Alumni Blog

My Dream Is To Be Where My Heart Is.

Roanne Kosokowsky/STM/Ghana/2008 writes about what she learned through her Intercordia Experience.

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don’t complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don’t bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” Bob Marley

In the summer of 2008, through Intercordia Canada, I was able to travel to Ghana. It was a time of intense struggles and enlightening challenges as I tried to understand another culture and who I was amidst these changes. It was an experience that gave me a deep sense of humility, that gave me unforgettable moments of joy and acceptance, and slowly, but surely, through each passing day, through each beautiful struggle, I fell in love with Ghana. Ghana and the Ghanaian people showed me how growing and beauty can stem from stepping out of my comfort zone, and fully embracing each moment of life whether it was a moment of pain or a moment of love. This experience has given me direction and enabled me to find my own truths.
There were times when I did not think I could do it. But in the end, I would not have changed one thing because through every challenge and struggle was an opportunity to learn and grow. I am grateful for all times I was vulnerable and for every risk I took whether it turned out the way I hoped or not because each struggle taught me invaluable lessons. I learned lessons of humility, trust, patience, open-mindedness, and love. I pushed past fear. In Ghana, I found a path to inner peace.
I feel that Intercordia is encouraging development in a very different, unique, and innovative way that starts with humility and ends with a deeply human cultural experience. The program comes with no agenda, no solutions, and no expectations enabling an authentic human experience to shine through.

My dream is to be where my heart is. My dream is to encourage these messages of love and compassion that can be found through cross-cultural experiences. If I can spend my life encouraging these messages in some way, pay or no pay, I would be living my truth.