Final (maybe) Post

September 19, 2010 - October 7, 2010 (this post took a while to write)

I have been getting requests from some uber-faithful readers to wrap up this blog in a neat and tidy way. I’ve also been so incredibly busy (or maybe scattered would be a better word) that I haven’t been willing to sit down and write, especially because I am scared of not doing justice to my time in Ghana. To force some order on my still-swimming head, I’ll bullet-point thoughts, feelings, and any comments that I have.

• The biggest culture shock of my experience was the Atlanta airport. I got off the plane and went to find my connecting flight’s terminal, and no one made eye contact with me. I had spent 3 months getting used to being stared at. The staring was always so welcoming and friendly, though, and it was weird to feel totally [opposite of individual]. There are 23 million people in Ghana, but I never felt like I was just a number—not once. I got off the plane in Atlanta and immediately lost all sense of community. It was weird, eerie, and suddenly very lonely. I know that airports are like shopping malls and hospitals—very impersonal and built for people-trafficking, but this felt different… Most Ghanaians aren’t used to being stared at like my blonde-hair, blue-eyed self, so I’m not sure if they sense the difference as much as I did. In my conversations about America, I can tell that there’s just a different aura, even when they talk about it. It’s this awe and reverence for the United States combined with the realization that they would just awkwardly disappear into their workplaces and neighborhoods and not automatically achieve nirvana and perfection if they moved there.
• Speaking of America, I just want to note something about MY attitude towards the homeland. I went in to this trip thinking that I would still be just a number (I don’t like saying that because I don’t think it’s like a number, per se—it’s kind of like how you can say, “hi. How are you. I’m good, how are you. Fine, thank you. Have a nice day.” in a total monotone, without realizing that the true question requests that someone reveals how they are doing – what’s bothering them, what’s on their mind, if their parents are healthy.) That monotone ‘exchanging pleasantries’ is what I became conscious of in the Atlanta airport. Anyway, please don’t think that I’m down on Americans. I am NOT. Let me continue. So. I thought I would learn all these terrible things about America and would be disgusted to be an American. Thank goodness, that’s not what happened. First of all, I wasn’t concerned with America when I got to Ghana. I was concerned with finding my way around. I tried to learn as much of their culture in the first few days. When I got to Kumasi and started having conversations with the international students, I started to realize how incredible America is. The country does get criticized for being too proud and arrogant, and I agree, at times, we are ridiculous. But, if you take a second to think back to the origin of the country—fighting for our freedom, questioning authority, following our conscience, succeeding against the most powerful navy in the world, organizing ourselves into a comprehensive government—I think we have a right to be proud. I don’t think we have 2 separate words for it in English, but there is a huge difference between pride resulting from comparison between two things and pride resulting from an inward view of an accomplishment. Ghana, all the way from an individual person to the country’s view of itself, has an incredible amount of the latter kind of pride. It’s almost like self-confidence. Anyway, I felt that when I was in Kumasi, talking to European students about differences in all aspects of culture. It wasn’t because of anything bad the Europeans said, but I really felt proud to be from a country with a “think for yourself” attitude. (Again, not that other countries don’t have that, it’s just that we are so focused and centered on independence and autonomy and that’s kind of cool.)
• These interviews are KILLER to transcribe. They lure me in and make me think that I can use half my brain to sift through the accent and the other half of my brain to look out the window or daydream. Then I have to rewind the recording and listen to it again, even though I successfully typed about 90% of the interview. I’m about 65% done with the interviews and I’m going to try to power through them this week (Drs Anderson and Johnson-- I’m doing my best!!).
• I’ve been working on my budget and trying to match up the real expenses with the proposed expenses and I’m so proud of myself for cutting almost all of my expenses in half (except for my housing, which turned out to be about 25% of my projected costs). The other medical students kept calling me a spoiled American for having all my stuff paid for by UofM, but here are my objections and defenses:

1. I was so incredibly responsible with money, it was unbelievable. The IFMSA students got 'free' meals with their payment, so every time I bought food (mostly cookies), they would say, "oh you spoiled American". Finally they realized that eating 50 pesewa Indo-Mie (Ramen) Noodles was probably the cheapest thing you can do.
2. I took tro-tros. Granted.... I could have taken way more tro-tros instead of taxis, but I genuinely believe that would have interfered with my productivity and efficiency. The cost of a taxi is about 10 times more than the cost of a tro-tro (usually about 3 cedis versus 30 pesewas -- $2.50 vs. $0.25), but there are a few inconveniences of taking public transportation (tro-tro).
1. The added walking time (tro-tros don't usually drop you off at your destination unless you're a clueless white girl and they are nice and the van is empty because you accidentally rode it to the last stop).
2. Feeling bad about holding up the entire tro-tro by asking the mate exactly where they are going 10 times before you get into the vehicle.
3. Being sat on by sweaty people (somehow, I never had to sit on sweaty people. I was always the sitee-- not the sitter).
4. Not having someone to talk to -- the taxi drivers were usually pretty talkative but tro-tro passengers were mostly women who had already had a long day. Plus, it's hard to have a conversation with someone who is sitting on you.
3. The IFMSA students were all on vacation and I was there on business. OK maybe not business, but I was there doing work. Although.... if “work” means that I have that much fun all the time, bring on the work!
4. I was kind of stunned by the international students’ attitudes towards research. I’m thinking that it was largely affected by the groups of people I was with, but most of the people were totally apathetic toward research and were stunned that a university would invest “so much money” in research. They would die if they saw UofM’s yearly research budget!

• Anyway, I don’t really know what else to say. I had an entire blog series (like a sermon series) planned on the topic and issue of water-- getting it, drinking it, peeing, swimming in it, fishing in it-- all that, but I’m not sure how useful it will be. I’m already seeing things that I learned slipping away from me-- trying to remember where the hospital entrances were, what time I would get up, how dirty I felt the whole time, the sounds, smells, tastes related to the food...

I do really miss Ghana. I can’t wait to go back. I would strongly encourage anyone and everyone to go visit this country. The friendliness of everyone taught me so much about myself. I realized that the American default of closing ourselves off when we are uncomfortable comes off so unfriendly.