Blog #7 — Progress
When I look back at myself from August, and re-read the initial goals from traveling abroad that I had established, I do feel that I’ve made great progress towards them and have learned a lot these past few months. One of my goals was to improve my social skills, and acquaint myself with people from different places. During my stay in Ghana, I indeed met and befriended many people who were very warm and welcoming and happily introduced me to their native culture and language. They would educate me about the history of the country and the history behind their cultural traditions. They would also learn a lot from me pertaining to my experiences in the United States, and would compare what I told them to what they originally perceived of America through western media. When I first came up with the goal to make myself more socially accessible, I said that I would try to achieve this through taking more initiative in engaging with others. While I did not have to do this too much as people would typically come over and start conversing with me, I did make sure to display a friendly and pleasant manner.
Another goal I had established was to get as much hands on experience as I could, and to simply learn as much as I could. While abroad, I certainly learned a lot, as I volunteered in local clinics and hospitals in Ghana, and was happily greeted and welcomed by the staff. They showed me the inner workings of their facilities and embellished my comprehension of the medical field. I helped around a lot in patient care, and did get hands on experience for simple tasks such as drawing and analyzing a patient’s blood, monitoring the vitals of a patient (temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, pulse), and dispensing pharmaceuticals. It was an extremely cultivating and fascinating experience.
My third objective was to become more independent and mature, which is the goal I feel I’ve done the best job of fulfilling. Prior to my trip, I had never traveled outside of the country alone, let alone do so for three months in a place I had never visited before and was completely unfamiliar with. While staying in Ghana, I had to push myself to adapt quickly to the new environment, and figure out how to work my way around the area on a day to day basis. I had to get accustomed to the transportation system, the food, and the language barrier. I am happy to say I was able to do so quite smoothly, and in no later than a week, I was able to travel around the area easily through the passenger car system (Tro Tro), which was the primary mode of public transportation, had grown fond of the local food, and had picked up on some of the basics of the local language, Twi. I had fit right in, and the rest of my three month stay went by swiftly and comfortably, without ever enduring any serious culture shock or home sickness. I came back feeling enlightened, and had broadened my perspective quite a bit.
I am proud of the progress I’ve made thus far, and hope to make more and learn more throughout the rest of this gap year.
