Today was my last day at work. I walked by the beach like I do every morning. I felt so much anxiety inside of me still from last night and it just felt so heavy and consuming. I kept trying to focus on the beautiful women carrying baskets on their heads, on the ocean waves coming in and out, on the breeze through the palm trees, on the beautiful African children running around and playing. It was all incredible. I realized how much I love being here and how happy these things have come to make me. Over time, things here have come to feel like home.
Getting home from work to my host family is nice. Walking these streets, experiencing what I’ve been experiencing, has all just been so awesome. At work, I dug up more beds which is always intense labor. I’m using all of my muscles, pulling up dirt with a hoe, getting calluses on my hands, pulling my shoulder, sweating like a maniac, getting dirt in my hair and all over my face. It’s pretty awesome. So I did that for about one hour today. My muscles have seriously gotten bigger. I’m definitely stronger than before. Then, we literally sat for the next 4 hours. Aya, Kofi, Cynthia, Monica, and I all sat and talked and took naps throughout the midday. Neighbors would trickle in and we would talk to them and then go back to napping. I just stared off into the distance. I can’t believe 4 hours went by. It was really nice and relaxing. I think the comparison with back home is that at home we feel that we always need to rush off to the next best thing which I think is because there is a next best thing to rush to. Here, I felt antsy and rushed the first few days and then I realized, there is nowhere for me to rush to, there is nothing better I could be doing than just enjoying life with these people right here doing absolutely nothing. It’s a really nice feeling. At first I felt trapped about it because I couldn’t go hang out with my friends when I was bored and wanted to see them. Then I realized, I came all the way to Africa. This is the way it is. Deal with it. And so I did. Ever since I came to that realization, I’ve been pretty okay overall. Even my trip here as a whole, I simply had to realize that this isn’t forever and that I’ll get home at some point, but in the mean time I may as well just be here.
Getting home from work to my host family is nice. Walking these streets, experiencing what I’ve been experiencing, has all just been so awesome. At work, I dug up more beds which is always intense labor. I’m using all of my muscles, pulling up dirt with a hoe, getting calluses on my hands, pulling my shoulder, sweating like a maniac, getting dirt in my hair and all over my face. It’s pretty awesome. So I did that for about one hour today. My muscles have seriously gotten bigger. I’m definitely stronger than before. Then, we literally sat for the next 4 hours. Aya, Kofi, Cynthia, Monica, and I all sat and talked and took naps throughout the midday. Neighbors would trickle in and we would talk to them and then go back to napping. I just stared off into the distance. I can’t believe 4 hours went by. It was really nice and relaxing. I think the comparison with back home is that at home we feel that we always need to rush off to the next best thing which I think is because there is a next best thing to rush to. Here, I felt antsy and rushed the first few days and then I realized, there is nowhere for me to rush to, there is nothing better I could be doing than just enjoying life with these people right here doing absolutely nothing. It’s a really nice feeling. At first I felt trapped about it because I couldn’t go hang out with my friends when I was bored and wanted to see them. Then I realized, I came all the way to Africa. This is the way it is. Deal with it. And so I did. Ever since I came to that realization, I’ve been pretty okay overall. Even my trip here as a whole, I simply had to realize that this isn’t forever and that I’ll get home at some point, but in the mean time I may as well just be here.
After sitting, Reverend Sam showed up with another feast for my going away party: large amounts of chicken, rice, and sugar cookies. It was really nice. I told him about my idea. My idea that I presented in my presentation yesterday in order to progress the organization is that interns should be given more opportunity to really take action in this program, rather than just working on the farm. I told him that maybe for one month they could work on the farm in order to get a good feel for it, to see the needs, and to understand where the goals of the organization lay. After this point, they should begin working in the office doing research to look for other organizations with a similar mission all across the world, and furthermore write letters asking for funding to further our project. I feel that this would take the CLCD so much further with its goals and would also greatly enrich the intern experience. He loved the idea and was so excited to bring this into the program for future volunteers. I may try to do this type of work when I get home as well, to try to help out further and to stay involved in the program even after leaving.
It was really hard saying goodbye to Aya and the family. I really loved being around them all and knowing that this is such a real goodbye made me feel sad. I hugged her a bunch of times and she kept saying “Oh, Sister Esi!” and then “You call me when you go to America.” It was just a really moving experience to realize how much I had gotten used to seeing them every day and that I would miss them and also knowing that they would miss me too. I would love to come back here many years from now just to check back in with everyone. It’s so cool to come to Ghana or to travel anywhere and make such a connection with so many people and know that if you would ever come back that they would immediately invite you into their home and let you stay there for as long as you want. People in Ghana are so open and friendly in this way. I’ve been taken into this family. Aya told me to send money so that they could build me a house there. Then I can always come back and just stay with them there in my little house. I know that even Reverend Sam would not hesitate to let me live with him. It’s such a good feeling.
Today I asked Cynthia what she loves most about living in Ghana. She told me that this is a country of peace and everyone loves each other. I told her that America isn’t like that. We don’t love each other the way they do here. You can meet someone and the next minute they will be your life long best friend here. She said that if you haven’t seen one of your close friends for maybe one or two days, you will go and find them and ask them why they have not visited you and ask them if they are upset with you and all of those things. I love that closeness and the way everyone is family here. Even if I go to America for 10 years and then come back, they will say to people “This is my sister from America.”
For the next two days that I am here I will be relaxing at home and just enjoying myself. Then on Sunday morning I will wake up early, bringing all of my bags and everything with me, and go to Reverend Sam’s church. He said that he is going to present me with a gift in front of the whole church and give me a good send-off. Then from there, we will leave for Accra and I will get on my plane for a 12 ride back to the United States of America, 28 hours of traveling total from leaving Cape Coast to Accra, Accra to Atlanta, Atlanta to Boston, and Boston to Falmouth.
Cultural fact of the day: People here are very superstitious. If you trip on the sidewalk or even stub your toe, this is bad luck and puts a curse on your day. Due to this, every time I trip on something or run into anything, they always say “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I think they are apologizing that I will have bad luck now, not because it was their fault that I tripped.
Later:
It’s a good night in Ghana when you come home from work, hang out with the family, helping make some tilapia, good music playing in the square, and then you go upstairs and relax to an episode of that 70s show and a bowl of spaghetti with milk and sugar. Life is so weird and yet finding ways to adjust is so normal. I love that there are things that have become my favorite meals here and that there are things that when my mom here makes them for me, I know it is because she knows its my favorite and that I’ll eat all of it. Today she made me this really good coleslaw salad stuff. It is so perfectly delicious.
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