Participants Blog

And I am feeling everything just…everything.

Hannah describes her first days in her island community in Ghana

The first day here was incredible and scary and wonderful and so new.
The scope of emotions I felt was overwhelming. I walked with my sisters to the river to collect water and carried it on my head back home. The awkwardness of the language barrier and newness of the relationship made me feel anxious and eager for the level of comfort I trust will come with time. The environment surrounding me is so beautiful it’s almost hard to believe. The people along the path are very welcoming but everything is so new and different it’s hard to take it all in. When we reach the house I am tired but my sister is returning for more water so I join her, the walk brings a rush of the same emotions and patterns of over thinking mixed with excitement that I am actually doing this! Again we return to the house and I collect my things to bath. The shower is outside, privacy created by woven grass walls. It has started to rain slightly as my sister carries a bucket of water into the shower for me. This outdoor shower is my favourite part of Ghana so far and I can feel my body swell with a sense of happiness and also quiver slightly with homesickness. I want to laugh and also cry all at once. I am so excited and joyful while still scared and anxious. It is incredibly overwhelming and while I am feeling all this the sun begins to shine while the light rain continues and it feel like the weather is expressing all the things I’m feeling. And I am feeling everything just…everything.