By: Jake Moore
During the last week of my internship, I didn’t have very much work. I was forced to take Tuesday off in order to make progress on some assignments. Thursday was Founders day and as a result, the newsroom would be closed Wednesday and Thursday; Wednesday because the paper doesn’t publish on holidays. As usual, we didn’t work Friday.
During the extended weekend, I found myself longing to go back to work, especially after spending the whole week prior at Parliament. To make matters worse, members of the group would start leaving on Saturday. The realization that my time in Accra was coming to an end became all too apparent. I would be flying home Monday night with no idea when I might be back.
All of a sudden I started having to say goodbye. On Saturday over half of the group left for home with lots of hugs and teary eyes. Five of us were left and that night Brady and I went to see his family friends that we had met earlier in the trip. We spent the evening chatting with them. Telling them about our own lives and our future plans and asking the same of them. It wasn’t fun to tell them that Brady and I would be leaving in the next two days.
When I spoke to them and talked about the future I found myself saying that I would be back. I didn’t realize until the last few days how much I really did want to come back. Of course, when I said I would be back they smiled. They certainly think I should. I mean they live there full time and have for a long time because they love it. But “I’ll see you again” or “I’ll come back” are also polite things to say when you are leaving a country and leaving behind people you haven’t known for long. It’s hard for people to know if you really mean it. They certainly won’t be holding their breath waiting for me.
On Monday I went into my last day of work. People thought I was crazy for going to work on the same day as my flight, but by then all of the other students had left and I was really missing work. I got there early and spent lots of time with the same intern that took me under her wing from the start. She helped me order Keney which is a very classic Ghanain dish that I hadn’t tried yet. I then spent much of the afternoon reflecting on my internship.
The overwhelming sentiment I found was that I wanted more. My understanding of my surroundings was finally coming together. My relationships with my colleagues were deepening. I was finally feeling like a part of the newsroom, like a member of the community… and it was my last day.
My internship gave me a lot. It gave me friends and people who I could connect with and who wanted to help me learn more about their country. It showed me how journalism changes across the world and across cultures. It gave me experience in an aspect of my field that I had never seen; before this, I wrote weekly articles, and the daily news is a different beast. Last but not least it gave me some great conversations with some very insightful Bolt drivers.
Of course, while I am reflecting on my experience, saying goodbye to my colleagues is fast approaching and I am faced with the same dilemma as earlier. I looked people in the eyes and told them that I would be back. It was obvious that some didn’t believe me. Others seemed hopeful; not positive that I would deliver on this promise, but at least hopeful that we would meet again someday. We will.
These goodbyes made me face a hard truth that I have struggled with since I started college. Friendships are hard. They are often impermanent, small, short-lived things and yet so incredibly important and meaningful. After spending the first eighteen years of my life in the same town with friendships that were forged over a lifetime this is still something that is difficult for me to grapple with (I imagine it’s difficult for everyone). But, travel has also made me appreciative of the connections I have made over a small time. Travel throws you into bizarre places with random people and the bonds that form are strong.
The goodbyes I said in Ghana aren’t the only ones I have said this year. When I finished my program in France I told each of my friends I’d see them again. This spring, after graduation, I told the classmates that I had grown close with, and that I’d see them again. As I’ve already said I told my friends that remain in Ghana I would see them again. I meant it. If all my life consisted of, was visiting new places, meeting new people, and making sure that
I saw them again, I think it would be the happiest life anyone has ever lived.
Accra was not the first time I had said the words “I’m coming back”, and they won’t be the last.
Every time I say them I feel more certain that I’m speaking the truth