ED GORDON, host:
Oakland, California, high school senior Drew Harshaw had never traveled outside the United States before, but recently he spent two weeks in the West African nation of Ghana. Harshaw says it took being away from home to appreciate home.
DREW HARSHAW:
I spent five days at a cultural center on the edge of the Dogbe village in the Baltic region of southern Ghana. The most memorable part of the whole trip was the village Easter celebration; decadent costumes, a crowd of over a hundred heads and little children dancing in the background as if they were part of the action. I was absorbing so many different cultures and ways of life, I began to notice a trend in my sleeping habits. Every time I closed my eyes, I had dreams of Oakland and visions of my home, childhood mischief, attractive women, even street signs. This confused me. With the beauty of Ghana right in front of my, why was my mind back at home?
I brought my question to Kobe, the village drum maker. Kobe was a well-spoken, muscular man who had performed a ritual dance at the Easter celebration which involved him applying a flaming stick to his bare skin. Afterwards, when I asked him how he did it, he replied with a wide smile, `Mind over matter.' He struck me as one of those deep-thinker, heavy outlook-on-life types, so I thought he'd be a good person to ask about my dreams. He said that dreams are only three- to five-second visions that register in a person's subconscious. Then he dropped the knowledge that people only remember dreams that affect them emotionally. I asked Kobe why all of my dreams in Ghana were about Oakland. He simply said, `Point of reference.' He explained how in Ghana, many students and workers make a living far away from their home villages, but their memories of home stay with them. So when they return to the village, they can truly be at home.
Everything clicked. That was the purpose of my trip, to understand the point of reference. Oakland is my village. I know, I know. Oakland isn't a village per se, but it works in the same manner. Instead of drums echoing through our residences, there are cars that beat down the block as if there were a pack of wild gorillas in the trunk. And you probably won't find the beautiful color schemes of kente cloth in Oakland, but you will find my boys coordinating their authentic jerseys with their high-tops. And of course, instead of claiming a tribe, we claim a side or a turf or a block as our heritage, culture and home. West Africa or West Coast, every village has its own way of life. No matter where my mission might take me, I know that my village will be right there for me.
GORDON: Youth Radio's Drew Harshaw is a high school senior in California.
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