BACK HOME
Ok. So I've been back in the U.S. for 5 days now and it's been ok. Nothing special except the party/get-together my family surprised me with when I arrived home from the airport. Needless to say, I was excited and happy to see everyone, especially the little kiddies. They have all grown so much. That means I'm gettin old, man.
The transition so far has been smooth. Maybe that's because I haven't been so busy. The only case I can say where I had culture shock was when I walked into Target and I became so overwhelmed with seeing so much of the same thing stocked up and piled high, I became nauseaus and nearly vomited in the store. I know, I know, it sounds exaggerated, but I'm telling the absolute truth. Why is there so much of the same thing in one place?
Walking through the mall, I felt like I was wandering around all alone. Ok, in actuality I was alone but no one even looked at each other as they passed nor did they greet one another. I have to get used to that because back in Ghana I was used to greeting anyone I came across, whether I knew them or not. I miss that. I'm sure after some time, I'll readjust. And if not, I'll move back to Ghana :)
My plans now are to go back to school. I want to do something related to health/allied health/health technology- something close to what I was doing in Ghana. Right now, I'm still leaning towards nursing but I need to do some more research and see what's out there.
ETHIOPIA TRIP
I know you all are interested in my Ethiopia trip too. It was really really nice. I went with a fellow Peace Corps volunteer who was also serving in Ghana with me. He was born and grew up in Ethiopia before moving to the U.S. at the age of 18. So it was really cool to go back with someone who knows the place and still have ties through family and friends there. We did some site seeing and he did some catching up with family. We went to Lake Awasa and had breakfast on the lake side. It was beautiful. There were lots of birds and one of my favorite animals- monkies. At first, I was kind of annoyed with them because they kept jumping from branch to branch above us as we eat and then jump down to the ground to get closer to our food. Of course, I wasn't having that so we got a big stick and threatened to beat the monkey anytime he landed near our plates. The threatening of the monkey went on for a while but after we ate, we hand-fed them the left-overs. That was cool. It reminded me of feeding a little human being.
In Ethiopia, we also visited another lake- Lake Langano. That place was beautiful. We stayed in a lodge situated just in front of a mountain cliff and a few meters from the shore. The water was reddish but calm and in the morning we took a paddle-boat ride. That was relaxing. I even have some video I'll try to post online. We also went to a place called Nazreth. We didn't do too much there but it was good to experience a sprawling town.
Of course, we spent a few days in the capital, Addis Ababa. It's just like any other city in the world- full of cars, people in the latest fashion, good food, and plenty of places to hang out. One night in Addis, we went to a place that served traditional drinks and there was also a show of traditional dances and songs from the country. (I can't remember which ones we saw though). The outfits were pretty and colorful and the people were all beautiful (at least in my eyes).
The food was delicious. We ate out at different places and ordered different types of food, but none could top the home-cooked meal of Yonas' (my traveling companion) aunti, Emebet. Her lentil bean stew with Injera was off the hook. I never got tired of eating it. The morning after arriving in Addis, Emebet performed the traditional coffee ceremony for us. She roasted fresh beans on a small charcoal fire, ground them, and then we were served with milk. The smell of the coffee was enticing, even though I'm not a coffee drinker.
What else I loved about Addis were the bakeries everywhere. I would just buy one fresh bread for less than $.25. My friend tried his best to get me to stop eating as we walked (something that's looked down upon in Ghana and later I found out in Ethiopia too), but it was too tasty and soft, there was no stopping me.
All in all, it was a nice trip and it was a good way to transition and come home.
LEAVING GHANA
As I wrote in my previous blog, I thought leaving Ghana would have been extremely difficult for me but surprisingly, it wasn't. Not that I was happy to leave the place, but I was actually in denial. As I was leaving my house, I felt like I was just traveling to Accra like I had done so many times before. Then as the plane was taking off in Accra, I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I'm actually leaving the place I had made home with friends for the last two years. But now that I'm back home, I'm really feeling it. I think about Ghana all the time and how life was so simple and free there. I miss seeing my friends every day, the hot sun, and eating fresh foods. I've talked to my Ghanaian friends almost every day since I've been back. Oh, Ghana!!!
Well, that's a wrap. Until next time.
