4 Month Check-In
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Nearly four months ago I was a completely different person, leading an entirely different life, with a very different career path in mind. August 3, 2013 was exactly one week before the departure for one of the most life-altering journeys of my life to date; a Global Brigade to Ghana, Africa.
Looking back on who I was when I returned from my summer in Ireland, before I left for the brigade to Ghana, I am shocked at the amount of personal growth that has ensued over the past four months. For my four month check-in, I wanted to share with you the four main ways my life has changed since Ghana.
1. Global Conscience
The past four months I have made it a priority to be aware of what is going on in the world around me. To look at the world from a global perspective, versus a nationalistic one. I had become more globally aware while being in Ireland, but the culture shock was not as extreme as the one experience in Ghana. I became emotionally attached to Ghana as a country, and the dreams I have for it in the future. My heart still pings when I think of how far away I am from the people I met there, wondering if they are okay. I wonder if one of the women I spent time with had her baby yet? I hope they’re doing well…
My point is, is that I went from someone who was not well educated about politics, social issues, and everyday happening in my own country, to being someone who regularly reads the Economist and Globalpost. I have been blessed with taking a course in international marketing this semester that has kept my global conscience alive, and has fed my appetite for knowledge. I am happy that at nearly 22 years old, I can officially say I am informed. Better late then never!
2. Graduation
I went to Ghana anticipating a May 2014 graduation date, and now see myself looking two weeks ahead at my quickly approaching December 2013 graduation!
3. Career aspirations
Four months ago I thought I would continue school for another year, with extra courses taken after graduation in order to fulfill prerequisites for dental school. I went to Ghana and was so struck by my experience that at first I thought I must become a dentist It wasn’t until relatively recently that I was able to admit to myself that I didn’t love Ghana for the mental/dental aspect, but rather, the connection with the community. The ability to empathize with a consumer is the key to being a good marketer, and marketers don’t always have to be malicious. I realized that I have the opportunity to go back to Ghana as a professional out of the medical/dental field one day, I can go along with a business or micro finance brigade to help communities become self-sustaining.
4. Hope
I was not in a great place emotionally before Ghana, I was burnt out from working all summer, and I was deeply saddened by experiences and losses over the past few years. Last spring my beloved cousin Drew passed away unexpectedly. I did not understand how he was gone, yet life was still moving – almost too quickly. I never really processed Drew’s death until I was in Ghana. I had a lot of quiet time to think, without technology, without obligations outside of volunteering. Ghana served as a retreat for me. Traveling far away, with 25 people I did not know too well, surprisingly provided the perfect atmosphere for me to internalize life and death, and the balance of it all. Ghana, the people I met, and more importantly the friendships I made with the one’s I traveled with, reignited the dimming flame of hope and faith for me. For that, I am grateful.
Not all brigades provide an outcome this strong or emotional, it depends on the person, the time in one’s life, and whether or not one is open to the experience fully. I can honestly say that Ghana is a huge reason for who I am today, and that is because of a lot of things that have happened since Ghana, and because I went to Ghana.
For all those brigaders out there who read this – I love you all! Medasi Pa Pa Pa!
Citizenship, Pandora’s Box
I remember the first day I met my roommate and best friend at Loyola – it was October of my freshman year. She ran up to a table I was sitting at in the IC and gave a huge hug to a girl across from me screaming “I did it! I got my American citizenship”! This was one of the first times I’d ever experienced the term “citizenship”… yes, experienced it. Not just heard about it, read about it, discussed it. I experienced the effects of citizenship… My roommate had spent nine years waiting for the day she could finally claim her American citizenship, an honor she had only dreamed of before. For her, with her newfound citizenship she was presented unlimited opportunities for her future life. She no longer was bound to her Polish citizenship, which was doing no good for her as a resident of nearly 10 years in America. Citizenship is a funny thing; it’s exclusive while being inclusive at the same time, it’s Pandora’s box that opens to reveal limitless opportunities, it is the golden ticket.
Citizenship creates a bond that everyone within a nation shares; it breeds community closeness, and nationalism. But what exactly is citizenship? And why are there different forms? What is the difference between global and national citizenship? Aren’t we all global and national citizens? My understanding is that national citizenship is you as a person of your country of origin. It is a birth right – I am an American citizen. The term “citizenship” itself refers to an identity between oneself and his/her nation, state, etc. As a citizen you have the right to work, live, and participate both socially and politically within your nation, state, community, etc. So, for one to be a global citizen, he or she would need to place their identity within a global community, and honor that identity and citizenship above their national citizenship… or at least this is my understanding from what I have learned.
