Roi's Pre-Ghana Sendoff

It's dark and cold outside, but I'm mummified by my favorite blanket and am warm&cozy. The only noise to be heard is the steady thunderstorm synthetically constructed by my sleeping buddy. The soothing sound fills my head as I relax, take a deep breath, and at this point I would usually slowly drift off into a dream about rabbits, starcraft, and controlling processes. Today is a very special day, however, because instead of tucking in, I'm sitting here - unable to sleep - contemplating about the adventure I'm about to embark on tomorrow.

Most have asked me this question already, and since its my first post, I should probably say a few words about it. Everyone loves to travel, but the question I get most often is: "Why Ghana?!" Insert a peculiar stare or a comment about how France or Australia probably would have been "more normal" choices and you're right in my shoes. I'll tell you why. In short, when searching for a destination two years ago I realized that, as someone very insightful once said: "one's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." In Anthropology, we learn that we strange little beings are constantly in a process of familiarization, the act of normalizing the fibers of our existence. The fabric of our world becomes familiar to us as we develop habits, comforts, rhythms. But within that familiarity is a deep silence: so much undiscussed, so much to pull apart, to wrestle with, to learn from. We unweave our world's fabric by making the familiar strange. In this way, I hoped to take a lesson from the classic anthropologists by embarking on the "[road] less traveled by," on a journey to the place of farthest distance from me, both physically and culturally. What could be farther from Sunnyvale, California than Africa? And so what better place to be swallowed by strangeness - to learn, to grow, to find a new me - than in Ghana? For me, it was pretty obvious :).

People have also asked me how I feel. The best way to describe it is that I'm... just... numb. How am I supposed to feel when I am literally about to step through a door that is a complete and utter mystery?! Ron asked me tonight about what my daily life was going to be like in Ghana - I was literally dumbfounded. I just don't know! I don't know what I'm going to be doing, what I'm going to be feeling, what I'm going to want, who I'm going to meet, what I'm going to see, what I'm going to do, who I'm going to be. It's scary but it's also one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever felt. Imagine it as the cool numbness of the serene focus, a calm before the storm if you like, as a skydiver takes his last breath of air before jumping off into the abyss. That's what I feel like, heart pounding, ready for whatever comes my way but having no idea what any of it will be. I'm ready for life, so I hope its ready for me.

And I hope you are ready to come with me because that is what this blog is for. It's for me to share what's going on in here *points at my brain* throughout this whole process. Like with most things now, I just don't know how often I'll get to post, how long the posts will be, etc. What I do know is that I want to share, I want to use this to capture my thoughts, and I want you to come with me. You'll get me exactly as I am right then. Today I am contemplative, pensive, thoughtful. Tomorrow I might be giddy, silly, playful. The next day homesick, broken, vomiting. Who knows! But you're invited to come along!!  My flight leaves tomorrow at about 1:00pm, so I'm hoping to have my last delicious American breakfast and I'll be on my way - join me!

~Roi