Journalism graduate, Kelli Matthews, with friends in Ghana.

The lights go out, the television turns off and the ceiling fan slows to a stop. Mr. Kwami, frustrated, wonders aloud to anyone who will listen why they don't keep the generators on standby.

It's 12:30 in the afternoon in the Research Department at the Ministry of Communication; the media review, which was due to the president's office at 11:00 a.m., will have to wait. The power outage obliterated the edits and corrections and it will take until at least 2 p.m. to finish the task.

The people in the office laugh at the inconvenience, and at Mr. Kwami's obvious frustration and they go back to reading the newspaper or making small talk with each other or me--the obrani from Oregon who is doing a short attachment in their office...

This past summer, I spent five weeks in Ghana as part of a collaborative program between the University of Oregon, the University of Kansas and University of Ghana for international internships opportunities. My experience there included many inconveniences of Third World life that were easy to laugh off and some that weren't so easy.

Ultimately I learned that life in Ghana is about people struggling every day for predictability. In a land of contradictions and juxtapositions, this daily struggle--whether a matter of inconvenience or the search for the day's only meal--represents Ghana.

"I thought I was prepared for whatever Ghana would deliver. ...I was wrong."

At night, I would lay exhausted from carrying out the tasks of everyday life. At the same time, the citizens struggled to buy food because the prices have gone up so much since last month. They were struggling to recover from the floods in early July that caused not only physical damage and fatalities, but resulted in a cholera outbreak in the nation's capitol. Ghanaians try to provide a better life for themselves and their families, one that they know about from the media, but one that is always just out of reach.

I thought I was prepared for whatever Ghana would deliver. I had taken classes, I had done reports, I had read African newspapers online on a fairly regular basis. I know much more about Africa than many of my peers--I am familiar with political situations in the hot spots and some of the not-so-hot spots, I understand the significance of historical and cultural context when analyzing events.

I was wrong. I hadn't traveled out of the United States before and barely off the West Coast. In a land of contradictions and conflicting images, I struggled to find somewhere, someway to get my bearings, to feel at home. Nothing is like it is in the United States, even the things that are supposed to be European or American.

Since my return, I have found it difficult to contend with questions about my desire to study and travel to Africa. With my pictures and anecdotes, I think I simultaneously dispel and confirm the generalizations, stereotypes and assumptions about Africa--only a dark continent because of our lack of knowledge about it.

"Was it safe?" I get asked a lot.

"Of course," I answer.

"Do they have McDonald's there?" As if Big Macs and Super Size Diet Cokes are a measure of civilization or lack thereof.

"No," I answer. "But there are a couple of places that are kind of similar."

I want to tell everyone who asks (and many who don't) about the people, the amazing rainforest, the monuments, the national pride, the peaceful transition of power in the government. And of course, about the nauseating roads, the street hawkers and the strange
notion that we were all rich.

But what I say is, "It was a really good experience." I want this feeble statement to convey the diversity of experiences that I had, but I know it doesn't.

Ed. Note: Kelli participated in an annual five-week summer institute at the University of Ghana (Legon, Accra, Ghana, West Africa). Students can earn up to 8 term credits by taking a course on Media in Ghana and completing an internship with a local media outlet.