Huge lessons learned

The perspectives I gained from these short three weeks are unmatched. With this being my first time in a third world country, and also my first time out of the country alone, I have never experienced so much difference from my comfortable life at home. Different is the only word to use, not better or worse. This is important to note because it is one of the huge lessons I took away from the program: not to be stubborn in my own way of life. Society is just what the majority of people decide it to be. Fly across an ocean, and the majority changes. However, while some of the lifestyle is socially decided, some is determined by resources. This is where gratefulness for my beautiful country creeps in. With every jolt of the vehicle that I traveled on the unpaved roads, I realized I am lucky to have something as simple as roads provided to me. Perhaps at home, if I stepped into a tepid shower with little to no water pressure, I’d sigh and complain, but the thought that nearly 100 feet away, people are showering with buckets of water, made me grateful for what I had. I want to bring this back into my life at home. In any struggling moment, I can take a step back and realize how good I have it. Against popular belief, not all of Africa is hungry, malnourished people living in mud huts. Though, even with a living situation not as developed as a house, the people have what they need, and feel happiness in the same way, maybe even at a greater intensity. The streets in Ghana were lively, with vendors selling everything from fruit to bags and shoes. Reflecting on it makes me yearn for that same liveliness back at home.

On an academic level, the benefits I reaped are widespread. The main thing I gathered was perspective, but in the field of nursing. We got to rotate around the hospital and see multiple positions, and better yet, talk and learn hands-on with them. Pre-Ghana, I hadn’t seen much in the hospitals, nor did I know what to look for in a possible future career. I truly got to see the similarities and differences firsthand, and I have a better idea of what I might want for myself. On top of it, I will have my experiences in the US to compare to soon.

Overall, this was an experience to remember my entire life.

Name: Anabeth Hylland
Status: Junior
Major: Nursing
Hometown: Muskegon, Michigan
Program: Child Development in an African Context