“A sense of humor is a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge.” – Dave Barry

 A few days ago, the Oregon Daily Emerald published this story about our experiences in Ghana thus far. Though well written and factual, many of the students on the program felt that it may have painted us in a bit of a negative light.

If you read about how thoroughly fearful we are of tro tros, or how much we miss dairy products, you might be tempted to think of us as whiners, as privileged Americans who want to have their cake and eat it too.

To some extent, we couldn’t blame you for arriving at that conclusion. We were, after all, responsible for each and every quote in that article. The writer wasn’t making things up, and yes, we do spend our fair share of time complaining.

But as always, context means everything in this situation. If you were with us day in and day out, watching us shuffle through the house after a long day at work or bounce around on eight hour bus rides, you would see that these complaints are often followed by the sound of uproarious laughter.

You see, when we whine and moan and lament the inconveniences of life here in Ghana, it is almost always framed with humor. We don’t sit with frowns across our faces, desperately counting the days until we return to the comforts of home. To do so would defeat the entire purpose of our coming here.

Put simply, we love Ghana. For every maddening mosquito bite, every cold shower and hot oven tro tro ride, there is something wonderful to behold. We’ve seen elephants bathing not more than 15 feet from us. We’ve visited the second largest market in all of Africa, challenged the rough Atlantic waters on the Cape Coast, and humbled ourselves by touring slave castles. At each stop along the way, we’ve grown a deeper appreciation of the vibrant and beautiful way of life here. There are differences and similarities, ups and downs, but it all adds up to an experience we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

We write this only because it was not made clear in Monday’s article. To be sure, we’re not claiming anyone to be at fault for this misunderstanding. We simply wanted to make clear that, for all of our minor complaints, this has been a wonderful trip thus far, one that we wouldn’t trade for anything else.

After all, we did not come here to be comfortable, to live in five star hotels and ignore the culture around us. No, we came to work (sort of), to learn, and, perhaps most importantly, to grow as both thinkers and human beings.

And when the going gets rough, yes, we complain. We will likely continue to do so. But the lament is always followed by laughter, that ultimate elixir that keeps smiles beneath our wide eyes as we travel through this spectacular country.