Let's just begin with this quote from Anne:
"My flight was delayed. I probably would have been worried if it had been on time."
I definitely would have been.
Our last few days in Ghana were nothing short of perfect. Wednesday and Thursday, we were able to keep doing what we had been doing the entire four weeks: basically whatever we wanted. We usually rotated between teaching, computer/administrative work, and goofing off with the kids. Especially the last option as we realized our time was quickly coming to an end. The kids were so adorable, at the beginning of the week we think the teachers told them that we'd be leaving on Friday, so they all kept saying, "Madame, do not leave! Madames, when are you coming back?" I really fell in love with these little munchkins. (Shout out to my ACAD girls: I literally wanted to put them on a cupcake. They were like little marshmallow children) After being home a few days, I really realize how much I miss them loving on us all the time. And as Anne was saying, that REALLY indicates just how much we adored them, because I can honestly say that we had no problem with them touching, pinching, stroking, pulling on, and even biting (chomp chomp haha) us, despite the fact that, sadly, we'd seen many of them climbing in the trash dump outside the school at one point or another. The last two weeks were especially wonderful, because we got to know the kids individually, know their personalities and quirks, and see them as people. Especially in the Stage 3 class, one of my favorite things to do was just sit and watch them interact with each other, joking and laughing and bickering sometimes but always making me smile.
The first day we went to school, a little boy, Nathaniel, was in there because he had fallen and broken his arm. Because the cast wasn't very stiff, he stayed home for a while, and when he came back to school, he spent the day in the headmaster's (John's) office. Needless to say, for a five year old, this is a very boring place. So this week, while the other was working on the computer, either Anne or I would play with him and read to him on one of the couches. Until Thursday, he was SO timid. While most of the kids would always do glamour shots and goof off in front of the camera, he didn't even smile! Thursday, though, suddenly he had a PERSONALITY. Literally, he just babbled on and on and on and danced and sang. It was so hilarious. Anne has a great video of him and the son of one of the cooks, Kojo.
While catching up with everyone, I always get the request, "Tell me EVERYTHING!" I have no idea how to do that. In Ghana, I saw a completely different, beautiful, heartbreaking world. Every day I saw more poverty than I have ever seen, but I also saw the most grateful and content and giving people. We saw thirteen year old boys with machetes. We saw street children living in trash. But we saw the happiest, most faithful people I have ever been blessed to meet. These people GET life. Their first thought is ALWAYS, how can I help this person? When Anne and I arrived, they loved us. They didn't wait to get to know us, they just LOVED us, with all their hearts. We were welcomed by their country, while if they had come to America, they would most likely have been looked away from or provided with minimal help (at best) or scorned at because they were foreigners trying to make a life here. Even at the airport, when the security guards were searching our suitcase and asked "How did you see Ghana?," their eyes lit up when I would gush about the beautiful, welcoming people. They have such pride in their culture and in their hospitality. It's beautiful.
Being home, I miss the little, simple things. Like being home with Anne, just sitting and reading or journaling or just... sitting. Like falling asleep at 10 o'clock and waking up at dawn with roosters. Catching a taxi that I was pretty sure would break down before we made it to Abura. Paying less than a quarter for a huge meal, served in newspaper. Going to school and witnessing TRUE LOVE and adoration from the children. And the simplicity of everything. Anyways, I'll probably keep posting about Ghana, and I'll definitely put up pictures. And then, in a week, I'll leave for Peru! I'm not sure what the internet will be like there, but I'll do my best to update often. Hope you're all doing well!
love, geales
oh, and a note about our flight home. Ha. So Anne and I left our apartment at 2:30am. Meaning, we went to sleep around 11 and woke up at 12:30 to shower, finish packing, and attempt to clean our apartment. Our bus was, unsurprisingly, 30 minutes late (Ghana time, woo!!) But besides that the first leg of the trip went well--it was so cool watching the sun rise as we drove through the countryside!! What a beautiful last glimpse of Ghana :) It was really bizzare leaving in the middle of the night though, because, eerily, we knew that when the sun came up that morning it would appear as if we'd never have been there. Well, it's a weird thought for us. We arrived at the bus station in Accra around 6:30am, which was nice, because everything was just starting up. Anne and I found a street vendor selling Ghanaian donuts, bo froot (sp??), pronounced Bohfroo, which were DELICIOUS, so much more dense than American style donuts and not too sweet, but definitely not the best thing to eat right before you travel. Ooops, oh well, they were worth it, haha. Anyways, then we caught a cab to the airport, which was probably the most confusing airport EVER, but we made it fine, haha, and all of the officials were very nice and eager to help us, especially, as I said earlier, after we commented on the hospitality of Ghana. WE were very lucky to get out of Accra on time, considering now the rainy season is in full swing, bringing torrential downpours every morning. As in, once we couldn't even leave our apartment because it was raining so hard and was so windy! But we got out fine and it was definitely one of the best flights I've been on. The flight attendants were so kind and genuinely helpful, the seats were bigger than normal, and the movies were great. Even the food was REALLY good--they served us FanIce!! A perfect last Ghanaian snack :) The flight flew by (ha, no pun intended) and we even landed about 40 minutes early.
At this point we were like, great, we'll have plenty of time to get through customs. (On a side note, the New York customs is a lot easier to go through and quicker and more rational than the ATL airport. Just saying...) Well, we could have been five hours late and still have been fine. That's right. Five hours. Our flight from JFK to ATL was delayed from 9pm to 2:45AM!! Which really wasn't that bad, actually it was hilarious because at this point Anne and I had slept about 2 hours thursday night and barely 5 the night before, and maybe 1 or 2 on the plane over (for some reason we couldn't sleep, we really regretted that at this point...) so we were DELERIOUS. It was absolutely hilarious, because each time our flight was delayed more we would just crack up. No one else thought it was as funny but honestly, what can you do? Nothing. So we laughed, and we talked about Ghana and the funny things the kids did and had a blast. When the flight finally did take off, however, we were ready to get some sleep. Not ready to part ways, but ready to shut our eyes.
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