Leaving Sandema - This is Real Life

It's official: I have completed my Students for Development internship with Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) in Sandema. What a fabulous thing to be able to say! I can hardly believe my time in Sandema is already finished. 

Friday night my colleague and I turned in an enormous report, did a little happy dance, and celebrated the end of a crazy three-month internship. It was nothing I'd dreamed it would be, harder than I'd imagined, and a wonderful learning opportunity that I'll be forever grateful for. I completed some pretty cool work with CBR designing Youth Club programming and redesigning CBR's volunteer program. I experienced the bustle of Kumasi, the stress of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and the joy of seeing two girls have life-changing surgery. And I loved working along so many talented people in small-town Northern Ghana. 

But don't stop there. That's the overview, the quick glance, and the moments you'll see in my pictures. You see, the biggest misunderstanding people tend to make, about my time here, is that being in Africa is simply one, big, exciting, amazing, crazy, fun, adventure. And in many ways it is. But that's not all that it is. I haven't been on vacation since May. Life here is just that: life, real life. I've been putting in long hours at the office (often working evenings and weekends), drafting reports, navigating a new culture, working a new job, and being a student. AND I have been enjoying time in a beautiful place, with fabulous people, a new culture, new foods, and creating lots of wonderful memories. 

It's been one of those encouraging/discouraging/wonderful/challenging kind of summers. One of those 'learn lots about myself' in the challenges, question what I know about International Development, and get inspired about future work, but be exhausted in the process of it all, kind of summers. So don't misinterpret this all. I'm so very grateful for this experience and would encourage other development students to pursue one of these internships. But I also have a tremendous peace (and excitement too!) about moving on to what's next (I think that's a good thing!). 

And finally, every once and a while I catch myself thinking "is this really my life? How did I wind up in West Africa of all places?" It's the confusing flip-side of the 'this is real life' conversation. But mostly it's a moment to reflect and remember that there's a plan bigger than the plans I have for myself. And that, well that just makes me smile. 

For now, what's next is my time in Burkina. For the next two weeks I'll be back in Yako, connecting with old friends, making new friends, cuddling babies, and tackling a project or two with Sheltering Wings. Already I have a sense it will be a blessing. 

Thanks to everyone for their kind words and their prayers over the past weeks as I recovered from malaria. I am now feeling in great health! Thank you for being a part of my support network over these past months.