The final countdown

Well, the countdown has begun. Only a handful of days left before my Ghanaian adventures come to an end. I will be boarding my Lufthansa flight on Wednesday evening, and after what promises to be an absolutely lovely 24 hours in transit (oh, how I loooove intercontinental travel, especially 8 hour layovers in the middle of the night), I will be back in Montreal on Thursday afternoon. I’m feeling quite the range and mix of emotions at the prospect of leaving Accra and coming back to Canada. Though incredibly excited to see my family and friends, I’m also very sad to be saying goodbye to all the amazing souls I have been fortunate to cross paths with while in Ghana.

I’m also expecting to experience some serious reverse culture shock on the way back… How strange it will be not to have random strangers reminding me of my skin color on the streets, no groups of rabidly affectionate children jumping into my arms to welcome me back to the neighborhood every evening coming home from work, no chickens running around in the gutters, no goats eating trash on the side of the road…How I will miss the colors, the smells, the life, the music, the heat, the constant bustling of Accra, trotro drivers shouting out their destinations over the buzz of traffic, tiny shops scattered all over the streets, their shelves spilling over with cans and beauty products and displays of artificial hair for brading, women with babies on their backs and elaborate displays of jewelry or fruit perched atop their heads. How I will miss the pace of life, where no one rushes, where everyone takes the time to greet each other, to eat, to sit, to wait, to watch, to listen without worrying about the million other things they ought to be doing instead. And above all, how I will miss the people, at times annoying (the Don Juan de Tuna types most particularly) but above all friendly, curious, open, funny and so very kind.

What an amazing experience it’s been…and how I will miss this place.

But I must also admit that amidst all this nostalgia, I’m still excited to come home, to see you all --oh faithful hominid subjects-- and to share with you my many stories, memories and pictures over a yummy steaming latte.

And in the meantime, there are four more days to take full advantage of. As has been the case for the last two weeks or so (which also explains the blog-silence of late), the next moments promise to be full of activities, goodbye visits, eating out, being treated to copious amounts of Ghanaian cuisine, dancing, walking about and making my peace with my impending departure…finding solace in the resolution that I will be setting foot back here sooner than later.

So my darlings, I send you my last greetings from mostly sunny albeit increasingly rainy Ghana (the rainy season is well on its way) -- and I look forward to catching up with you soon…in person!

Much love to you my precious
Sophie

ps: dont have time to explain the pics, but I still wanted to include them...a brief overview of the last few weeks...I look forward to sharing the details (and lots and lots of other pictures) upon my return