“We had so much fun in Ghana and they are really lovely people.”
The day is overcast and humid. I figure it’s setting the stage for Irene’s visit tomorrow. 80% of the Sunday flights out of Logan have already been canceled. I checked the status of mine just a while ago, and it is still scheduled. Tonight when I leave at 10:15 it may be rainy but that’s all. This morning I emptied the kitty litter and Gracie and I went to the dump then I dropped my car off at the car repair place to have some scratches and a small hole repaired. My house/pet sitter is moving in at five after she finishes work. All is ready!
I am beyond myself and wonder how I’ll get through the day. I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve who knows it will be years until bedtime. Going back to Ghana is even exciting to say. I talked to my friend Ralph the other night and last night I spoke to another friend, Michelle, both of whom were with me in Ghana. They were so very excited for me, and I promised a million pictures.
The first time I went to Ghana I had no expectations. Africa to me was a total mystery. Tarzan movies were about as close as I had even gotten. I read a few books before I left, including one on the politics of Ghana which Peace Corps had recommended. It was dry and boring, and none of the books on the list had pictures. My first impression of Ghana was it was a riot of colors and patterns in the clothes the Ghanaians wore. The women carrying huge boxes on their heads were a marvel. The markets were filled with the unusual: vegetables I’d never seen before, odd colored nuts and live animals. I was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and smells I had never before encountered.
Ghana became home. Shopping for a live chicken became commonplace. Rambling through the market on market day was one of my favorite things. It always seemed a bit like a carnival to me. In town at night lanterns flickered beside stands along the roadside where women cooked and sold hand food. Plantain chips and kabobs were my favorites. Watching an auntie (an older woman) wield a single edge razor blade to peel around the top of an orange before she lopped it off never failed to amaze me. The orange, green in Ghana, was always sweet.
All of those are old images, old memories, cherished and saved in my memory drawers. Starting tomorrow I get to make new ones. Despite all my hoping, I never imagined I’d return to Ghana.
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August 27, 2011 at 11:03 am
I am so happy for you! I am sending positive thoughts to you for safe travel and thank you, as always, for sharing with all of us!
August 27, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Thanks, Sara!
I figure you are all coming along with me! Thanks for the positive thoughts. I’ll need them with a total of 18 hours in the air between here and Europe and there and Ghana.
August 27, 2011 at 11:49 am
I got a bit worried that You writing here today meant the flight was canceled. So I do hope it still will go tonight! I´ve read the first reports on Irenes fury and she seems bad.
I guess the first thing You´ll recognize is the smell, every place has a smell of its own and often it is food 🙂 🙂 🙂
Lots of thunder here today, something that wouldn´t com until tomorrow they said 🙂 🙂 Warm and high humidity makes it sort of nast even moving an arm 🙂 🙂
I hold my thumbs and cross my fingers and toes that You´ll get away this evening! Have a great trip!
Christer.
August 27, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Christer,
I knew I’d have time to write this morning and have been planning the songs all week.
Kelewele is my favorite Ghanaian food, and I’m hoping to have it first thing.
Today is horribly humid. The sun is gone now and only a white gray sky remains. I have my air conditioner on. I might as well be comfortable.
Take care!
August 27, 2011 at 11:49 am
Great song selection today. I should have guessed all of them. I know you will have a wonderful time, exhausting flight over, but all will be worth it as you rekindle memories of those golden days. You never needed a reason to revisit Ghana but this couldn’t be a better one to celebrate 50 years of Peace Corps leadership around the world. I Know you will have a wonderful visit. God bless you! Post when you can.
August 27, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Z&Me,
Thanks on the songs-some, I know, were easy to guess. I figure on sleeping during the 11 hour leg to Accra-by then I should be close to dead.
I too thought this the perfect time to return. I have an invitation to the swearing in and a party later that night. Good thing I packed one dress as the ceremony is business professional!
August 27, 2011 at 11:56 am
Have a safe and wonderful trip! I can’t wait until you’re back home sharing with us!
August 27, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Thanks, Larry
I have my book and my pen all set to record the journey! I’m always happy to share.
August 27, 2011 at 11:57 am
Hi Kat,
Did you have to kill your own chicken or could you have the vendor do that? Or would you be considered a wuss if you asked. 🙂
Have a great flight. Have a wonderful vacation and may it be as fascinating as your memories.
August 27, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Hi Caryn,
I never did kill a chicken. I had someone on the school compound do that. In the market, I was always handed the chicken with its feet tied together. I’d swing it over the handlebar of my motorcycle and avoid getting pecked all the way home.
Thanks! I’m hoping to sleep during part of it!
August 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Godspeed my good friend! Happy Trails!!
Coleen
August 27, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Thank you, Colleen-love the Happy Trails!
August 27, 2011 at 1:51 pm
great choice of travel songs!!!
take all of our best wishes with you….
August 27, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Thanks, Greg
You inspired me for one!
All your best wishes will get me there safely I just know it.
August 27, 2011 at 2:02 pm
We’ll miss you! God bless you on your trip and may you return healthy and refreshed.
(Just listened to a youtube of Tom Waits singing Goodnight Irene… Different.)
August 27, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Thanks, Ted
I hope it will be the best trip ever!
August 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm
It will be the best trip ever. I’ll be thinking of you daily. And yes, you picked (as usual) great songs… one is my favorite.
Waving, and later I’ll look up at the sky and wave some more,
Lori
August 27, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Salutations from the old country and have a wonderful trip..fire up the Nikon