Concerning nerves

2 days from now, I’ll be up in the air, flying to an unknown country in an unknown continent - to me, anyway.

Ghana.

And I’ll stay there for 2 months.

So, naturally, I’ve been kind of nervous for the past couple of days. I’ve been keeping myself busy, organizing this, packing that, buying that one thing I might possibly need but probably won’t use. Just to avoid sitting still, because the moment I sit still, my stomach turns, and my heart rate seems to double, and the only thing I can think is, “why on earth did I want this in the first place?” Fortunately though, there are also moments when I sit and stare and sigh and wish I was already there. Because boy, this is going to be the biggest adventure in my life!

Right now, I have (almost) everything I need, and the only thing left to do is pack my bag. Considering I have already dumped most of the future contents of the bag in the said bag, this won’t be too much of a problem. And I have all of tomorrow to do it. So I should be fine.

Friday I’ll have quite an enormous goodbye committee: my mom, dad, brother and sister, aunt and cousins, grandma, and Mirella will be there. My plane leaves at 2 pm, and I’ll land in Accra in the evening. The next day will be spent in Accra, buying my Ghanaian sim-card, and booking for my bus ride to Tamale the next day. I’ll spend Worldcup Finale Day on a 12 to 14 hour bus ride, but mom and dad promised they’d keep me informed of everything soccer-related - and who knows, maybe some smart Ghanaian will bring a radio on the bus with him/her... I’ll spend the night in Tamale, and then hop on a tro-tro to Bolgatanga that Monday, where I’ll have 2 introduction days before I move in with my host family. I know my host family’s father’s name, Zaare Michael Akanvibe, but nothing about them besides that. Do they have electricity? How many wives does he have? How many host brothers and sister will I have? How does their food taste? Will they let me join Ghanaian life easily, or do I really have to fight before I get to haul any water home? Do they speak English, or Frafra, or some other exotic Ghanaian language? Will I get to carry a baby on my back? Will they teach me Ghanaian songs? Will they catch spiders for me whenever (which is always) I’m afraid to catch them myself?

And what about the hospital? What do they want from me? What can I expect? What can I mean to the patients, anyway? Will I get very frustrated, or will I accept the way healthcare works in Ghana? Will the doctors like me? How are the nurses - do they want to teach me things? Will I be able to witness a surgery? A birth? How will I deal with all the dying?

And the country! What will I be able to see of it? Will I see elephants? Will I understand Ghanaian English? Will I get lost? Are the spitting cobras really as numerous as my brother makes them out to be? How am I going to deal with all the waiting I supposedly will do? Will I get malaria? I won’t have to worry about one thing, at least: no matter what, I’ll get diarrhea.

So many questions, and none of them will be answered until I’m there. So, I’m biding my time ‘til Friday, at some moments stomach-churningly nervous, at others more excited than I’ve ever been in my life. I’ve been looking forward to Friday ever since I got accepted to medical school, and I’m going to make this a summer to remember. For forever.

See you in Ghana!