Ghana Broke Me 10/9/2016
I didn't pack a lot of expectations when I set out on this journey. I spent 35 years of my life living with expectations and that was one thing I wanted to leave behind. I thrive on a healthy social network, I lost that when I arrived in Ghana. I had nothing but one suitcase and one carry-on bag. I have never made friends so quickly and wholeheartedly in my whole life. I pride myself on my ability to make friends. I learned how to do this specifically when I left my friends and family in Chicago and moved to Phoenix, Arizona. I learned it again when I moved to Flagstaff, Arizona and didn't know a soul there. Building a friendship takes time. You need to learn a persons strengths, their weaknesses, their sense of humor, you need to meet their friends and family, you need to cry together, laugh together, you need to have moments where you fall and they pick you up and this goes both ways. It can take years to establish this level of friendship.
I experienced this at super warp speed in Ghana. I know my fellow colleagues and I all signed up for this wild ride on our own freewill, but I never anticipated what it would be like to nurture these relationships, it wasn't even on my radar. I was happy with the thought that I was going to be alone here. I wanted to spend time with myself. Flashback to the previous paragraph where I stated that I wasn't bringing expectations.
We were all plucked from our homes, our friends, our families and our creature comforts. We were thrust into the unknown and we needed to rely on each other for everything. We were all struggling, we were all displaced, we were all alone. We quickly united, one persons weakness was another's strength. We pulled together, pooled the only resources we had, the ones that come from inside each of us. We wove them together and launched ourselves into the unknown, stronger than we were when we left the comfort and security of our homes. The bonds we formed were stronger than most friendships I've spent a lifetime building.
I am so grateful for these friendships, my time here wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining without my new found friends. We needed to depend on one and other for everything.
For example; an adventure here isn't complete if your transportation doesn't break down at least once. Back home I would have panicked. Honestly, the first few times it happened here I did. But guess what? It all worked out. I got to my destination a little later than expected. But it all worked out. Now an ordinary ride in a tro tro has a great memory attached to it and I got to share the adventure with some great friends!
No joke, every task you do, everything you try to accomplish, something will go wrong. I admit, I have the tendency to be controlling, high strung, stubborn, and a perfectionist. In other words, I'm a brat. I want what I want and I want it now! This often took a little work but this was the norm for me in the States.
Ghana beat this out of me. I put up a good fight. Maybe that's why the hostile phase lasted so long for me. I still haven't found the words to describe the transition that happened within me. It was some combination of me learning to submit, letting go and relaxing. This honestly was a huge internal struggle, letting go. Think about it, we have all faced adversity or disappointment at some point in out lives, right? Historically I would immediately work myself up into a tizzy, I would panic, I would obsess and lose sleep until I got my way. But I always got my way. Here I learned that the problem WILL always get solved, I WILL always get my way because I am persistent. I can still get what I want but I learned how to do it with out freaking out and being so stressed. IT WILL WORK OUT! Let's face it, I'm here, it doesn't always go exactly as planned, but I promise you, someway, somehow, it all works out, it always does. Even the things in the past that have totally fallen apart, they have led me to where I am today.
Ghana broke me. She beat me down. She did the impossible. Thank you Ghana. I am excited to take home my souvenirs and photographs, but I am most grateful for bringing back my new me. Because Ghana beat me into submission I feel rejuvenated, I feel more present, I feel less pressure, I feel happy.
OK, OK , one more thought. If you suffer from OCD, if you're a germaphobe, if your personal space bubble is too big, if you have too much confidence, if you think you know it all, if you think you have it all, I challenge you. Come here, Ghana will cure you of all of this. It's quite liberating.
(Photo above: Ghana also landed me in the hospital with some crazy unidentifiable rash!)
We were all plucked from our homes, our friends, our families and our creature comforts. We were thrust into the unknown and we needed to rely on each other for everything. We were all struggling, we were all displaced, we were all alone. We quickly united, one persons weakness was another's strength. We pulled together, pooled the only resources we had, the ones that come from inside each of us. We wove them together and launched ourselves into the unknown, stronger than we were when we left the comfort and security of our homes. The bonds we formed were stronger than most friendships I've spent a lifetime building.
I am so grateful for these friendships, my time here wouldn't have been nearly as entertaining without my new found friends. We needed to depend on one and other for everything.
For example; an adventure here isn't complete if your transportation doesn't break down at least once. Back home I would have panicked. Honestly, the first few times it happened here I did. But guess what? It all worked out. I got to my destination a little later than expected. But it all worked out. Now an ordinary ride in a tro tro has a great memory attached to it and I got to share the adventure with some great friends!
No joke, every task you do, everything you try to accomplish, something will go wrong. I admit, I have the tendency to be controlling, high strung, stubborn, and a perfectionist. In other words, I'm a brat. I want what I want and I want it now! This often took a little work but this was the norm for me in the States.Ghana beat this out of me. I put up a good fight. Maybe that's why the hostile phase lasted so long for me. I still haven't found the words to describe the transition that happened within me. It was some combination of me learning to submit, letting go and relaxing. This honestly was a huge internal struggle, letting go. Think about it, we have all faced adversity or disappointment at some point in out lives, right? Historically I would immediately work myself up into a tizzy, I would panic, I would obsess and lose sleep until I got my way. But I always got my way. Here I learned that the problem WILL always get solved, I WILL always get my way because I am persistent. I can still get what I want but I learned how to do it with out freaking out and being so stressed. IT WILL WORK OUT! Let's face it, I'm here, it doesn't always go exactly as planned, but I promise you, someway, somehow, it all works out, it always does. Even the things in the past that have totally fallen apart, they have led me to where I am today.
Ghana broke me. She beat me down. She did the impossible. Thank you Ghana. I am excited to take home my souvenirs and photographs, but I am most grateful for bringing back my new me. Because Ghana beat me into submission I feel rejuvenated, I feel more present, I feel less pressure, I feel happy.
OK, OK , one more thought. If you suffer from OCD, if you're a germaphobe, if your personal space bubble is too big, if you have too much confidence, if you think you know it all, if you think you have it all, I challenge you. Come here, Ghana will cure you of all of this. It's quite liberating.
(Photo above: Ghana also landed me in the hospital with some crazy unidentifiable rash!)
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