Yesterday afternoon the sun came out then went right back behind a cloud. A bit later it did the same thing. Finally the sun reappeared behind another cloud and stayed a while. I could see that strangely familiar bright round orb. My imagination went rampant at its appearance. I imagined riots across the world as people ran from the bright light, all of them absolutely fearful of the unknown.

I checked the weather in the paper today, and it will be cloudy the whole week. I suppose Pollyanna would say, “At least it isn’t snow.” I am a sick of Pollyanna! A good curse or two is a better stress reliever.

I am very late today because I slept until 10:30. I didn’t go to bed until 2. It was just one of those nights. I had some plans today, but now I’ll just stay around and do house things.

The world is so much smaller than it used to be even though there are now more countries than in the history of the world. We can get anywhere in a day. Sadly, though, the world is becoming more homogenized. When I went to Marrakech, I stayed in the old city with its narrow alleyways, and I had to memorize the lefts and rights so I could get back to my riad. The new part of the city has a McDonald’s. In Accra, I saw too many fast food franchises and was sorry to find the hole in the wall Lebanese restaurants where I often ate are gone. You can now find anything you want in Accra, any sort of Bruni food. That makes me sad.

I want to travel to Bolgatanga one more time, probably in a couple of years when I have saved enough money. I also want to see Cambodia, Laos and Cuba before they become a bit like everywhere else. I still like the unbeaten path. Ghana was a bit like that when I first lived there, and it gave me a hunger for places where there are no McDonald’s or neon lights or any of the comforts of home. If I wanted those, I’d just stay home.