Ghana Adventure

my first meal home: enchiladas suizas and dr. pepper...woo hoo!

i'm writing this entry from my parents' home in louisville...yes, i'm home and i apologize to you, my faithful blog readers, for keeping you in the dark about my impending departure. i was originally supposed to fly out of ghana on september 20th, but about a month ago i changed my ticket to leave six days earlier...this was due to a variety of things that i needed to get home for, including my roomie's wedding in detroit (yeah, alaina!) and some application stuff that required me to be back here.

anyhow, the fun part is that i decided not to tell my parents that i had changed my itinerary...instead, my brother and i orchestrated a complex plan to surprise them, which went off beautifully. on friday night my mom and dad showed up at a local mexican restaurant, expecting to meet up with some friends of theirs. instead, i was there sitting at the table...my mom was literally in shock for like two or three minutes, completely speechless. my dad just busted out laughing. it was truly an epic surprise...i think they are both still getting over it.

so forgive me for not posting an entry about the fact that i was leaving...i didn't want to spoil the surprise that i was planning for my parents.

my trip home and first 48 hours back in the US have been quite an emotional rollercoaster. i knew i was in for trouble when i started the trip off by crying my eyes out in the accra airport because i was so sad to leave...and even now my heart aches to be back on the anastasis. however, as i got closer to home i began to get excited about seeing my family, surprising my parents and (of course) eating some great mexican food. i must admit that it's been lovely to have a clean, spacious, hot shower that i don't have to limit to two minutes. and having a bathroom (with toilet!) right next to my bedroom seems like a huge luxury. in fact, my bedroom here is about twice the size of the cabin that i shared with three other girls. but i've also struggled with some reverse culture shock. seeing the amount of excess here in the US has been mind-boggling, and at times i feel like this is not the home country that i remember...of course, i am the one who has changed, not my home. so far i have been taking it slow and have stayed away from target, wal-mart and shopping malls. i did go to walgreens yesterday, and felt sad to see all of the little trinkets for sale at the checkout counter. the other challenge has been adapting back to a normal, everyday routine...my days in ghana were full of exciting events, people and conversations...i learned something new about the world and about myself on a daily basis. now i feel a bit stagnant without that, but at the same time am thankful for some rest.
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i'm sorry to have rambled so much in this entry. i'm literally just typing out my thoughts as i have them (no editing) and it just occurred to me that this may be very boring to read. anyhow, now that i am back to a fast computer and reliable, high speed internet service it will be easier for me to post photos. i plan to continue to post entries on this blog for about a month, mostly with photos but also filling in some of the gaps from my trip. hopefully, this will benefit those of you who aren't here to see my photos in person.

finally, and most importantly, i want to say a huge thank you to all of you who have supported my adventure, whether financially, in prayer, with care packages or by keeping in touch via email. the extent to which everyone has cheered me on, encouraged me and shown interest in this trip has been overwhelming, and this experience would not have been possible without all of your support.

the past three months have been the most fulfilling, exciting and spiritually rejuvenating time of my life and i think you will find that i have returned a new person...more content, more compassionate, more self-aware, more sensitive to people's needs, more mature in my faith. i have a feeling that the reverberations of my time in africa will continue to impact and affect my life for a long time...and in fact may be just the beginning of a life-long adventure in medical missions.

thanks for sharing this experience with me...feel free to check back over the next month as i continue to add updates.