Now firstly some of you bright sparks who follow my blog religiously will have noticed that I have missed a chapter here on Tengzug festival that I promised would be coming next! Well I have a good reason for this and when I feel the time is right I shall share this reason with you and even ask your advice...but until that moment you are left reading about my 'quiet' reflective weekend...
As most of you know I have done a fair bit of travelling over recent years and my desire for this whole VSO experience was to spend a year of my life doing something different to just 'bumming around' the World and having a fun time! Well this weekend I spent Saturday thinking about that - my past travel experiences, what I have learnt and how much I feel I am getting out of this latest adventure! Before I came away I told a friend that I wanted this year of my life to change me, for it to impact on me in ways I could never imagine and for me to come back home a year later older, wiser and ready for the next chapters that life throws at me! Well I can't say obviously whether any of that is happening yet, but I can definitely feel my patience being tested, my desires for my future being re-confirmed everyday and my view of myself and the World changing! I have always been a 'you never know what's around the corner' kinda girl and 'life is too short' is one of my favourite sayings, and out here in Ghana that feels truer than ever! However I am also learning that 'whatever will be, will be' is a good one to add to the list too and no amount of planning (Hannah-the-planner), pushing, fighting or forcing will change certain things! I have spent most of my 20's so far (I am soon to be no longer mid 20's, which may have caused the reflective Saturday mood) looking into the future - when I meet 'the one', when I get back on the career ladder, when I have children etc etc - and I hope Ghana teaches me (or rather I teach myself) to start living more in the present because I cannot control my future, no matter what I do! Happiness in the here and now is key and if I can distance myself from the Western ways of always questioning happiness, whether I am happy enough, what makes me happy etc then I will be able to live my life day-by-day hopefully very happily!
So after that 'brief' insight into my Saturday thinking came Sunday (as it usually does) when a group of us decided to head to Vea Dam for the afternoon! Once again as I was ridden down to the water I was squealing with excitement at the view ahead...
Straight away the boys headed into the water and the girls sat gossiping...
After we'd had enough of paddling the boat, pebble throwing and 'catching' fish...
We headed to a local spot for a drink before coming back to 'Feel at Home' our local spot for a Sunday evening session of guinea fowl, Shandy and Star! Some of us were good and got an early night before work this morning, others however (mentioning no names Vic and Lewis) stumbled in at who-knows-what-time with no recollection of getting home at all!!!
So on this Monday evening as I reflect on my weekend of curry, Shandy, cleaning, jogging (yes I am slowly managing to bring jogging back into my daily routine), spaghetti bolognese, Star, Vea, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset...I can most definitely say that in my own little ways I am settling into Ghanaian life pretty well, all be it with a very different placement experience to the one I thought I would be having!
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