One of my 2015 goals was to learn how to swim. A goal I started working on by taking a two-weeks introductory class back in August before moving to Tamale.
No one describes Tamale without mentioning how hot it gets here, I however underestimated the intensity of this heat. Our first week here, Shawnee and I decided to make swimming a weekly routine after experiencing the reality of Tamale’s weather. We go swimming every Sunday.
I remember the first time we went swimming, I had already briefed Shawnee on my swimming history, which was really non-existent, and she had offered to teach me. That first day she asked me to show her what I could do, I wiggled my way to the other side of the shallow end of the water, only moving my legs, I had no idea what to do with my hands, my eyes were shut most of the time I was in water and I stopped any time I ran out of breath.
Thanks to Shawnee’s patience, she taught me breast strokes, how to breath while I swim, and I am currently learning how to tread water. Today, you will find me doing laps even in the deep end, floating, and enjoying the water. Swimming is no longer a goal, it is now a hobby.
Apart from swimming, getting fit and strong was a goal we both shared when we moved to Ghana. The journey began when Shawnee showed up with P90X videos. Now, 6 days a week, between 7:30 and 9:00pm, our living room is a gym. Our gym is equipped with strawmats as exercise mats and empty water bottles filled with rocks as hand weights.
We set our targets and set off committing to achieve our goals before the end of our time in Tamale. It has not been the easiest journey to embark on but there is a lot of laughter at gym time, we laugh at each other, and how awkward some exercises are. We also encourage each other, some evenings, it’s literarily one person dragging the other to the gym. Committing to working out is definitely easier because we do it together.
The best part of this journey is that results are starting to show. And compliments keep flying around at work. Everyday we’re closer to our target. Nothing is more rewarding than achieving goals! And it’s more enjoyable doing it together!
Christi-Anna is working with Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre in Tamale, Ghana as a Monitoring and Evaluations Manager.
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