These last few months have been busy, to say the least.
With plenty of travel, and time spent in 5 different regions of Ghana, hours spent on buses and semi-conscious states of mind have enabled me to really think about what I'm thinking about... and how far I've come since arriving in September.
And I realized 1 sad conclusion, amidst a dozen happy conclusions (look forward to next post on my favourite things!)... I have become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
When I first came to Ghana, many things caused some level of internal discomfort....
People on the side of the road with torn clothes, begging for money. Children walking around selling water for 5cents instead of being at school, mass piles of garbage being burned, farmers losing all of their rice due to bush burning, farmers losing all of their rice due to flooding, children being smacked on a daily basis, children crying and no one acknowledging them, women breastfeeding on the side of the road while begging for money, children not attending due to school as a result of financial difficulties, family members arguing with one another over 10 cents..
When I first came, poverty really upset me. Sometimes I wanted to cry. Sometimes I did cry. But recently, as I traveled from one region to another, the differences started coming back to me again- I was seeing things with fresh eyes, and realized just "how well I've adapted to life in Ghana".
I have become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
robin,
ReplyDeleteso great to read your posts!
i wanted to contribute some random thoughts! i think its great that you are actively appreciating this change in yourself. i feel pretty confident that as people, we are so adaptable to even the hardest situations, which can be a great thing and a strange shift, as you noted.
it would be neat to try to keep elements of your comfort - that allow you to live in ghana day to day - but also see things with your 'september eyes', recognize the unique, exciting, motivating factors about ghana that you cant wait to share or even change.
anyway, great post. keep up the amazing work.
allison
Thanks for posting Sidder. I'm curious as to how this 'comfortable with the uncomfortable' has affected/influenced your work, everyday life, perceptions, or yoursellf in general? maybe it's too broad a question for a blog comment, but just throwing it out there.
ReplyDeleteall the best!!!!!
- B Brudder