We’ve finished our first week of classes, and I can genuinely say that I have a lot of fun teaching. The students are engaged and always eager to contribute, and the discussions are lively as there are many different opinions in the classroom. Many of them come up to us afterwards to follow up with their questions, and I was impressed by their level of engagement and ambition to learn new things. Most of all, I enjoy getting to know the students on a more personal level, and they enjoy learning more about Canada. It was fun to see the different experiences that we’ve lived, our different cultures, and the different foods that we like. Rahim and I got the chance to talk on the All Nations University Podcast about the Ivey case method and our experience here.
Many students have also told us how helpful the case method has been for their learning, and how different it is from all their other courses. The common takeaway among them was that case learning has helped them make solid decisions and justify their opinions, which would be valuable for any future career they wish to pursue.
Some students have also approached us about the scholarship to study a semester abroad at the Ivey Business School. It breaks my heart that funding for the award this year is uncertain; our team is passionately brainstorming ideas to raise money for the scholarship. Our idea is to fundraise on Tilt and give donors bracelets from the Koforidua bead market as a token of our appreciation. The bead market is every Monday and Thursday – today is Thursday but it is sadly pouring rain so we will have to wait until next week to visit the market. I really hope we will be able to pull through with the scholarship, as many of the students are repeating the course in hopes of winning it. All of them have such bright futures, and I am excited for them.
I am also greatly excited for what’s to come in our future classes. The students are beginning to open up, and more and more of them are participating in our discussions. It will also be interesting to see their “business startup” ideas since our last assignment is planned to be a dragon’s den pitch.
Last weekend, our team also explored Boti Falls in Koforidua, which is made of two large waterfalls. One of them had quicksand beneath the waters, and we found it slightly alarming that there were no warning signs in the area (other than the verbal one given by the tour guide). The falls were absolutely beautiful though, and it was definitely refreshing to cool off from the heat. After that, we ventured to see the Umbrella Rock – which probably has the most breath-taking view of this city.
The next day, we woke up early in the morning to go to Cape Coast, which is right by the Atlantic Ocean. We visited the Cape Coast Castle, which was one of about forty “slave castles” built on the coast of West Africa. There, we learned about the sad slave trading history of this country, and the inhumane exploitation of the Ghanaian people in the past.
For dinner, we went to a resort to enjoy the view and the beach. Here’s to another great week of learning and experiencing the beautiful country of Ghana.
