Five Measly Days!

Wednesday was a big long day for me...it started at 6am with my horribly annoying alarm waking me up tot get ready for my interview @ Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. This is an awesome opportunity for me to really learn all I can about mental health and the systems in our state that people with mental illnesses are impacted by. There were 6 people interviewing for 5 spots!!! Talk about intense! There is a lot riding on this opportunity financially, so I know know that people were really putting on their best---but I feel honored to be competing among some incredibly impressive candidates (including another Alyssa!!! Not me, and not the one going to Ghana with me...a whole other Alyssa! What is it about Alyssa and the field of social work???) Hopefully I will know something today or Monday-don't you worry-I will let you know the results! (unless of course they are bad...then I probably won't mention it...hee hee)

I got back from interviewing and touring Milledgeville around 5:15 and then headed straight into the whirlwind of the Ghana experience. We were required to see a movie in Tucker Hall called Sankofa...it was an interesting experience. It really got me thinking about the dynamics among the enslaved Africans and the hierarchy that was forced upon them by their owners. It really struck me, the emotion and desperation, the humanity and struggle for survival...


"Sankofa" is an Akan word that means, "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today." This idea is so meaningful to me as it has become such an important theme in my life; respecting and loving my past "mistakes" or struggles just as much as my achievements and highs...it is all apart of who I am.

Another cool thing about the movie is that it was filmed in Ghana and the neighboring country of Burkina Faso! One major location of the film is a site that we will be visiting...it is a huge slave castle on the Cape Coast in Ghana. I have a feeling it will be a truly overwhelming experience to walk through a place which once held future enslaved Africans, waiting for their dark destiny.


On a brighter note...I had a great last night out in Athens last night and I am so grateful to those who came out and were a part of it. I have one more send-off party in the ATL, on Saturday, with some ridiculously awesome people...let me know if you want to join! We will find you a place to crash!

Thanks for Reading!!!

<3,
The Anxious Traveler