I was born and raised in Takoradi, Ghana. This is found in the western Region of Ghana. I had my primary and secondary education in Takoradi. Even though I liked traveling , I never got the opportunity to do that as a child. My joy always knew no bounds anytime we vacated because I knew I was definitely going to travel somewhere with my parents. After being there all my life, I decided to move far away for my tertiary education. I chose a school way across the country. From Takoradi in the Western Region all the way to Navrongo in the Upper Eastern Region which is found in the Northern Part of Ghana.
Before I continue, let me explain how far Navrongo/ Bolgatanga is from Takoradi. There are 16 regions in Ghana but I’ll focus on the Upper East Region and Western Region. Western Region, where I live is found on the coastal lands of Ghana, at the far end and located at the bottom on the Ghana Map. Upper East on the other hand is found on the other end of the map at the top. It’s more like from one end of the country to another end diagonally.
From Upper East, you move out of Ghana to Burkina Faso and from Western Region, you move to the Gulf of Guinea. Going to Upper East Region from Takoradi, you have to pass through about 7 regions before you reach. The distance is approximately 515 miles and traveling by bus takes a minimum of 18 hours. I have spent almost 22 hours on that journey before and I never regretted because as I said earlier, I love traveling.
Sometimes I get asked a lot of questions why I left Takoradi and passed about 6 regions just to school so far away from home. Apart from the fact that I really like the holistic approach given to education in that school, I also wanted to be far away from home to be able to explore. Also anyone who gets the opportunity to go to the north gets to experience a certain kind of lifestyle which is way organic than we experience in the southern part of Ghana.
I stayed in the north for 5 years. This also happens to be the longest I’ve stayed away from home. 4 years for my undergraduate studies and 1 years for a mandatory national service to the nation after school. Moving to the northern part of Ghana, I already knew the place was going to be different and I had prepared for the worse but it was even that bad as I thought and heard. Even though the northern weather is harsher and the sun is hotter as compared to the south, you still have a breath of “greeness” the moment you land in the north because of less urbanization.
Even though the journey was really long at the beginning of my 4 years studies, I eventually adjusted and I remember how I sometimes wished the journey took longer than expected.
This is my entry to worldmappin week 2 challenge with dreemport
All images are mine