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Coronavirus, Evacuation, and “What Comes Next”

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Since January, coronavirus has spread and grown into a global pandemic in a way no one could have predicted and none of us have ever experienced before. But this isn’t news. Right now, everyone around the world is quarantining, social distancing, and preparing for the worst (while trying to hope for the best). Peace Corps was no exception to that mindset. Since last fall, I had discussed with my parents meeting them in Italy on my spring term break in April. Almost immediately after booking the tickets, the coronavirus outbreak spread to Italy and erupted like a wildfire. Peace Corps HQ quickly banned travel to Italy before the country could even close its borders. At the same time, countries where Peace Corps Volunteers serve and where coronavirus had begun impacting were quickly being evacuated of all volunteers, in order to protect their safety: not from coronavirus, but from the impacts it could have on travel, specifically in the case of emergencies (PC usually has nearby co...
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Term One, DONE!

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December 6th marked the six month anniversary of my arrival in Ghana! It’s crazy to think back to that time and everything I was feeling: the anxiety about what it would be like, the fear of the commitment of two years, the excitement about all the unknowns and experiences yet to come, and so far my time here has shattered my expectations of what I thought Ghana would be like. On top of that, December 19th marks the end of my first term of teaching in Ghana (one down, five to go!). During that time, I spent time with community members, making many new friends, I went to my local market every single week (barring the week I traveled for our three months at site check in - more details to come), and I spent time getting to know my school and my students. I also spoke up for what I believe in and advocated for my students and their needs, This term was full of challenges and joys. I had many conversations with my fellow teachers about corporal punishment (something that was recently m...
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Village Life, Starting the New School Year, and Being Madam Nasara

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I’ve been at my permanent site where I’ll be living and working for my next two years of service for just over a month now. I’ve settled into a bit of a routine for the most part; though, it’s difficult to have a routine without having any real responsibilities. For my first month, school was out of session, so I’ve spent my time biking through the community, greeting community members (a very important practice in Ghana) in the local language, reading, watching movies, observing the children playing on the field next to my house, and, one of my favorite things to do, going to market. The days can be repetitive and mundane, but almost therapeutic. I took that time to reflect on my purpose for being here: the reason I chose to join the Peace Corps in the first place and how that reason has transformed as I’ve gotten to know the culture, the people, and the education system in Ghana.  The atmosphere of the village I’m living in, which initially seems small but then seems to ext...
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Greetings from Ghana

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Hello everyone and welcome to the official blog of my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana! I struggled with a title for my blog, as “Elizabeth Miller” is taken (not a new experience for me). Finally I came up with “Ghana Time,” a phrase commonly used amongst my fellow volunteers and I to summarize the general flow of life we have experienced since arriving in country. Last August, the day before my Peace Corps interview, I was pulled over for speeding on the highway. If you know me, you know I don’t like getting in trouble (especially when it costs me money lol), so I took this ticket, my first, very very hard. A dear wise friend of mine helped me to come to terms with it: “maybe this is a sign that you need to slow down, in all parts of your life.”  At this point, I was already planning my next move post graduation from Illinois State University. Three weeks after graduating I intended to fly to Ghana for a two year stay of service with the Peace Corps. In the...
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