Homeward Bound
Today is the day - we are leaving Ghana this evening and we'll be home with our families this weekend! Although I have been very excited to come home, I am also sad to leave. We've lived here for three months, become close to people, and I'm finding it to be harder to leave than I'd expected. We've become accustomed to the way of life here, and I know it will be a big adjustment to return to our "normal" lives, knowing what we are leaving behind here. No matter how happy I will be at home, my perceptions about a lot of things have changed, and I'm going to miss Ghana.
We had a wonderful send-off... The doctors and administrators took us out to a nice dinner to thank us for giving our time and efforts. They think that we have started something good here, and they have invited us to come back again. Of course, we were already planning to come back, so we're glad they like us! They also had traditional African dresses sewn for us, so we put them on and took lots of pictures. We made them promise that they would put our pictures in next year's hospital calendar - Anne wants June, I said I'll take whatever you've got! The dresses are gorgeous, made from African batik cloth, and I must say that we look pretty good. With the headwraps and jewelry, we almost look Ghanaian! Except for our white skin.
We didn't know this, but we are the first foreign nurses to volunteer at this hospital, so we have been climbing an uphill battle. In all of our discouragement, we never realized that we were actually the first outsiders to try to change nursing practice. They feel that we have laid a foundation, and we have started some talk within the hospital. I leave with the hope that the talk will progress to change, noticeable upon our return visit.
I am thankful to all of the people here in Ghana who have taken care of us, welcomed us into their homes, and tried to make this a positive experience for us. Thank you, Fred, I will miss you so much! SVG is an awesome organization with which we will continue to be involved with from home. There are still many things that we can help to change at the hospital, and we aren't giving up!
We had a wonderful send-off... The doctors and administrators took us out to a nice dinner to thank us for giving our time and efforts. They think that we have started something good here, and they have invited us to come back again. Of course, we were already planning to come back, so we're glad they like us! They also had traditional African dresses sewn for us, so we put them on and took lots of pictures. We made them promise that they would put our pictures in next year's hospital calendar - Anne wants June, I said I'll take whatever you've got! The dresses are gorgeous, made from African batik cloth, and I must say that we look pretty good. With the headwraps and jewelry, we almost look Ghanaian! Except for our white skin.
We didn't know this, but we are the first foreign nurses to volunteer at this hospital, so we have been climbing an uphill battle. In all of our discouragement, we never realized that we were actually the first outsiders to try to change nursing practice. They feel that we have laid a foundation, and we have started some talk within the hospital. I leave with the hope that the talk will progress to change, noticeable upon our return visit.
I am thankful to all of the people here in Ghana who have taken care of us, welcomed us into their homes, and tried to make this a positive experience for us. Thank you, Fred, I will miss you so much! SVG is an awesome organization with which we will continue to be involved with from home. There are still many things that we can help to change at the hospital, and we aren't giving up!
posted by Sarah @ 9:32 AM
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