A nearly sleepless night on an airplane had me feeling
pretty groggy as we rolled out of the Accra airport at 6:30 AM this past
Monday. We had just returned from our
fall break in Barcelona, and though I was already wishing for a scoop of gelato
to stave off the African heat, I also had a feeling of tranquility. “I’m home.”
It’s the same feeling I get every time I catch my first glimpse of the
Healy clock tower as I drive south on the George Washington Parkway every fall
to move back to campus. We turned the corner
to the waiting area in the airport, where, two months ago, we found Calvin and
Emmanuel waiting to take us to Dodowa.
We proudly shook our heads when one person after the other asked if we
were coming to Ghana for the first time-“No, we’re coming back.” We got the familiar
chuckle from the cab driver when I demanded a lower price than the one he
gave-for some reason they always find it amusing when I firmly bargain with
them, since they never expect us to know if we are getting ripped off by a high
price! The rising sun pored through our
cab windows as we sleepily rolled through our now-familiar sites, which looked
so foreign the first time we arrived-the Accra mall, Legon, Medina, and Adenta. The confusing maze of roads that change from
two-way to one-way and from dirt to concrete in an instant were clogged with
tro-tros that were themselves clogged with morning commuters, and the cries of
“pure water!”, “plantain chips!”, and, our favorite, “MTN!!!” echoed through
the dusty air. As Hannah texted Oti (our
roommate), Henry (our neighbor), and Dr. Gyapong that we were back, I thought
about how lucky we are to have people waiting for us here and anticipating our
safe return. Charity even wore the
“Georgetown Mom” shirt from Gaelen and Courtney for dinner that night, and our
return was celebrated with one of our favorite dinners, fried yams and egg
stew. Tonight we were almost knocked
over with the sheer force of the welcome that the other neighborhood kids gave
us: Bernhard, Quaku, Kojo, and Prof all ran screaming to give us hugs when we
arrived. A game of soccer soon sprung up
between the girls and the boys: Erin and I versus Ema, Bernhard, and
Quaku. We certainly held our own, but
suffice to say that 7-9 year old energy lasts quite a bit longer than 21-year-old
energy. Skirts and sandals didn’t make
for the best playing uniform, either, so I’m sure we looked pretty beat-up as
we sat down for a dinner of jollof rice and chicken. Finally, we also brought some goodies with
us for an after-dinner treat: gummy snakes, worms, and bugs that we found in a
market in Spain. We had thought they
would be a hit, especially with Elvis, since one of his favorite games is to
hiss at you and slink his clasped hands into your face to be the “snake”. Well, we were wrong. All of the candy was treated with some
confusion by everyone, but Ema and Vale and Charity eventually examined and ate
the candy with interest. Elvis tried one
of the bugs, took a worm, decided it looked too much like a snake to eat,
looked into the bag and saw the actual
candy snake we had brought, and immediately ran away in fear. We were unable to coax him into trying
anymore candy, which his mother and grandmother found hilarious as they kept
showing him the bag, and promised to bring tamer gummy animals tomorrow: frogs
and butterflies.
These two days have reminded me of how lucky I
am. Maybe we lose electricity from day
to day, maybe we have no water for a week, and maybe we still struggle to get
any internet connection on our MTN!!! modems, but we have something so much
more important, something that can’t be guaranteed in any abroad experience-a
whole new family. I have at least ten
new little brothers and sisters, at least five new older brothers and sisters,
and three new moms. Our names will soon
be added to the litany of past visitors: Michael, Sonnet, Catherine, Gaelen,
Courtney, Isabelle, Laurel, Szena,…and now Ally, Erin, and Hannah. We’ve been here for two months exactly-closer
now to the end than the beginning. While
exciting prospects lie ahead-data collection, visiting parents, and more
weekend trips-I don’t want the time to fly by too fast. Before I know it, I’ll be saying goodbye to
my family and a life I have come to love, despite all of its challenges and
frustrations. Our week away reminded me
of how long ago it was that we arrived, and how far we’ve come since then! It also gave me a renewed sense of awareness
that the next time we leave, it will be for good.
