Destination: Dodowa: The End

I'm home! Erin, Hannah, and I arrived in JFK at 4 AM Saturday morning, and I was on a plane to Pittsburgh by 8:15, where my parents were waiting for me (with a bouquet of yellow roses-so sweet!). As I froze in the 50ish degree weather, my breath caught in my throat as we emerged from the Fort Pitt tunnels and the entire city came into view. I've been enjoying everything about being home: sleeping, cooking, taking hot showers, Christmas decorating, catching up on Real Housewives and Happy Endings, and just enjoying being around my family and friends again. The final blog post below was written last week before I left Dodowa for our academic blog site, for which we have to write a post every week we are abroad, bringing the total to 14 posts. I meant to post it on this site too, but as you can imagine, the general excitement and business of traveling home has preempted that until this point. It's been a pleasure getting to share this experience with everyone who has been reading, and I truly appreciate all of the love and support that has been sent my way since August.

All semester, I’ve been looking forward to writing this, the fourteenth blog post. Not only would it mean that I’ve fulfilled the blog requirement and would shortly be heading home, but it would also mean that I’d be done in a more general sense-I’d be able to offer insight and perspective on my time here as a whole, and would be able to sum up this experience with my final thoughts for the rest of the I-Health community. Well, the moment has arrived; I’m writing that magical fourteenth post, and words are failing me. Every description, every story, every picture seems painfully inadequate to convey the rich experience that this semester has been. I can’t decide how to feel, let alone what to write.

I thought that I would be overwhelmingly excited at this point, counting down the hours until I board the flight back to New York. I thought that after 15 weeks of bucket showers, running water that has a 50% success rate of being on, and electricity that goes off for 12 hours at a time, I’d be practically running into the airport on Friday night, not looking back at the hardships or challenges I was leaving behind. Rest assured, I am not so enamored with bucket showers that I will go home and forego the nice shower with hot, high-pressure water that is waiting for me. However, getting back to the comforts and conveniences of home is the last thing on my mind. What’s on my mind is that I am not completely ready to leave, to say goodbye, and to end the experience that has changed me in so many ways. It’s as if a slow-motion video of our time here is playing in my head: the sound of games being played on the dark patio outside Auntie Esther’s house, the faces of friends laughing during Thanksgiving dinner, the calls of “blafono!” and “obruni!” that echo across the road as we walk by, the million tro-tro rides we have taken on that long road into Madina, the yards and yards of fabric bought for African dresses and skirts, the sight of five kids running to greet us at the road when we arrive for dinner, the look of pride and satisfaction upon Dr. Gyapong and Sheila’s faces after we successfully presented our research projects, the spicy, delicious taste of Irene’s okra stew with banku, the smile on Lovelyn’s face when we visited her at school, the cry of sheer terror on a baby’s face when we weigh him on an outreach visit, the hours of conversations had in the evenings with Oti, the walk along the long red dirt road up the hill to the research center, the look of delight on Charity’s face when we finish all of our food, and the hugs from Ema and Elvis that never fail to make me smile. I’m going to miss it all.

I can only hope that the hundreds of pictures, videos, and blog posts will help keep those memories as fresh as they are now, but I know that nothing will be able to concretely sum up this experience fully. I can’t remember the person I was when I landed in Accra. I know that I was nervous, excited, anxious, and eager for the experience to begin. I can’t remember what my expectations were, because the reality of my life here has completely erased them and surpassed them. I knew that I would eat dinner with a family every night. I didn’t know that I would leave feeling like a member of their family. I knew I would come with two other girls from the department. I didn’t know that I would leave with two lifelong friends. I knew that I would go to work at the research center every day and conduct a research project. I didn’t know that I would leave with a project that I am immensely proud of and excited about, as well as countless new friends and colleagues that I will surely stay in touch with. I knew it would be a challenge living here, both emotionally and practically. I didn’t know that the best parts of living here would outnumber the worst parts by a million to one.

So,

To Dr. Gyapong, Sheila, and Irene,

To Millicent, Comfort, and Henry,

To Favor, Derek, Gina, JoJo, Bernhard, Kwaku, and Kojo,

To Gifty, Mary, Solo, Gloria, BD, EL, Dr. Adjei, Dr. Gyakobo, Christian, SR, Ayisha, Jonas, Jerry, and Ema,

To Oti,

To Charity, Auntie Esther, Valentina, Lovelyn, Ema, and Elvis,

Thank you.