a story to be told

I am wearing the same clothes I wore 24 hours ago and I don't really even mind. I haven't slept in the past 24 hours either; Rachel and I made a pact to stay awake all night to watch the sun come up for our last night here. I had a few weak moments, moments where I about dozed off, but I made it!

Around 5:00 am, we headed towards the stadium, a short walk from out hostel, to watch the sun rise.

It was quick.

It wasn't particularly stunning.

But, at the same time, it was.
It's kind of like how Ghana has been, really. It wasn't always incredible on the surface. No, it was the intricate day-to-day experiences that made Ghana one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

But the sunrise was beautiful. And as it peaked over the horizon, it kind of hit me.

Have I been living a dream?

Did this really happen?

Is it really over?

Am I really going back to the United States?

How in the world do I adjust from Africa, from Ghana, to the United States of America?

It doesn't feel real.

It doesn't feel real to be leaving.

We said goodbye to my friend Paula last night, and that was hard.

Tonight, we are leaving Ghana.

My heart will be here forever, part of me will be here forever.

I have letters to finish, bags to pack, goodbyes to share, a few more tro tro rides, and one last cold shower to take.

And then, I will put on my pretty kente dress, with my matching kente bag and headband, and head home.

So many emotions, feelings, thoughts are running through my mind, and I don't really know how to put them together. One moment tears are ready to sprawl from my eyes, and another I can't help but laugh at every single thing because I am so giddy.

I guess I can be sure of one thing: this was a life-changing experience. I feel like the luckiest girl in the whole world to have lived in Ghana for 5 months. I've learnt more than you can possibly imagine, loved more than I possibly could, and laughed a ton along the way.

I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Ghana will be intricately woven into my story for the rest of my life.

There are many stories to be told, many experiences, that somehow are now part of my own story and that I look forward to sharing. 

That's a really beautiful, rare, amazing, and incredible thing.

Saying goodbye to Paula at the Accra airport

Gloria, Salem, and Rukia holding pictures of my family and friends from home. They each picked out a picture they wanted to keep. In a way, my family here can know my family at home.

These kids make me SO happy.

Beautiful Gloria, this is only the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Our last sunrise in Africa.

Goodbye Home, Hello Africa!

"I love you, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

I have been thinking about this moment for about a year and a half. Scratch that. I've been thinking about this moment ever since I came to Hendrix, and knew that I wanted to study abroad and go to Africa.

I don't know what to expect. At all. I think that might be the best part. Yes, I may have no hot water. And yes, I may just have to wash my own clothes, minus a washer and dryer. But really, that's what I wanted to get out of this experience anyway. I wanted to live a little differently for awhile so that I can find greater meaning and appreciation for the life I have lived for the past 21 years.

I am going to Ghana. I am going to Africa. For 5 months. It's crazy how much I have changed in the past couple years at Hendrix, so it should be interesting how I change and what I learn from 5 months of studying at the University of Ghana.

Why Ghana? What do I want from this experience?

To be challenged, to be uncomfortable, and from this, find ways to adapt and learn from being uncomfortable.

To become more open-minded.

To understand the gifts God has given me, and to use them as I meet new people from all parts of the world.

To let go of being in control all of the time. Really, to just let things happen as they happen, and rely on others more fully.

To find inner peace.

To learn new ways to trust God.

To move away from relying on material items all the time.

To find a place in Ghana to volunteer my time, as I further try to find my purpose and path in life.

To always, always appreciate the blessings—big and small—in life.

Those are some goals and thoughts behind my motivation to study in Ghana.

My blog is named "This is Africa" because after talking about Ghana with a girl who studied there in the past, she told us that this is what she had to keep in mind while living in Africa. Things are just different there, not necessarily worse, just different. Whenever she would get frustrated with how things were being done in Ghana, she would remind herself—"This is Africa." I too, will be reminding myself of this. Hopefully, I can achieve my goal of just letting things happen as they will happen, and I can fully embrace This is Africa.

Tomorrow I have a flight from Denver to London, and then will head from London to Accra on British Airways. I should be arriving in Accra on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at approximately 9:30 pm. It is then, that the adventure really begins.