First, I'd like to say that I was only 17 when I went to Ghana and wrote these posts. As a immature 17 year old girl with no prior world experience, it was incredibly hard to process everything that I was experiencing on a daily basis. Also the fact that I was volunteering alone made it even more challenging, which is why my last post sounded so negative. For most people, culture shock in Ghana last an average of 2 months. After this period of time things start to become normal and the comparison from 'my culture' to 'your culture' ends. Unfortunately for me, I left at the 2 month marker, which meant I was leaving as my culture shock had finally subsided.
I remember my last week in Ghana being the best. I finally understood Ghanaians jokes, their culture, the way they parented, they way they communicated (which usually involved a lot of yelling haha) and their hesitation towards foreigners. Unfortunately, I didn't post about any of those things in a positive manner, and I am sorry if I gave anyone the wrong impression of Ghana. The things I described in my last post were all correct, through my eyes, but I explained them with a negative connotation that implied that the people who had showed me so much hospitality and kindness were evil.
I mean, duh Rachael, of course they parent differently. These people grew up half way around the world from me, had completely different upbringings, and were influenced by completely different cultural factors that I am. To be honest I was ignorant, self centered, and judgmental, while I was in Ghana and completely regret seeing my trip through those eyes.
Ghanaian people were some of the most generous people I had ever met, something I also failed to include. One of my favorite memories of Ghana involved becoming stranded on a beach with Flo and a man literally gave up his home so we would have a safe place to sleep. That night the man slept on the dirt floor of his shop while Flo and I slept in his home, and he even hung a mosquito net for us.
I do plan to return to Ghana after I graduate from college, for either 6 months or a year, and volunteer with MOP again. They have moved into their new school building and the children are excelling by leaps and bounds. I will also bring a friend, that way I can share the experience with someone who has a similar worldview to mine. After Ghana, I am hoping to travel the world teaching english and working odd jobs until I feel ready to settle down, although I don't see that happening in the near future.
In the end, Ghana is absolutely an amazing country thats culture is completely incomparable to the United States. If you are ready to let go of your home culture, and experience new things like never before I would completely recommend going, because that's the part I forgot to do: let go.
