I'm back home

Missing my Second Home

I miss Ghana so much. I couldn't blog on our last day because it killed me that we had to leave the children so soon.. I cried for a long time---and I didn't care who saw me. If I had the choice to stay for three more weeks, I would've. There isn't a place in the world like Ghana. I know I haven't been around the world, but like there is only one me, there is only one Ghana. What I will miss the most about Ghana are the people---their charisma, their energy, their friendliness, their smiles, and their love through food, words, hugs, and a simple "hello". That made packing much more difficult---seeing an empty bedroom made me cry even harder because it will carry all those special memories. I will miss waking up in the morning to Mama Joanna cooking breakfast downstairs. By the crack of dawn, the locals are up and working, and I will miss hearing the tro-tro driver's yell out, "Kanesh! Kanesh!" (the station). I will miss walking through the black gates where Alaska greets all of us with his warm smile. The dogs in the streets are everywhere, and I won't see that out here where I live. I will miss walking to the internet cafe and hearing people call out, "Hey Obruni!" (white woman). I will miss falling asleep to the music blasting from across the street. I will miss drum/dance class---Richard, Morgan and Kojo will always be in my heart. I have never driven in taxis so much in my life---and I will miss that. 

I will miss everything and everyone. Ghana is truly a magnificent country. There is an emptiness in me that only Ghana can fill. I can't describe how much it has changed me as a person. Here in America, people don't realize how much we've got it made. My sister Naomi said it right, "GHANA PUTS AMERICA TO SHAME."

Arriving at JFK airport

What a huge difference...I didn't get the same vibe coming back to America. I actually hated it.

When we went through customs and immigration first---Uggh...the officer/security guard was sooo RUDE!

Naomi and I went up to the counter together where he checked our passports. At first, Naomi and I

approached him with a huge smile(and said "hello" of course)---and what do we get??? He just looked

at us and said, "Let me see your passports." Okay so not the happiest of most people, but hey, we gave

him a benefit of the doubt...we just smiled again and handed him our passports (we had passport holders)

We hand the officer our passports and he goes, "NO, I WANT YOUR PASSPORT---JUST YOUR

PASSPORT." Okay Naomi and I stopped smiling in a quickness. I looked at her, she looked at me.

We looked at each other like, "OH NO HE DIDN'T!" Yes he did though...yes he DID!!! I simply answered

him and said, "Those are our passports." His tone sounded somewhat annoyed when he responced with,

"I SAID I WANT YOUR PASSPORT AND YOUR PASSPORT ONLY!" By that time I just kept my mouth shut

and thought about the people in Ghana---that calmed my nerves down haha. But for real though, in Ghana,

everyone smiles---IT'S CRAZY! I know I won't get that here. At the JFK airport, I smiled at people just to see

their reaction. Some smiled, some didn't. Others were too much of a hurry to even notice. Again, I just thought of all the

happy faces in Ghana...

After that incident, I couldn't wait to get home to my parents and tell them about everything. When we finally arrived at

the SFO airport, I couldn't believe how many WHITE PEOPLE I SAW---hahahahahaha. The drive back home felt weird

too. In Ghana, you won't get a ticket for not wearing your seatbelt. So when I hopped into my boyfriend's

car, I forgot to put it on until I saw him reach for his. In Ghana there are no freeways, no speed limit posts,

hardly any street lights (or working ones at that). Coming home just felt DIFFERENT---but it was also an eye opener.

I really DO HAVE IT MADE. My house isn't all that, but if I brought a friend from Nima, they would think of my house

as a mansion. I take things for granted and now I have to check myself everytime I complain about something.

C'mon I have running water---HOT WATER! I jumped in the shower last night and I thanked God for it. For three weeks, we had to deal with low water pressure that spurted out JUST cold water. I've become so used to it that the warm shower burned a little. I could finally enjoy a nice, refreshing shower---and feel CLEAN! I could finally brush my teeth and gargle with the tap water from my sink and not have to open bottles after bottles of drinking water. And man...using a washer and dryer again after weeks of handwashing and pruny fingers...I COULD'T ASK FOR MORE!!! And let me tell you----my clothes were D-I-R-T-Y. As my clothes were rinsing, I put up the lid and saw the water was black and murky. At that moment, I looked back at the time we had a power outage. There was no electricity for a couple of days. I had to handwash my clothes in the dark. Then I thought about the people in Nima...they do that everyday. What we experienced within three weeks can never match what the people in Ghana have struggled for years...and for most, the struggle will last a lifetime.

LIVING IN GHANA---WHAT A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE...