Bakersfield’s College very own second year student Ibrahim Asiagodo is from Ghana, West Africa.

Asiagodo first came to New York through the John F. Kennedy International Airport where he was given a complete culture shock.

“The weather and food is different. I didn’t like the cold when I am used to the heat. There is too much sugar in the food. Soda is considered a luxury in Ghana and the biggest cultural shock was how everyone is always indoors, and I only know my immediate neighbors.”

Asiagodo first came to Bakersfield when he was still in high school, so he attended Centennial High School on the student exchange program. He first heard about BC when he made the Dean’s List for BC.

“For a community college, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought it was going to be similar to a university campus with 2,000 students.

I was really over whelmed with the facilities and how nice the faculty was. Even the students here are very warm and friendly,” said Asiagodo.

He added, “In West Africa the teachers are really strict and the educational system is different. Where if you were to miss a summer you would have to start over form the beginning but here you have the flexibility to where you can miss a year and continue where you left off.”

“I try to bring the way we relate from Ghana to Bakersfield since it’s so much harder to make friends here. I try to talk to everyone who I meet and let them know what Africa is really like and clear up any Hollywood stereotypes they might have.”

“For instance, the TV commercials. The actual chances you see a child like that in Africa is one out of a million,” said Asiagodo.

“I did a research paper on the food if you go to the hospital in Africa, and I’m only talking Ghana in particular. 80% of the cases are Malaria, and there’re lots of diseases here that I’ve never heard of like cancer. I’ve been here for two years already and I have never gotten sick.”

When asked what he missed most, Asiagodo said, “The thing I miss about Ghana is we go to the parks and play soccer, but here you go to the park and there are only kids playing.”

According to Asiagoso, there are 50 tribes in Ghana, each with its own dialect, way they select their chiefs, foods they eat, and festivals that make them unique.

The Northern side of Ghana is Muslims while the southern side is mostly Christian.

He added, “We have Christians go to Islamic schools. I’m Islamic but went to a Catholic school.”

Asiagodo plans on majoring in Engineering to become a pilot engineer or mechanical engineering he also plans on attending flight school.

“My first time coming here I rode on an airplane it really fascinated me. I wanted to know how it works and what was it that kept it in the air.”