Its Been a While

My last post I said I'd update this place again at some point, and I don't want to make a liar out of myself so I'm updating again. Its been a year and a half since I've been home. And I can honestly say I miss Ghana as much now as I did the day after I got back. I can't believe its been that long, wow, time flies when your, well, working I guess. Since I've been back I've moved out and am currently working 2 jobs. I never thought I'd have 2 jobs at once, but its not too bad actually. Although they couldn't be at more different places. I am going to miss my 4:30am shift when I go full time at the other place. I'll miss all my old guy regulars who come in for coffee, there so nice, and for the most part, not to creepy.

I have good news about one of the kids at the childrens home, I was on facebook a while back (I think about a month ago or so) and came across a picture of my princess that I hadn't seen before. If you don't remember my princess, Adwoa, was the one little girl during my first stay at the childrens home that I got really attached to, and honestly looked and bringing her here with me. Well, this picture was taken about 2 months before I went back to Ghana the second time, and she looked so big and healthy, it was awesome. Auntie Esther, the house mother at the girls house had told me she went with her mother, but I wasn't sure how much I believed her because I had known her to not tell the truth on something like that, and the first time I asked her about Adwoa she said she didn't know who I was talking about. But the picture that I seen proves that Adwoa was doing very fine only 2 months before I went back, which means that she likely did go with her mother and and not what I feared most. If you ask my mom, I'm sure she'll tell you how happy I was when I saw that picture. I believe my words were that that picture didn't just make my day it made my whole life. That picture is still the background on my cell phone.

I'm still planning on going back, it will happen for sure, but this 2 jobs thing has kinda slowed down the plans for that. But I will. After I came back the first time, everyone asked if I liked it and if I would ever go back. Now they all skip right to the question "when are you going back". Because they know it will happen. I said in one of my previous posts how different it was coming back home the second time compared to the first time, and I can still say it was totally different. I was talking to someone during Christmas who had been to Jamaica recently and they said how some people here don't realize how lucky they are unless the travel somewhere else and see for themselves what really goes on. And its totally true, I really had a hard time coming back the first time with some of the people who live here and act entitled to everything, when back where I had been where some kids dinner would be 1 cup of this milk/porridge stuff and that all they got. If that spilled on themselves when they ate/drank it, well, then didn't get anymore. And then the would lay there because they couldn't literally walk or talk or do anything unless someone helped them even though they were 4 years old. It was really frustrating. But coming back the second time, I don't know if I was used to it, or if I knew what to expect more, but it wasn't as tough. That doesn't mean I didn't want to leave Ghana the second time, definitely not.

But onto happier notes, I still miss FanIce, FanYogo, riding in tro-tros, taxis, and almost getting hit by many vehicles. Especially semi-trucks, those are fun when they come up behind you and drive probably 4-5 feet away from you at 50 kph, that's usually when they honk too. Or when you get yelled "Obruni" at by random people on the street and they ask you something in Twi and then laugh like crazy when you can answer them in Twi. I miss fufu, groundnut soup, jollof rice, plantain chips and yams. And the fish that you get with your meal that still has everything too it, including head and its eyes. I miss the bugs, lizards and huge frogs that make a cool sound when you step on them (accidentally I might add). I miss the cockroaches that would crawl underneath my bed when I was trying to sleep, and killing them with about 15 whacks of my sandal. I miss the spider that was always on the wall of the shower and that one time it had a friend spider that was way bigger. Sleeping under mosquito nets, bug spray, sunscreen, water sachets, getting marriage proposals, annoying chickens, constant 30 degree heat, and walking around town by yourself where you don't know anybody, don't speak the language and stick out like a sore thumb but yet still feel at home.

At Christmas two years ago, we went to the Christmas Eve service at our church, and at that service was a couple, from here, who had lived in Ghana, for 2 years I believe. They came up to me at the end and asked how I was in twi, I was so shocked I couldn't really answer. We talked for a while and it was awesome. Just as I was leaving, I was walked beside the husband who was waiting for his wife, and told him Merry Christmas in Twi, the look on his face was fantastic. I don't think he expected to hear that.

Ok, I'll stop writing now. I had written a whole other paragraph but deleted it because I decided it didn't need to be here. I may come back to blog again some time, but I really don't know.