Leaving Ghana was not too difficult for me. I felt sad saying goodbye to my friends there, especially my host family, but I was ready to come back to my life here and the culture with which I am familiar and comfortable. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to live in Ghana these past few months because I learned so much, especially about myself, my culture, and how I relate to another culture.
Since coming back, telling people that I'm glad to be back here has elicited an interesting response, "It makes you appreciate what you have, doesn't it?" This may seem like a simple question to which there is a simple answer, but I am wary of answering it yes or no. I hear an underlying assumption, which is that life in Ghana isn't as good as it is in the US. However, I don't believe that my life here is inherently better than, say, Georgina's life in Ghana. I personally prefer living here, but I don't think that everyone would or should feel that way. So, yes I am grateful for and appreciate what I have here. What I have here that I often didn't have there and thus came to appreciate includes comfort, familiarity, anonymity, and closeness to a lot of people that I love and can relate to and communicate with. But I also came to love and enjoy many aspects of my life in Ghana, especially the people I spent the most time with: Georgina, Auntie Hettie, and the women who work for Auntie Hettie - Bea, Dodowa, and Esther. I will miss these people and hope I'll see them again!
Georgina
Bea, Dodowa, and Esther
Auntie Hettie and Me
