Listmania

Friday August 13th 2010

10 Things I’m Surprised to Say…

1) I’ve made more solid friendships in 4 months overseas than I have in my entire time thus far at UNB
2) I’m more excited by thoughts of returning overseas than by thoughts of going home
3) I think that I’ll miss the taste of palm oil in all of my food
4) In only 4 months I’ve learned an incredible amount about management and organizational change
5) I’m more empathetic than ever to Ghanaian individuals who ask me for money
6) Cheesy R&B music now has a whole new meaning to me and I love it
7) Coming to Ghana has made me a more patriotic Canadian
8 ) Hohoe and its vibrant character feels more like home than ever I thought possible
9) Coming to Ghana has made me a (slightly) more relaxed person
10) I’ll miss Hohoe market, even if it does smell simultaneously of smoked fish, fermented maize, and urine

10 Things I’m looking forward to in Canada…

1) Choices
2) Re-connecting with the Canadian side of EWB, especially my chapter
3) Drinking delicious real coffee and tea without truckloads of sugar and condensed milk
4) Having access to multiple sources of credible information 24/7
5) Watching all of the EWBBC episodes I’ve missed
6) Spending time in New Brunswick with people and things I love
7) Recalibrating my healthy food meter
8 ) The crispness of the Fall season and all of its beautiful colors
9) Fast internet, tabbed browsing, regular email access
10) Living life with a relative level of anonymity

10 Things I won’t miss about Ghana..

1) The stink of sewers, open defecation, and street butchers often within a few meters of each other
2) The lack decent of customer service everywhere you go
3) Eating and drinking so many preservatives and artificial colorants
4) The more-often-than-not sketchiness of trotro travel
5) The general disregard for punctuality and time management
6) Disrespectful male Ghanaians who heckle me because I’m a young white female
7) Travelling on dusty roads for long enough that you arrive at your final destination covered in red dirt
8 ) The fact that the lights always seem to go off when I’m in a rush and quickly need to find something
9) Being an anomaly 24/7 and attracting ridiculous amounts of attention everywhere I go
10) Bathing with cold water day in and day out

10 Things I’m Thankful for..

1) My Ghanaian family and their openness to sharing, concern for my safety, and willingness to accept me for who I am
2) My coach/friend/mentor/ right hip, Colleen
3) The opportunity to work with so many different types of crops across Ghana
4) My miraculously good health over the past few months
5) Helpful Ghanaians. From navigating trotro stations, to getting a bike lift from a complete stranger, I’ve been incredibly blessed to meet SO many honest and helpful people
6) People back in Canada who have kept me grounded throughout this process
7) Foundation Learning and pre-departure training. Looking back these were both incredibly useful
8 ) My awesome counterpart Ben: at once a teacher, guide, role model, and friend
9) The opportunity to visit so many diverse communities across Ghana
10) Amazingly supportive friends

Thanks for reading,

Erin

Advertisement