So, can one be a global AND a national citizen, or is it an either/or situation? And what does this make me? Where do I stand as a citizen? I am an American citizen by birth, but my citizenship, my definition of myself, has been altered by experiences from this summer. In my first blog, post, “A Chance To Grow, The Chance Is Now”, I addressed my view on global citizenship and being a global citizen, as I understood it a mere few weeks ago. I realize now that as time goes on and I learn more about myself daily, my knowledge of who I am and where I stand in the world is continually changing. I, Meghan Anne Jones, am both an American citizen AND a global citizen. I can safely say that I identify a major part of who I currently am with the people of the Techiman community. I am a global citizen; I have worked in another country, in another community. I am a citizen of the world, caring not only for my own country of origin and the residents within it, but for the people of the world and of to focus on how we can all work together, with each other, for a greater future.
Perhaps I would have done well as a hippie….
Peace & Love,
M
Top 3 Mistakes of Volunteering Abroad
College is a time in your life when you have the opportunity to go away from home for four years (on average) to spend time on fostering the development and overall growth of YOU, no one else, just you. When else are you going to be encouraged to take any class of your choosing, go to a concert you’ll never get to again, join Greek life and clubs even though they come with additional costs, and most importantly, to travel? Traveling in college comes in many forms and opportunities, I for example have traveled two separate times, once for an internship to Ireland, and once to do service work in Ghana. Through my travels I have learned three important mistakes, the hard way:
- You think it’s all about YOU
- It’s easy as a self-centered millennial to be blind to the actual purpose of service learning… Many college kids make the mistake of traveling thousands of miles away to perform service work in another country in order to benefit themselves in the long run. The false belief that service work will make YOU a better person. Make YOU a better job candidate. Make YOU better. In fact, the ultimate goal of service work and volunteering is to better the lives of the people you are traveling thousands of miles to help. To create a more self-sustaining culture, whether it be targeting from a financial standpoint, or a medical standpoint. Service, service work and service learning, when done properly, will benefit both sides of the equation: The volunteer, and the individual
- You don’t live in the present
- Technology runs our lives. I’m on my laptop right now, while my phone is on my lap, with my tablet playing music right next to me. Technology is dangerous, it sneaks up and consumes you – like a thief in the night stealing pieces of daily innocence and replacing them with “fillers” like social media sites. An important part of service work and service learning is learning to put down the technology and focus on what’s in front of you. Sure, the ten thousand pictures of you with the community members will prove you went to South America when you were in undergrad, but what else will they serve for in 10 years? Appreciate the people you are meeting, the experience you are having. Put your camera down and stop capturing the moment, but live it.
- You close yourself off emotionally
- You’re going to a different country to volunteer for a good cause, you might not be able to be with all your closest buddies, and you most likely aren’t going for a weekend trip. Open up sooner than later, you’ll save yourself the pain of trying to join in when the trip is almost over. Getting to know the people you travel and work with will allow you the opportunity to learn more about yourself than ever before. The gift of uninterrupted face-to-face communication all day is something easily taken for granted at this day and age. If you’re willing to go abroad, you better be willing to get close to step outside of your comfort zone, try new foods, new experiences, and make new friends… and fast. Nothing screams bonding like discussing stomach issues over oatmeal and instant coffee.
If I could go back to Ghana to volunteer on a medical/dental brigade again, I would. Would I change anything? Absolutely. I would make sure to include those who were secluding themselves sooner than later. I would make sure to talk more with community members, and those who work for Global Brigades as a career.
Looks like I’ll just have to go back…
8 Things I learned in Ghana
Believe it or not, traveling to a third-world country where you are forced to be present in the moment rather than living through your social media or iPhone, really enables you to learn much more than you otherwise would have. While in Ghana I learned a lot about myself and was reminded of lessons that had been instilled within me years ago. Here are the top 8 lessons I learned in Ghana: 
- Be Patient – Patience is a virtue. In my previous blog I mentioned running on “Meghan Time”, while in Ghana I had little to no control over the schedule or timing of activities, including meals. I like to refer to the schedule we followed as “Ghana Time”. We were scheduled to leave the compound at 10:00am, we would leave at 10:20am, breakfast was at 8:00am, the bell rang at 7:56am and you missed the pineapple. The first few days I struggled greatly finding patience and battling my anxiety. Patience is something that since having learned it’s true value in Ghana, I have found myself reeping the benefits since being home in the United States.
- A smile goes a long way – It should come as no suprise that we battled a language barrier while working in Ghana. The majority of us (Americans) knew little to no Fante, the language spoken in the Techiman Community. Likewise, the Ghanains people barely spoke English. When conversations could become frusterating or stressful a smile was an easy cure. I spent some time in the Dental station where patients would get extractions while being fully conscious with little numbing. We had one woman come in who needed an impacted wisdom tooth extracted, needless to say she was terrified. The only comfort I could bring here was a smile as I held her hand through the process, her smile back was the only thing I needed to let me know that although I was no expert, my work was appreciated and she was grateful.
