In high school, my track coaches would always advise me to listen to my body during the season and act accordingly based on what I heard. The intensity of workouts required that I know when I needed to rest and recover to avoid injury. My health became increasingly central to me during that time and in college. The control I gained over my healthy body made track along with the supplemental best practices of eating right and sleeping enough all parts of my lifestyle. To me, this self-care directly contrasted the stress of living in a country that has multiple ways of targeting and oppressing my body. Then, to build on these experiences, my sophomore year courses at Hamilton highlighted the marginalized body in academic and larger societal spaces. During the summer before going to Ghana, I had done research about how marginalized students can best become aware of their bodies in different contexts. So, my body was at the forefront of my mind as I prepared to study abroad.
The physicality of the semester surprised me and caused a range of feelings from enjoyment to discomfort. I will forever be grateful for the days the sun blessed my melanin. Ghana’s black soap and Shea butter exfoliated and moisturized my skin respectively as the climate did not dry out my scalp under my full head of hair. The exercise I got from walking around the University of Ghana’s campus and its scenery faithfully improved my mood. I listened to this and appreciated what I heard. I also listened to my stomach and learned that I have a sensitive and stubborn digestive system. Additionally, my sleeping patterns did not ever fully adjust to the different time zone. Though these were just two challenges, they were fundamental and reoccurring to the point that they affected other areas of the semester at times. I did manage to listen to my body and be flexible in finding food while also getting as much sleep as possible. In the end, these challenges proved valuable in teaching me what traveling demanded of my body.
Studying abroad is work, and certainly physical work. This is also the case with being a student in the states, but the self-care best practices I do at Hamilton are different than the ones Ghana required. After returning from Ghana, my next multi-destination program would have required that I adjust to a new diet in 3 places. In the final month of my fall semester abroad and the first week back in the states, I listened to my body in a way that I never had to before. Ultimately, I made the decision to not study abroad during the spring semester. Putting my health first definitely did come with the sacrifice of not experiencing the opportunities of my spring semester program. However, it came with knowledge that studying abroad truly affects the body in multiple ways and, so, it was important for me to listen to my body and act accordingly.
