New Horizons
It's past midnight here in London and I can't sleep. The mesmerising electro-tango music of Gotan Project is buzzing on quietly in the background above the gentle hum of an electric fan (it's been really hot recently). For the past few weeks my sleeping patterns have been very bad - going to sleep at about 2am on most nights. This has got to the extent that my body doesn't want to rest before this time any more, even if I try to. Why? I think it's excitement...
Tomorrow (/today if you want to be technical) is going to be a big day. It will be the beginning of what I hope is going to become a wonderful, enlightening and unforgettable experience.
The flight leaves at 12.10pm UK time, meaning I'll have to be at the airport around 9am, and arrives in Accra, Ghana at 9.30pm if all goes according plan. There's a two-hour break in Tripoli, the capital of Libya for changing flights.
I believe it's been my destiny to visit Africa at some point this year, before starting university in early October. Nearly a year to the day since my last school exam (June 30th, 2005) and it's finally happening. When I attended the World Youth Congress, Helsinki Conference and UN General Assembly, I gained a new perspective by meeting so many people from Africa, that beautiful but mysterious continent. OK, we see and hear a lot about various African countries in the media, particularly involving the issue of poverty - but to meet people actually living there was truly eye-opening. They can tell you a lot more about real life than any of these so-called "celebrities" on TV, I guarantee you that.
Of course people know Africa is there - they cannot fail to notice - but if you went up to random bystanders in the street and asked if they could name, say, 10 African countries, I'd bet a lot of money they wouldn't be able to. The continent is surrounded by cloud of infinite mystery and I knew I had to find some opportunity to venture beyond that, to explore for myself and discover.
That will not be the only purpose of my trip, however. I am going to be filming for a documentary project about young people working towards sustainable development, with the first stage of production having taken place in New York at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in May. I want to compare the work being done on international level at the UN with what is going on at local level in developing countries and Ghana seemed like a perfect choice, since I've heard a lot about awesome youth projects going on there.
I've been lucky enough to travel extensively in Europe already, as well as visiting America and Canada. The only African countries I've visited so far are Tunisia and Morocco for holidays, but I think Ghana is going to be very different. Holidays in resorts are one thing, but going out there to learn about how people live is another experience. Better. Much more interesting.
I think it's going to be another sleepless night.
Tomorrow (/today if you want to be technical) is going to be a big day. It will be the beginning of what I hope is going to become a wonderful, enlightening and unforgettable experience.
The flight leaves at 12.10pm UK time, meaning I'll have to be at the airport around 9am, and arrives in Accra, Ghana at 9.30pm if all goes according plan. There's a two-hour break in Tripoli, the capital of Libya for changing flights.
I believe it's been my destiny to visit Africa at some point this year, before starting university in early October. Nearly a year to the day since my last school exam (June 30th, 2005) and it's finally happening. When I attended the World Youth Congress, Helsinki Conference and UN General Assembly, I gained a new perspective by meeting so many people from Africa, that beautiful but mysterious continent. OK, we see and hear a lot about various African countries in the media, particularly involving the issue of poverty - but to meet people actually living there was truly eye-opening. They can tell you a lot more about real life than any of these so-called "celebrities" on TV, I guarantee you that.
Of course people know Africa is there - they cannot fail to notice - but if you went up to random bystanders in the street and asked if they could name, say, 10 African countries, I'd bet a lot of money they wouldn't be able to. The continent is surrounded by cloud of infinite mystery and I knew I had to find some opportunity to venture beyond that, to explore for myself and discover.
That will not be the only purpose of my trip, however. I am going to be filming for a documentary project about young people working towards sustainable development, with the first stage of production having taken place in New York at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in May. I want to compare the work being done on international level at the UN with what is going on at local level in developing countries and Ghana seemed like a perfect choice, since I've heard a lot about awesome youth projects going on there.
I've been lucky enough to travel extensively in Europe already, as well as visiting America and Canada. The only African countries I've visited so far are Tunisia and Morocco for holidays, but I think Ghana is going to be very different. Holidays in resorts are one thing, but going out there to learn about how people live is another experience. Better. Much more interesting.
I think it's going to be another sleepless night.
posted by Frederick at 04:30
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home