This will probably be my last post from Ghana! I leave on Thursday for the U.S.A.!
This past week has been full of last minute analysis, presentation preparation, and report writing. I finally got word from the man who was supposed to help me get data. Although the information he provided was not exactly as complete as I would have liked, I appreciated the fact that he finally go back to me!
After an underwhelming response from this guy, I was worried I didn't have enough/correct data to complete my project. I had a momentary freak-out, during which I felt guilty/frustrated/upset...just in general felt like a failure. I couldn't believe I had been in Ghana for so long and would have nothing to show for it. I knew I was the only one to blame, for not being assertive or proactive or smart enough to figure everything out. I allowed myself to wallow in this state for about 2 minutes, then bucked up, sat down and looked at the data that I had and realized I was much closer than I originally realized. By the end of the next work day, after several hours of reviewing reports and papers, I had all the information I needed to at least complete a model for presentation here.
Hours and hours, days and days later (including my first and only weekend that included doing work), I have run my model nearly complete. I have a presentation. I have a (nearly finished) report. Is everything perfect? Nope. But I have a couple more days to review and edit my work and get it as close to perfect as I can. Worst case scenario, I leave Ghana with a few loose ends, go home, and wraps up those loose ends to make an amazing finished product!
