By: Peyton Brooks

ACCRA, Ghana — I climbed a mountain over the weekend. That is a literal statement. A legit mountain. Afadjato is the highest peak in Ghana, and over the weekend our group huffed and puffed our way up the steep mountain. Some adapted quicker than others, and some moved at their own pace, but everyone was sweating and sucking in air as much as humanly possible. I remember placing my hands on the top of this large, mud-covered, cold boulder, and hoisting myself up while trying to ignore the black spots in my vision because I’m terribly dehydrated (Which is the fault of my own bad habits). I looked over to Laura, who had become my buddy, and said “this feels reflective of this trip as a whole and I should have waited to write my last blog post.” The journey of this mountain explained my feeling toward this internship better than I explained it last week I think. Everyone is adapting differently to their surrounding, some need a little more help, some love it, and others don’t. However, I’m glad I didn’t have access to that opportunity last week.

Last week, I was still in the climbing part of this metaphorical journey. I was afraid of what might happen if I lost momentum but constantly felt winded and confused, but today? Today, I feel like I’ve reached the top. I got my first story aired, and boy did that feel like reaching the top of my own mountain. It wasn’t some deep, conversation starter of a story, but it was one that I felt connected to and that I had my hands on.

The story was about this group of women who make kenkey, a maize-based ball of dough that gets paired with soup and meat (It’s so good). The angle was about how the economy has forced small businesses like theirs to shift long-standing traditions. This includes price, the way that they make the dough, how much they make, and the way they sell it. I loved filming for it even though I nearly caught my skirt on fire from the huge flames that were heating the boiling pots of maize. It felt really good to feel like I knew what was going on around me instead of needing to go back into the newsroom to google foreign phrases.

I know the time has come to explore other departments in my final full week here at Asaase Radio, but I no longer feel so scared to be in the newsroom and I think that was the goal all along. Cheers to pushing boundaries and comfort zones, and still being ready to show up to do it all over again the next day.