Post-departure, by David Martinez

One week ago, I flew out of Accra. I can’t tell if it feels like yesterday or a year ago. It almost feels as though I was never there at all as if it never happened and the past month and a half of my life are missing. Looking back at pictures from the trip give me definitive proof that I did, in fact, spend the last month in Ghana, but after being away for a week it feels like it was a dream.

I have been fortunate enough to travel afterward where I visited Italy’s famed Cinque Terre as well as Rome, where I am currently writing this final blog. Over the course of the past week, I have walked nearly 60 miles, visited countless churches, and witnessed multiple sculptures by Bernin. As I walk the ancient streets of Rome, Ghana feels impossibly far away. In the moments of quiet, I think back on Ghana and try to remember everything: the smell of the trash burning, the taste of the jollof rice, the sound of the trotro mates.

Before traveling to a foreign country, psychologists recommend learning as much about the culture as possible in order to avoid what they call ‘culture shock.’ A culture shock is when you travel to a new country that is very different from your own and you struggle to adapt to the change. Luckily, we all took part in a 10-week class leading up to the trip that gave us context on the history of Ghana, languages, and traditions. Once we arrived, there was a small shock since it is impossible to completely prepare oneself, but overall we were able to function and work in Ghana.

I now realize I experienced a form of reverse culture shock upon leaving Ghana. After leaving Ghana and returning to a country with some familiarity to my own, I quickly reverted back to my previous self, and momentarily lost my newly gained knowledge and skills. It is easy to forget and go back to the same mindset as before I arrived. I am having to force myself to remember the details, like the hawkers inches away from the cars, or the goats riding on top of the lorries, the sound of a properly executed Ghanaian handshake, all vital to my experience a week ago but now, lost. Without the context of Ghana the knowledge and experiences I gained can easily be forgotten.

It is too easy to push back the previous month and half and immediately return to life as if nothing happened, but ultimately we can’t let ourselves do that. We have to make sure our memories allow us the sympathy, empathy, and perspective that others who haven’t visited Ghana don’t have.

As a group, I think it is important we stay in contact and remind each other of our experiences and our bond in Ghana if only to keep the memories alive. We created a group that no one else can relate to or ever join.  Even past years’ students cannot relate–in the same way that we cannot fully relate to them. Our experiences are our own. They will continue with us into our careers, our personal lives, and beyond.