- Always say thank you – Much like a smile, a thank you, in any situation, will always hold water. The only Fante term I memorized was Medasi Pa Pa Pa – Thank you, very, very much.
- Pack an extra tooth brush – When traveling to another country your body is not used to the bacteria found in fruits, vegetables, and water. It is easy at the end of a long day to run your toothbrush under the sink instead of pouring filtered water over it. Always, ALWAYS pack an extra toothbrush!
- Always have a crystal light on hand – I never thought it would be possible to become bored of drinking water. On hot, long days or work it is easy to become dehydrated and drinking bottles and bottles of water is necessary. I found it genius that some of the nurses and students brought crystal light packets with them to make the hydration process easier and more enjoyable on the long days.
- Invest in Advil PM – Take 2 tablets 30 minutes prior to an international flight over 6 hours and you’ll never go back to your old ways of just “winging” it on long flights! I slept the entire 7 hour flight from Chicago to Amsterdam, as well as the 11 hour flight from Accra to New York. Job well done Advil PM, job well done.
- Bring an extra pair of shoes – At the end of my stay in Ghana I was overwhelemed by my experience and wanted to leave my tennis shoes with the community who needed them more than I did. Also, I learned that you never know if you might drop one of your shoes into a whole in the ground used as a bathroom! No one wants to walk around wearing only a sock all day.
- Give back & be grateful – The ultimate lesson I learned was to be grateful for what I have, especially my family, and my parents who have provided me with a constant roof over my head, and a meal in my belly. Giving back is such a valuable life lesson. Especially when you realize you too recieve something in return. In all seriousness, my trip to Ghana filled a void I didn’t know I had, and there is no price in the world, not words, that could describe the experience we shared.
Medasi Pa Pa Pa
A Chance To Grow, The Chance Is Now
It has been just over two months since I returned from a life-altering experience as a volunteer on a Medical/Dental Brigade to Ghana, Africa. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about the members of the Techiman community, or miss the wonderful people I shared my experience with. As I reflect on my Global Brigades experience, I can’t help but to reflect on myself and the type of young woman I have grown to be, and will become.
Let’s take a step back… Nearly a year ago I was thinking of how I would soon be going into my senior year of college at Loyola University Chicago. I knew I wanted to take my last year as a growing experience, to get the most out of the opportunities that are offered to me. So, in December of 2012 I applied for an internship in Dublin, Ireland, and to be a member on a Global Brigade to Ghana; both for summer 2013. In order to understand how unlike me this was, you must understand that I am a person who lives in a bubble: I have a very small comfort zone, and like to stick a schedule… according to what we can call “Meghan Time”. So going away to not only one country, but two countries I had never been to before, scared the shi*t out of me.
Much to my surprise I got offered the Digital Marketing Internship in Dublin the same week I got accepted to participate on the Global Brigade…
Now let’s fast-forward… June 4, 2013 I got dropped at ORD soon to return July 27, 2013 after nearly two months of a wonderful internship and experience in Dublin, Ireland. Phewf, my two month stay in another country was completed. I made new friends, tried amazing food, gained valuable international business experience, and traveled… needless to say, that portion of my summer was all about me. Taking care of all things “Meghan time”.
My 12 day trip to Ghana, Africa had longed seemed like it would be a piece of cake, compared to the 7 week Ireland experience. Just a cherry on the top of my summer adventure cake. Low and behold, the morning of August 10, 2013 came too soon for me. Having just arrived back in the states just over a week prior, I found myself anxious and upset about shipping off to another country, for a much different “growing” experience. Ghana would prove to be the most amazing learning experience of my life, one that helped me to alter my personal definition of myself to truly include to term “global citizen”.
Not everyone is considered a global citizen. In my opinion, a global citizen is one who engaged in civic responsibility on an international level. I became a global citizen while performing service work in Ghana. By committing to go on the global brigade to Ghana, I was making a promise to the members of the Techiman Community that I would be informed and ready to aid in enhancing their overall health and livelihood. From the moment the community knew our brigade was coming, we had a civic responsibility to keep our promise in helping a community internationally. Likewise, the Techiman community had a responsibility to us as a brigade to attend our clinic, and work with us to help them.
I like to think that if the entire word, both nationally and internationally, viewed their actions as responsibilities, promises, to others, then we would be able to work better with one another, and be able to more easily to come to understandings amongst people. Civic responsibility, following through on one’s word, would inevitably breed a culture of trust. One thing I am certain of after this summer of growth, is that growth is change, and change in the only constant. I look forward to many more growing experiences in the coming months and years.
My Glimpse From The Inside 