lives. This makes me more cautious about making quick judgments based only on my own experience.
At the same time, my experience in Ghana has not simply challenged my expectations. It has also made me more comfortable with uncertainty. I am learning that understanding a host country is not something that happens during the first few days or even the first few weeks. It is an ongoing process of observing, asking questions, making mistakes, and reconsidering initial assumptions.
For me, this is what it means to move beyond being a visitor. I am beginning to understand Ghana not simply through the places I visit, but through the everyday experiences that force me to question what I thought I already knew.