I have been back in the US for just over three weeks now and the saying is true; “there’s no place like home.” I loved my time in Ghana and all of West Africa, but coming home was also a nice thing. The journey home and re-acclimating into American society has been interesting and eventful as always. It has been more than a year since I first posted an entry about going to Ghana. Now that I am back home, after having spent a year living and teaching in Ghana, here is an entry to wrap-up the whole experience.
My last night in Ghana, I got Malaria. I had malaria three times in Ghana; once pretty severely, once rather mildly, and than the last bout was in between the first two. Unfortunately, my last day in Ghana, was spent either in bed, or wishing that I was in bed. The last minute chores, packing, and visits that I had planned were either done while in a bit of a stupor, or simply, not done at all. Regardless, I was able to visit with Mary one last time (a hard goodbye for both of us), and get to the airport in time to check-in and make my flight. The ugly reality of traveling for the next 22 hours on an airplane was made a bit easier when I was “bumped” to business-class. I have never flown business-class before, but I could think of no better time to start. It made the trip home, although still not pleasant, bearable. When I reached Chicago, I was greeted with both good and bad news; the bad, was that my bags (which contained my life for the past year) were still somewhere in Europe, and the good was that my family, worried about the fact I had malaria, were there to welcome me home and visit with me during my layover. “All is well that ends well,” and the same is true here: I made it home safely, I got better and rid of the malaria, and my bags arrived, enacted, a few days later. Like the rest of the year my departure from Ghana was nothing less than eventful.
It is very important that I say thank you all the people, both African and American, that made my year in Ghana, not only possible, but also enjoyable. The names and organizations are too many to list, but nonetheless, thank you. With that said, there are a few people and organizations I need to mention by name. The Fulbright program is a wonderful program that truly does embrace and promote the concepts of cultural awareness and understanding. I was, and am, very thankful to be affiliated with such an organization. Sacred-Heart Griffin High School (at which I teach here in the US) administration, faculty, and staff were flexible enough to allow me to not only go to Africa for a year, but also openly embrace an exchange teacher from Ghana, a culture vastly different than that of the United States. Accra Girls’ Secondary School and all associated with it welcomed me with open arms and I feel very lucky that I was placed in such an environment. The students that I had were great. As much as they got under my skin on any given day, they are all wonderful young ladies who have incredibly bright futures. The generosity and warmth they showed me over the course of the school year was second to none. It was sad to see them leave the school the last day knowing that we may never see one another again. Again, thank you to all the people on this continent and in Africa who helped in a myriad of ways over the course of the past year. To Accra Girls faculty, staff, and students, to the citizens of Mamobi and Nima Neighborhoods, and to countless others in Ghana, to so many friends, family, and students here in the US that sent letters, packages, and emails to me while abroad, thank you.
It is nice to be home and I am very glad to be back on US soil again. Nonetheless, however, I do find that I miss certain aspects about my year in Ghana. I once heard someone say that it is not really a place that you love, but rather the people there. Ghana can be a very pretty country, but far and away the greatest and most beautiful of all of Ghana’s natural resources are its people. Much more than missing the food or the climate, I miss the people that I met and the connections I was able to make. It was people like Akordy Abingya (the headmistresses’ son) and Mamobi Mary the Banana Lady that I was able to connect with that enabled me to have a much deeper understanding of the culture and the place and therefore, a much more rewarding experience. Again, to all of the people in Ghana that opened their homes and hearts to me, thank you. It is those connections that I do, and will, miss the most. However, as I get back to school here at SHG and begin to re-establish a life in the Midwest, I am able to make new connections and continue old ones that have been on hiatus for the past year.
I thoroughly enjoyed my year in Ghana. As much as I may miss it, I look forward to maintaining those connections I have made as well as making new ones here at home in my own country and culture. Thanks again to all who supported me over the course of the last year, both African and American. To those of you who may have followed my year online via this blog, thanks to you as well.
