Early Return

As some of you are already aware, I've had to cut my time in Ghana short by 5 weeks. I returned to Canada last week to meet my mother at the airport and headed straight to the Mississauga hospital where my grandmother is currently held. She has been in ill health for the past few months, but her condition has deteriorated drastically since I left for Ghana. I was in close contact with my family for the last few weeks in Ghana until we decided I should come home early. After reaching that conclusion it was only a matter of days until I was on a flight back home. As for my grandmother, she continues to get worse every day and I can only hope her suffering does not last too long.

It has been difficult for me to leave before the end of my placement, but I believe it was the right decision. I had to come back to see my grandmother before she passes away - she will not always be here, unlike Ghana, which will wait for my return. My mother is relieved to have my companionship and support while my brother and father work during the week, and my grandmother was very happy to see me home. It's a difficult time for all of us, but I'm glad I can be here with the ones I love during this time.

I still have a lot of reflecting to do on my time in Ghana, figuring out what I learned, how I changed and how it will affect my actions in the future. I'm not yet ready to answer questions like "so how was it?" or "what did you learn?" (though I don't think I'll ever be able to answer those ones). I have to sort my photos, write down my stories and think as much about what I didn't see as what I did. I'm sure it will take time for all of this to come together, but it is a process I look forward to.

If you've stuck it out through these marathon blog posts, congratulations! You have a lot of time on your hands :) I invite your questions and comments on both my blog and my experiences as a whole, but please be aware that it may be a few weeks before I get back to you. Thanks for reading!