The Start of Something Big

Oh yes, why not! It’s definitely going to be big. (At the beginning of a journey you feel kind of small anyways.) I am going to Ghana. My tickets are booked! After I received the Wellcome Trust letter of rejection precisely one week ago, things became very clear: I just need to go. I had been waiting for the letter, hoping to get the ‘yes’ and receive some money to further develop this film about science in Africa. It is such an urgent topic; Africa is rising, there is so much potential. But you know, reality kicks in, and when developing something it is very unlikely to actually have a nicely filled bag of money at your disposal. Funnily enough, exactly an issue I would like to address in the film: dealing with non ideal situations; how to work with less. Ghana might be able to teach me a thing or two (or more). Expectations. Obviously I have some abstract kinds of expectations, what will become of them I do not know. I have been told, or politely warned, it will be very likely for me to experience a culture-shock… and I am looking forward to it. I am focussing on creativity, for which I think you need to step outside of your comfort zone, and you need to approach normal things from a completely different, perhaps apparently weird, angle. A culture-shock is exactly the thing I am looking for. Differences and similarities are interesting. I want to see through general media framing that has been imposed onto me about countries from this continent. So, if you would want to follow me (which obviously I hope you will), and I mean if you really want to follow my thoughts along this process, please leave any preconceptions at the door!