International Storytelling

We're back and working on our stories -- and of course are missing Ghana. Watch for announcements about our site in early May!

International Storytelling meets Global Ad and PR! Two returning CCI study-abroad programs – or at least one and part of another – ran into each other at the Detroit airport. The London group was boarding its (full) flight to Hopkins. Four of us traveling from Accra are going to Akron-Canton.

Aaron Self heading to LaGuardia for his rerouted flight. Delta blamed weather for canceling last night's flight from JFK to Pittsburgh, then it canceled another one while we shuttled to LaGuardia for it. We now have multiple itineraries, but the first of our students should be getting back to Ohio later this morning.
I just told everyone in our WhatsApp group that they're not just international storytellers and world travelers, they're road warriors, too!

Farewell banquet at Zen Garden in Accra. Thanks for everything, Webster - Ghana and so many friends who helped us! We are flying back to the U.S. today.

Jillian Holness has been working on a story about fashion entrepreneurship in Ghana. She hopes to find inspiration to incorporate African design into her own wardrobe. She says she's been inspired by the business leaders she's met, such as Mr. Bansi of Bansi Clothing.

I'm labeling this post Random Fun. These are: Abby and Angelo celebrating after they found brewed coffee, Alicia conquering her fear of snakes, Aaron Self raising the 360-degree camera (which became a favorite meme subject), Candice ready to start her day, Alyssa and Andrea at breakfast, Tiffany with a fresh stalk of sugar cane, Nikos entertaining our hosts during a bus breakdown, and two taken after the futbol match -- Mariel with new friend Kandey and Zac with Chibueze.

My portrait of Hamid, who has encouraged (and sometimes driven) us as our group members have pursued their stories. The nonprofit he works with overlooks a slum area, making it easy to keep its goals in mind. Pretty good futbol player, too.

Alicia Krynock didn't know anything about fishing before this week, when she joined photographer Aaron Self for a story about a fishing village outside of Accra.
"It's really interesting that everyone in this community fishes," she said. "Even the kids -- if your dad is a fisherman, you'll be a fisherman."
Today, she hopes to go back and speak to some of the women who sell the fish that the men bring in.
"The thing that impressed me is the respect they have for the ocean and the fish," she said. "If they've fished in one place, they won't go back there because they know the fish need to breed."
Photos by Aaron Self.

Yulani Rodgers, a broadcast journalism major, is covering a personal passion of hers: Dance. But she's doing much more than reporting a story:
"This experience has been so life changing for me. I came here with the intentions of learning more about the culture of my ancestors and I've done exactly that while also learning so much more about my current self.
"It's so humbling to be around such kind and carefree people. They've taken me in and just showered me with love. I'm so honored."
(Photo credit: Angelo Angel)

A 360-degree view inside Elmina Castle on the Cape Coast, which we toured last week. People taken as slaves were held here, brutally, before being pushed onto ships and taken across the Atlantic. Hard to see this part of history up close. Photo by Aaron Self. More here: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalStorytelling/posts/1861119747461419