Getting the students (and myself) ready.

The planning for the trip is getting hectic; we met with the students two weeks ago to get all their visa applications, to review the policies and procedures, and provided them with an overview of the country and the cultural forces (Thank you Dr Abarre!).

The students provided me with a brief "thesis" for grounding of their research. These were generally pretty good and reflected consideration of the background of the country and some thought about the impact.

Have been doing additional reading about the economy and economic evolution which provides a great framework for me in working with the students.

The itinerary is being finalized and we're trying to make sure there's that good balance between cultural and business but with adequate "adventure". We're working with The AYA Centre for Intercultural Awareness and Development http://www.ayacentre.com for the trip and they seem to have done a really good job balancing our needs.

Fabric, Facts and Innoculations (oh my)

Getting very excited about the trip; I've been trying to build my base of knowlede on the country. Fascinating. I started by reading the CULTURE SMART series and then started reading about the economic history of Ghana.


I also got my YELLOW FEVER INOCULATION (ouch) but a shout out to TU Hospital for their flexibility in allowing me to get my shot.

Lots to do (besides picking up my malaria pills!), especially to get myself and students ready. I am looking forward to our meeting with the students tomorrow as they are to have their thesis "paragraphs" for my review.

Planning for Ghana

I've been asked to be the faculty leader on the Destination GHANA 2010 program at Temple University and I think blogging would be a fun way to share my experiences.

http://www.sbm.temple.edu/ciber/programs/ghana

The program is designed to provide students with a variety of academic, corporate, and cultural experiences. We will travel from NYC on January 2 and return January 17th. The program includes a variety of corporate and industrial site visits which should provide our students with some first-hand perspectives on the opportunities and challenges inherent in emerging markets.

The cultural visits will include visits to traditional slaving markets as well as to the Lake Volta region.

This should be a phenomenal opportunity for our students to experience one of the most highly ranked emerging markets in Africa. Stay tuned for updates and my perspectives.