We're About 2km Past Where Jesus Lost His Sandals

I spent the last week at my NGO participating in a four day long conference on gender based violence. It was, for the most part, information that I had already acquired from University however it told me so much about what the true barriers are behind achieving gender equality in Ghana. It also gave me so much hope to see women and men that spend all of their time and energy advocating for a balance between the religion, tradition, and culture that make up the main frame of the country, and the struggle to dismantle the extremely pervasive patriarchy embedded within those systems. In addition there was an overwhelming amount of delicious food provided for us, and my colleague Anita and I got to lodge in the beautiful hotel where the conference was being held. The hotel room was glorious and sweet, and quite surreal with all it's luxuries. I had the first hot shower since I went to Portugal and our room was air conditioned. Even though it was a nice break I was glad to come back home, I felt like an impostor trying to live such a posh life after months of latrines and eating with my hands.

I'm nervous about coming home. I think I'm scared of facing the reality that eventually I will forget how good I have it in Canada. Privileges become so clear when they are taken away, but it's hard to appreciate tap water when it's flowed continually your whole life. I know at first I'll be shocked and overwhelmed but of course, over time, it will dull and I will easily slip back into the habit of taking things for granted.

This is one of my favourite quotes from Salman Rushdie, which accurately sums up why I try to diligently log and analyze my experiences and feelings:

"I ask you only to accept (as I have accepted) that I shall eventually crumble into (approximately) six hundred and thirty million particles of anonymous, and necessarily oblivious dust. This is why I have resolved to confide in paper, before I forget. (We are a nation of forgetters.) " - Salman Rushdie.