So today is the last day of class.
Friday morning we have a marathon meeting.
A week from Friday I leave for St. Louis for a week and a half of book reading, packing, shopping and internet research on how to handle dangerous situation and health related risks, a Hep A shot and final emails and phonecalls to my friends and boyfriend before I become much harder to contact.
Thursday three weeks from tomorrow I leave for a different country.
I keep telling myself it's going to be only two transfers (mission time) before I come back. I can last anywhere for two transfers right? :)
Can I really do the research I'm thinking about doing in that short amount of time? I won't know what to do with my time for the first week... There are a lot of pauses in this journal entry because of all the shock my brain is managing as it considers what I'm about to do in Ghana.
I'm so grateful to all of the people that have made time to answer my questions and help me figure out how I'm going to do this field study. I've had at least a dozen professors meet with me so I could discuss my questions, concerns and interests. I think I've talked to almost every facilitator in the office, and I have taken a good day and a half by now out of Ashley's life... But despite my questions and concerns, I've been able to do this!
I remember having a companion at the beginning of my mission that said "Sometimes I can't believe I'm doing this, I feel so overwhelmed and I miss my family so much, but I can't wait until the day when I can say 'I did it, I served a mission!' and then I'll look back and know it was all worth it." Well we went home together the same time, so I got to hear her say that, I got to see her face when she realized she'd accomplished as much as she could and had survived the challenges of a mission and actually excelled in the life she thought she couldn't handle. Well that thought, that someday I'll be able to come home from Ghana and say "I did it, I survived I field study in Ghana", will be my motivating thought in Ghana when I miss my home, my culture, my boyfriend and my friends and my life in the United States. While this field study isn't just a trophy to check off when completed, I really wonder sometimes if I can do it, and that day when I can say "I did it" I'll feel a huge sense of satisfaction and self-fulfillment. That feeling won't even include the feelings I'll have about the people I've met, the things we learn from each other, the way we change from interacting and working together, and the other positive results from this summer. I can't wait!
I really enjoyed reading your post and thinking about the problems and challenges you will face in Ghana. In my opinion, it's really important to challenge yourself, because I think that's what really builds character in a person. That said, I'm betting it will be really hard to view Ghananians without any cultural bias. I'm not saying this because I don't think you can do this, but simply because cultural biases are so embedded in our brains, we tend to judge and disvalue other cultures just because they are not our culture. I'm interested in your opinions of Ghana and the people when you return. I've known a few people who have gone to Africa (mainly for service trips), and they all come back either saying, "the people are so happy and simple," or "these people are dying and need our help," or "i hated not having a shower/refrigerator/air-conditioning/etc." They seem to have seen only one or two aspects of the culture they stayed in, rather than appreciating all of its aspects. I'm sure that taking IAS 360R will help you see deeper into the culture of Ghana. I'm interested to see what your discoveries/opinions of Ghana are.
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