Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Happily Honeymooning

After a week and a half in Ghana, I can confidently say that I am happily honeymooning.

For those unfamiliar with the typical phases of cultural integration, phase one is often described as the "honeymoon phase", much like a newlywed couple; everything seems perfect, exciting, invigorating; pure joy.
It has been a year since I was in Ghana but it feels like I never left. As I walk through markets, crowded with people and goats, sounds of people yelling, music blaring, sun scorching, sweat dribbling down my forehead, holding a sachet of water while greeting people, I couldn't be happier.

I love Ghana more now than ever and so glad I made this commitment- the food tastes amazing, and after a strangely cool summer in Toronto I am welcoming the heat, and loving every second of my cold bucket showers morning and night. And wearing my African cloth again, and seeing swarms of adorable African children who either excitedly ask me "How ah you?!" or run away scared of me, is just too much fun.

Don't get me wrong: though I am an energetic optimist, I am not disillusioned; I fully realize that this is a phase and that there will be times in the coming year that I may feel crappy, annoyed, frustrated, sick, but for now, I will soak in this time of honeymooning and pour all my love into this relationship between me and Ghana- I can confidently say that I vowed to stay in this marriage for at least 1 year!

(For those of you interested in details, and how an OVS (Overseas Volunteer Staff) placement begins: I am currently in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region of Ghana. On a personal note: I am feeling very healthy, have adjusted to the time, and am diligently taking my Larium, sleeping under a mosquito net, applying repellent and wearing long clothes at night! This past weekend I was at WAR- the West Africa Retreat- where all the incredible EWB volunteers working in Burkina Faso and Ghana come together on a quarterly basis to share, learn, relax, bond, and strategize. Tomorrow I'm heading to Bongo where I will be jobshadowing Ryan, and having my Village Stay to gain greater insight into rural life. After that I'm heading to Tamale which I will be calling my home for the next year! I am pretty excited to get started and into action with my placement; after months of independent learning and reflecting, and 4 weeks of pre-departure training in Toronto with the amazing Robin Farnworth, and in-country training with the amazing Alanna Peters, I am rearin' to go and apply some of this knowledge!
I am also motivated and excited because there is a beautiful amount of flexibility, and many opportunities for innovation within my placement- Sarah called it a sort of "choose your own adventure" novel. I will work with her to shape my goals and workplan in order to most effectively and strategically meet the needs of MOFA in Tamale, and utilize the skills I have to offer both MOFA and EWB. And this is an incredibly exciting time to be working with TEAM MOFA in Ghana; our team just doubled in size (!), we have a solid strategy going forward, a great relationship with MOFA staff across districts, regions, and nationally, a fantastic team of dedicated volunteers led by the amazing Sarah Grant, and 3 clear Outcome Areas we are all uniquely and innovatively working towards as we move beyond the Agriculture as a Business Curriculum to experiment how to improve MOFA's agricultural extension services with the incredible Ghanaian farmers we work with and for!)
So, in summary, I am happy, healthy, and HUNGRY for all that is about to land on my beautiful Ghanaian plate as I begin this working/loving/growing relationship!
Without further ado, I'm off to eat some RED RED (Fried plantains and beans!)
Please feel free to reply or call/email me with questions and/or comments: 011 233 279895359 or 011 233 540955865. Robinstratas@ewb.ca

Lots of love,
Robin

1 comment:

  1. Hey Gorgeous!

    This all sounds very amazing and mind blowing, Everyone here misses you tons, but we don't want you back...yet! Keep up the ballin' work!

    -Stanimal

    ReplyDelete